Episode 34 of CLAMP’s podcast, CLAMP Kanbukai, is out! You can listen to it on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

This episode’s theme is “Adult field trips”.

They started the episode talking about a bus trip they did in Shiga. Satsuki-sensei was born in Shiga so Ohkawa-sensei asks her if she recognized any of the places but she replied that although she recognized some of the places, the road trip itself was not familiar to her since she didn’t pay attention to those things when she was a child.

Then, they talked briefly about a cruise trip they did with fireworks watching at Lake Biwa (Lake Biwa Otsu・Night Cruise Firework Cinematic Starmine). I think this was in 2023 (they not necessarily talking only about trips they did recently).

Next, Ohkawa-sensei asked the other members to recommend a field trip, not necessarily from Kyoto. Nekoi-sensei went first and she recommended the Koishikawa Botanical Gardens, in Tokyo — she says that although lots of people go there to see the cherry blossoms, it’s still a very spacious and beautiful place.

I did not fully understand Satsuki-sensei’s recommendation, but it’s related to cherry blossoms alongside a riverbank.

Mokona-sensei’s recommendation was Kasuga-taisha, in Nara, and their pilgrimage which includes 15 locations.

Ohkawa-sensei did another round, starting with Nekoi-sensei again, who recommended the Kyoto Botanical Gardens (they all laughed), which is celebrating their 100th anniversary. Ohkawa-sensei added that there is a good yakinuki restaurant around there that they really like.

Satsuki-sensei recommended walking along the Kamo riverbank, in Kyoto.

Mokona-sensei recommended Kitano Tenmangu and a festival with suncatchers that is taking place there called KYOTO NIPPON FESTIVAL which has Mika Ninagawa (famous photographer and director of the XXXHOLiC live action movie) as one of the artists. She said it looks all very pretty and sparkly. It is where Mokona-sensei took this picture:

I’m not entirely sure of Ohkawa-sensei did any actual recommendation for field trip, but she did mention a few shops that they like which are around Kitano Tenmagu:

https://cricket-jelly.com/
https://www.star-kyoto.co.jp/
https://www.beanstei.com/

Ohkawa-sensei then asked if anyone had any other recommendations, but nothing stood out to me and it was a bit hard for me to understand.

Before wrapping up, Ohkawa-sensei said that the next episode will be uploaded in June, but before that, she would like to do one-on-ones with the other members. She said she will ask them some questions from the perspective of a company boss interviewing their employees and that she will use ChatGPT to help her come up with some questions.

Thank you for reading this post!

Episode 33 of CLAMP’s podcast, CLAMP Kanbukai, is out! You can listen to it on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

This episode’s theme is “Interesting collaborations”.

They started the episode talking about the XXXHOLiC x HUB collaboration. They went to one of the shops for Nekoi-sensei’s birthday and ordered a chocolate cake from the collaboration menu, which so happens to be a Himawari cake. The pub had some collaboration drinks but they don’t like sweet drinks so they just ordered some beer and highball.

The place was decorated with XXXHOLiC posters and while they were there, Ohkawa-sensei had the idea to sign the posters. That idea, however, did not come to fruition because they were not there “officially” as CLAMP. Instead, they were there as regular customers and unlike “talents” (idols and other artists), who are easily recognized, authors are not, so after a second thought, they would have a hard time proving to the staff that they were the real authors. Mokona-sensei even mentioned that she had considered asking previously for Kodansha’s help to tell the shop in advance that four ladies would appear at a certain time and they would be the authors, but I think she didn’t do it.

In the end, they discarded the idea and nothing was signed. Such a fun story!

Next, they talked very briefly about the Godiva collaboration. They went in person to a shop in Osaka and there was a huge line on that day. Lots of workers (salaryman) and people who wanted a break from shopping. Ohkawa-sensei said her family was very happy with this collaboration because they love Godiva and could eat it at home.

Then, they talked about the recent CONVERSE TOKYO collaboration. They still did not see it in person, although Ohkawa-sensei had previously seen photos while she was supervising the collaboration.

Next, they did two rounds among themselves where each member talked about a collaboration that they are interested as of lately. This had nothing to do with CLAMP works, it was their own favorite brands with some collaboration, so I’m going to skip this part since there are some very specific things I’m not familiar with.

Near the end, Satsuki-sensei mentioned she’s working hard on her Animal Crossing island and she’s still determined to reveal it to us on April 1st as part of CLAMP Day celebrations. It seems like they will upload it as a YouTube video.

Lastly, Ohkawa-sensei made an announcement concerning the podcast schedule. Instead of monthly deliveries on every new moon, in 2026 there will be four more episodes. Now, I did not entirely understood the schedule but the next episode will come out on the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere, which is on March 20th. They are also planning on having an episode on the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. Either way, there will be only 4 more episodes this year and the deliveries will be more spaced out. Ohkawa-sensei also mentioned she would like to do more interviews and one-on-ones with each member (and possibly guests).

I was somewhat surprised with Ohkawa-sensei’s announcement, but at the same time, we knew this would come at some point. Much like the previous internet radio (from the old CLAMP-PLA.NET site) and all the past radio shows they did, all things come to an end. However, it does make me wonder if this could also mean that they will be busier with other activities from now on.

Thank you for reading this post!

Episode 32 of CLAMP’s podcast, CLAMP Kanbukai, is out! You can listen to it on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

This episode’s theme is “Various things happening in early 2026”.

They stated that this is the first episode of 2026 and they were wearing lapel microphone, meaning they were not at the studio where they typically record these. Everyone was drinking beer, except Satsuki-sensei who was drinking some sort of special beer (“adult craft straight over-finished beer”?).

Ohkawa-sensei then said that although they were recording this at the very first week of 2026, a lot of things were already happening by then (which is the episode’s theme). She talked about the perception of time going by faster as one gets older (Janet’s Law). She asked the other three members if they agreed with this theory and basically they all agreed. Mokona-sensei mentioned that she feels like time went by slower during her 30s and Ohkawa-sensei added that the reason for that is probably because they had a bigger workload during their 20s, 30s and 40s (as in, manuscripts to draw). According to the theory, keeping oneself busy and creating new challenges helps the perception of time passing slower. Ohkawa-sensei then says that, indeed, she was very busy during the time she was working for the CLAMP Exhibition and that made her feel like time went by a bit slower.

Next, they spent some good 10 minutes talking about a recent trip they did to Fukuoka where they watched a couple of stage plays, starting with “12 Kingdoms” at the Hakataza Theater (the actor who played Yuuko on the XXXHOLiC stage play is also part of the cast of this one). On the next day, they watched “The Phantom of the Opera” for the first time in over 30 years. They spent some good 6 minutes talking about the experience.

After returning to Kyoto, they ended up eating at their beloved Fuugetsu (Okonomiyaki restaurant) near Yodobashi Camera. They said they are curious about trying the other restaurants nearby but they are always drawn to Fuugetsu (specially Ohkawa-sensei).

They finished the episode talking about a funny episode on New Year’s between Ohkawa-sensei and Satsuki-sensei, who have the exact same laundry machine. Apparently the machine displayed a New Year’s greeting via text and that amused them — or something along those lines!

Thank you for reading this post!

Episode 31 of CLAMP’s podcast, CLAMP Kanbukai, is out! You can listen to it on YouTube and all major podcast platforms.

This episode’s theme is “Rediscoveries and New Discoveries of 2025”

First, they began talking about the “new discoveries” for 2025. Ohkawa-sensei went first and recommended a stomach medicine. It was hard for me to understand this part, but we learn that Satsuki-sensei loves pork meat, Ohkawa-sensei likes chicken meat the best while Mokona-sensei prefers fish.

Next was Satsuki-sensei, who strained a muscle at the end of November so she bought a cane at a Black Friday Amazon deal (the cane was her “new discovery”). They all talked about how having a cane at home can be helpful at times, specially if you live alone. Ohkawa-sensei even mentioned a situation that happened with a staff member of the original Cardcaptor Sakura TV anime.

Next, Mokona-sensei mentioned the Blueberry Cafe as her 2025 discovery, located in Kyoto. They have blueberry mascots and there is a shrine located on the same building.

Lastly, Nekoi-sensei recommended a spice cafe & bar that serves a gigantic portion of Biryani.

After that, Ohkawa-sensei had another go, and she mentioned Diatec Counseling Pre-Shampoo as another 2025 discovery. She mentioned that her hair had been feeling heavy/oily so she asked her hairdresser and they told her it’s because of all the cosmetics used daily that get “stuck” in the hair and don’t come off with regular shampoo. This shampoo is good for removing those chemicals, so she’s feeling her hair is now lighter. She says that although she sounds like she knows a lot about the matter, she learned everything online and advises everyone to be careful when trying these products since they may have different results on different people.

Moving on, they talked about the “rediscoveries” of 2025. Starting with Mokona-sensei, who mentioned having rediscovered a dashi seasoning.

Next, Nekoi-sensei talked about the Copic Acrea line of Copic markers, how she’s been using it on glass surfaces and how it doesn’t come off even after washing.

Next, Ohkawa-sensei talked about customized hairbrushes for her 2025 rediscovery. Each of them has a custom brush with their names on it:

Finally, Satsuki-sensei’s rediscovery is Animal Crossing (fueled by Nintendo Switch 2, apparently). She built a new island from scratch and is working hard on it ever since. She will try to have everything ready by April 1st, 2026 so she can share the dream code and everyone can come visit her. Apparently she is trying to have only squirrels as villagers in her island.

Before changing the topic, Ohkawa-sensei had another go and mentioned a shop called Otafukuya at a commercial district that sells delicious traditional Japanese sweets.

Before wrapping up, Ohkawa-sensei mentioned the upcoming XXXHOLiC x HUB collaboration with a special menu that will be available at all 82 stores from January 8th~25th.

Thank you for reading this post!