Interesting TV shows through which I learn about Japan

One of my favorite pastimes is relaxing on my sofa while enjoying a show or movie. I love a great number of different types of shows, from home renovation shows to cooking competitions to Ninja Warrior. Most of the shows I watch are in English, but there are many Japanese TV shows I enjoy too. I can't understand all the Japanese but often I can understand enough to get the gist and enjoy the show.

One show I recommend to those who wish to improve their Japanese and learn a bit about some of the different facets of Japanese society and culture is a chat show called Monday Late Show (月曜から夜ふかし). The show has two hosts and an audience and contains various pre-recorded sections. The first main section is generally a series of street interviews during which the interviewer asks various random people on the streets about a particular topic. Some interview topics I can remember are questions like 'what are you a big fan of?', or 'what is something you want to quit?'. They also sometimes conduct basic English quizzes like showing someone a picture of something and asking if they know the English name for it. Along the way the commentator often interjects with amusing comments. The interviewers interview various kinds of people, including young people, the elderly, the drunk and homeless people, which can lead to all sorts of different, and sometime hard to understand, answers to their questions. This also gives someone like me, a foreigner living in Japan, some insights into Japanese society and the lifestyles of many different Japanese people. It is very insightful, but being honest, it is also a bit sad sometimes to see how some people are living. However, I like the fact that the interviewers talk in a non-judgemental way to everyone and the show gives viewers a chance to hear various different people's thoughts and opinions. I usually only watch the first section of this show so I am not so familiar with the later sections, but I think they involve travelling to different parts of Japan trying to solve amusing or unusual problems and so on. The show is shocking sometimes, as it shows very drunk and very quirky people, but if you feel you can handle that, then I really recommend it.

Another show I recommend is called 'Another Sky'. This show is entertaining, but it is far more serious than the above show, and it is also far more demanding when it comes to Japanese language skills. The basic idea of the show is interviewing a Japanese celebrity about another place in Japan or abroad that has had a significant impact on their life. This place is their 'another sky'. For the show, the celebrity is filmed revisiting their 'another sky', during which they go to significant places and share stories about what happened when they were there in the past.  The show itself takes place in a studio where the celebrity is interviewed by two hosts, during which video segments of them in their 'another sky' are shown and then talked about.

Depending on the celebrity, the content of the show can be rather simple; however, more often than not, the stories the celebrities share are quite deep. Perhaps they were questioning their career choice or struggling in the celebrity world or going through some sort of difficult time.  The time spent in their 'another sky' may have been an important turning point for them, or a much-needed time to refresh and get back in touch with themselves. Hearing the celebrity's stories can be insightful, even touching, and as someone from abroad it gives me a chance to get to know some Japanese celebrities. Aside from hearing the celebrities' stories, this show is also a nice chance to see and learn about various countries, as in most cases, the celebrities go to foreign countries. Sometimes I find the Japanese in this show a bit too difficult, especially when I am tired, but it is a good challenge.

I hope that my above recommendations might be useful for Japanese language learners, and for Japanese people who might be wondering what shows to recommend to their Japanese language learning friends.

Belinda