Unpacking Japan

Produced by ZenStudio
  • 4.7 (21)
  • Society & Culture
  • Updated Weekly

Unpacking Japan explores Japanese arts, culture, and business through the lives of foreigners who have made this amazing country their home. While we’ve all seen vlogs and movies showing Japan from a pop culture perspective, Unpacking Japan tells the stories that get left by the wayside—the immigrants, the entrepreneurs, and the artists. Tune in every week for an authentic, inspiring conversation with someone who’s carved out their own, unique place in this beautiful country. Host: Tobias Bieker Production: A. Magdych Editing: L. Nicholas, J. Sketchley Social: J. Sketchley Design: M. Koga

  1. 15h ago

    The difference between Japanese and Western NPOs

    Meet Lowell, the retired director of Hope International in Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. He sits down to talk to us about running an NPO in Japan and the challenges of operating here, as well as his retired life as a YouTuber sailing around Japan. -- 0:00 Intro 0:50 Meet Lowell 4:54 Leaving missionary work 7:02 Founding an NGO in Japan 11:06 NGOs in Japan 15:01 The Fukushima disaster at home 17:56 How to spend $2.5 million 29:42 Lessons biking across Japan 38:29 Sailing around Japan 45:11 Japanese boating license 48:04 Buying a boat 51:03 First trip in Japan 56:15 Lessons sailing across Japan 59:11 Settling in Okinawa 1:04:15 What you should know about sailing in Japan 1:17:10 Book and research on longetivity -- Follow Lowell: @JapanSoloNotes @nevertoolateacademy https://www.instagram.com/lowellinjapan/ https://www.nevertoolateacademy.com/ Follow us: https://unpacking.jp/ https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

  2. 3d ago

    The challenge of running an art gallery in Kyoto

    Meet Amanda, an photography gallery manager and consultant living in Tokyo. She sits down to talk to us about her work exhibiting Asian/Japanese photography, her work in book design, and why physical books still matter. -- 0:00 Intro 0:50 Meet Amanda 5:18 Post-colonial grandfather 8:23 Studying at Waseda 20:26 Start in gallery work 28:54 Galleries in Japan 32:55 Exhibiting Chinese photography 37:46 Japanese audience interest 40:16 Photo galleries as a business 42:12 Amanda's favorite projects 49:38 Focus on designing photography books 1:05:52 Why books still matter 1:19:59 How to get into Japanese photography 1:29:27 Current projects 1:42:03 Working as an exhibition producer 1:48:05 How to fit into a community -- Follow Amanda: https://www.intermediart.co/ https://www.nitesha.com/ https://lolingning.tumblr.com/illustration Follow us: https://unpacking.jp/ https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

  3. Sep 18

    Shibari explained: The Japanese art of tying people up

    Meet Pablo Aida, a shibari artist who's been practicing in Japan for the last 10 years. He sits down to talk to us about discovering shibari, the philosophy and history behind it, the differences between shibari and kinbaku, and the common misconceptions of this still developing art form. -- 0:00 Intro 0:50 Coming to Japan 10:44 Deciding to stay 12:42 Discovering shibari 19:14 Shibari apprenticeship 31:57 Why tie people up? 41:05 Kinbaku vs. shibari vs. BDSM 47:36 Does shibari have rules? 51:40 Common shibari misconceptions 54:16 Shibari and the power of surrender 1:07:05 Shibari overseas vs. Japan -- Follow Pablo: https://www.pabloaida.com https://aidamethod.studio https://www.instagram.com/pablo.shibari Follow us: https://unpacking.jp/ https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

  4. Sep 15

    Undertale translator explains EN to JP localization

    Meet Keiko Fukuichi, a Japanese freelance translator, who sits down to talk to us about her experience translating games, particularly indie darlings Undertale and Hades. She talks to us about nuances of Japanese translation, the biggest challenges she's had, and her experiences studying abroad and learning English. -- 0:00 Intro 0:50 How Keiko learned English 5:10 Studying at Florida high school 11:20 Deciding on translation as a career 13:40 Translation school 18:28 Interest in book translation 23:44 Experience as a gamer 25:35 First game translation project 27:21 Limitations translating games to Japanese 28:40 Taking on Undertale project 30:12 Translating Papyrus 33:40 Limitations of not using kanji 38:41 Keiko's translation philosophy 40:35 Translating puns, jokes, and memes 43:54 Working with Toby "Radiation" Fox 45:11 Translation workflow 48:37 Do you play your own work? 49:48 Translating Hades 52:33 Translating old English 55:41 Can you use difficult kanji? 1:00:14 Translating with voice acting 1:02:38 Changes in translation industry over 20 years 1:06:07 Dealing with slang 1:08:38 Looking back 1:09:42 Are you worried about AI? 1:12:55 Do you have time to play games? 1:16:01 Studying vocabulary for Return of the Obra Dinn 1:17:42 Is interest in foreign indie games growing? -- Follow Keiko: https://www.instagram.com/keiko.fukuichi/ https://www.facebook.com/keiko.fukuichi https://x.com/keiko_fukuichi https://note.com/kfukuichi Follow us: https://unpacking.jp/ https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

  5. Sep 11

    Is it actually possible to start a business in Japan as a foreigner now?

    Meet Ray, an entrepreneur running a ryokan in Toyama. He sits down to talk to us about his experience in the hospitality industry, his interest and move to Japan, and his challenges establishing a business under the government's new regulations. After recording our interview, Ray thought it would be important to share his visa status. That segment has been added to the beginning of the interview for context. -- 0:00 Intro 0:50 Ray's visa situation 3:48 30 days to leave 8:46 What now? 11:27 Main interview—Why Japan? 18:04 Finding a property to buy 23:36 Business manager visa 25:34 Bringing family to Japan 28:46 Coming to Japan for Ray's children 35:39 The real work begins 37:01 Hotel licenses in Japan 40:57 Building a team in Japan 44:28 Setting up a restaurant/bakery 47:57 Navigating the language barrier 53:00 Joining the community in Toyama 56:37 How Ray financed his hotel 59:14 What he's learned since arriving 1:01:32 Why you should visit Toyama -- Follow us: https://unpacking.jp/ https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

  6. Sep 8

    Should non-residents be allowed to buy Japanese homes?

    Meet Derek, co-founder of YukiHomes, a service that helps people overseas buy cheap homes in Japan. He sits down to talk to us about his own journey buying an akiya in Japan and running a business from overseas, as well as how YukiHomes fits into Japan's problems with depopulation and gentrification. -- 0:00 Intro 0:50 Buying their first home in Japan 7:14 Skiing in Japan vs. the U.S. 12:28 Why Japan? 14:18 Discovering akiya 18:49 Regulations on rental properties 26:36 Why buy property in Japan? 29:21 Should foreigners be allowed to buy property? 32:19 Building community businesses 34:15 Operating a business from overseas 41:20 Getting stopped at the airport 44:42 The "right" way to buy akiya? 49:14 Aging ski infrastructure 52:14 Dealing with an old Japanese house 55:22 Next steps -- Follow Derek: https://www.yukihomes.com https://www.instagram.com/yukihomesjapan @YukiHomes Follow us: https://unpacking.jp/ https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

  7. Sep 4

    The problem with Japanese mainstream media

    Meet Martin Fackler, a journalist and author based in Japan. He sits down to talk to us about his career in China and Japan, what went into reporting his biggest stories, and the problems with Japan's kisha club system. -- 0:00 Intro 0:50 Meet Martin 8:50 Advantages of a foreign journalist 15:48 Journalistic autonomy 29:20 Japanese bank extortion story 37:42 Managing information as a journalist 44:23 The Hainan incident 49:15 Running from the Chinese police 55:08 Responsibility to international conflict 59:54 The Japanese banking crisis 1:09:45 Responsibility as Tokyo Bureau Chief 1:15:34 The Fukushima disaster 1:31:45 Journalism vs. safety 1:40:53 Why don't we know what happened? 1:46:33 Failure of the Japanese media 1:56:07 The Japanese press oligarchies 2:06:28 Social media's influence on journalism 2:19:28 Why AI can't do journalism 2:22:53 Looking ahead -- Follow Martin: https://x.com/martfack Follow us: https://unpacking.jp/ https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

  8. Sep 1

    Why Japan's jazz cafes are more important than ever

    Meet Philip, an author and photographer who's spent years documenting Japan's jazz kissa, who sits down to talk to us about his work and the cafes he's explored in his book. He tells us about the history and culture of jazz kissa, and the growing interest in analogue culture. -- 0:00 Intro 0:50 Coming to Japan on JET 10:40 What he learned as a JET teacher 19:54 Starting photography in Yokohama 22:39 The importance of Bebop Square 32:02 Next photography projects 36:05 Documenting jazz kissa 45:25 Origin of jazz kissa 51:02 Why jazz kissa are so special 59:34 Are jazz kissa dying? 1:02:30 Looking back 1:10:06 Future projects -- Follow Philip: https://www.philiparneill.com/ https://www.tokyojazzjoints.com/ https://www.instagram.com/philiparneill/ https://www.instagram.com/tokyojazzjoints Follow us: https://unpacking.jp/ https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan Subscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

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4.7
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Unpacking Japan explores Japanese arts, culture, and business through the lives of foreigners who have made this amazing country their home. While we’ve all seen vlogs and movies showing Japan from a pop culture perspective, Unpacking Japan tells the stories that get left by the wayside—the immigrants, the entrepreneurs, and the artists. Tune in every week for an authentic, inspiring conversation with someone who’s carved out their own, unique place in this beautiful country. Host: Tobias Bieker Production: A. Magdych Editing: L. Nicholas, J. Sketchley Social: J. Sketchley Design: M. Koga

Information

  • Creator
    Produced by ZenStudio
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    252
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Produced by ZenStudio
  • Show Website
    Unpacking Japan