2008 Ichiban (#1) Award
Planet Japan
With over 100 episodes, Planet Japan is one of the few ultra-reliable Japan podcasts and one of the most consistently enjoyable Japan programs available. Planet Japan is a podcast with hosts that feel like friends very shortly after you start listening to their show, and it is one of the Japan podcasts that I am sure cause many listeners to check their calendars in anticipation of the next episode. There could certainly be no better choice for the first ever Japan Podcaster Ichiban Award than Doug and Amy's almighty Planet Japan.
[Click here for the complete Japan Podcasters' Planet Japan podcast review.]
2008 Outstanding Quality Award
Metropolis Podcast
There is simply no Japan podcast in the same league as the MetPod when it comes to production quality. Independent podcasts are what really define and make the Japan podcasting community so much fun, but it is nice to mix things up every once in a while with something more polished and packed to the brim with content. The Metropolis Podcast is without question deserving of the 2008 Outstanding Quality Award. We are fortunate to have this heavily polished, super-shiny, and content heavy podcast within the Japan podcasting world.
[Click here for the complete Japan Podcasters' Metropolis Podcast review.]
2008 Best Japan Video Podcast Award
Bicycle Sidewalk
Nathan's Bicycle Sidewalk keeps chugging along with an amazing episode output rate, cranking out more interesting and substantial content than most any other podcast out there. If you haven't heard of Bicycle Sidewalk yet and haven't sampled several of Nathan's videos, you have a real treat in store for you. Bicycle Sidewalk is a truly amazing video archive of life in Japan.
[Click here for the complete Japan Podcasters' Bicycle Sidewalk video podcast review.]
2008 Japan Exploration Award
Finding Japan
Christopher is almost alone out there with Finding Japan, carrying the torch for those of us who love to hear stories from someone committed to exploring and discovering Japan, as many of us would like to or plan to do ourselves one day. There is an enthusiasm and appreciation of Japan in the Finding Japan podcast that makes this program one of the few "must listen to" shows in the Japan podcasting world. Let's hope more future podcasters follow this podcaster's lead.
[Click here for the complete Japan Podcasters' Finding Japan podcast review.]
2008 Cornerstone Award
Japan Talk
As other Japan podcasts come and go, podfading all around us, JP stands strong and keeps delivering his reliable and highly informative, weekly Japan Talk podcast. Though he adds some colorful opinions from time to time, no one recounts the news of Japan with more clarity and objective commentary than JP of Japan Talk. If you are interested in current events in Japan, the Japan Talk podcast is a mandatory program.
[Click here for the complete Japan Podcasters' Japan Talk podcast review.]
2008 Language Study Excellence Award
JapanesePod101
There are a few good language podcasts worthy of the attention of Japanese language students, but none stand out more significantly than JapanesePod101. Those planning vacations to Japan and who only want to learn a few phrases, beginners just getting started on the road to fluency, as well as Japanese language students already at an intermediate level, all will find material of interest here, and definitely need to add JapanesePod101 to their podcast download lists as soon as possible.
[Click here for the complete Japan Podcasters' JapanesePod101 podcast review.]
2008 Most Desired Resurrection Award
A-Bomb City
The recipient of one of two "Most Desired Resurrection Awards" given this year, the A-Bomb City podcast, is certainly a program that deserves to be remembered. Unlikely to ever resume production (the producers announced an official end to the podcast on their website), there are still 50 episodes out there waiting to be plucked. Interestingly, the producers cite a lack of listeners as one reason they wrapped up the show. Is it true that such an intellectual and humorous podcast is really not within the interest level range of the majority of Japan podcast listeners? I tend to think the show just never got the exposure it deserved, but perhaps A-Bomb City is a little too dense and "worldly" for the average listener. I know some of you (like myself) are craving shows like this. If you haven't already downloaded the A-Bomb City Podcast, check it out and download all the episodes while they are still accessible. If for no other reason, you need to listen to one of the more recent A-Bomb City episodes to hear what may indeed be the greatest theme song ever in the history of podcasting.
[Click here for the complete Japan Podcasters' A-Bomb City Podcast review.]
2008 Most Desired Resurrection Award
The Kyoto Podcast
This year's second "Most Desired Resurrection Award" goes to The Kyoto Podcast, a program that will need no introduction to longtime Japan podcast listeners. The Kyoto Podcast was rightfully recognized by many as one of the best programs available in any category during the early days of podcasting. Many people reading this likely already have all the episodes safely saved on their computers. Though presently exiled from Japan and living in Australia, I am sure there are many like myself who hope Tim, the host and producer of The Kyoto Podcast, is one day granted permission to reenter Japan (if he still desires it), to resume a program that was sadly cut short long before it should have been.
[Click here for the complete Japan Podcasters' Kyoto Podcast review.]
Qualifications of the Judge
This first round of Japan Podcaster Awards is not being voted on or selected by a group, so it is reasonable to express concerns about the qualifications of the judge.
As the creator of the JapanPodcasters.com website, and the only person so inclined or willing so far to invest the resources and time to create a dedicated Japan Podcast Directory and a series of awards to go along with it…
I hereby profess my qualifications are simply that I love learning about Japan and I dare say I have probably invested more time than most listening to Japan podcasts. ^_^
I have not only searched out every Japan podcast I could find, but I have also gone through most of their old episodes and in most cases, ALL of their old episodes. And yes, that was as big a chore and sometimes as tedious as you might imagine.
I hope that my writing here comes across as objective and fair for the most part and earns me some credibility and respect from other Japan podcast listeners as they compare their own thoughts with mine and test this resource as a tool for finding more podcasts they might enjoy.
The Japan Podcaster Awards allow me to flag distinctive Japan podcasts and give them credit beyond the descriptions in their reviews at JapanPodcasters.com.
No one has paid or granted favors in exchange for recognition here. I have removed my own future Japan podcast from consideration for awards, since it might be more than a little silly to grant myself an award.
Maybe one day there will be a voting panel and a more sophisticated selection process, but for now you've got me: Dan Savage - Artist, Writer, Filmmaker, Snowboarder, Whitewater Kayaker, Future Podcaster, Serious Japan Enthusiast, Japanese Language Student, and most importantly... Obsessive Compulsive Japan Podcast Listener.
In future years, I will also seriously consider nominations for the award categories and give some weight in the decision making process to podcasts that receive multiple nominations in a category. I will likely never utilize an open, web based voting method, except for a possible "people's choice award" due to the fairness issues that could arise with uncontrolled voting in more specific categories. I will try to give ample opportunity for feedback from others well before the next series of awards are announced on January 1, 2009.
Email me if you want to be on the Savage Snow / Savage Japan mailing list, which outputs one email per month typically. Japan Podcasters directory & award news and updates are included in the monthly email. The newsletter is easy to automatically unsubscribe from, if one email a month from me becomes too burdensome.
Dan@SavageSnow.com
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