

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 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/

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/


