

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

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/

Mar 22, 2024 • 1h 16min
What life is like as a foreign journalist in Japan
Meet Phoebe, an experienced journalist and a food blogger, who sits down to talk to us about her challenges working as a reporter in Japan.Follow Phoebe:https://pheebzeatz.substack.com/https://phoebeamoroso.com/https://www.instagram.com/pheebzeatz/https://www.linkedin.com/in/phoebe-amoroso-00804975/https://twitter.com/PhoebeAmorosoFollow 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 15, 2024 • 1h 12min
The struggles of making reaction content in Japan ft. Akasan
Meet Akasan, an American streamer and reaction YouTuber who's lived and worked in Japan for more than 12 years. He sits down with us to talk about his life, his content, and how Japanese view western media.Follow Akasan:https://youtube.com/akasan https://twitter.com/akasanhttps://www.twitch.tv/akasan_plays/https://www.patreon.com/akasanFollow 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 8, 2024 • 55min
What it's like being a musician for Japan's biggest theme park
Meet Oleg, a Ukrainian violinist who sits down to share his experiences as a performer at Universal Studios Japan, and his transition to freelance musician here. Follow Oleg:https://www.instagram.com/oleg_calleo_violin/https://www.youtube.com/ @oleg_calleo_violin 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/

22 snips
Mar 1, 2024 • 1h 10min
Tokyo Portfolio explains why Japanese housing is so cheap
Meet Alex, the man behind luxury real estate brand Tokyo Portfolio, who sits down to talk to us about renting apartments, buying abandoned properties, and everything you need to know about the housing market in Japan.Follow Alex:https://tokyoportfolio.com/https://www.youtube.com/c/TokyoPortfoliohttps://www.instagram.com/tokyoportfolio/For more on Japanese akiya, check out our interview with Anton in Japan!https://youtu.be/hB55umiwRk0Follow 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/

Feb 23, 2024 • 1h 3min
The best ways to save money in Japan ft. Greg from tokyocheapo
Meet Greg, co-founder and writer for Tokyo Cheapo, a site sharing the best-value deals in Japan, sits down to teach us about how to live and travel frugally. Greg shares the history of Tokyo Cheapo, as well as his new passion, cheap, abandoned houses that people buy and renovate, called Akiya.Follow Greg:https://tokyocheapo.com/https://japancheapo.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/

Feb 16, 2024 • 1h 11min
What life is like as a priest in the Japanese mountains
Tim is a Yamabushi, or a mountain ascetic as he describes it in English. He was born in New Zealand and shortly after moving to Japan he was introduced to Yamabushi practices, after some time he became a Yamabushi himself. Join in our conversation with Tim and listen to his amazing story from teaching English to becoming a mountain ascetic in Yamagata.Follow Tim:https://timbunting.com/https://www.youtube.com/@kiwiyamabushiFollow us on our social media: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2158416https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.x.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortsBe sure to like, comment, and subscribe to our channel on YouTube for more engaging discussions from all corners of Japanese life.#unpackingjapan #expat #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/