Job Discussion Forums

Tiger Beer · Joined: 08 Feb 2003 Posts: 778 Location: Hong Kong

What western tv shows/netorks do you get in English in Japan?

Anything you like to watch?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Not much here worth watching, IMO.

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

If you have cable or sky TV you can get Discovery, National Geographic, the History Channel, Fox, AXN, CNN, BBC etc.

On the ordinary channels not a lot of English programming though other than the English study programmes.

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

If you dont mind reruns sky tv is the way to go...now that we have it I dont think we could ever go back to the public japanese programing..ugh..
Get sky tv, it is only like 3,000 a month..

markle · Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 1316 Location: Out of Japan

Wintermute · Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 79

If you want Western TV then cable is your best option. Free to air TV is dominated by 'batsu' games and variety shows - they can be interesting at first but after the 100th time seeing a 'talent' getting dropped in to a pool of water in the dead of winter or some emaciated model drooling over a Kobe steak it gets pretty old quickly. The digital channels (if you have a HDTV) are a little better. There are a few shows on at a reasonable hour (around 11pm) like Lost, 24 and Desperate Housewives.

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

yeah, sky tv is several years behind. So now we are watching "so you think you can dance" from a few years ago. And the Disney programming is sort of old. But CNN is live...it is still better than the Japanese tv...

partialtone · Joined: 09 May 2007 Posts: 137 Location: CA

Even on broadcast tv you'll get a few gems from the 11pm-3am hours. I've watched plenty of episodes of 24, Batman, The Good Shepard, and many other great movies that I can't remember.

Lyrajean · Joined: 19 Jul 2006 Posts: 109 Location: going to Okinawa

I get AFN Prime, but that may just be Okinawa, and the programing stinks. Its the worst of American broadcast and cable rolled into one channel.

Gypsy Rose Kim · Joined: 08 Dec 2006 Posts: 151

Hi, Tiger! You know me. I once forced you to buy me Pilot Dr. Grip mechanical pencils from Japan when we were both living in Seoul!

Don't watch tv here. Don't even buy one. Honestly. You'll be so glad of it.

Khyron · Joined: 10 Mar 2006 Posts: 291 Location: Tokyo Metro City

The selection I've seen here still beats Korean TV... barely.

Get a dish. I had one in my first apartment in Japan. I got rid of it when I moved. Now my Playstation3 entertains me, and that's about it.

slodziak · Joined: 17 Oct 2005 Posts: 143 Location: Tokyo

if you are from the UK, UKNova is an invaluable (and legal) source of UK TV. You have to be patient to join though as they can only have 30,000 members at any one time. Some 300 people leave a day though.

http://www.uknova.com/

Kilgore Trout · Joined: 18 Jul 2007 Posts: 27 Location: Japan

There is a way to watch everything you want by downloading torrents. The dish offers more than cable.
Maybe the best thing to do is start your reading career in earnest and give up the tube.

ghostrider · Joined: 30 May 2006 Posts: 147

In addition to the dramas listed here, I've seen Full House and Hannah Montana on the normal, non-cable, channels. In other words, nothing good. I sometimes watch them just for the nostalgic feeling I get from hearing laugh tracks. There are OK dramas every season on the non-cable channels as well. Not great, but beats the monotony of the variety shows with the same stupid one-trick comedian guests.

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

About the reading thing...it is cheaper for me to pay the 3,000 a month than to buy a new book about every three days....books are SO expensive here compared to the US. Even on Amazon, back home I could get a book for like $2 but here on Amazon the cheapest is like $9 and then add shipping it is about $13, so I use the TV to tide me over and save the books for during school...