What you should know before opening a restaurant in Japan
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 acro...
26 Des 20251h 13min
How to solve Japan's overtourism problem ft. YamaTrips
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, comp...
23 Des 20251h 15min
The challenges of tourism for a small Japanese town
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 Progr...
19 Des 202553min
How underground black queer culture ended up in Tokyo
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...
16 Des 20251h 8min
Why being a chef in Japan is so exciting
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 navigati...
12 Des 20251h 6min
Why Ikea failed in Japan (and what we learned from it)
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 t...
9 Des 20251h 3min
What life is like in a Japanese mountain village
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 th...
5 Des 20251h 6min
The Sword Specialist: Why swords are the Soul of Japan
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 J...
2 Des 20251h 10min
