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
Jul 14, 2023 • 1h 2min
What life is like running a cafe in Japan
Meet Jacky, an American barista and coffee roaster, who shares his challenges living and working as an expat in Japan, as well as his view on the future of the Japanese coffee industry.Follow Jacky: https://www.instagram.com/yukicoffeefarm/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/
Jul 7, 2023 • 1h 1min
The Challenges of IRL Streaming in Japan
Lito Cruz from ALitoBitofJapan shares the challenges he faces as an IRL streamer broadcasting from Osaka, Japan.Follow Lito: https://www.youtube.com/@ALitoBitofJapanhttps://www.instagram.com/alitobitofjapan/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/
Jun 30, 2023 • 59min
Everything you need to know before buying a car in Japan
Meet Rory, a Canadian expat, who sits down to teach us about the challenges of obtaining a driver's license and buying and owning a car in Japan.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/
Jun 23, 2023 • 52min
What being queer in Japan is REALLY like
Meet Klepto, who sits down to teach us about the current state of LGBTQ rights and acceptance in Japan, and the challenges LGBTQ people face here.Follow Klepto on her social media:https://www.instagram.com/kleptodayo/https://twitter.com/kleptoyadeFollow 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/
Jun 16, 2023 • 1h 13min
How this foreigner used YouTube to break into the Japanese music industry ft Dr. Capital
Meet Dr. Capital, an American music teacher making educational videos for his Japanese YouTube channel, who sits down to share with us his experiences breaking into the music industry and writing a book in Japanese.Follow Dr. Capital:https://www.youtube.com/@DrCapitalhttps://www.instagram.com/dr.capital/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/
Jun 10, 2023 • 1h 2min
The struggles of finding transgender healthcare in Japan
Meet Chari, a nonbinary individual, who shares their challenges living and receiving gender healthcare in Japan.Follow us on our social media:https://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!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/
Jun 2, 2023 • 55min
The challenges of doing street photography in Japan
Meet Noel, a British street photographer, who shares his challenges living and working in Japan, as well as the philosophy behind his art.Follow Noel on his social media:https://www.instagram.com/shidareyanagi/https://www.facebook.com/shidareyanagi1Follow 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 26, 2023 • 47min
What you REALLY need to succeed as a musician in Japan
Meet Winz, an American singer and musician, who shares his challenges breaking in to the Japanese music industry. Follow Wiz:https://www.instagram.com/winz40/https://winzworld.amebaownd.com/pages/5240522/profilehttps://www.facebook.com/winbtjrhttps://lalaenglish.amebaownd.comFollow 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 20, 2023 • 42min
From 4 to 400 employees in 10 years – life as an entrepreneur in Japan
Meet Slava, CEO of ZenGroup, who shares his journey as an entrepreneur building a company from 4 to 400 employees over the course of 10 years. Check out ZenGroup:https://zen.group/https://zenmarket.jp/https://zenpop.jp/https://zenplus.jp/https://lp.zenplus.jp/zenpromo-overseas-promotion-serviceFollow 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 12, 2023 • 43min
How this Bulgarian man became one of Japan's most popular photography YouTubers
Meet Ilko, a portrait photographer who shares his challenges living and working in Japan, as well as growing one of Japan's biggest photography channels.Follow Ilko:https://www.youtube.com/@ilkoallexandroff/https://www.facebook.com/ilko.allexandroff.photographyhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/ilkoallexandroff/https://www.instagram.com/ilkoallexandroff/https://twitter.com/ilkoallexandrofFollow 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/
