Meet Priyanka, an Indian-Japanese entrepreneur who sits down to talk to us about her life growing up as a hafu in Japan. She tells us about being the only hafu in Japanese school, winning Miss World Japan in 2016, her time on reality TV show Love is Blind Japan, and her work as a model and entrepreneur.

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0:00 Intro

0:50 Meet Priyanka

4:46 Moving to California

12:22 Moving back to Japan

14:14 Bullying in Japanese schools

25:53 Becoming a model

30:51 Entering Miss World Japan

34:57 The elephant trainer thing

40:27 Winning as a hafu

50:56 Start as an entrepreneur

1:03:03 Love is Blind

1:16:35 Moving to London

1:20:22 Learning ikebana

1:25:02 Looking back

--

Follow Priyanka:

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@AuthenticallyMe-podcast

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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/

Meet Nancy Singleton Hachisu, a cookbook author living on a rural farm in Saitama. She sits down to talk to us about coming to Japan, discovering the beautiful simplicty of Japanese farm food, and writing her cookbooks on Japanese home cooking.

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0:00 Intro

0:45 Meet Nancy

5:32 Coming to Japan

11:09 Impressions of the food

17:12 Moving to a farm

23:05 Homeschooling and edible schoolyard

32:24 Writing a cookbook

38:54 What you should know about Japanese food

43:11 How to incorporate Japanese ingredients

51:03 Publishing a book in Japan

1:07:04 Current projects

1:16:27 Where to start with Japanese cooking

--

Follow Nancy:

https://www.nancysingletonhachisu.com/

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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/

Meet Lauren Rose Kocher, an entrepreneur and CEO of multiple businesses in Tokyo. She sits down to talk to us about her journey to Japan, working in the Japanese music industry before leaving to start her own business, and inheriting businesses from her late husband.

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0:00 Intro

0:45 Meet Lauren

4:30 Teaching English in Japan

8:58 Entering the music industry

15:09 What the music industry is like

19:05 Cyndi Lauper earthquake story

31:50 Working at Sony

44:50 Moving on

47:32 Establishing her own company

51:15 The COVID jackpot

58:00 Expansion and burnout

1:03:52 Having to leave her own company

1:09:13 Lauren's late husband

1:12:44 Starting a new company

1:15:10 Converting defunct family business

1:21:26 Looking back

1:25:32 Husband's businesses

--

Follow Lauren:

https://www.laurenrosekocher.com/

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https://laurenrosekocher.substack.com/

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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/

Meet Ameya, an Indian director born and raised in Tokyo. She sits down to talk to us about growing up in Japan, her entry into the Tokyo art scene, and her work as a film director.

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0:45 Meet Ameya

1:20 Growing up Indian in Tokyo

11:37 Realizing how society views you

14:50 Joining the creative industry

19:18 Stepping behind the camera

23:04 Making connections

28:03 Becoming a filmmaker

37:14 Shooting for big brands

45:25 Differences shooting in Japan

50:58 Ameya's first movie

56:10 The creator economy

1:02:35 Gaining confidence as a creator

--

Follow Ameya:

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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/

Meet Richard, a professor of Noh and Asian performing arts at Musashino University in Tokyo, as well as the founder and director of Theatre Nohgaku. He sits down to talk to us about the art and history of Noh, common misconceptions that foreigners and Japanese people have, and his own journey to the Noh world in Japan.

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0:00 Intro

0:46 Meet Richard

6:56 What is Noh?

11:42 The yooooooooo

17:24 Noh vs. Kabuki

20:14 Origins of Noh

22:50 Where plays come from

30:31 Richard's start in Noh

35:30 Noh actor families

41:05 Noh instruments

47:57 Writing the book on Noh

51:39 Popularity of Noh

59:49 The Noh stage

1:04:43 Modern Noh plays

1:07:08 English Noh plays

1:10:30 Noh masks

1:23:17 Appreciating Noh

--

Follow Richard:

https://www.theatrenohgaku.org/

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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/

Meet Matcha Samurai, a Japanese creator known for his infectious laugh. He sits down to talk to us about his identity as someone from Kochi, his life abroad in London, and being a creator with the role of assumed Japanese culture expert.

A big thank you to our colleagues from ZenMarket for sponsoring this episode. Interesting in buying anything from Japan? Find out more here:

https://go.zenmarket.jp/unpackingjapan

--

0:00 Intro

1:07 Meet Matcha Samurai

3:14 Interest in studying abroad

6:02 Arriving in London

10:32 Start as creator

13:08 Role as defacto culture expert

17:40 Thoughts on "JaPaN" as a Japanese

21:42 Why he doesn't monetize his videos

23:26 Career in London

25:40 Trying not to get cancelled

31:25 Topics he avoids

33:14 On his unique laugh

39:52 Looking back on 10 years in London

47:11 Kochi people are different

51:46 Where to go in Kochi

56:47 Why everywhere in Japan is so different

59:12 Looking back

1:03:01 What to know coming to Japan

--

Follow Matcha Samurai:

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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/

Meet Harald Naess, a trumpeter for the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra. He sits down to talk to us about moving to Japan, learning Japanese while finding a common language in German, and the differences in work ethic and performance in Japan.

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0:00 Intro

0:45 Meet Harald

4:14 First music study

6:35 Arriving in Japan

10:00 Differences playing in Japan

14:05 Japanese approach to music

18:39 First performance in Japan

24:00 Why Harald was selected

28:12 Music is like noodles

33:04 Impactful performances

39:59 Orchestra group dynamics

44:10 Bringing a younger audience

45:17 Teaching Japanese students

57:47 Looking back

59:29 Sailing in Japan

1:04:05 Getting a license

1:08:56 Sailing experiences

1:11:30 Why moving here was easy

--

Follow Harald:

https://www.facebook.com/kyototrumpet/

https://www.instagram.com/kyotoviking/

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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/

Meet Sylvia Manchester, a self-titled Natural Born Diva working as an entertainer and drag bar host in Tokyo. She sits down to talk to us about her studies abroad, interest in queer literature, coming out, and the birth of the Sylvia Manchester character.A big thank you to our colleagues from ZenMarket for sponsoring this episode. Interesting in buying anything from Japan? Find out more here:https://go.zenmarket.jp/unpackingjapan

--

0:00 Intro

1:07 Meet Sylvia Manchester

6:35 First interest in drag

7:54 Being gay in Tokyo vs. Britain

12:10 Starting drag in Japan

14:02 Queer literature and gay identity

22:08 Start in drag bar

24:54 Being closeted in a Japanese office

27:37 Becoming a professional drag queen

32:16 Golden Gai

35:45 Interest in Chanson

41:30 Birth of Sylvia Manchester

43:29 Busking in Tokyo

47:15 Finding a place in the Tokyo drag community

50:00 Translating Chanson to Japanese

51:43 What Golden Gai is like

58:32 Balancing drag and normal personas

1:00:36 The Sylvia Manchester queendom

1:03:40 Sylvia's literature reviews

--

Follow us:

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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/

Meet Will, a host and content creator for Japan Gay Guide in Tokyo. He tells us about how his love for the band Perfume brought him to Japan, what being gay in Japan is like, and his work in LGBT tourism with Japan Gay Guide.

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0:00 Intro

0:46 Meet Will

5:30 Arriving in Kagoshima

10:35 Coming back to Japan

17:49 Being gay in Japan vs. Sydney

25:45 What is Japan Gay Guide?

28:40 Japan as a safe haven

32:58 Planning what to publish

38:01 How views on LGBT have changed

41:52 Where to go in Japan

46:55 What's next

--

Follow Will:

@willbennett2000

https://www.instagram.com/willbennett2000/

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Follow us:

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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/

Meet Lawson, a British creator who first came to Japan living in Kobe and Nishinomiya, where he quickly picked up the Kansai dialect. Now living in Tokyo, he's become known for his fluent dialect as a foreigner.

A big thank you to our colleagues from ZenMarket for sponsoring this episode. Interesting in buying anything from Japan? Find out more here:

https://go.zenmarket.jp/unpackingjapan

--

0:00 Intro

1:07 Meet Lawson

4:36 Learning Japanese

7:41 Studying Japanese in university

10:19 Coming to Japan

16:11 Becoming a salaryman

25:18 Origin of name Honmani Lawson

29:51 Move to comedy videos

36:39 How Japanese comedy works

41:42 Reacting to videos as a foreigner

43:22 Learning Japanese comedy

48:08 Does this interfere with your job?

52:14 How comedy changed his life in Japan

54:30 Looking back

58:31 Impact of his platform

--

Follow Lawson:

@honmanilawson

https://www.instagram.com/honmanilawson/

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https://honmanilawson.com/

Follow us:

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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/