The XQ Sumimasen Podcast

Living in Japan often means coming across everyday customs that seem unusual at first. Whether it's holiday traditions, public transportation, or even vending machines, many things that surprise visitors have practical or historical reasons behind them. In this episode, guest co-host Devin and I looked at some of the questions foreigners frequently ask about Japan and discussed how these traditions developed over time. Watch the Full Episode Listen on: Spotify Apple YouTube Everyday Traditions Have Their Own History Many of Japan's best-known customs didn't simply appear overnight. We talked about traditions such as eating KFC at Christmas, the unique way Valentine's Day and White Day are celebrated, and how Halloween developed into a costume-focused event rather than one centered around t...

One of the biggest surprises for many Japanese learners is discovering that not every katakana word comes from English. While English has had a huge influence on modern Japanese, many everyday words actually came from Portuguese, Dutch, German, French, Russian, and other languages before becoming part of everyday life in Japan. In this episode, guest co-host Scoey and I explored some of the Japanese words that originated outside both Japanese and English, along with the history behind how they found their way into the language. Watch the Full Episode Listen on: Spotify Apple YouTube Japanese Has Borrowed Words From Around the World It's easy to assume that every katakana word has English roots, but Japan has been borrowing vocabulary from other countries for centuries. We talked about familiar words ...

One of the easiest ways to see how cultures influence one another is through language. Words travel across borders through trade, food, technology, entertainment, and everyday life, often becoming so familiar that we forget they originally came from somewhere else. In this episode, guest co-host Devin and I explored some of the Japanese words that have become part of everyday English and discussed the stories behind how they made that journey. Watch the Full Episode Listen on: Spotify Apple YouTube Japanese Words We Use Without Thinking Many Japanese loanwords have become so common in English that most people never stop to consider where they came from. Words such as sushi , karaoke , emoji , tsunami , and futon are now used around the world. While their meanings have sometimes shifted over time, ...

Some of the biggest surprises about living in Japan aren't the famous landmarks or traditions that everyone talks about. They're the small, everyday experiences that slowly teach you how life here works. In this episode, guest co-host Keito and I shared some of the lesser-known things we've encountered while living in Japan, from everyday etiquette and regional differences to small cultural habits that often surprise newcomers. Watch the Full Episode Listen on: Spotify Apple YouTube Everyday Rules You Don't Expect Many of Japan's unwritten rules aren't difficult to follow once you know they exist—but discovering them usually happens through trial and error. We talked about everything from garbage disposal and noise etiquette to small language misunderstandings that can completely ...