365 Days of Astronomy - Weekly Edition
Jun 8, 2026 · 59 min · 10 segments
**Hosted by: Fraser Cain (**@frasercain**) and Dr. Pamela L. Gay (**@CosmoQuest**)** **Streamed live on Jun 1…
Fraser CainHost
Pamela GayHost
And so like literally the day after we got off the plane, I'm sneezing and, a- and yeah, yeah, yeah, just crazy.
... "Uh, hello?" [laughs] Like, "You know, now that you've, now that you've decided that Japan is the best place ever, uh, I want a piece of that action." So I took Karla and my, um, hard to describe Judy.
Judy Wa- [laughs] D- did you ever meet Judy or talk to Judy? Judy was our, was our office manager at Universe Today-
And she liked Thailand, but it got a little hot for her, and she didn't love the food.
And so, and so now in Japan, could we find vegan ramen and other stuff for her, and that was no problem.
I was, I was quite worried about that, um, 'cause they put like paste, uh, fish paste-
And, uh, but, but we were able to find choices that were in the, in the larger towns that were that.
And then for the smaller towns, we were able to kind of come up with our own solutions for those problems.
Yeah, you get brown rice and, and soy sauce or, you know, like stuff it, and then we could figure out protein another way.
... uh, it, it all sort of came together and she told me that she loved every single second of being there.
And, and, like, and the, like, people who have never met my wife don't understand, she hates humanity.
And, and when you're in Tokyo, 37 million people, the most populated place on planet Earth, uh, you are going to interact with a lot of humanity, and I was genuinely concerned that, that she was gonna nope out and go, you know, in the middle of the Shibuya scramble with thousands of people s- flowing past her, um, she was gonna go, "Okay, this is ridiculous.
Get me out of this place." And, uh, or when we're packed into a subway cheek to jowl, and, uh, no, she loved it.
And I think the thing that she loved is that the Japanese people don't acknowledge her existence.
And, uh, they'll take your money, and they'll, then they'll deliver prompt service, and they'll do precisely what's expected.
But there is no attempt to cross the bridge in a way that, you know, the Thai are just, they're so gregarious, and they're so much fun and, and, you know, go to Costa Rica and you're-
I wanna, I wanna dip in and, and enjoy the chaos, and, and Karla is like, does not.
I mean, I don't know how, how, how he is, but yeah, if, if we don't have anybody visit us, or we don't have to go anywhere for a month straight, I'm going bananas.
So, so I think if, if, if weirdly, if a lot of, of wild press of humanity-... bothers you, Japan is gonna feel like the perfect place to visit.
Po- poke, and you just feel the small town charm radiating off of everybody, and you, you give them a reason to talk to you, and you're there for the day, so.
Read the full transcript.
Create an account to read the whole episode, search across every transcript, and follow the shows you care about.
And so like literally the day after we got off the plane, I'm sneezing and, a- and yeah, yeah, yeah, just crazy.
... "Uh, hello?" [laughs] Like, "You know, now that you've, now that you've decided that Japan is the best place ever, uh, I want a piece of that action." So I took Karla and my, um, hard to describe Judy.
Judy Wa- [laughs] D- did you ever meet Judy or talk to Judy? Judy was our, was our office manager at Universe Today-
And she liked Thailand, but it got a little hot for her, and she didn't love the food.
And so, and so now in Japan, could we find vegan ramen and other stuff for her, and that was no problem.
I was, I was quite worried about that, um, 'cause they put like paste, uh, fish paste-
And, uh, but, but we were able to find choices that were in the, in the larger towns that were that.
And then for the smaller towns, we were able to kind of come up with our own solutions for those problems.
Yeah, you get brown rice and, and soy sauce or, you know, like stuff it, and then we could figure out protein another way.
... uh, it, it all sort of came together and she told me that she loved every single second of being there.
And, and, like, and the, like, people who have never met my wife don't understand, she hates humanity.
And, and when you're in Tokyo, 37 million people, the most populated place on planet Earth, uh, you are going to interact with a lot of humanity, and I was genuinely concerned that, that she was gonna nope out and go, you know, in the middle of the Shibuya scramble with thousands of people s- flowing past her, um, she was gonna go, "Okay, this is ridiculous.
Get me out of this place." And, uh, or when we're packed into a subway cheek to jowl, and, uh, no, she loved it.
And I think the thing that she loved is that the Japanese people don't acknowledge her existence.
And, uh, they'll take your money, and they'll, then they'll deliver prompt service, and they'll do precisely what's expected.
But there is no attempt to cross the bridge in a way that, you know, the Thai are just, they're so gregarious, and they're so much fun and, and, you know, go to Costa Rica and you're-
I wanna, I wanna dip in and, and enjoy the chaos, and, and Karla is like, does not.
I mean, I don't know how, how, how he is, but yeah, if, if we don't have anybody visit us, or we don't have to go anywhere for a month straight, I'm going bananas.
So, so I think if, if, if weirdly, if a lot of, of wild press of humanity-... bothers you, Japan is gonna feel like the perfect place to visit.
Po- poke, and you just feel the small town charm radiating off of everybody, and you, you give them a reason to talk to you, and you're there for the day, so.
