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Fun Friday

Fun Friday 30: Interview with Timothy Reid

Podcast Guest: Timothy Reid – From English Teacher to Award-Winning Musician and Game Industry Pro in Japan

This week on the podcast, I’m thrilled to welcome Timothy Reid, a multi-talented artist and creator whose journey to success in Japan is nothing short of inspiring.

Originally from North Yorkshire in the UK, Timothy moved to Japan in 2011 after graduating from the University of Leeds. Like many foreigners, he started out teaching English just to get by — but everything changed in 2014 when he won a national guitar contest. That moment launched him straight into the Japanese music industry.

Since then, he’s done it all: from touring and recording as a professional guitarist, to demoing gear in-store, teaching at music schools, and more recently, breaking into Japan’s video game industry, contributing to both big-name AAA titles and indie games.

In this episode, we talk about learning Japanese, breaking into the music and gaming industries, and what it really takes to build a life and career in Japan. If you’re interested in living in Japan, pursuing a creative career here, or just want to hear an honest, fascinating story about surviving and thriving abroad, you won’t want to miss this conversation.

If you’ve ever dreamed of building a successful creative career in Japan, this is an unmissable episode packed with insight, inspiration, and hard-won lessons.

Click on the links below for Timothy’s home page and social media account:

Timothy Reid Official Website

Timothy Reid Instagram

For more Japanese language learning podcasts and interviews with people doing cool stuff in Japan, visit: Learn Japanese Pod

Categories
Lesson

Podcast 60: Talking about cleaning and household chores in Japanese

Welcome to another episode of Learn Japanese Pod! This time, we’re diving into a topic that’s more than just daily vocabulary—it’s a cultural deep dive into cleanliness, chores, and the Japanese mindset around keeping things tidy.

In this episode, Alex and Ami Sensei explore how to talk about household chores in natural, conversational Japanese. You’ll pick up useful words and phrases for cleaning, washing, tidying up, and more—perfect for everyday situations in Japan.

But that’s just the start.

We also go beyond the grammar and vocab to look at why cleanliness is so important in Japanese culture. From kids cleaning their classrooms to monks scrubbing temple floors, you’ll learn how these everyday actions reflect deeper values like discipline, respect, and mindfulness—ideas that shape how people live, speak, and interact in Japan.

We also compare the Japanese approach to cleanliness with Western attitudes and explore how understanding these cultural differences can help you become not just linguistically fluent, but culturally fluent too.

So if you’ve ever wondered what chores can teach you about Japan—and want to sound more natural when talking about them—this is the episode for you!

Enjoy!

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Dialogue

Podcast 60: Just the dialogues

The Japanese-only audio drills for podcast 59 have moved to our new Patreon page. Please click the link below for access:

Learn Japanese Pod Patreon

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Show Notes

Podcast 60: Notes

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The show notes for this episode have moved to our new Patreon page. Learn Japanese Pod Patreon Page.