NOTE: This was recorded (and then forgotten) in January! Knowing this will help make sense out of it. :)

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In this snowy (maybe??) episode, Kota and Clay try to figure out what rare event might hit Florida tonight. Spoiler: it involves 雪 (snow), 積雪 (accumulated snow), and the very real possibility of Floridians building their first スノーマン! 🌨️ Spoiler alert--it didn't work out that way.

Along the way, we chat about: – 雪かき (snow shoveling) – 雪男 (Yeti vs Bigfoot vs Abominable Snowman... vs confusion) – Useful winter vocabulary that probably won’t help you in Florida – And how to say “stick” when snow piles up (hint: it’s not パイル)

📚 Learn all about Japanese words for snow and how English sometimes just uses… one word for it all. 😅 Also, find out why Clay’s memories of 福井 in winter are 50% magical and 50% sore back.

📖 Related vocab and transcripts coming soon to: https://makotoplus.com

🗞️ Join MakotoPlus.com – Get access to our monthly Makoto magazine, fun quizzes, culture deep-dives, and a whole lot more for learners of Japanese!

🛒 www.theJapanShop.com/bundles – See all our Japanese learning digital bundles!

After a quick recap of the last episode, Kota and Clay dig into one of Kota's own songs. Join us as we dive into the meaning behind the lyrics.

Here's Kota's video of the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2UUgfHoCp8

Be sure to subscribe to his channel!)

And here are all the lyrics with definitions: (good to follow along with)

https://makotoplus.com/kota-song-lyrics/

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In this episode, Kota and Clay tackle the age-old wisdom of Benjamin Franklin and classic Japanese proverbs—while also tackling their own pronunciation struggles! From "Early to bed, early to rise" to "早起きは三文の徳", we explore how English and Japanese express similar ideas… and how we totally mess them up in the process.

Along the way, we dive into:

✔️ The challenge of translating idioms across languages

✔️ The infamous "Hollywood" pronunciation debacle

✔️ A Star Wars joke that completely flopped in Japan

✔️ Whether waking up early actually makes us healthier, wealthier, or wiser Join us as we improve our English and Japanese the best way we know how—by making tons of mistakes!

🎧 Listen now and laugh (or cringe) along with us!

We’re keeping it lighthearted, full of laughs, and, of course, mistake-filled. Because what better way to grow than to embrace the mess-ups along the way? Join us as we chat freely in both languages, correct each other’s mistakes, and look forward to seeing how much we improve by the end of the year! 🎯

🎉 Welcome to the second episode of the Kota & Clay Podcast! 🎙️

In this bilingual adventure, we’re diving headfirst into improving our English and Japanese skills—by making as many mistakes as possible and learning from them.

In this episode, we talk about:

✨ Discussion of the first episode

✨ Talk about some first things to do in Japan for the first of the year

✨ New Year's customs in Japan and, a little, in America

✨ What we actually did last year and this year

We’re keeping it lighthearted, full of laughs, and, of course, mistake-filled. Because what better way to grow than to embrace the mess-ups along the way? Join us as we chat freely in both languages, correct each other’s mistakes, and look forward to seeing how much we improve by the end of the year! 🎯

Join us for our first episode as we dive into the world of New Year greetings in both Japanese and English! Learn the differences between how to greet someone before and after the New Year, and stick around as we share our personal New Year’s resolutions. It’s a fun and mistake-filled start to the year—perfect for language learners looking to improve through cultural insights and lots of laughs!

第1回目のエピソードでは、日本語と英語での新年の挨拶についてお話しします！年末と年明け後の挨拶の違いを学びながら、僕たちの新年の抱負もシェアします。文化的な学びとたくさんの笑いを通して、語学力をアップさせたい方にぴったりの楽しいスタートです！