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  • When London Was Cool and Tokyo Was Rich —Boom, Britpop and the Bubble of the '90s

    When London Was Cool and Tokyo Was Rich —Boom, Britpop and the Bubble of the '90s
    2026/05/07
    A visit to YBA & Beyond — British Art in the '90s from the Tate Collection at the National Art Centre Tokyo recently stopped me in my tracks. It was all je ne sais quoi then, Now it's a period piece. Which, of course, is exactly what "contemporary" art eventually becomes — the clue was always in the name.That visit became the seed of Episode 6.The 1990s began with the end of the Cold War — which some historians call World War Three — and ended with 9/11, which triggered the ongoing conflict between the Christian and Islamic worlds, already being called World War Four by some. Which makes the '90s, rather neatly, an inter-war decade. A brief, strange window of relative peace and optimism — and I have the Doomsday Clock to back me up. In 1991, the Clock stood at 17 minutes to midnight, the most hopeful reading in its history. It currently stands at 89 seconds — the closest humanity has ever been to self-inflicted catastrophe. We've come a long way. Backwards.In Episode 6, I use that window — the euphoric, deluded, magnificent '90s — to examine London and Tokyo: two cities that were, briefly, at the top of the world. Through music, art, and economics, I trace how they got there, and what happened next. Britpop. The bubble. The YBAs. The boom. And the long, quietly dignified slide since.Decay fascinates me more than progress - Oscar WildePost-Whatever with Ken Nishikawa — BBC, MTV, J-WAVE — weekly cultural commentary on the space between Japan and the West. Music, food, art, politics, history, philosophy. Presented by someone who has lived in both worlds long enough to find them equally baffling.Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube.Search: POST-WHATEVER with Ken Nishikawa#PostWhatever #KenNishikawa #TokyoLife #ExpatJapan #Podcast #JapanPodcast #TokyoPodcast #JapanExpat #LivinginJapan #TokyoExpat #JapanTips #JapanLife #TokyoLife #JapanVlog #HiddenJapan #TokyoVlog #JapanCulture #JapanBritain #JapanvsUK #CulturalDifferences #JapanObsessed #LearnAboutJapan #CulturalCommentary #Observational #Japan #Tokyo #TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast #JapaneseCulture #TravelJapan#TokyoHistory #JapanHistory #BurtonCrane #1930sJapan #JapanAndTheWest #EnglishPodcastJapan #JapaneseCulture #TokyoPodcast #expatllife #PopHistory #MusicHistory #JapanExpat #AsiaHistory #CulturalHistory #TokyoLife #PodcastsInEnglish #JapaneseMusic #MusicHistory #JapanAndTheWest #ExplorJapan #AsiaHistory #DocumentaryStyle #HiddenHistory #Britpop #1990s #London #Tokyo #Japan #YBA #BritishArt #CoolBritannia #JapaneseBubbleEconomy #Oasis #DamienHirst #BritishCulture #JapaneseHistory #Wabisabi #NationalArtCentreTokyo #TateCollection #Trainspotting #DrumAndBass #TripHop #ApexTwin #BilingualPodcast #JapanAndTheWest
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    18 分
  • Sake of the Song: The Wall Street Journal Correspondent Who Became Tokyo's First Pop Star

    Sake of the Song: The Wall Street Journal Correspondent Who Became Tokyo's First Pop Star
    2026/04/30
    In 1925, a young elite American journalist named Burton Crane arrived in Yokohama as a financial correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. This was, by any reasonable measure, a respectable career trajectory.By 1931, he was Tokyo's biggest pop star.Nobody planned this. Least of all Burton Crane.Episode 5 of Post-Whatever “Sake of the Song: The Wall Street Journal Correspondent Who Became Tokyo's First Pop Star” tells the story of a man who learned Japanese in the bars of Asakusa, stumbled into a recording contract at a corporate drinking party, and accidentally became the forerunner of an entire genre of Japan”s “Gaikokujin” celebrity — all whilst filing financial dispatches for some of America's most serious newspapers. He was dubbed the "Bing Crosby of Japan." His first single was heard from virtually every café on the Ginza. Toshirō Mifune reportedly sang it when pickled.Along the way: a detailed investigation into the 40-plus tram lines of pre-war Tokyo (yes, really), the February 26th Incident of 1936, the tragic fate of his duet partner in the firebombing of 1945, and the founding of the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.Also: why you could stay out later in Tokyo in 1931 than you can today. Some things were more civilised back then.This is Post-Whatever — the show that lives in the cultural space between Japan and the West, and occasionally gets lost in translation.Music featured in this episode courtesy of Burton Crane (1901–1963), originally recorded and released on Columbia Records Japan between 1931 and 1936. These recordings are believed to be in the public domain in Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. If you are the rights holder to any recording featured and believe this to be in error, please contact us directly.#PostWhatever #KenNishikawa #TokyoLife #ExpatJapan #Podcast #JapanPodcast #TokyoPodcast #JapanExpat #LivinginJapan #TokyoExpat #JapanTips #JapanLife #TokyoLife #JapanVlog #HiddenJapan #TokyoVlog #JapanCulture #JapanBritain #JapanvsUK #CulturalDifferences #JapanObsessed #LearnAboutJapan #CulturalCommentary #Observational #Japan #Tokyo #TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast #JapaneseCulture #TravelJapan#TokyoHistory #JapanHistory #BurtonCrane #1930sJapan #JapanAndTheWest #EnglishPodcastJapan #JapaneseCulture #TokyoPodcast #expatllife #PopHistory #MusicHistory #JapanExpat #AsiaHistory #CulturalHistory #PrewarJapan #TokyoLife #PodcastsInEnglish #BurtonCrane #JapaneseMusic #MusicHistory #JapanAndTheWest #ExplorJapan #AsiaHistory #DocumentaryStyle #HiddenHistory #ForgottenStars
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    21 分
  • Vegetarian Life in Tokyo (life can be cruel)

    Vegetarian Life in Tokyo (life can be cruel)
    2026/04/23

    Being vegetarian in Japan is a bit like being a pacifist at a sword convention. Technically possible. Occasionally uncomfortable. And people keep offering you things you didn't ask for.


    In this episode of Post-Whatever, Ken Nishikawa — broadcaster, DJ, and almost lifelong vegetarian — navigates the surprising, baffling, and occasionally magnificent world of plant-based eating in Tokyo. From the bonito broth lurking in your "vegetarian" soba, to the ancient imperial decree that somehow forgot to ban wild boar, to the Buddhist monks who invented the phrase "mountain whale" to justify their dinner — this is the story of a nation that was technically vegetarian for 1,200 years and has since decided to make up for lost time.


    Also covered: why Japanese chefs are fleeing to Paris, why your aglio e olio has bacon in it, and what to do when a kind chef assures you that sausages are absolutely fine.


    #PostWhatever #KenNishikawa #JapanUK #TokyoLife #ExpatJapan #Podcast #JapanPodcast #TokyoPodcast #JapanExpat #LivinginJapan #TokyoExpat #JapanTips #JapanLife #JapanPodcast #TokyoLife #JapanVlog #HiddenJapan #TokyoVlog #JapanCulture #JapanBritain #JapanvsUK #CulturalDifferences #JapanObsessed #LearnAboutJapan #DryHumour #BritishHumour #Comedy #CulturalCommentary #Observational #Japan #Tokyo #Podcast #TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast #JapaneseCulture #TravelJapan #Vegetarian #Vegan #JapaneseFood #VeganJapan #VegetarianJapan #JapaneseHistory #VeganTravel #ShojinRyori #BuddhistFood #PlantBased #FoodHistory
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    19 分
  • The Man Who Taught Mishima How to Swim (and the story of the second-oldest hamburger in Japan)

    The Man Who Taught Mishima How to Swim (and the story of the second-oldest hamburger in Japan)
    2026/04/16

    In this episode, Ken Nishikawa introduce to the world Café Bonnet — a tiny, resolutely unreconstructed junkissa tucked down a side alley in the seaside resort town of Atami — and tells the story of its remarkable owner, Hiroshi Masuda, who introduced American hamburger to Japan and served to Japanese literary giants two decades before McDonald's knew Japan existed.


    Along the way: Yukio Mishima's secret swimming problem, Toshiro Mifune in light disguise and a mother who was a geisha.


    Also: why a French hat became the name of postwar Japan's most improbable cultural institution.


    Post-Whatever is a dry, unhurried talk show about Japan, culture, and the things that fall between the cracks of official history. Hosted by Ken Nishikawa — composer, broadcaster, filmmaker, and occasional resident of places with too many hot springs.


    Nivatak / Atami My Miami

    https://music.apple.com/jp/album/atami-my-miami/1790943853?i=1790943857

    SOURCES & FURTHER READING:


    Café Bonnet

    https://japantravel.navitime.com/en/area/jp/spot/02301-pn0002954/


    Yukio Mishima

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukio_Mishima


    Afraid to die (film)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afraid_to_Die


    Junichiro Tanizoki

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun'ichirō_Tanizaki


    #PostWhatever #KenNishikawa #JapanUK #TokyoLife #ExpatJapan #JapanPodcast #TokyoPodcast

    #Atami #CafeBonnet #YukioMishima #JapanTravel #JapaneseHistory #JapaneseCulture #Hamburger #Junkissa #PureKissa #JunichiroTanizaki #ToshiroMifune #Shizuoka #Sendai

    #JapanExpat #LivinginJapan #TokyoExpat #JapanTips #JapanLife #JapanPodcast #TokyoLife #JapanVlog #HiddenJapan#TokyoVlog#JapanCulture #JapanBritain #JapanvsUK #CulturalDifferences #JapanObsessed #LearnAboutJapan #DryHumour #BritishHumour #Comedy #CulturalCommentary #Observational

    #Japan #Tokyo #Podcast #TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast
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    18 分
  • The John & Yoko Phenomenon

    The John & Yoko Phenomenon
    2026/04/15

    Why is it almost always western man, Japanese woman — and the other way round is comparatively few? And why has it been that way since at least 1600?In this episode, Ken Nishikawa voluntarily marches into the minefield of race to examine the John & Yoko Phenomenon — the curious and persistent pattern of western men and Japanese women finding and gravitating towards each other across centuries, oceans, and apparently 47,000 years of genetic memory.Along the way: the first Englishman in Japan who navigated his way directly into prison; Hollywood's very convenient double standard on interracial romance; a brief detour into lion-tiger cross-breeding (for scientific reasons); and the shocking finding of Neanderthal — which rather undermines my potentially revolutionary hypothesis.No conclusions are reached. Several hypotheses collapse under their own weight. A good time is had.Post-Whatever with Ken Nishikawa — because someone has to ask the awkward questions.Sources & further reading:NEANDERTHAL / SCIENCE SOURCESThe sex-biased interbreeding study (the core science of the episode):https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea6774The 47,000-year dating / Princeton study overview:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250713032519.htmWILLIAM ADAMS / MIURA ANJIN:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Adams_(sailor)SESSUE HAYAKAWA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sessue_HayakawaTHE HAYS CODE / PRODUCTION CODE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hays_CodeFILMS MENTIONEDSayonara (1957): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050994/The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051378/You Only Live Twice (1967): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062512/#PostWhatever #KenNishikawa #JapanUK #TokyoLife #ExpatJapan #JapanPodcast #TokyoPodcast#JohnAndYoko #JapanAndTheWest #InterracialCouples #MixedCouples #ExpatJapan #WesternManJapaneseWoman #CulturalDifferences #JapanCulture #TokyoLife #SoftPower #Neanderthal #HumanEvolution #DNA #PopularScience #Japan #Tokyo #Shimokitazawa #JapanExpat #JapaneseHistory #WilliamAdams #Shogun #JohnLennon #YokoOno #NicolasCage#JapanExpat #LivinginJapan #TokyoExpat #JapanTips #JapanLife #JapanVlog #TokyoVlog#JapanCulture #JapanBritain #JapanvsUK #CulturalDifferences #JapanObsessed #LearnAboutJapan #DryHumour #BritishHumour #Comedy #CulturalCommentary #Observational#Japan #Tokyo #Podcast #TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast
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    17 分
  • Tokyo will pay you ¥11,000, no catch! (well, almost...)

    Tokyo will pay you ¥11,000, no catch! (well, almost...)
    2026/04/15

    If you think your soul is worth no more than ¥11,000 (69USD) like I do, then press play.Free money. Well — almost. It’s complicated. It’s Japan.In this inaugural episode of Post-Whatever, Ken Nishikawa guides you through the surprisingly rewarding ordeal of claiming ¥11,000 from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government — via a My Number Card, two apps, and what remains of your soul and dignity. Along the way: a brief history of Japan’s heroically unsuccessful war on paper, a character study of Governor Koike Yuriko, a serious conversation about points that become other points, and a heartfelt tribute to the OK Store.Post-Whatever with Ken Nishikawa is a weekly talk show about Japan, the West (Britain, in particular), and the vast, baffling space in between — covering music, culture, food, history, politics, philosophy, and whatever else demands attention that particular week. Hosted by Ken Nishikawa — composer, broadcaster, DJ, film director, and occasional grumpy old man — who has worked for the BBC, MTV, TBS, J-WAVE, and several organisations that probably regret it.New episodes every Thursday. Like and subscribe if you know what’s good for you.LINKS:Tokyo App campaign details: https://www.tokyoapp.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/news/260116348.html#PostWhatever #KenNishikawa #JapanUK #TokyoLife #ExpatJapan#MyNumberCard #TokyoApp #FreeMoneyJapan #KoikeYuriko #TokyoPoints #JapanDigital#JapanExpat #LivinginJapan #TokyoExpat #JapanTips #JapanLife #JapanVlog #TokyoVlog#JapanCulture #JapanBritain #JapanvsUK #CulturalDifferences #JapanObsessed #LearnAboutJapan#Japan #Tokyo #Podcast #TalkShow #WeeklyPodcast #CulturePodcast
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    11 分