Eat Your Kimchi

Simon and Martina travelled to Otsu this week to sample one of the top three beefs in Japan, Omi Beef! While there they stumbled upon the most beautiful, grand, quiet temple (just two stops away from Kyoto!). The duo are still letting us in on how to be awesome tourists.

Simon and Martina recently had an awful encounter when an incident from the real world turned nasty online. They're giving their thoughts on the effect of these comments on themselves and the potential effect on others, especially young people on social media.

Simon and Martina are talking about how they deal with negativity online and attempt to understand why people treat other's awfully in the digital space. Simon was effected by a negative comment left about him this week, because he didn't have time to stop and say hi to a fan on the street. It got to him. But it's not the worst comment he, or Martina, have had thrown at them online. The duo talk about other famous people who've been trolled and bullied online, and they're asking everyone to remember we're all humans who are going through our own struggles. Just remember that.

It's Hanami (or Cherry Blossom Season) in Japan, and that means time to relax and unwind. Simon and Martina describe what Japanese people do to de-stress. Even Japanese businessmen unwind in pretty unexpected ways...

Hanami or the Cherry Blossom festival is a huge tradition in Japan where people gather under the cherry blossoms for picnics and to appreciate the beauty of nature. Simon and Martina say it's like a family friendly version of St. Patrick's Day! Join them as they find a spot right under a Cherry Blossom Tree...bliss.

Simon and Martina's friend Yohei is known as an 'Onsen Otaku'. Just how far does he go to experience the greatest hot springs Japan has to offer?

Simon and Martina find a box of high-quality crabs on their doorstep. They were sent by a very special friend that can only be described as "pretty much perfect". What they did with the crabs is a juicy story of delicious wonder and friendship.

Simon and Martina recently encountered a real life Aegyo (a really cute, and shy girl) in Japan. It got them thinking about how media changes people's idea of certain cultures. The girl reminded them of chracters in Anime, and they don't know if it's real-life Aegyo that comes first, or the media representing that character and then people act like what they see on TV shows. A chicken and egg scenario - what comes first. What. Is. Real!? It happens with all cultures; like thinking people from America are cheerleaders, or wear cowboy boots because of what is portrayed in the movies.

Simon and Martina are fuming. Their beloved Kichijoji (where they live) has fallen from first, to third, in popularity ratings. According to real estate agencies, Kichijoji has slipped in popularity among popular places to visit in Japan, with Ebisu coming in second and Yokohama taking out first place! The duo are not happy, and don't agree with this at all. This leads to a discussion about where you should go, and stay, when you visit Japan and how you can (and should) avoid the 'Tokyo crush'. You're welcome guys...

Simon and Martina are keeping their new favourite taco restaurant a secret and Simon is very serious about ensuring nobody finds it! 

Simon and Martina have found the best taco restaurant in Japan! It's so good, they're not even telling you where it is. Actually, it doesn't exist *winky face*...Simon's favourite taco is the lamb (so don't go ordering that). Martina just loves chatting to the owner of the restaurant. Any ideas where this place is?

Simon was way ahead of the times when he started using Twitter. In 2008 he actually tweet that, "more people should use Twitter." Now he can't believe it's such a massive platform, and powerful people like the President Of The United States use it. Crazy!

Simon and Martina go back to where Eat Your Kimchi all began; with their first ever tweet in 2008. They read some of their oldest tweets and look back on what it was like when they started as Youtubers. Simon asked more people to use Twitter (he just knew it was going to take-off). They remember when they first used Skype and Simon talks about a time he got footage of North Korea (while in South Korea). There's no responses to them on Twitter in the early day...And next week they're talking about tacos!

Simon had a barista draw a smiley face on his coffee cup recently and it made him so happy he wanted to talk about kindness in Japan in this episode. Martina tells you how comments on social media have an instant effect on the mood of your day, while their cat Meemers meows a lot throughout this episode, interrupting Simon and Martina at some points! 

This is the one thing that made Simon's day recently. It made such a difference that Simon and Martina talked about the power of kindness in their latest episode

Simon and Martina's neighbour collects stamps and wants to know how much they are worth. Simon's not sure if people still collect stamps anymore. Is it still a thing?

Simon and Martina are having a little vent about why they unfollow people (yes, sometimes their friends) on social media. If they're not interested in the things you post, if you're spamming your account with baby photos, if they don't like what you're saying/posting then they're not going to keep following you on social media. They like to follow Ramen shops - the menus update on Twitter. Amazing. What about you, why do you unfollow people online?

Simon says he's a terrible dancer, but doesn't care. He and Martina are in their mid-30s and ain't the best dancers in the world. Sure, they used to be super embarrassed about it, but now they realise no one's a good dancer in the clubs so no one's judging you because you're all bad dancers, equally together. Right?

This week Simon and Martina went to a club in Japan, to see an artist they love dancing to. While waiting for that artist, instead of hanging with everyone else in the club, they paid $30 to go to a VVIP room. They were shocked at how reasonably priced it was. They got seats and drank water. Then they went and danced with the rest of the public before sitting in the VVIP area for one more glass of water. This is where things got really wild; they ate Ramen and went to bed. It's how 'old' people party, and celebrities (well, not really celebrities)...

Simon got a hair cut and beard trim while in Rome. It was like nothing he's ever experienced before.