

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

Sep 6, 2024 • 57min
Understanding Japan's complicated relationship with North Korea
Meet Oliver, a Japan-North Korea relations researcher based in Kyoto, who sat down to talk with us about politics, kidnappings, North Korean schools in Japan, and the complicated relationship Japan has with its neighbor to the north.Follow Oliver:https://www.foreignperspectives.net/https://twitter.com/OliverJia1014Follow 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/

Aug 30, 2024 • 52min
The challenges of running a halal restaurant in Japan
Meet Stephanie, owner of Burmese restaurant 95Yooya in Shibuya, who sits down to talk with us about her challenges immigrating to Japan and opening a halal restaurant in such a homogeneous country.Check out 95Yooya:https://www.instagram.com/95yooya/https://www.facebook.com/people/95Yooya/61551720519731/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/

Aug 26, 2024 • 1h 4min
What makes Japanese knives so special?
Meet Brad, marketer for Japanese knife company Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide, who sits down to talk with us about Japanese steel, tradition, business, and everything to do with Japanese knives.Follow Sakai Ichimonji:https://global.ichimonji.co.jp/https://youtube.com@ichimonji-jp https://www.instagram.com/ichimonji.jphttps://x.com/ichimonji_jphttps://www.tiktok.com/@ichimonji.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/

Aug 16, 2024 • 1h 8min
What life is like running a film production company in Japan
Meet Ryan, creative director at Cutters Studios Tokyo, who sits down to talk with us about his experiences heading the first foreign-owned commercial production company in Japan, as well as his time as an interpreter for Tadahito Iguchi.Follow Ryan:https://cuttersstudiostokyo.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/

Aug 9, 2024 • 57min
Why this man is walking 2500km across Japan in the middle of summer
Meet Beebo, a live streamer walking more than 2500km across Japan, from Kagoshima to Sapporo. Midway through his journey, Beebo stopped by our studio in Osaka to talk with us about his adventure.Follow Beebo:https://www.twitch.tv/beebohttps://www.instagram.com/beebojapanFollow 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/

Aug 2, 2024 • 1h 17min
What life is like in Japan's traditional sake brewing industry
Meet Giulia, an Italian sake brewer and a sommelier living in working in Japan, who sits down to talk with us about her work as a brewer and educator, and the challenges of Japan's sake industry.Follow Giulia:https://www.jijisake.com/https://www.instagram.com/jijisake/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 26, 2024 • 1h 13min
Why 80% of Swiss startups survive their first 5 years in Japan
Meet Dr. Felix Moesner, the Swiss consul to Japan and the CEO of Swissnex. The Swiss consul, located in Osaka, promotes science, and technology, with the goal of connecting Japan and Switzerland through innovation.Follow Dr. Moesner:https://youtube.com@SwissnexJapanOsaka https://jp.linkedin.com/in/felixmoesnerhttps://swissnex.org/japan/https://x.com/FelixMoesnerFollow 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 19, 2024 • 1h 7min
What it's like to live in a traditional Japanese temple
Meet Gretchen, a grief and mindfulness educator at Dairyuji temple in Akita, Japan, who sits down to talk to us about Zen, meditation, grief, and her life since marrying into a Japanese buddhist temple.Follow Gretchen:https://www.dairyuji-oga.com/https://www.dairyuji-oga.com/reserve/retreat/registration/dairyujihttps://sarah-furuya-coaching.mykajabi.com/lighthouse-circleFollow 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 12, 2024 • 1h 9min
How storm chasers survive Japan's most dangerous typhoons ft. EarthUncutTV
Meet James, a professional storm chaser based in Japan, who sits down to talk to us about the thrill and danger of storm chasing, and how his work has changed over the past 20 years.Follow James:https://www.youtube.com/@EarthUncutTV https://www.earthuncut.tv/https://www.x.com/EarthUncutTVhttps://www.instagram.com/earthuncuttv/https://www.facebook.com/EarthUncutTV/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 5, 2024 • 58min
Tokyo street interviewer explains his secret to viral videos
Meet HarriBoi, the mind behind numerous viral street interviews from the Japanese nightlife, asking about their life and dreams, as well as views on controversial topics like sex, cheating and prostitution. We sat down with Harri to learn about his interview process, as well as his day job as a data scientist in Tokyo.Follow HarriBoi:https://www.instagram.com/harri_boi_/https://www.tiktok.com/@harriboi5https://twitter.com/harri_boi_JPNFollow 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/