Looks like 18.2 is going away as of September 3rd. The only Japanese broadcasting will be on 18.1 on Sundays starting September 11th:http://utbhollywood.com/en/news/utb18-1/
I guess this is the old "the more things change the more they stay the same". I can remember when Saturday and Sunday nights were the only time there was any Japanese broadcasting. That and FNN Super News weekday mornings, followed by an asadora. Looks like we're back to close to that.
YouTube is a valuable source for non-drama Japanese programming. Lots of informative and entertaining shows involving travel, food, culture, life, etc. Some of my favorites include Begin Japanology, Japanology Plus, Journeys in Japan, Seasoning the Seasons, Train Cruise, Document 72 Hours, Lunch On, Tokyo Eye 2020, Great Gear, Inside Lens, Cool Japan, J-Trip Plan, Trails to Tsukiji.
The other week I discovered videos of a Canadian-born, blond-haired rakugo storyteller. His name is Katsura Sunshine (Katsura is his rakugo master's surname with whom he trained for five years, and like in other traditional disciplines, it was his master who gave him his rakugo name). Some of the videos are about how he got into rakugo, some show him performing his act (he does rakugo in both Japanese and English, depending on the audience). In addition there are videos with him in two series--one has him explaining ukiyo-e prints; another has him showcasing different parts of Ise City (where he currently lives).
^ Of those, I like "Japanology Plus" and "Document 72 Hours" the best. "Document 72 Hours" is real slice of life. The difference being they aren't actors, those are real people.
gaijinmark wrote:^ Of those, I like "Japanology Plus" and "Document 72 Hours" the best. "Document 72 Hours" is real slice of life. The difference being they aren't actors, those are real people.
Document 72 Hours may be my favorite of those shows I listed as well. Reality programming at its most effective.
Peter Barakan, the host of Begin Japanology and Japanology Plus, does a wonderful job in his role. He studiously avoids speaking Japanese on air, but one time in the izakaya episode he had to in conversing with the garrulous elderly patron sitting next to him--it proved to be a quite entertaining and funny scene.
Just a heads up for anybody watching "Naotora" or "Aibou 15" on 18.2. The normal airing on September 3rd has been moved up to September 2nd. They're showing something else on September 3rd, non-Japanese programming.
Everything will be back to usual times on September 10th.
Oddly enough, it's airing right now in Japan and will be until December. With the exception of Taigas, they usually don't start airing stuff here until it's already ended in Japan. But with Hikari Mitsushima and Miho Kanno in the cast, I ain't complaining. :applaud:
Schedule change this Sunday for New Year's Eve, the taiga will start at 5pm and the Kohaku will run from 7pm until 12:30 in the morning:http://utbhollywood.com/en/
In the immortal words of Sugishita san, "Hitotsu dake!" There is still Japanese programming on 18.1 on Sunday nights. "Aibou 16" will be starting on May 5th:http://www.jhollywoodnet.com/
:woot:
(Okay, it's not much. But two weeks ago it looked like all Japanese programming was gone for good. :sweat: )
18.1 is moving to 44.1 on March 31st, starting off with "Aibou 17". The food show, even though its only 15 minutes long looks like it might be fun: http://jhollywoodnet.com/en/ch_ch/