Creator of Very Finnish Problems Joel Willans returns with a conversation on how and why Finland is big in Japan with project manager, exports specialist Sami Häikiö. We learn about the strides being made to bring Moomin to the world and the peculiarities of booking metal gigs in Tokyo. Co-host Thomas Nybergh deals with troublesome Nipponese electronics and contributes the bleakest recommendation segment yet.
Contact: [email protected]
Produced by Thomas Nybergh / Ink Tank Media
Shownotes:
Joel’s new book: More Very Finnish Problems
Are Finland and Japan obsessed with each other?
On Japan’s love of fax machines (New York Times, 2013)
It’s 2016 And I’m Buying A New Japanese Fax Machine
An overview of new Finnish rock and metal
What you should know about the Japanese music market (2015)
The Guardian reviews ‘Who Will Comfort Toffle?’, a delightful moomin picture book
Kirkus review of Moominpappa at Sea, the most grown-up novel in the Moomin canon
Thomas’ podcast recommendation: The End of the World With Josh Clark
Joel’s recommendation: Kitchen Nightmares
Sami’s recommendation: Sons of Anarchy
Sami’s second recommendation: Japan Times, excellent news reporting in English
Sami’s old band, Karkkiautomaatti on Spotify
Sami’s old band, Karkkiautomaatti on Apple Music
Download or subscribe
You can get the show as a direct download.
Get all new episodes automatically by subscribing in your favorite podcast app.
Apple Podcasts / Soundcloud / Stitcher / TuneIn / Acast / Google Play / RSS
About the show
What’s so weird and wonderful about Finland? British born Joel Willans, creator of Very Finnish Problems, discusses, with a variety of fascinating guests, what he’s learnt after 15 years living in his much-loved, adopted country.
Follow Very Finnish Problems to get all our stuff.
Moomins: drawn in japan and created by swedish woman who lived in Finland so moomins are Finnish?
Finnish Woman! Tove created Moomin. So yeah. Finnish…
I liked Moomins as a child. Only when I re-watched as an adult I realized how spooky the whole moomin valley is.
Spooky hippos was not the idea that Tove Jansson had in mind when creating the Moomin figures
The spooky moomin love to dance to spooky Finnish metal tunes!
Don’t forget the Rare Exports!
Tove Jansson was not a Swede, but a Swedish speaking Finn. There are about 6% of them overall. And most of them speak fluent Finnish as well.
funny, but they do look like hippos 🙂