

Unpacking Japan
Produced by ZenStudio
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
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
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 1, 2023 • 52min
What life is like as a DJ in Japan
Meet Demsky, a DJ and producer from Canada, who shares his background in teaching math and chess strategy, and how that led to his life as an artist in Japan.Check out Demsky's links:https://www.instagram.com/demskymusic/https://www.facebook.com/demskymusichttps://demskymusic.com/https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/demsky/1089505117https://open.spotify.com/artist/72BCw9MyWpLW1PnFnA16AXFollow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/

Nov 24, 2023 • 1h 20min
What life is like as a rice farmer in the Japanese countryside
Meet Stinton, a rice farmer and hunter living in rural Japan, who sits down to teach us about traditional farming techniques and Japan's extremely strict gun laws.Follow Stinton:https://twitter.com/JohnsonStintonFollow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/

Nov 17, 2023 • 1h 17min
Why Japan needs foreigners
Meet Rochelle, a cross-cultural consultant and activist in Japan, who sits down to talk to us about her work as a consultant and how she gained her passion for bridging cross-cultural divides.Follow Rochelle on her social media:https://www.change.org/Save_jingugaien_enhttps://youtu.be/DB2vaG_apKU?si=Mmmb8MHHI0bMeVzzhttps://japanintercultural.com/https://japanintercultural.com/free-resources/e-book/Follow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/

Nov 10, 2023 • 1h 11min
What being a Japanese politician is REALLY like
Meet Jon, an American-born Japanese politician, who sits down to talk about his daily challenges, how Japanese people see him, and his own journey of gaining citizenship and running for office as a foreigner in Japan.Check out Jon's articles:https://www.turning-japanese.info/2017/11/hashiru.htmlhttps://shingetsunewsagency.com/2023/03/20/life-lessons-from-a-naturalized-japanese-politician/Follow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/

Nov 3, 2023 • 1h 10min
What life is like as an office artist in Japan
Meet Daniel, artist and mind behind TokyoDex, who teaches us about how art helps build connected spaces, and how he blends Japanese tradition with contemporary aesthetics.Follow Daniel on his social media:https://www.youtube.com/user/TokyoDexhttps://www.tokyodex.com/https://www.instagram.com/danielhrosen/https://www.facebook.com/TokyoDex/Follow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/

Oct 27, 2023 • 41min
What life is like as a traditional Japanese indigo farmer
Meet Sally, a farmer and artist working with the Japanese art of indigo, who teaches us about traditional farming and dying practices, as well as her life as a small business owner in the Japanese countryside.Follow Sally on her social media:https://www.instagram.com/aiaii.blue/https://aiaii.blue/pages/enFollow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/

Oct 20, 2023 • 1h 3min
Understanding the Japanese art of ikebana flower arrangement
Meet Daniel, an ikebana master and teacher, who shares with us the philosophy behind this traditional art, as well his personal view on the evolving role of Ikebana in modern Japan. Follow Daniel on his social media:https://www.instagram.com/Star.River.ikebanahttps://x.com/Omni_hugFollow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/

Oct 15, 2023 • 1h 13min
Everything you need to know about podcasting in Japan ft. SmallTalkJapan
Everything you need to know about podcasting in Japan ft. SmallTalkJapanFollow Mitch on his social media:https://youtube.com/@SmallTalkJapan https://www.instagram.com/mitch4pres/Follow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/

Oct 6, 2023 • 1h 22min
What it's like to have kids in Japan ft. kemushichan
Meet Loretta, aka kemushichan, a YouTuber and mother in Japan, who shares her experiences with childbirth and child support in a foreign country.Follow Loretta on her social media:https://www.instagram.com/kemushijp/https://www.youtube.com/@kemushichanFollow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/

Sep 29, 2023 • 1h 10min
How this American woman broke into Japan's traditionally male-dominated film industry
Meet Riki, a TV and movie director in Tokyo, who sits down with us to share her experiences in the Japanese film industry, and the difficulty of navigating a traditionally male-dominated field. Follow Riki on her social media:https://twitter.com/PaprikaGirl_JPFollow us on our social media:https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts 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/