Unpacking Japan

Meet Hana, a Japanese-American race car driver, who sits down to talk with us about her life and career. She tells us about her journey into the racing world, cultural differences between Japan and the West, and what it takes to be a Japanese race car driver.Follow Hana:https://www.youtube.com/@hanaburtonhttps://www.instagram.com/hanubuu_https://x.com/hanubuuFollow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe 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 Alan, owner of Kyojin stewhouse in Shimane, who sits down to talk to us about the challenges of running a restaurant in Japan, and why he pivoted his business to shipping quality frozen food across the country.Follow Alan:

https://www.kyojin-company.com/

https://www.instagram.com/alan.kyojin.stewhouse/

⁨http://www.youtube.com/@kyojinstewhouse

https://www.facebook.com/kyojinStewhouse/Follow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe 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 Tony, an entrepreneur and travel consultant who sits down to talk to us about his work helping promote tourism in rural Japanese towns. He sits down to talk to us about marketing strategies, complications of overtourism, and his own journey to and from Japan.

Follow Tony: https://yamatrips.com/https://www.instagram.com/yamatrips/Follow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe 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 Victoria, a local ambassador for Bizen, Okayama, who sits down to talk to us about her work promoting tourism for a small Japanese town. She talks about her time on the Rural Revitalization Program, her transition to independent business owner, and how she found her place as a foreigner in rural Japan.--Follow Victoria:https://www.instagram.com/letsvisitbizen_okayama/https://www.tiktok.com/@happyberry666?https://www.villashinobi.com/enFollow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe 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 Kinshasa, an American ballroom commentator, who sits down to talk to us about how underground black queer culture ended up in Tokyo.

Kinshasa tells us about the history and importance of ballroom culture, how queer Japanese women brought it over to Japan, and how it evolved to be what it is today.

--Follow Kinshasa:https://www.instagram.com/kinshasa_basquiatFollow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe 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/

In this episode of Unpacking Japan, we meet Julien, a talented French pastry chef who turned his childhood passion for sweets into a thriving patisserie in Tokyo. From growing up in France to navigating the challenges of running a pastry shop in Japan, Julien shares his journey through culinary school, working in Michelin-starred kitchens, and adapting French techniques to Japanese tastes.Follow Julien:

https://pastrychefjulien.com/

https://www.instagram.com/julien_perrinet

https://www.facebook.com/Julienperrinet.patissier

Follow Us:

https://unpacking.jp/

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

https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts

https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan

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

https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan

https://www.facebook.com/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/

In this episode, we chat with Timothy an American entrepreneur and marketing expert who has spent over 30 years living and working in Japan. Timothy shares his journey from arriving with little more than a backpack to building a career in the Japanese business world, including launching his own branding agency. He offers candid insights into Japanese work culture, how trust and relationships shape business, and what it's really like navigating life as a foreign professional in Japan. If you're curious about marketing, career growth, and cultural adaptation in Japan, this episode is for you.

Follow Timothy:

https://www.instagram.com/timothyconnor

https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothyconnor

https://www.synnovate.jp/

Follow Us:

https://unpacking.jp/

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

https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts

https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan

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

https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan

https://www.facebook.com/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 Emily, a documentary filmmaker working in Japan's rural revitalization program. Emily sits down to talk with us about moving to Japan and coming to terms with her Zainichi Japanese roots, what the quiet life in a Japanese mountain village is like, and her passion for foraging wild vegetables.A reminder from Emily: don't eat anything you haven’t positively identified and always forage sustainably!--Follow Emily:https://www.instagram.com/down2foragehttps://www.tiktok.com/@down2forage https://www.youtube.com/@down2forage

Follow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe 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 Paul Martin, one of the world's leading Japanese sword experts, who sits down to talk to us about the make and history of Japanese swords, regulations around ownership, and what we can do about Japan's disappearing art of swordmaking.Follow Paul:https://www.thejapanesesword.com/ @Paul_Martin_The_Japanese_Sword  https://www.facebook.com/The.Japanese.Sword/https://www.instagram.com/thejapanesesword/

Today we speak with Andrew, an American who became a foster and adoptive parent in Japan. He opens up about the challenges of navigating Japan’s child welfare system, cultural differences in parenting, and what inspired him to open his home to children in need. Andrew shares his personal journey, misconceptions people often have about adoption in Japan, and how he’s working to change the narrative around fostering and adoption.

Follow Andrew:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/aneuman

Follow Us:

https://unpacking.jp/

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

https://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshorts

https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan

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

https://www.x.com/unpacking_japan

https://www.facebook.com/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/

Additional Links for information on adoption:

The Family of Adoption: Completely Revised and Updated

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/962764.The_Family_of_Adoption

作家デビュー十年で新境地となった、出産を...『朝が来る』辻村深月 | 文春文庫

https://books.bunshun.jp/ud/book/num/9784167991333

Yokohama Yankee: My Family’s Five Generations as Outsiders in Japan - Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien

https://www.dijtokyo.org/ja/event/yokohama-yankee-my-familys-five-generations-as-outsiders-in-japan/

Intercountry Adoption

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/Intercountry-Adoption/Intercountry-Adoption-Country-Information/Japan.html

https://hermes-ir.lib.hit-u.ac.jp/hermes/ir/re/19634/keizaikenkyu06104342.pdf

Here Comes the Sun: A Journey to Adoption in 8 Chakras

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/23282195-here-comes-the-sun

Adoption and Historical Background in Japan

https://www.issj.org/adoption-web-en/roots/history/

Why Is It Important to Increase Foster Care and Adoption Programs? | The Nippon Foundation

https://en.nippon-foundation.or.jp/news/articles/2018/20180403-19604.html

Family Matters: Promoting Special Adoptions in Japan for the Good of Children

en.nippon-foundation.or.jp

https://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00393/

戸籍の窓口II 養子縁組・特別養子縁組 | 日本加除出版

https://www.kajo.co.jp/c/book/01/0101/49172000001?srsltid=AfmBOopYTAlN_Knqcz3XriqnOzldOi7_iveJSUDJM4kquuRDTCKLnu2q

関連書籍 | 子どもたちに家庭をプロジェクト

https://nf-kodomokatei.jp/book/

里親と特別養子縁組

https://www.chuko.co.jp/shinsho/2024/10/102826.html