Unpacking Japan

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/OliverJia1014 Follow us on our social media: https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.i...

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/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com...

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.jp https://x.com/ichimonji_jp https://www.tiktok.com/@ichimonji.jp Follow us on our...

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/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https:/...

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/beebo https://www.instagram.com/beebojapan Follow us on our social media: https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.x.co...

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/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.x.com/...

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/felixmoesner https://swissnex.org/japan/ https://x.com/FelixMoesner Follow us on our social media...

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/dairyuji https://sarah-furuya-coaching.mykajabi.com/lighthouse-circle Follow us on our socia...

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/EarthUncutTV https://www.instagram.com/earthuncuttv/ https://www.facebook.com/EarthUncutTV/ Follow us on our social me...

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/@...

Meet Janna, a factory machinist and TikToker living in Nagano, who moved to Japan 5 years ago to pay off her family's debts. We sat down with Janna to hear about her experiences as an immigrant laborer, and how her sudden TikTok success has changed her life. Follow Janna: https://www.tiktok.com/@jannajapandiaries https://www.facebook.com/p/Janna-Japan-Diaries-61550997789235/ Follow us on our socia...

Meet Anton, a fashion model and home renovation expert living in Tokyo, who sits down to talk with us about his work with Japanese akiya, and the challenges of buying and renovating old and damaged properties. Interested in Japanese housing? Tobi recommends our interview with real estate agent Tokyo Portfolio: https://youtu.be/6awVGa1xpZ0 Follow Anton: https://www.youtube.com/@ANTONINJAPAN https:/...

Meet Muho, a Zen monk who sits down with us to share his journey from lost child in Germany searching for the meaning of life, to the abbot of Buddhist temple Antaiji in Kyoto prefecture. Follow Muho: https://www.youtube.com/@muho https://antaiji.org/en/ Follow us on our social media: https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan ht...

Meet Sabria, a marketer for GaijinPot – Japan's biggest job board for foreigners – who sits down to talk with us about the origins of GaijinPot, the challenges created by its controversial name, and the future of parent company GPlus Media.  Check out GaijinPot: https://gaijinpot.com/ https://gplusmedia.com/en/ Follow us on our social media: https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagra...

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/beaubecker Follow us on our social media: https:...

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/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://w...

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-77677912 https://jp.linkedin.com/company/startup-guild-japan Follow us on our social media: https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/u...

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/@BrittanyArthur1 https://www.instagram.com/_brittanyarthur/ https://twitter.com/_brittanyarthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittanyart/ Follow us on our social...

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/TBeanpod Follow us on our social media: https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingja...

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/cpojer https://nkzw.tech/ https://athenacrisis.com/ Follow us on our social media: https://youtube.com/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.x.com/unpa...

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/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://youtube.com/@un...

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/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapan https://youtube.com/@unpa...

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/@unpackingjapan https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan https://www.tiktok.com/@unpa...

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/@unpackingjapan https://www.ins...

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/PhoebeAmoroso Follow us on our social media: https://youtube.com/@unpackin...