Unpacking Japan

Meet Dan Wilson, a Tokyo-based comedian performing manzai and stand up between America and Japan. He sits down to talk to us about going to comedy school and finding a manzai partner, signing to and leaving an agency, and the ins and outs of the Japanese comedy world.

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0:00 Intro

0:50 Meet Dan

2:09 Growing up half Japanese in America

8:05 Discovering Japanese comedy

16:02 Going to comedy school

25:09 Getting signed

27:48 Manzai is a marriage

33:48 Being funny as a non-native

40:55 The reality of comedy agencies

45:56 Social media & Japanese comedy

53:54 Going independent

1:01:48 Performing in English vs. Japanese

1:12:01 Looking back

1:15:35 How to do dirty comedy well

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Follow Dan:

https://www.instagram.com/danielywilson

https://www.tiktok.com/@danielywilson

@Badonkadonk_official

@SUPERGREATTIMETOKYO

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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 Hori Benny, a tattoo artist and owner of Invasion Club tattoo studio in Japan. He sits down to talk to us about the history and changing culture of Japanese tattoos, his own grueling apprenticeship, the challenges of running a tattoo business in Japan, and his own anime-inspired "otattoo" style.

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0:00 Intro

0:50 Meet Hori Benny

7:14 JET Programme in Kagoshima

14:21 Introduction to tattoo culture

20:31 Tattoo apprenticeship in Osaka

32:12 First time tattooing someone

35:26 What makes a good tattoo

44:22 Opening Invasion Club studio

46:24 History of Japanese tattoos

50:27 Japanese police vs. tattooers

56:25 Otattoo style

1:03:33 Benny's tattoo philosophy

1:10:55 Taking on an apprentice

1:14:32 Expanding to Tokyo

1:22:23 Looking back

1:26:40 What's next

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Follow Hori Benny:

https://horibenny.com/

https://invasion.club/

https://www.instagram.com/horibenny/

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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 Akira Tokuhiro, a Japanese Canadian nuclear engineering professor based in Ontario, Canada. He sits down to talk to us about the current and future role of nuclear as a clean energy source, Japan's response to incidents like Fukushima, and how we can move towards carbon net zero.

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0:00 Intro

0:50 Meet Akira

9:06 Interest in nuclear

19:25 Types of reactors

24:04 Working in Japan

28:36 Japan Atomic Energy Agency

30:58 Japan's reactors

33:51 Nuclear safety and earthquakes

37:12 What happened at Fukushima

39:38 Government response

44:05 How reactors are shut down

54:06 Restarting reactors

56:08 Life cycle of a nuclear plant

58:28 Problems with prolonged shutdown

1:00:50 Current public opinion

1:05:54 Nuclear's role in carbon net zero

1:14:22 Regaining confidence in nuclear

1:19:42 Developing nuclear technology

1:21:49 Expanding global nuclear energy

1:28:00 How to educate about nuclear

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Follow Akira:

https://x.com/TokuhiroAkira

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https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan

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 Aki Yamaguchi, a Thai-Japanese content creator and MC living and working between both countries. She sits down to talk to us about growing up in an international school abroad, finding her own identity and starting a visual kei band, and how her unique background led her to where she is today.

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0:00 Intro

0:50 Meet Aki

1:16 International school in Thailand

7:19 Embracing Japanese side

11:27 Finding her own style

13:20 Starting a band

20:38 Bringing the band to Japan

25:50 Start of MC career

31:33 Covid and growing on TikTok

44:32 Addressing stereotypes online

47:40 Aki's unique opportunities

50:40 Branching out to English content

59:22 Content between languages

1:03:01 Aki's message to the dreamers

Follow Aki:

@akinoyuutsu

https://www.instagram.com/akinoyuutsu

https://www.tiktok.com/@aki_yamaguchi

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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 Kenny, a rickshaw driver in Asakusa, Tokyo, who sits down to talk to us about what its like to work as one of these traditional tour guides. He tells us about his professional rugby career, his plans to open a mochi shop, and what it takes to be a rickshaw driver.

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0:00 Intro

0:50 Meet Kenny

2:08 Starting as a rugby player

6:25 Going pro

10:37 Playing in Australia

18:52 Looking back on rugby career

21:53 Mochi shop

26:30 Becoming a rickshaw driver

33:04 Work as rickshaw driver

36:52 Tour guide in & out of Tokyo

43:37 Working with rickshaw company

45:10 Secret to good service

49:37 Plans for mochi shop

51:43 Most difficult skill for rickshaw drivers

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Follow Kenny:

https://www.instagram.com/asakusa_rickshaw

https://www.tiktok.com/@kenny_rickshaw

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https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan

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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 Manami Ozakaki, an author who writes books on Japanese arts and culture. She sits down to talk to us about the history of Japanese tattoos, the artists who made them, and how Japan's tattoo culture is changing in the modern era.

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0:00 Intro

0:50 Meet Manami

7:31 Moving to Japan

16:23 Writing for magazines

18:25 Manami's books

24:53 History of Japanese tattoos

29:05 Tattoo conventions

34:45 Is perception of tattoos changing?

37:35 The beauty of tattoos

42:26 Japanese tattoo artists

59:28 How to find artists

1:05:06 Japanese book culture

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Follow Manami:

https://www.maki23.com

https://www.instagram.com/manami.tokyo

Follow us:

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

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https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan

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 Jake, an international school principal living in Japan. He sits down to talk to us about the reality of teaching in Japan, including what people should expect, what companies do, and how to actually build a career teaching here..

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0:00 Intro

0:50 Meet Jake

5:11 First time in Japan

12:15 First experience as a teacher

20:44 A career in teaching English

27:38 The reality of being an ALT

36:51 The role of teaching companies

43:12 Teaching licenses

48:00 Becoming principal

1:02:11 What people should know

1:06:15 What should change

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Follow Jake:

@jakejapanjapan

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https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan

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 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

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Follow Priyanka:

https://www.instagram.com/priyankayoshikawa/

https://open.spotify.com/show/4iVGYMYvEtksY766NhicEq?si=b20f3f83bbcf4ba0

https://x.com/priyayoshikawa

@AuthenticallyMe-podcast

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 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

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Follow Nancy:

https://www.nancysingletonhachisu.com/

https://www.instagram.com/nancyhachisu/

https://www.facebook.com/nancy.hachisu

Follow us:

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https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan

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 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

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Follow Lauren:

https://www.laurenrosekocher.com/

https://www.instagram.com/laurenrosekocher/

https://www.tiktok.com/@laurenrosekocher

https://laurenrosekocher.substack.com/

Follow us:

https://unpacking.jp/

https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan

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

https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan

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https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan

https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapan

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/