About This Side of Japan
This Side of Japan is a newsletter about Japanese music, new and old, delivered to your inbox every other Wednesday. Each issue features three sections:
Album of the Week
A spotlight review of a new Japanese record that caught my attention. I will generally write about a release that came out in between the weeks of the previous and current issue, though I might step out of that range. EPs, mixtapes, and compilations are eligible.
Singles Club
Short blurbs on three new Japanese singles worth your time. Each selection will have a See Also section as further recommendations of similar songs, so you technically will be introduced to a total of 9 new songs.
This Week in…
A write-up on the week’s number-one single on the Oricon charts from 10, 20 or maybe even 50 years ago. Singles eligible for this section date all the back from 1968. Every issue looks back on a different year, chosen based on what song I want to highlight.
Want a sample? Here’s a past issue.
This Side of Japan also has companion newsletters, which will also be delivered in your inbox every month or two:
Monthly Listening
At the end of every month, I will send out a list of new Japanese records that I checked out. An album might be a title from a previous month that I didn’t get around to at the time of release. This post will also come with a Spotify playlist of singles that I didn’t get to feature on the main newsletter due to space.
Idol Watch
A companion newsletter dedicated to highlighting idol music, sent out at the end of every other month. Idol Watch rounds up 10 new singles by idol groups released in the past two months of the respective issue. For what acts exactly count for this category, you can read more of that here.
And here is a sample of a past issue.
A subscription to This Side of Japan is free, and you do not have to pay to access any of the published content, but if you would like to show appreciation via donation, you can buy me a Coffee on Ko-Fi.
All the newsletters are written and edited by Ryo Miyauchi. You can find me on Twitter or reach me at thissideofjapan@gmail.com
