Unpacking Japan

Produced by ZenStudio
  • 4.6 (16)
  • 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. 1d ago

    The reality of being gay in Japan ft. Will from Japan Gay Guide

    Meet Will, a host and content creator for Japan Gay Guide in Tokyo. He tells us about how his love for the band Perfume brought him to Japan, what being gay in Japan is like, and his work in LGBT tourism with Japan Gay Guide. -- 0:00 Intro 0:46 Meet Will 5:30 Arriving in Kagoshima 10:35 Coming back to Japan 17:49 Being gay in Japan vs. Sydney 25:45 What is Japan Gay Guide? 28:40 Japan as a safe haven 32:58 Planning what to publish 38:01 How views on LGBT have changed 41:52 Where to go in Japan 46:55 What's next -- Follow Will: @willbennett2000 https://www.instagram.com/willbennett2000/ https://www.tiktok.com/@willbennett2000 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/

    51 min

  2. 5d ago

    The British comedian who became an honorary Kansai Japanese

    Meet Lawson, a British creator who first came to Japan living in Kobe and Nishinomiya, where he quickly picked up the Kansai dialect. Now living in Tokyo, he's become known for his fluent dialect as a foreigner. A big thank you to our colleagues from ZenMarket for sponsoring this episode. Interesting in buying anything from Japan? Find out more here: https://go.zenmarket.jp/unpackingjapan -- 0:00 Intro 1:07 Meet Lawson 4:36 Learning Japanese 7:41 Studying Japanese in university 10:19 Coming to Japan 16:11 Becoming a salaryman 25:18 Origin of name Honmani Lawson 29:51 Move to comedy videos 36:39 How Japanese comedy works 41:42 Reacting to videos as a foreigner 43:22 Learning Japanese comedy 48:08 Does this interfere with your job? 52:14 How comedy changed his life in Japan 54:30 Looking back 58:31 Impact of his platform -- Follow Lawson: @honmanilawson https://www.instagram.com/honmanilawson/ https://www.tiktok.com/@honmanilawson https://honmanilawson.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/

    1h 5m

  3. Jun 2

    Genoa's very unique journey to Japan

    Meet Genoa, a content creator with a very unique life that brought him to Japan. He sits down to talk to us about growing up in a cult, before leaving and eventually coming to Okinawa as an exchange student in high school, and his current life preparing for studying at language school and going viral sharing his experiences in Japan. A big thank you to our colleagues from ZenMarket for sponsoring this episode. Interesting in buying anything from Japan? Find out more here: https://go.zenmarket.jp/unpackingjapan -- 0:00 Intro 1:07 Growing up in a cult 5:07 Reactions to cult story 9:55 Interest in Japan study abroad 13:02 Arriving in Okinawa 17:26 Life in Okinawa 21:14 Japanese high school 25:43 Comparisons to American school 33:42 Going viral 41:28 Thoughts on social media career 48:02 Genoa's view on "Japan" content 51:21 Consulting Japanese on his comedy 53:09 Working with brands 56:04 Language school in Japan -- Follow Genoa: https://www.instagram.com/genoaorion/ https://www.tiktok.com/@genoaorion @genoaorion 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/

    1h 2m

  4. May 29

    What it's like growing up in a "foreign bubble" in Japan

    Meet Gia, a Korean born creator who grew up in Tokyo. She sits down to talk to us about her very multicultural and multilingual life in Japan, from international school to Waseda University.--0:00 Intro0:45 Meet Gia5:17 Internation school in Tokyo9:25 Applying to Waseda12:39 Growing up in a foreign bubble16:28 Student life at Waseda20:07 Studying at Waseda22:43 International school vs. university in Japan26:17 University life29:46 Content interviewing other students33:40 Transitioning to full-time creator36:02 Japanese vs. foreign viewers39:44 Waseda vs. other universities43:32 Looking forward46:02 Being Christian in Japan51:56 Seoul Sista podcastFollow Gia: @gialores  https://www.instagram.com/gialores/https://www.tiktok.com/@gialores Follow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe 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/

    58 min

  5. May 26

    Sitting down with Japan's most unconventional influencer

    Meet Bernd Kestler, a German knitter living in Japan. He sits down to talk to us about moving to Japan in the 80s, his love for knitting, and exactly how he's established this unconventional career in Japan. -- 0:00 Intro 0:45 Meet Bernd 7:08 First interest in knitting 12:32 Knitting in Japan 14:55 Knitting full-time 16:54 Knitting in Japan vs. Germany 22:27 Understanding knitting designs 24:03 Japanese knitting designs 28:33 Guiness record blanket for Tohoku 37:07 First knitting book 42:29 Japanese yarn 44:28 How the book affected his career 46:51 Translating knitting concepts to Japanese 49:36 Collaboration with Komeda Coffee 54:10 Knitting creative projects 58:55 Japanese color palettes 1:01:30 Those spiky things on the table 1:08:51 Looking back 1:16:29 Knitting innovation -- Follow Bernd: http://berndkestler.com/ ⁨@BerndKestler⁩ https://www.instagram.com/berndkestler/ https://www.facebook.com/bernd.kestler/ https://linktr.ee/berndkestler 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/

    1h 20m

  6. May 22

    How Tokyo breeds third spaces

    Meet James Farrer, Professor of Sociology and Global Studies at Sophia University. He sits down to talk to us his sociology study in China and Shanghai, before moving to Tokyo and finding his own community by studying the third spaces that exist in the restaurants around train stations. -- 0:00 Intro 0:44 Meet James 3:32 Shanghai in the 90s 8:27 Studies at Fudan University 12:18 Coming to Japan 15:34 Finding community in Tokyo 18:14 The reality of Midnight Diner 21:20 Experiences as an outsider 28:42 Differences in Tokyo neighborhoods 33:53 Street food in Japan? 37:02 James's NHK program 41:42 Differences between Tokyo and Shanghai 46:23 Foreigner-run restaurants 50:50 Challenges telling stories on TV 55:10 Kabukicho nightlife 59:30 How comparable are Tokyo and Shanghai really? 1:02:36 Have you found your place in Tokyo? 1:09:24 The paradoxical freedom of big cities -- Follow James: https://www.nishiogiology.org/ https://www.instagram.com/japanfoodresearch/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesfarrer/ 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/

    1h 13m

  7. May 19

    How kfel became a real life magical girl

    Meet Kristine aka Kfel, a Filipino Canadian content creator based in Tokyo completing what she calls "magical girl sidequests." She sits down to talk to us about her interest and subsequent internship in Japan, her journey to fluency, going viral on TikTok, and becoming a magical girl -- 0:00 Intro 0:45 Meet Kristine 7:07 Internship in Japan 18:47 Start in content creation 20:58 Getting her first sponsor 26:52 The struggle of bringing cats to Japan 33:09 How Kfel got so fluent 41:47 Moving to Japan 43:55 Finding a community here 48:17 How Japan changed her videos 50:34 How girl walk in Tokyo 56:28 Working with GeeXPlus 1:01:12 Advice for aspiring creators 1:04:05 Getting into cosplay 1:07:40 What's next 1:09:57 Kfel's favorite anime 1:13:07 What makes a good anime? 1:15:28 Kfel's struggle with identity -- 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/

    1h 24m

  8. May 15

    Journalism in Japan in the age of rising nationalism

    Meet River, a correspondent for the New York Times based in Japan. She sits down to talk to us about Japan's current political and economic climate, the life of a journalist in Japan, and the role of a journalist in the age of social media.--0:00 Intro0:45 Meet River4:40 Deciding to stay in Japan9:05 Being a journalist in the Trump presidency12:18 Start at WSJ and Bloomberg16:11 Being unbiased a a journalist19:40 Moving to Japan as a journalist26:32 Journalistic ethics vs business31:03 Personal interest in stories35:40 Finding experts to interview40:31 Investigative journalism42:30 Where are you when big events happen?47:01 The Alaska LNG story55:00 Treatment as a female journalist59:19 Role of written journalism1:06:47 Balancing business and integrity1:10:41 What's next for River1:12:52 Portrayal of Takaichi 1:16:13 How much context readers need--Follow River:https://www.nytimes.com/by/river-akira-davishttps://x.com/riverakiradavisFollow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe 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/

    1h 22m
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4.6
out of 5
16 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
    222
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Produced by ZenStudio
  • Show Website
    Unpacking Japan

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