Where We Call Home

Japan finally eased its restrictions on entering the country - good news for the inbound tourism industry. UK-born Paul Christie is one of the business owners getting ready to welcome tourists from abroad. He organizes countryside tours in…

This time, we venture into the forested mountains of Miyazaki Prefecture to meet aspiring hunter Antonia Schult from Germany. Working to help restore the balance between humans and nature and stop wildlife from damaging crops, Antonia and …

This time we visit the snow-covered mountains in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture, where Canadian Dave Enright runs an outdoor recreation company. A seasoned backcountry skiing guide and avalanche safety expert, Dave welcomes tourists from overse…

On this episode, we meet Nguyen Quoc Dam, a nurse in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture. Nine years ago, Dam took advantage of an economic partnership between his native Vietnam and Japan and was the first Vietnamese to become a certified nurse in …

On this episode, we head to Sakegawa Village in Yamagata Prefecture, where American Frederick Lauer organizes activities for children to learn invaluable life skills through play. Busy school life leaves Japanese kids virtually no time to …

It's been twelve years since the massive earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 hit northeastern Japan. We visit Richard Halberstadt from the UK, who works at the ruins of an elementary school in Ishinomaki City as a guide introducing th…

On this episode, we step into the ring to meet Gantugs Rentsendorj from Mongolia, a coach for the sumo club of a famous high school in Tottori Prefecture. His dream of a professional sumo career cut short by injury, Gan now imparts his pas…

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready for some toe-tapping good time in Yokohama with Filipino Eduardo Macarat. Years ago, when Eduardo's wife was battling illness, he helped keep her spirits and energy up by dancing with her. Ever since…

This time we visit Toyonaka in Osaka Prefecture to meet Gerson Aizawa Hara, a third-generation Brazilian of Japanese descent. Passionate about cycling, he's an artisan who crafts unique bicycles. Each of his creations is one-of-a-kind, cus…

Home to a large Pakistani community, the city of Yashio in Saitama Prefecture is nicknamed Yashiostan. It's here that we meet Mian Ramzan Siddique, who opened a halal food court, a place for his fellow Pakistanis and the locals to gather. …

This time, we visit Shimane Prefecture to meet Vietnamese Pham Van Toi, the president of an agency that finds employment for his fellow countrymen and women who wish to work in Japan. Toi also helps them get used to life in Japan and overc…

This time, we visit Nagano Prefecture to meet Fidea Kobayashi, who supports orphans in her native Tanzania. Donating the proceeds of fundraising and most of her income, she even set up an orphanage and started the construction of a kinderg…

On this episode, we visit Fussa, Tokyo, to meet American Frederick Roberts. While stationed at a local US air base, Frederick fought as a pro boxer and won the title of national champion in his country of adoption. Now retired, he runs a g…

This time, we take you out to the ballgame! Or more specifically to Sanda City in Hyogo Prefecture, home of the Bravers, an independent league baseball team. A year ago, they welcomed a new player, 16-year-old Kato Edrine, a promising pitc…

Mass-produced items are nice and cheap, but none have the beauty and warmth of handmade objects. This is especially true in Japan, where handcrafted houseware has long been part of daily living. We follow Terry Ellis from the UK, who from …

This time we go to Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture to meet Mongolian Chimedtseren Amarzul, or Amura to her family and friends. She opened a glamping facility where guests can experience her homeland's culture from sleeping in a traditional h…

We follow Alek Pashkowski and Vadym Bezvuliak, a Ukrainian music duo that's been entertaining audiences in Nagasaki Prefecture's Sasebo City since 2014. Though Russia's invasion of their homeland has brought many hardships, they've receive…

This time, we discover the enchanting natural landscape of Miyama in Kyoto Prefecture. Drawn to the appeal of a slowly paced life in the Japanese countryside, some foreigners have settled down in the region. We follow Spanish photographer …

On this episode, we visit the workshop of Habib ur Rahman, a craftsman from Pakistan who designs and builds power wheelchairs in Kobayashi City, Miyazaki Prefecture. Believing that a wheelchair can change one's life, he custom-makes all hi…

The city of Otaru in Hokkaido Prefecture is famous for its glass making tradition. Fascinated by Otaru glassware, Chen Yu-Chin moved here from her native Taiwan to train to become a glass artisan herself. After only a year, she was already…

In the village of Yamakogawa in Chiba Prefecture, Brazilian Joken Fernandes trains at a temple to be a Buddhist priest. Zen meditation, reading sutras and chores are part of his rigorous daily routine, but Joken faces a bigger challenge. A…

On this episode, we take you on a culinary tour of Saitama Prefecture's diverse international community as we meet non-Japanese restaurant owners who serve dishes from their homelands to both warm the hearts of their compatriots and deligh…

We visit the Iizuna Highlands in Nagano Prefecture where Canadian Kayla Afrin runs a popular café. Having grown up under foster care due to losing her parents at a young age, she treasures her connection to the people of Iizuna. With local…

Performed at Shinto shrines, Yabusame is a ritual in which an archer on horseback shoots arrows at targets. Australian Michael No was so impressed by Yabusame that he moved to Japan to learn it. Now with ten years of experience under his b…

We meet Istvan Lorincz, a Romanian of Hungarian origin who's a pastor and expert herbalist in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, as well as Vietnamese Hoai Thuong who works at a hot spring inn in Shimane Prefecture.

We meet French-born Germain Guibilato who works as a personal chef for events and special occasions in Kochi City, as well as Chinese Liao Haiting, a veterinary nurse in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture.