Noah Oskow
@noahoskow.bsky.social
JPN translator, Global Studies MA, former JET. 10年間以上日本に滞在。Minnesotaיהודי מ. 🇺🇸🇯🇵🇩🇪🇦🇹 Ghibli stan. EiC/writer at Unseen Japan, head of UJ Tours.
Writing/making videos on intercultural meeting points and lesser-known historical junctures in Japan.
Writing/making videos on intercultural meeting points and lesser-known historical junctures in Japan.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
just to make that clear for the rest of the world, that's -9 degrees *fahrenheit.* -23 degrees *celsius*.
It’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing
January 23, 2026 at 8:31 PM
just to make that clear for the rest of the world, that's -9 degrees *fahrenheit.* -23 degrees *celsius*.
Another major JR stoppage in Tokyo right now - currently eating some standing sushi at one of the stations waiting for the trains to resume. Looks like the Yamanote is delayed an hour and a half 😕
January 23, 2026 at 9:45 AM
Another major JR stoppage in Tokyo right now - currently eating some standing sushi at one of the stations waiting for the trains to resume. Looks like the Yamanote is delayed an hour and a half 😕
Reposted by Noah Oskow
I keep seeing leftists from outside of Minneapolis say they’ve seen all this before, and no, you haven’t. I’ve been at this for 30+ years and I haven’t either. It’s not what you’re picturing. This is something else
I know people keep saying this but it’s hard to communicate the depth of active resistance here. Like, I’m on random cafes and people are checking in for observation shifts. Signs everywhere. Folks in visibility vests on the corners. It’s wild. Absolutely wild.
January 22, 2026 at 6:18 PM
I keep seeing leftists from outside of Minneapolis say they’ve seen all this before, and no, you haven’t. I’ve been at this for 30+ years and I haven’t either. It’s not what you’re picturing. This is something else
Reposted by Noah Oskow
I know people keep saying this but it’s hard to communicate the depth of active resistance here. Like, I’m on random cafes and people are checking in for observation shifts. Signs everywhere. Folks in visibility vests on the corners. It’s wild. Absolutely wild.
January 22, 2026 at 4:04 PM
I know people keep saying this but it’s hard to communicate the depth of active resistance here. Like, I’m on random cafes and people are checking in for observation shifts. Signs everywhere. Folks in visibility vests on the corners. It’s wild. Absolutely wild.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
January 22, 2026 at 8:25 PM
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
The Oscar nominations are out, and despite failing to be nominated for International Feature, Japan's new highest-grossing live action film, Kokuho did slip into one category: Makeup and Hairstyling.
Learn more about Kokuho in our article on its smash box office:
unseen-japan.com/kokuho-becom...
Learn more about Kokuho in our article on its smash box office:
unseen-japan.com/kokuho-becom...
January 22, 2026 at 2:53 PM
The Oscar nominations are out, and despite failing to be nominated for International Feature, Japan's new highest-grossing live action film, Kokuho did slip into one category: Makeup and Hairstyling.
Learn more about Kokuho in our article on its smash box office:
unseen-japan.com/kokuho-becom...
Learn more about Kokuho in our article on its smash box office:
unseen-japan.com/kokuho-becom...
It’s a mark of how many articles/essays I’ve written at Unseen Japan that I had to open this link to double check if I actually wrote this piece or just edited it.
(I wrote it lol. Also, worth reading to understand just who Sugita Mio is.)
(I wrote it lol. Also, worth reading to understand just who Sugita Mio is.)
Sugita later slandered an Ainu woman who wore traditional clothes to a United Nations event. The Sapporo Legal Affairs Bureau declared her remarks a human rights violation.
buff.ly/jj1HlDK
buff.ly/jj1HlDK
Controversial Politician Sugita Mio: "I've Never Slandered the Ainu People" - Unseen Japan
Japanese politician Sugita Mio is no stranger to controversy. Now, a legal bureau says she's slandered the Ainu people - but she says otherwise.
unseen-japan.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:07 AM
It’s a mark of how many articles/essays I’ve written at Unseen Japan that I had to open this link to double check if I actually wrote this piece or just edited it.
(I wrote it lol. Also, worth reading to understand just who Sugita Mio is.)
(I wrote it lol. Also, worth reading to understand just who Sugita Mio is.)
Reposted by Noah Oskow
"Love this one-of-a-kind pictogram"
(For the curious, the creature is Milzo - you can find it in Kansui Park, Minato Irifune-cho, Toyama. Just don't ride him)
(For the curious, the creature is Milzo - you can find it in Kansui Park, Minato Irifune-cho, Toyama. Just don't ride him)
January 20, 2026 at 9:38 PM
"Love this one-of-a-kind pictogram"
(For the curious, the creature is Milzo - you can find it in Kansui Park, Minato Irifune-cho, Toyama. Just don't ride him)
(For the curious, the creature is Milzo - you can find it in Kansui Park, Minato Irifune-cho, Toyama. Just don't ride him)
Reposted by Noah Oskow
A combination of factors played a part in the original dub of DragonBall (Z), of which many aspects have been stripped away throughout the years, while others persist.
First, the most prominent aspect was censorship.
The show was always adapted in the U.S. to play on network television.
First, the most prominent aspect was censorship.
The show was always adapted in the U.S. to play on network television.
Okay, so moots ask me this.
Why did they feel the need to stray so far from the original Japanese dub when adapting Dragon Ball Z in the US?
Why did they feel the need to stray so far from the original Japanese dub when adapting Dragon Ball Z in the US?
January 21, 2026 at 12:44 AM
A combination of factors played a part in the original dub of DragonBall (Z), of which many aspects have been stripped away throughout the years, while others persist.
First, the most prominent aspect was censorship.
The show was always adapted in the U.S. to play on network television.
First, the most prominent aspect was censorship.
The show was always adapted in the U.S. to play on network television.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
I wrote about how concentration camp regimes evolve and why it's not too late to stop this, even though we are deep in it now.
Into the abyss
The correct response to Dachau was not better training for the guards.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:37 AM
I wrote about how concentration camp regimes evolve and why it's not too late to stop this, even though we are deep in it now.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
I don’t know how the narrative of American democracy can survive this. The country voted to give the nuclear codes to a mental toddler who’s going to start a war because he didn’t get a participation trophy.
![NEW: @potus letter to @jonasgahrstore links @NobelPrize to Greenland, reiterates threats, and is forwarded by the NSC staff to multiple European ambassadors in Washington. I obtained the text from multiple officials:
Dear Ambassador:
President Trump has asked that the following message, shared with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, be forwarded to your [named head of government/state]
“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:hbpefio3f5csc44msmbgioxz/bafkreie7itpptx3xbxhpsnlaqmwk752h7pcrion5ija2apksljtax2adx4@jpeg)
January 19, 2026 at 12:44 PM
I don’t know how the narrative of American democracy can survive this. The country voted to give the nuclear codes to a mental toddler who’s going to start a war because he didn’t get a participation trophy.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
When Japan's first private railway company, Nippon Tetsudo, opened Shinjuku Station in 1885, the samurai government was only 17 years in the rear view. The average daily passenger statistics showed only 50 people; on some days, it saw zero passengers.
January 19, 2026 at 1:30 PM
When Japan's first private railway company, Nippon Tetsudo, opened Shinjuku Station in 1885, the samurai government was only 17 years in the rear view. The average daily passenger statistics showed only 50 people; on some days, it saw zero passengers.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
History warns us: The Guns of August & Clark’s The Sleepwalkers show how great powers drift into crises through miscalculation & bravado. The #Greenland situation feels uncomfortably similar—small moves, big symbols, and leaders (in the U.S. Congress) assuming it will all work out…until it doesn’t.
January 18, 2026 at 12:44 AM
History warns us: The Guns of August & Clark’s The Sleepwalkers show how great powers drift into crises through miscalculation & bravado. The #Greenland situation feels uncomfortably similar—small moves, big symbols, and leaders (in the U.S. Congress) assuming it will all work out…until it doesn’t.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
After World War II, the vast majority of Shinjuku lay in ruins. Then came the black markets. Here's the story of how Kabukicho rose from the ashes of wartime destruction, giving us the famous red light district we know and love and hate today.
buff.ly/lVXqdy9
buff.ly/lVXqdy9
Shinjuku: The Birth of Kabukicho - Unseen Japan
How Kabukicho, Japan's biggest red light district, arose from the ashes of post-war Japan - the second of our two-part Shinjuku history.
unseen-japan.com
January 14, 2026 at 9:52 PM
After World War II, the vast majority of Shinjuku lay in ruins. Then came the black markets. Here's the story of how Kabukicho rose from the ashes of wartime destruction, giving us the famous red light district we know and love and hate today.
buff.ly/lVXqdy9
buff.ly/lVXqdy9
Reposted by Noah Oskow
For the first hundred years during which the Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan from their capital of Edo, the area that is now Shinjuku was known as Naito-machi — a mere collection of villages and farmland along the final stretches of the Koshu Kaido road.
January 13, 2026 at 1:00 PM
For the first hundred years during which the Tokugawa shoguns ruled Japan from their capital of Edo, the area that is now Shinjuku was known as Naito-machi — a mere collection of villages and farmland along the final stretches of the Koshu Kaido road.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
The short film screening at the Ghibli Museum is 2011's charming "Treasure Hunting." One of the few Ghibli shorts @noahoskow.bsky.social hadn't yet seen, he finally had the chance while leading a tour the other day. Read his review in our updated full Ghibli ranking!
unseen-japan.com/the-ultimate...
unseen-japan.com/the-ultimate...
The Ultimate Ranking of the Studio Ghibli Universe - Unseen Japan
The beloved Studio Ghibli has made more than just movies. Every film, short, music video, direct-to-DVD feature, pre-Ghibli Film, and spin-off ranked.
unseen-japan.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:05 AM
The short film screening at the Ghibli Museum is 2011's charming "Treasure Hunting." One of the few Ghibli shorts @noahoskow.bsky.social hadn't yet seen, he finally had the chance while leading a tour the other day. Read his review in our updated full Ghibli ranking!
unseen-japan.com/the-ultimate...
unseen-japan.com/the-ultimate...
Reposted by Noah Oskow
Gotta tell you, "I was privileged enough to leave the US and now I'm shittalking, doomposting, and talking about how pointless it all is and everyone is screwed and it's all hopeless" from your new country (which is by no means immune to what's happening in the US) is not actually the move.
January 12, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Gotta tell you, "I was privileged enough to leave the US and now I'm shittalking, doomposting, and talking about how pointless it all is and everyone is screwed and it's all hopeless" from your new country (which is by no means immune to what's happening in the US) is not actually the move.
The first half of my detailed look at the evolution of Shinjuku. The station area was my "garden" back in university, and these days I'm there all the time as a guide - so I thought I knew a fair bit about it. But as with every locale, there's always so much more to learn!
Perhaps the world's largest nightlife district, Shinjuku is nearly synonymous with Tokyo itself - yet it wasn't even part of old Tokyo. Where do Shinjuku's origins lay? Learn more in our deep dive into the Tokyo past, from Edo to the modern day.
unseen-japan.com/shinjuku-ori...
unseen-japan.com/shinjuku-ori...
Shinjuku: Origins of the World’s Biggest Nightlife District - Unseen Japan
The world's largest nightlife district, Shinjuku is nearly synonymous with Tokyo itself - yet wasn't even part of old Tokyo. Where do Shinjuku's origins lay?
unseen-japan.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:16 PM
The first half of my detailed look at the evolution of Shinjuku. The station area was my "garden" back in university, and these days I'm there all the time as a guide - so I thought I knew a fair bit about it. But as with every locale, there's always so much more to learn!
Reposted by Noah Oskow
Customers at IEKEI OSAKA who select Japanese see ramen priced at around 1,000 yen, or about 6.70 US dollars. Customers who select a foreign language such as English, Korean, or Chinese are shown prices closer to 2,000 yen, or roughly 13.30 US dollars.
Osaka Ramen Shop Threatens to Ban Chinese Customers After Two-Tier Pricing Dispute - Unseen Japan
Social media users in Japan have accused the store of discrimination and of "embarrassing" Japan with its blatant double pricing.
buff.ly
January 12, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Customers at IEKEI OSAKA who select Japanese see ramen priced at around 1,000 yen, or about 6.70 US dollars. Customers who select a foreign language such as English, Korean, or Chinese are shown prices closer to 2,000 yen, or roughly 13.30 US dollars.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
“I’m going to stop reading about the terrifying crisis in Minnesota and get some actual work done.”
(goes to work writing about and editing the writing of others about the terrifying crisis in Minnesota)
(goes to work writing about and editing the writing of others about the terrifying crisis in Minnesota)
January 11, 2026 at 5:59 PM
“I’m going to stop reading about the terrifying crisis in Minnesota and get some actual work done.”
(goes to work writing about and editing the writing of others about the terrifying crisis in Minnesota)
(goes to work writing about and editing the writing of others about the terrifying crisis in Minnesota)
Reposted by Noah Oskow
Perhaps the world's largest nightlife district, Shinjuku is nearly synonymous with Tokyo itself - yet it wasn't even part of old Tokyo. Where do Shinjuku's origins lay? Learn more in our deep dive into the Tokyo past, from Edo to the modern day.
unseen-japan.com/shinjuku-ori...
unseen-japan.com/shinjuku-ori...
Shinjuku: Origins of the World’s Biggest Nightlife District - Unseen Japan
The world's largest nightlife district, Shinjuku is nearly synonymous with Tokyo itself - yet wasn't even part of old Tokyo. Where do Shinjuku's origins lay?
unseen-japan.com
January 12, 2026 at 11:52 AM
Perhaps the world's largest nightlife district, Shinjuku is nearly synonymous with Tokyo itself - yet it wasn't even part of old Tokyo. Where do Shinjuku's origins lay? Learn more in our deep dive into the Tokyo past, from Edo to the modern day.
unseen-japan.com/shinjuku-ori...
unseen-japan.com/shinjuku-ori...
Reposted by Noah Oskow
Reposted by Noah Oskow
I’ve seen a lot of maps like this before and they tend to be a result of some things that happened like British troops being stationed in post-war Western Japan (and a brief discussion of splitting Japan which didn’t even really get to the lines on a map phase), and a lot of AltHistory fanfiction.
January 8, 2026 at 3:20 AM
I’ve seen a lot of maps like this before and they tend to be a result of some things that happened like British troops being stationed in post-war Western Japan (and a brief discussion of splitting Japan which didn’t even really get to the lines on a map phase), and a lot of AltHistory fanfiction.
Reposted by Noah Oskow
i miss when this guy was the only LLM
a man in a suit is holding a pink object
ALT: a man in a suit is holding a pink object
media.tenor.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:32 AM
i miss when this guy was the only LLM