Unpacking Japan cover art

Unpacking Japan

Unpacking Japan

Written by: Produced by ZenStudio
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About this listen

Unpacking Japan explores Japanese arts, culture, and business through the lives of foreigners who have made this amazing country their home. While we’ve all seen vlogs and movies showing Japan from a pop culture perspective, Unpacking Japan tells the stories that get left by the wayside—the immigrants, the entrepreneurs, and the artists. Tune in every week for an authentic, inspiring conversation with someone who’s carved out their own, unique place in this beautiful country. Host: Tobias Bieker Production: A. Magdych Editing: L. Nicholas, J. Sketchley Social: J. Sketchley Design: M. KogaProduced by ZenStudio Social Sciences
Episodes
  • The reality of "Japan" content ft. @foxmaskdaze ​
    Mar 13 2026

    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.

    --

    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

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    Follow Dani:

    ⁨@foxmaskdaze⁩

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

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

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


    Follow us:

    https://unpacking.jp/

    https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japan

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

    https://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapan

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

    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/

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    47 mins
  • How safe is Japan for women? ft. eviebunniex
    Mar 6 2026

    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/

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    58 mins
  • Why early kabuki performances were banned
    Mar 3 2026

    Meet Tove Bjoerk, a professor of Japanese culture and kabuki researcher at Saitama University, who sits down to talk to us about the history of kabuki. She tells us about the origins of kabuki performances, how it's evolved throughout the years, and the secret to why it remains so successful to this day.--0:00 Intro0:44 Meet Tove8:48 Interest in theatre9:56 Interest in Ichikawa Danjuro14:24 What makes kabuki special16:36 A stage art for the poor19:27 Kabuki was banned23:11 How popular was kabuki?27:15 Was kabuki style consistent across Japan?28:43 Diaries of Ichikawa Danjuro34:40 What do you need to know before seeing kabuki?37:33 Kabuki gets banned again44:52 Bjoerk's least favorite play47:09 Kabuki acting56:25 Ongoing research1:00:31 Founder of kabuki1:03:58 Kabuki today--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/

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    1 hr and 9 mins
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