After living in Japan's hyper-organized, ultra-polite bubble, heading back to Europe hits a little differently. This week on Spill the Matcha, Cherine is packing her bags for a trip back to her home country of Belgium, and the pre-departure jitters are real.

The girls have a candid, heart-to-heart conversation about how European society transformed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic—from the shift to digital payments and remote work culture to changing social attitudes and economic pressures. Cherine shares her anxieties about navigating the sudden shift from Japan's quiet etiquette to Europe's directness, while Misato asks the ultimate expat question: After years of building a life in Japan, where does Cherine actually feel at "home" anymore?

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Grab a giant cup of Matcha because we are dropping our very first 1-hour mega episode!This week, we are diving deep into the beautiful, confusing, and completely essential world of Japanese linguistics. Specifically, Misato is putting Cherine through the ultimate linguistic gauntlet: Giseigo and Gitatago (Japanese Onomatopoeia).

In English, things go "buzz" or "splash." But in Japanese, there are thousands of words that describe things like the sound of staring intensely (ji---), the texture of something slimy (neba-neba), or the feeling of being completely exhausted (boro-boro). Cherine tries to guess what these bizarre double-words mean based on context clues, leading to some hilariously wrong answers and deep realizations about how the Japanese brain perceives the world.

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If you think Japanese fashion is all about quiet minimalism and blending into the crowd, think again. This week on Spill the Matcha, Misato and Cherine take a deep dive into the history, philosophy, and modern comeback of Gyaru culture.

Originating as a massive counter-culture movement in the 1990s and 2000s, Gyaru was a direct middle finger to traditional societal expectations of what a "good Japanese woman" should look like. Misato reminisces about the peak Heisei-era mania—from the dramatic Ganguro makeup to the iconic loose socks—while Cherine breaks down how modern Gen Z internet culture has sparked a massive, global "Neo-Gyaru" revival on TikTok and Instagram.

Sponsors:

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