Meet Karen Hill Anton, a writer who first came to Japan in the 1970s. She tells us about living in a martial arts dojo before moving to an old farmhouse and raising her children in the countryside, and sharing her experiences here as a writer.--0:00 Intro4:05 Living in a dojo7:48 Moving to an old farmhouse14:21 Deciding to stay long-term19:48 Life in Hamamatsu22:27 Karen's dance class24:24 When did you decide to settle permanently?27:58 Key topics in her Japan Times column31:05 Raising children in Japan36:25 What is home?41:17 Working as a corporate consultant50:15 Karen's novel set in 1970s Japan58:58 Looking back1:02:26 Advice to people moving to Japan--Follow Karen:https://www.karenhillanton.com/https://www.instagram.com/karenhillanton/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 Micaela, a vlogger based in Fukuoka, Japan. She sits down to talk to us about going to Japanese high school and music school, working as a full-time influencer at an agency in early YouTube, and her current life in Fukuoka.--0:00 Intro0:46 Meet Micaela3:05 First interest in Japan 6:25 Was Miyazaki a personal choice?8:02 High school in Japan 13:11 Why Japan became home14:36 Choosing Kyushu over Tokyo16:12 Teaching English in Japan20:36 Vocational school in Japan24:58 Experience at YouTuber agency34:57 Experiences on Japanese TV40:57 What makes Kyushu special56:31 What's next for Micaela59:15 How content creation has changed over time1:04:31 What has changed in Japan over 20 years1:08:23 Micaela's recommended dishes--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 Peter Frankl, a Hungarian mathematician living in Japan. Peter sits down to talk to us about his life and journey to Japan, his NHK series for children, and why he thinks the Japanese have a mathematician's mindset.

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0:00 Intro

0:44 Meet Peter

5:14 Arriving in Japan in 1982

10:08 Researching in Japan

15:04 Peter's fascination with math

19:51 Japanese people are kind of like mathematicians

29:28 Peter's autobiography

39:37 Peter's NHK show Mathematica

52:07 Being an independent mathematician

57:25 Current work

1:03:09 Working with Japanese mathematicians

1:10:21 Peter's juggling career

1:27:35 Looking back

Follow Peter:

http://peterfrankl.com/

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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 Harry, an indie music promoter working in Tokyo. He sits down to talk to us about his love of Japanese indie music, the mind-boggling variety of acts you can find, and how you can get tickets as a foreigner in Japan.

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0:00 Intro

0:44 Meet Harry

7:05 Interest in Japanese music

12:21 Japanese music has EVERYTHING

22:18 Favorite stories

26:51 How to support the scene

32:12 Helping foreigners get tickets with Gigs in Tokyo

39:49 Reaction from performers and venues

42:42 Is it working?

46:57 Organizing his own events

54:09 Scene beyond Tokyo

57:10 Next steps

--

Follow Harry:

⁠ @angura_live

https://www.instagram.com/gigsintokyo/

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https://unpacking.jp/

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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 Shibuya Kaho, a writer, cosplayer, and livestreamer from Tokyo. She sits down to talk with us about her time as a journalist, her book on the AV industry, and her current life as a streamer and cosplayer.

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0:00 Intro

4:17 All-girls school in Japan

7:57 Journalism internship

11:48 Time as a sports journalist

17:58 Book about the AV industry

23:18 Reaction from the industry

29:52 Suing the AV industry

33:12 Cosplay career

37:06 Being a cosplay judge/host

44:40 How to work with Japanese companies

50:42 Overcoming stigma as a woman and former AV actress

52:49 Streaming career

55:21 Learning kimono

1:00:44 Book about becoming fluent in English

1:08:36 Kaho's single life

--

Follow Kaho:

https://www.kaho-shibuya.com

https://www.twitch.tv/shibuya_kaho

https://www.instagram.com/shibukaho

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

https://x.com/Shibukaho

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 Zhafira, an Indonesian content creator who spent several years in Japan growing up, returning to Indonesia and coming back to Japan as an adult. She sits down to talk to us about her life between countries and the challenges faced by Japanese Muslims and Muslim immigrants here.

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0:00 Intro

0:44 Meet Zhafira

4:24 Growing up Muslim in Japan

8:31 Going to school as a Muslim in Japan

11:10 Culture shock returning to Indonesia

15:20 Coming back to Japan

19:04 Interest in academia

26:49 University in Japan as Muslim

29:39 Managing prayer schedules here as Muslim

32:00 Halal food in Japan

34:30 Growing islamophobia in Japan

40:58 Misconceptions about Muslims in Japan

45:24 Is there a Muslim voice on social media?

51:08 Zhafira's work and research in sex education

58:28 Sex education taboo in Islam

1:03:48 Moving to Tokyo

1:08:06 Muslim community in Japan

1:12:05 Challenges with employment as Muslim in Japan

--

Follow Zhafira:

https://zhafiraiha.com/

⁨@Zhafiraiha⁩

https://www.instagram.com/zhafiraiha

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

https://medium.com/@zhafira.aqyla

https://x.com/zhafiraqyla

Follow us:

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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 Dani, a content creator from Venezuela also known as the guy in the fox mask. Dani sits down to talk to us about his journey to Japan, what it was like for him to work here, the reality of being a Japan content creator, and where the heck the mask came from.

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0:00 Intro

0:44 Meet Dani

6:37 Start in content creation

9:24 Content creation process

13:06 Becoming a full-time creator

16:52 How to stay unique in a sea of content

19:15 Story behind the mask

22:06 Taking off the mask

24:46 Thoughts on overtourism and content creation

30:11 Favourite areas of Japan

34:34 Is it possible to stay authentic?

37:41 Misconceptions about Japan creators

39:57 Moving forward

--

Follow Dani:

⁨@foxmaskdaze⁩

https://www.instagram.com/foxmaskdaze/

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

https://www.facebook.com/foxmaskjapanon/

Follow us:

https://unpacking.jp/

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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 Evie, a fashion model and content creator living in Tokyo. Evie sits down to talk to us about her interest in Japanese fashion, how Japanese styles are being taken overseas, and her own fashion and feminism content.--0:00 Intro0:44 Meet Evie5:44 Coming to Japan for fashion8:57 Where subcultures come from11:19 Foreign view on subcultures12:12 Moving to Japan16:35 Job hunting in Japan21:11 Start in content creation24:23 Is Japan safe for women?28:10 What does feminism mean to you?31:47 Feminism in content creation34:03 What's changed in Japan?39:04 Is it difficult to talk about Japan's problems?42:19 Evie's life in Japan now44:06 Do you feel responsibility as a creator?46:31 Working with Japanese brands as a creator51:57 Using her philosophy degree52:55 Mixing business and content creation54:24 Misconceptions about feminism in Japan--Follow Evie: @eviebunnie https://www.instagram.com/eviebunniex/https://www.tiktok.com/@eviebunnieFollow 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/