Easy Japanese Podcast - Ep5: What is INAKA?｜田舎って何？
Episode 5 of Easy Japanese is a slice-of-life edition. The host, who lives in the mountains of Nagano Prefecture, opens with a weather report — light snow on the morning of January 29th, an indoor thermometer reading three degrees — and uses that everyday scene to unpack one big cultural keyword: 田舎 (inaka), the Japanese countryside, and what 田舎暮らし (countryside living) actually means day to day.
Along the way the episode doubles as a money-and-living vocabulary lesson. You pick up 光熱費 (utilities — literally "light and heat expenses"), 電気代 (electricity bill), 灯油代 (kerosene cost), ガソリン代 (gasoline cost), 満タン (a full tank), and 避暑地 (a summer retreat). He explains why gasoline in landlocked Nagano runs about ¥30 more per liter than in the cheaper region two hours' drive away, why he makes that drive to fill up sixty to seventy liters at a time, and how base utility rates differ from country to country depending on resources — with oil-producing nations like those in the Middle East as the contrast case.
For shadowing, the strongest drill here is 〜っていうのは／〜というのは ("X means..."), which he uses to define nearly every keyword he introduces. You also get 〜によって (varies by — country, region, place), the listing particle 〜とか (electricity, kerosene, and so on), the comparison pattern 〜よりも〜ほうがいい (better to... than...), and the gradual-change pattern 〜つつある (gradually becoming...). Add the honest pros-and-cons of inaka life — a big house with a dedicated podcast room, but hospitals, dentists, and fresh food all a drive away — and this is one of the richest beginner episodes yet for talking about where and how you live.
Meaning: X means... / By X I mean... (definition marker)
In Text: 光熱費っていうのは (konenpi means...), 満タンっていうのは (mantan means...), 避暑地っていうのは (hishochi means...), 田舎っていうのは (inaka means...).
Note: This is the episode's signature pattern — the host defines nearly every keyword he introduces with 〜っていうのは. It's the casual spoken form of the formal 〜とは／〜というのは, and it's how native speakers naturally explain words mid-conversation: [word] + っていうのは + [definition] + っていうことです. Shadow every instance; it's a pattern you can use immediately when explaining Japanese words — or anything else — in conversation.
Meaning: Depending on ~ / Varies by ~
In Text: 国によって基本となる料金が違いますよね (base rates differ by country), 場所によって環境が違っていて (the environment varies by place).
Note: によって attaches to a noun to say "results differ depending on X." The classic pairing is 〜によって〜が違う / 〜によって変わる. The host uses it twice for two different contrasts — country-level utility rates and region-level climate — which makes this a compact drill of the same pattern at two scales. Compare with 〜によっては ("in some cases"), a partial variant.
Meaning: Things like ~ / ~ and so on
In Text: 電気代とか灯油代とか (electricity, kerosene, and such), ガスとか (gas and the like), 野菜とか魚とか肉とか (vegetables, fish, meat, and so on).
Note: とか is the soft listing particle: it names examples without claiming the list is complete. The host stacks it whenever he lists utility costs or groceries — a very natural spoken register that's friendlier than the exhaustive と or formal や. If you can say 〜とか twice in a row, you can shop, complain about bills, and make small talk about food like a local.
Meaning: Rather than ~, ... is better / Better to ~ than ~
In Text: 家の近くで高いガソリンを入れるよりも、遠くに行ったほうがいい (rather than buying expensive gas near home, it's better to go far).
Note: よりも marks the rejected option, ほうが marks the preferred one — and pairing the structure with いい turns a plain comparison into advice (〜ほうがいい). This is the same より you see in place names like 長野よりも ("compared to Nagano"), so the episode quietly drills both the comparative and advisory uses. One pattern, two everyday jobs: comparing and recommending.
Meaning: To be gradually ~ing / In the process of ~ing
In Text: ガソリンがなくなりつつある時 (when the gasoline is gradually running out), クリアできつつある (is gradually being solved).
Note: つつある attaches to a verb stem and signals an ongoing change in progress — stronger than plain 〜ている because it emphasizes movement toward a new state. It's N3 rather than N5, but the host uses it casually here, so it's worth locking in early: [verb stem] + つつある = "is on its way to becoming..." The nuance is that the change is incomplete — perfect for describing slow rural-life problems being slowly fixed by online shopping.