

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

May 31, 2024 • 1h 23min
The challenges of bringing anti-Asian-flush medication to Japan
Meet Beau, an entrepreneur developing Japan's first anti-Asian-flush product, who sits down with us to talk about the challenges of developing such a product in Japan, and the legal nuances of developing medical products vs. supplements.Follow Beau:https://www.reiwaseiyaku.co.jp/https://www.instagram.com/reiwaseiyakukk/https://jp.linkedin.com/in/beaubeckerFollow 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/

May 24, 2024 • 1h 20min
Startup consultant breaks down everything you need to succeed in Japan
Meet Tyson, a serial entrepreneur from Hawaii, who sits down with us to share his experiences growing multiple businesses in Japan, to startup consultant, helping other succeed in his footsteps.Follow Tyson:https://scalingyourcompany.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/tysonbatino/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/

May 17, 2024 • 59min
Extended Reality in Japan, and what to do when Japanese banks don't understand your business
Meet, Dwayne an extended reality (XR) entrepreneur, who breaks down the challenges of growing a business in such a new field, and the startup landscape in Osaka.Follow Dwayne:https://www.hello-xlab.com/https://jp.linkedin.com/in/dwayne-grech-77677912https://jp.linkedin.com/company/startup-guild-japanFollow 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/

May 10, 2024 • 1h 17min
What modern companies can learn from 1800s Japanese philosophy
Meet Brittany, an experienced international business adviser from Australia, who sits down to talk with us about human-centered design, as well as her personal challenges starting a business Japan.Follow Brittany:https://www.youtube.com/@BrittanyArthur1https://www.instagram.com/_brittanyarthur/https://twitter.com/_brittanyarthurhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyart/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/

May 4, 2024 • 59min
What are Japanese forest gardens and why you should want one
Meet Casey, a university teacher in rural Japan, who sits down to teach us about his experiences as a forest gardener, university English teacher, and English learning podcaster.Follow Casey:https://twitter.com/TBeanpodFollow 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/

Apr 26, 2024 • 1h 3min
Why this Facebook engineer left his job and opened a game studio in Japan
Meet Christoph, game developer and CEO of Nakazawa Tech, who sits down to talk with us about tech, life in Japan, his game Athena Crisis, and his love of open source development.Follow Christoph:https://twitter.com/cpojerhttps://nkzw.tech/https://athenacrisis.com/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/

Apr 21, 2024 • 1h 4min
How to keep a business alive for 100 years | Running a textile company in Japan
Meet Hani, president of Japanese textile company Debs Corporation, who shares his experiences as a 3rd generation immigrant running a family business in Japan.Follow Hani:https://debscorp.com/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/

Apr 12, 2024 • 1h 1min
FFXV animator explains what it's like to work with Japanese game studios
Meet David, a professional animator from Mexico, who shares his experiences coming to Japan and working on big franchises like Sonic, Mario, and Final Fantasy.Follow David:https://uchiu.net/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/

Apr 5, 2024 • 1h 3min
Kaiseki explained: the traditional Japanese multi-course meal
Meet Nadja, a kaiseki chef living in Kyoto, who sits down with us to share her insights into Japanese cuisine and the traditional culinary world.Follow Nadja:https://www.instagram.com/natsu.kichi__https://kaiseki-at-home.com/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/

Mar 29, 2024 • 1h 6min
Being a lawyer is complicated. What about in Japan?
Meet Catherine, a New Zealand lawyer in Japan, who sits down with us to share her experiences with law firms and large international corporations, opening her own practice, and advising companies as a board member.Follow Catherine:https://www.catherineoconnelllaw.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/oconnellcatherine/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/


