Fun Radio from Japan

When a city is locked out of its own Olympics

Despite the odds, maybe even because of them, the Tokyo Olympics are happening. Media have flocked into the country to cover the "strange", the "masks". the so very unusual, so very Japanese games. But, while most of the reporters are locked up inside the media bubble, what is life like inside the city? Chris is free to move around, so he got on his bike and went to find out.

Ep 4 - Obon Pt 2

We continue our journey into the heart of the Japanese summer, learning more about the holiday of Obon with the spirit of Chris' Dad... who we called back from the dead in Episode 3... as you do. After experiencing a few Japanese summer festivals we’ve arrived in the island of Kyushu for the main 3-day Obon event. We'll go to a small island to see a particularly unique Obon dance celebration, before heading to Nagasaki for the final send-off.

Ep 3 - Obon Pt 1

An experience at a Haunted House triggers an expose into the lasting relationships the Japanese keep with their loved ones well after death. During the relentless heat of summer, the dead are believed to return to us. Chris takes part in the ceremonies and rituals of Obon to call back his father from the dead, in a journey of veneration which leads him from the bowels of Tokyo to Aomori in the far north, and Nagasaki in the wild south.

Ep 2 - Niijima Pt 2

We continue our adventures on Niijima where we have already tried Japan's smelliest food Kusaya and we have some ... reservations. Maybe a drunken bbq or the island itself will help us learn the secret to falling in love, or maybe falling in like, with the stinky fish. Find out in this conclusive episode.

Ep 1 - Niijima Pt 1

When Chris is challenged to find and eat the stinkiest food in Japan he finds himself on a tiny island in the Philippine sea, unable to speak the language and totally bewildered by his surroundings. In this story of belonging, a 300 year old fish brine provides a gateway to the mysterious island of Niijima; with its peculiar rock carvings, history of political exiles, and dramatic pre-historic landscape.