In part 2 of our series in Japan, we dive into the how behind planning a trip there, from what is worth seeing, how to navigate the epic train system, their unintuitive review system, and more.

After traveling to 40+ countries each, we’ve found Japan to be a unique beast, and hope this helps you navigate one of the best countries in the world.

If you missed part 1, start there!

Resources discussed:

• Full list of Japan recommendations (in different cities) 📌
• Pico Iyer’s Beginner’s Guide to Japan
• Don’t forget to look out for takkyubin (luggage transport)!
• Tabelog for reviews
• JR pass calculator
• Suica card
• Airolo e-sim
• Japanese konbini
  • Reddit recommendations here and here
  • Listicle here (the custard at #7!)
• Kappabashi kitchen district
• Mount Fuji hut list
• Naoshima Benesse House
• Recommended ryokans:
  • Yoshimatsu
  • Yamanochaya
• More city-specific recommendations in the guide

This episode is not affiliated with Steph's work at a16z and is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

We’re back with a whole new season. In our first episode back, we discuss everything from the wonderful to the wacky of Japan.

You'll hear about an epic art island, specialty coffee and konbini (AKA convenience store food), 100+ year-old businesses, the philosophical ideas that make Japan such a distinct place, and much more.

In our next episode, we get tactical and break down exactly how we would plan a future trip to Japan, in case that's something you've got on the horizon.

Resources discussed:

• Full list of Japan recommendations 📌
• Pico Iyer’s Beginner’s Guide to Japan
• Episode on Yayoi Kusama
• Ivy’s post about Japan
• Akiya websites: Akiya Banks and All Akiyas
• Glitch coffee shop: Ginza and Chiyoda
• Cokuun coffee omakase
• Cocktail omakase: Bar Cacoi
• Recommended ryokan: Yoshimatsu
• Cattle tracking website (need ID to use)

This episode is not affiliated with Steph's work at a16z and is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

This is the 10th episode back for SYDLIS, so if you want us to continue creating new episodes for the podcast, let us know by leaving a review at ratethispodcast.com/learn.

In this episode, Steph and Cal bring a medley of half-baked business ideas to the table. They introduce the origin story of each idea, rate it on a scale of A-F, discuss modifications that would make it better, and most importantly, roast each other when the idea is a little too half-baked.

This episode is a part of the broader nudge Steph and Cal push for everyone to see that there are endless ideas to pursue when you learn to see them in the world.

Business ideas covered:

1. Marketplace for premium goods
2. Hot sauce tasting kits
3. Long-duration gifting platform
4. AI-powered collectible evaluators
5. The upgraded ZYN tin!
6. Unrecordable digital spaces
7. Making friends as an adult workshop
8. Bidirectional poll-based newsletters
9. Hyper-localized surf guides
10. Immersive, animal sensory museums

There is something out there that can make one person more productive and kind, while another inharmonious -- even resentful. That thing is identity.

And while we passively adopt parts of identity, we often forget that much of our identity is left up to us. In this episode, Cal and Steph explore the depths of identity and how being intentional around what parts of your identity you adopt, shed, or embrace can lead to a more fulfilled life.

The internet has a treasure trove of information that you can use to generate business ideas, spot trends, and understand what the future will look like before everyone else. But to benefit from the internet's wealth of knowledge, you need to learn how to use it in the right ways.

In this episode, Cal and Steph discuss four unconventional ways that you can use the internet to find good ideas for businesses and products that people actually want.

You’ll learn how to:

• Use Twitter searches to discover products that people want
• Tap into a rich reservoir of unsolved problems with Wikipedia
• Leverage a sci-fi technology database to dream up the future
• Leverage patents to see what companies are investing in

Resources Mentioned

• Wikipedia’s list of unsolved problems
• Patent Drop newsletter
• Not Boring Sci-Fi Idea Bank and further reading on the database
• Twitter Searches
  • "request for product" min_faves:200
  • "someone please build" min_faves:200
  • "I’d pay for" min_faves:200
  • “why doesn’t this exist” min_faves:100
  • "business idea” min_faves:1000

This episode is not affiliated with Steph's work at a16z and is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Writing is one of the most powerful tools on Earth. But few have mastered the craft.

Perhaps because success in writing often actually veers you off course, leading you to a life of talking instead of living -- the very thing that drove the quality of your writing in the first place.

One man -- (who has written several novels, thousands of poems, and hundreds of short stories) has some merciless takes on the art of writing. And although merciless, many ring true.

In this episode, Cal and Steph dive into the mind of Bukowski and the key lessons we can learn about creating art that truly shakes you alive.

This episode is not affiliated with Steph's work at a16z and is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Few waves have hit the world quite like remote work; a wave impacting billions of people overnight due to a worldwide pandemic.

But in reality, this wave was brewing for decades and thousands of nomads had long been proving there was a different and viable way to work. Calvin and Steph were two of those people, starting in 2016.

Now that the world has caught up, they decided to reflect back on what was so special about that period and what, in retrospect, they might've seen then that much of the world had still not (and in some ways still hasn't) understood.

Listen in for a look inside the early days of digital nomadism.

This episode is not affiliated with Steph's work at a16z and is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Few people inspire us more than Yayoi Kusama.

Cal recently discovered this 94-year old's work while at the Guggenheim in Bilbao. Like many others, he was immediately gripped by her art – enough to be the only artist he looked up after his visit. Little did he know she was one of the world's most successful living artists, had been creating thousands of pieces across nearly a century, and has quite the storied past.

In this episode, you'll learn about this incredible artist, from her long-time struggle with mental health (she has been living out of a mental facility for 50 years!) to her alienation from the art community and Japan, and how she ultimately succeeded beyond all of that noise by continuing to create a gobsmacking amount of art. A true hero's journey.

It's truly a wonder that we hadn't heard of Yayoi earlier. We hope this episode leaves you just as astounded by her as we are.