Noah Oskow
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noahoskow.bsky.social
Noah Oskow
@noahoskow.bsky.social
1.8K followers 290 following 470 posts
JPN translator, Global Studies MA, former JET. 10年間以上日本に滞在。Minnesotaיהודי מ. 🇺🇸🇯🇵🇩🇪🇦🇹 Ghibli stan. EiC/writer at Unseen Japan, head of UJ Tours. Writing/making videos on intercultural meeting points and lesser-known historical junctures in Japan.
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Reposted by Noah Oskow
Good news: Itō Shiori's BLACK BOX DIARIES, her documentary about her sexual assault case, will finally air in Japan over a year after its release. The screening was delayed after some challenged whether Itō had the rights to air certain footage.

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Itō Shiori's BLACK BOX DIARIES Will (Finally) Release in Japan After Controversy - Unseen Japan
The film, released in October 2024, has yet to screen in the filmmaker's own country due to questions around the footage it used.
unseen-japan.com
Given what I know about мат, that seems very funny.
Yeah, when you get cursed out in Japanese, you know it.
Gunna scream gunna cry
Reposted by Noah Oskow
Now that I think about it, it's rather apt that Twitter is now known as "X" because when you consider the symbol "X" (not the alphabet) in Japanese, JP people would typically think of ❌ (as in バツ、バッテン、ペケ) which is a symbol for wrongness and other meanings in the general direction of "failure".
Reposted by Noah Oskow
Still planning your Japan 2026 cherry blossom trip? Avoid the crowds - let Unseen Japan Tours craft a custom itinerary suited to your interests and take you to the spots that only locals can usually access.
Visit Spots in Japan Most Tourists Can't - Unseen Japan Tours - Unseen Japan
Experience Japan with the Japan experts. Book your tour today with Unseen Japan Tours for a unique, guided experience.
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Pretty special at nighttime.
Back in Hiroshima for the second time in four days, and actually staying on the island of Miyajima for the first time. Watching the tide come in at Itsukushima Shrine is something special.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
Halloween's a day away; it's your last chance to indulge in Japanese horror before the holiday. Amongst the J-horror catalog, one classic holds perhaps more prestige than any other: Kwaidan, the eerily beautiful anthology film by director Kobayashi Masaki. Learn more in our vid: youtu.be/36hkBck_uNU
Kwaidan: A Filmic Venture into Uncanny Japan
YouTube video by Unseen Japan
youtu.be
Reposted by Noah Oskow
My absolute favorite thing about Rise of Skywalker is the character Ochi (who you won't recall because he's barely mentioned/featured but he ties the ENTIRE forward momentum of the plot together)

This is someone's explanation of Ochi and what he did
Reposted by Noah Oskow
Saboru (to cut class) in Japanese is indeed a word with a foreign origin - something even native speakers of Japanese might not be aware of. But it's not your standard loan word. Learn how it came about during the age of labor protests and modernization.
Saboru: The Strange Origins of “Cutting Class” in Japanese - Unseen Japan
The creation of the 8-hour workday, an early 20th-century vogue for foreign words - all led to the most popular Japanese word many don't even realize is foreign in origin.
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Yui, the baby, and I are currently doing a piecemeal walk around the entire Yamanote -- and Gaijin Mommy, as usual, your insight knows no bounds.
By none of the power vested in me, I propose that for the Yamanote line’s 100th birthday this weekend we temporarily wave all copyright restrictions and replace each station’s arrival/departure medley with the following tunes:
Reposted by Noah Oskow
By none of the power vested in me, I propose that for the Yamanote line’s 100th birthday this weekend we temporarily wave all copyright restrictions and replace each station’s arrival/departure medley with the following tunes:
Recently, really treasuring each time I get to go down to Osaka. Enjoying reconnecting with Japan’s great second city.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
More tourists say they're using AI translation to get around in their host countries. But many admit they don't actually like the experience. Here's why some businesses in Japan hate it too, and what you can do instead of talking through a machine.

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Why AI Translation Makes For An Awkward Japan Trip - Unseen Japan
More tourists report using AI translation - even though many admit it sucks. Here are better alternatives than talking through a machine.
unseen-japan.com
Reposted by Noah Oskow
RIP Tomiichi Murayama. I interviewed him in 2015 and found him to be a decent, principled man, still sharp as a tack in his nineties. “Japanese schools didn’t teach much history (of World War 2) because the government couldn’t decide if it was a good war or a bad war,” he said.
Reminder that in Japanese, this guy has the charming name of ウーパールーパー (Uupaaruupaa) thanks to a 1980s cup soba TV campaign.
Falls jemand heute schlechte Laune hat; hier ist die Aufmunterung:
Now that’s some accurate film analysis!
Reposted by Noah Oskow
With the release of the Hokkaido-set Ghosts of Yotei, many abroad are having their first exposure to Japan's vast northernmost main island. But how did Hokkaido, home to the indigenous Ainu, once known as Ezo, become part of Japan? One of our earliest videos explores just that. youtu.be/VJTfGfwY878
The Colonization of Hokkaido
YouTube video by Unseen Japan
youtu.be
Reposted by Noah Oskow
One Batou After Another
Reposted by Noah Oskow
We reached a nice milestone over on our YouTube channel - 1 million total views! And just in time, with a major video releasing in the coming days. If you haven't joined us yet, consider subbing for in-depth, full-length videos on JPN history, language, media, and more. www.youtube.com/@UnseenJapan/
Reposted by Noah Oskow
In a new Japan Daily Briefing, Komeito debates breaking the coalition ahead of a meeting of party leaders Friday, Takaichi tries to salvage it, and the CDP continues to try to organize an alternative coalition to prevent a Takaichi premiership.

open.substack.com/pub/observin...
Can the ruling coalition be saved? | Japan Daily Briefing
Kōmeitō debates whether to leave the coalition, Takaichi tries to thread a needle, and the CDP continues its attempt to organize an alternative government
open.substack.com
Reposted by Noah Oskow
[Insider] Want to see something beyond Shibuya Scramble? The famed ward of Tokyo is so much more than its bustling heart and Harajuku. In our latest paid newsletter, we dive into some of the less-traveled areas a short walk away from the station.

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[Insider] Exploring The Unseen Side of Downtown Shibuya - Unseen Japan
Want to see something beyond Shibuya Scramble? Here's a guide to some of the chiller places outside of the city's beating heart.
unseen-japan.com
Part of a massive mall complex that replaced the only remaining green space in the Shibuya Station area, with most visitors unaware that a real-deal, actual Showa-era yokocho is right down the pathway. Yeah, gonna say the association between the "Faux-kocho" and Airbnb is just a little on the nose.