Do Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners? | Japan Station 164/Ichimon Japan 02
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
Release Date: 06/24/2025
Shikoku's 88 Temple Pligrimmage: What You Should KNOW (Kevin Tarpey) | Japan Station 169
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
On this episode of Japan Station, Kevin Tarpey joins us to talk about what it was like doing Shikoku's famous 88 Temple Pilgrimmage and why Japan is such a great place for long-distance walking. 👉Topics Discussed Why Japan is such a great place for long-distance walking About the famous Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimmage (Ohenro, お遍路) What it's like walking the 88 temple pilgrimmage How long it took to walk the 88 temple pilgrimmage in Shikoku How much distance Kevin covered per day while doing the 88 temple pilgrimmage About getting blisters while walking the 88 temple pilgrimmage About...
info_outline
She moved to this Japanese island to FARM INDIGO?! (Sally Hancox of AiAii) | Japan Station 168
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
On this episode of Japan Station, we learn about traditional Japanese indigo dyeing from Sally Hancox, one of the co-owners of AiAii Worshop & Shop on Awaji island. This is a conversation to dye for! Sorry, I couldn't help myself. 👉Topics Discussed About AiiAii Worshop & Shop About the aizome (indigo dyeing) process About farming and preparing indigo for dyeing Why Sally Hancox ended up farming and working with indigo What are the benefits of natural indigo dyeing About the workshops at AiAii About Awaji How to get to Awaji How to get in touch with Sally for scheduling...
info_outline
How Japanese scandals EXPLODE! (Igor Prusa) | Japan Station 167
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
On this episode of Japan Station, we talk about scandals in Japan. My guest Dr. Igor Prusa tells about how scandals in Japan work, how they surface and how entertainers/business people/politicians who get caught in scandals try to deal with them. This is a truly SCANDALOUS episode. Sorry, couldn't resist. 👉Topics Discussed The characteristics of a Japanese scandal About the Noriko Sakai scandal Why the Sakai Noriko scandal was such a big deal What celebrities caught in scandals are expected to do About the press conferences often seen after a scandal rises to the surface in Japan About...
info_outline
Why do Japanese train stations do that? | Japan Station 166/Ichimon Japan 03
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
This episode was originally released as episode 3 of the Ichimon Japan podcast. Today's Question On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Why do Japanese train stations do that? Topics Discussed The train system in rural areas versus urban areas in Japan Trains in Kagoshima and Ishikawa What a Wanmanressha (one man trains) is Unmanned rural train stations Why Japanese train stations use cute songs to indicate a train is about to depart Hasshamero (train departure melodies) The use of Nogizaka46's song "Kimi no Na wa Kibō" as a train departure melody The logic behind train departure...
info_outline
WHICH is CORRECT? Funiki vs Fuinki (雰囲気) | Japan Station 165
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
On this episode of Japan Station, we talk about the Japanese word funiki (雰囲気) and other words that aren't read the way they are written. 👉Topics Discussed About the Japanese word funiki (雰囲気) What the correct way to read/pronounce funiki is Whether you should read funiki as fun'iki （ふんいき) or fuinki (ふいんき) Why so many people pronounce funiki incorrectly About words like manin (満員) and zenin (全員) and why people often pronounce them incorrectly/differently from how they are...
info_outline
Do Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners? | Japan Station 164/Ichimon Japan 02
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
This episode of Japan Station is a rebroadcast of episode two of Ichimon Japan. On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Do Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners? Topics Discussed Whether Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners The idea that longer intestines are a result of the Japanese people having a diet centering around rice, grains, and vegetables The inconsistent details surrounding the idea that Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners Andy Raskin's quest to determine if Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners...
info_outline
The REAL Reason Japan doesn't have public TRASH CANS! They're LYING TO YOU! | Japan Station 163
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
On this episode of Japan Station, we talk about why there's so few trash cans in public places in Japan. Despite what many sources say the 1995 sarin gas attack in Tokyo is not the reason there are so few trash cans in public places in Japan. It's actually more complicated than that. While yes, it is true that there was a reduction in the amount of trash cans in some places in Japan--particularly the subway line targeted by Aum Shinrikyo during the sarin gas attack--many of these trash cans were reinstalled some time after the attack. Further trash cans were not used during the attack itself....
info_outline
Why are vegetables so insulting in Japanese? | Japan Station 162/Ichimon Japan 14
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
This episode of Japan Station is a rebroadcast of Ichimon Japan episode 12. On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Why are vegetables so unsulting in Japanese? On this episode we are honored to once again be joined by Kyle Broyles of the Tokyo Splosion podcast and Hard Officers YouTube channel. Topics Discussed Some funny Japanese vegetable-based insults and their (supposed) etymologies What the term daikon ashi means Why daikon ashi is so insulting and reserved only for use on women The usage of the term "dumpling legs" What the term daikon yakusha means Why daikon...
info_outline
What is "PLUS ALPHA?" The Meaning & Origin of the Japanese term purasu arufa/プラスアルファ | Japan Station 161
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
On this episode of Japan Station, I break down what the Japanese term "plus alpha" (purasu arufa/プラスアルファ) means and its possible origins. 👉Topics Discussed What does "plus alpha" (purasu arufa/プラスアルファ) mean? How you use the Japanese term purasu arufa プラスアルファ The most popular etymology of the term of purasu arufa Real world examples of purasu arufa in use About what puramaizero means (プラマイゼロ) And much more! 👉Subscribe to the Podcast! 👉Support on Patreon & Ko-fi https://patreon.com/japankyo 👉Links, Videos,...
info_outline
The HISTORY of SUSHI (Dr. Eric C. Rath) | Japan Station 160
Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language
On this episode of Japan Station, Dr. Eric C. Rath joins us to talk all about the history of what may be Japan's most famous cuisine: SUSHI! We discuss its origins, evolution and more! 👉Topics Discussed Where sushi came from Fermented sushi The meaning of sushi Sushi's Chinese origins Shiga Prefecture's funazushi Sushi in the Edo period Sushi in Japan's post war period Sushi in modern times About sashimi About Kamipai: The History of Sake And much more! 👉Subscribe to the Podcast! 👉Support on Patreon & Ko-fi https://patreon.com/japankyo 👉Links, Videos, Etc....
info_outlineThis episode of Japan Station is a rebroadcast of episode two of Ichimon Japan.
On this episode of Ichimon Japan we ask: Do Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners?
Topics Discussed
- Whether Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners
- The idea that longer intestines are a result of the Japanese people having a diet centering around rice, grains, and vegetables
- The inconsistent details surrounding the idea that Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners
- Andy Raskin's quest to determine if Japanese people have longer intestines than Westerners
- The stealing of corpses in Meiji period Japan
- The idea that longer intestine length produces more excrement
- The connection between the length of one's intestines and the smelliness of one's poop
- How much longer the Japanese intestinal tract is said to be than that of Westerners
- What both Japanese sources and English-language sources have to say on the length of Japanese intestines
- The importance of skepticism
- The results of a large scale scientific study that compares the length of the intestines of Japanese people and Westerners
- The idea that intestine length is connected to the darkness of one's skin
- And more!
Note: During the episode some information is attributed to a Reddit thread. This is inaccurate. The information attributed to said Reddit thread was instead found on news.ycominator.com.
Listen to Ichimon Japan on
[btn btnlink="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ichimon-japan-a-podcast-by-japankyo-com/id1492400997" btnsize="medium" bgcolor="#0568bf" txtcolor="#ffffff" btnnewt="1" nofollow="1"]Apple Podcasts[/btn] [btn btnlink="https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9pY2hpbW9uamFwYW4ubGlic3luLmNvbS9yc3M" btnsize="medium" bgcolor="#0568bf" txtcolor="#ffffff" btnnewt="1" nofollow="1"]Google Podcasts[/btn] [btn btnlink="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/japankyocom/ichimon-japan-a-podcast-by-japankyocom" btnsize="medium" bgcolor="#0568bf" txtcolor="#ffffff" btnnewt="1" nofollow="1"]Stitcher[/btn] [btn btnlink="https://open.spotify.com/show/1ZVgnljVM8gcR1ar98eK0D" btnsize="medium" bgcolor="#0568bf" txtcolor="#ffffff" btnnewt="1" nofollow="1"]Spotify[/btn] [btn btnlink="https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/mv3zr-ad2df/Ichimon-Japan-A-Podcast-by-Japankyo.com" btnsize="medium" bgcolor="#0568bf" txtcolor="#ffffff" btnnewt="1" nofollow="1"]PodBean[/btn] [btn btnlink="https://ichimonjapan.libsyn.com/rss" btnsize="medium" bgcolor="#0568bf" txtcolor="#ffffff" btnnewt="1" nofollow="1"]RSS[/btn]
Sources, Links, Videos, Etc.
You can check out the article by Andy Raskin via the link below.
Here is the article published on World Projects Japan. This article is in Japanese
During the episode some information was attributed to a Reddit thread. However, this is wrong. Any information that was attributed to this nonexistent Reddit thread was actually from news.ycombinator.com. You can access this page via the link below.
The information regarding the idea that shortening one's intestines results in lighter skin also originated from the page above. The text below was posted to this page by someone using the name slyall on August 24, 2015. No other information was found to support this claim.
"I remember reading a story (at least 20 years ago) that some women in Japan were getting their intestine shortened in order to lighten their skin.
No ghits sorry but from memory once the intestine was shortened the skin started to magically lighten."
The 2013 study titled "Colorectal Length in Japanese and American Asymptomatic Adults Based on CT Colonography" (Japanese: 日本人とアメリカ人の大腸の長さは違うのか? : 大腸3D-CT) can be accessed via the link below. The article is in Japanese. An English translation of the objectives and results of the study can be found here.
If you would like to check out episode 30 of the Japan Station podcast, which focuses on the idea of "otaku" and the history of Akihabara, please check out the link below.
We Want Your Questions
Is there something about Japan that confuses you? Is there something about Japanese culture that you would like to learn more about? Is there something in Japanese history that you would like us to explain? We're always looking for new questions about Japan to answer, so if you have one, please send it to [email protected].
Special Thanks
Opening/Closing Theme: Produced by Apol (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Fiverr)
Ichimon Japan cover art: Produced by Erik R.