Rochelle Kopp tackles the question of whether or not Japan has finally crossed the Rubicon when it comes to going forward with the Olympics? If they have, we hope they checked out the really nice Rubicon River Cruise while they were in the area.
Ollie takes a river cruise that lets you play the second most dangerous game.
Bobby withdraws his name from consideration for something that he probably wasn't being considered for.
Topics discussed on this episode range from:
- How to Get in Shape to reintegrate into Japanese work society
- What Rochelle gets for being our most frequent guest
- Brian's cat hair consumption
- The cat that shut down Fukuoka's highway
- The cat that almost got Ollie arrested
- Another cat story with no real ending
- Why Ollie's cat is in a better legal position than he is
- How an owner's culture affects pet behavior
- Whether or not Ollie is funny, and how the question affects his ability to be funny
- JBRC Press Club reporting on Kirin's home beer dispenser from @PaulJNadeau and @olofhellman
- WHY THE OLYMPICS HAVEN'T BEEN STOPPED YET (Other than the financial obligations to the IOC)
- What shape the Olympics are going to have to take to be able to be held
- What the IOC really cares about in terms of having the Olympics happen
- The overseas spectator mess and the cost of refunding their tickets
- How the lack of overseas spectators might be the perfect opportunity for some very unique Japanese people to shine
- What are the financial consequences of not being able to recoup Olympic spending through tourism dollars
- How Japanese taxpayers feel about funding this money pit
- The optics around letting Olympians in and not visa holders
- How far we've come from the cultural moment when Japan being awarded the Olympics, and the subsequent wave of "The world loves Japan" media
- What media trends Japan's horrible public missteps might inspire
- How Japanese organizational decision making can explain how things have unfolded with the Olympics, plus how other cultures might have approached the same process
- How the Japanese concept of "kaizen" (continuous improvement) actually gets implemented
- How Japan might put to use the lessons it's learned here during their NEXT Olympic hosting turn (LMAO)
- The inertia that's been built up to the point where Japan is actually taking steps to DO the Olympics now
- The people who are stepping up by stepping down
- The odds of the Olympics being called off at this point
- How Japan could still make their Olympic critics eat their words
The extras this week are a random recap of all kinds of catch-up with Rochelle, and are well worth a listen, especially if you like us.
Topics Discussed on the Extras:
- Rochelle's exhausting move to Tokyo
- Ollie's Japan moving advice, including don't move during "moving season"
- How far away Tokyo and Fukuoka really are
- Ted Lasso
- Scrolling to pick your country out of a menu option list
- Filing US taxes from Japan and why Taxes for Expats SUCKS
- Ollie's accountants got hacked
- Why Ollie's burrito shop did better by him than his accountant did, and how he's repaid the favor
- Rochelle comparing pandemic Tokyo to Fukuoka and Tokyo back in the day when she used to live there
- How her quarantine is holding up
- How Ollie and Bobby's Japanese stand up comedy changed someone's life
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