Unpacking Japan

Meet Chris Hart, an American-born Japanese singer who rose to fame suddenly in 2013, getting the opportunity to sing on Kohaku the same year he debuted.He sits down to talk to us about learning Japanese and being thrust into the spotlight so soon after moving to Japan, how he carved out a new path to success as a foreigner and how he sets himself apart from other j-pop singers, as well as stepping away from the spotlight to focus on his family and his current activities as an independent artist.--0:00 Intro0:50 Japanese study & homestay7:00 Getting back to Japan9:38 Learning to sing in Japanese11:40 Job at vending machine company15:52 Becoming a professional singer18:50 Success as a cover singer20:55 Carving out a new career path as a foreigner29:28 Choosing what to perform35:09 Breaking Japanese singing conventions40:53 Performing on Kohaku44:58 What Kohaku did to his debut album50:13 Touring Japan as a singer53:20 Dealing with celebrity status59:16 Pressure as a 'hit' artist1:03:10 Stepping back from the spotlight1:06:53 Coming back after hiatus1:11:23 Looking back1:14:55 Moving to Hokkaido1:18:26 Current activities1:22:13 Final words--Follow Chris: @ChrisHart_Songs https://iamchrishart.com/https://www.instagram.com/chrishart_officialhttps://www.tiktok.com/@chrishart_jphttps://x.com/chrishart_jphttps://www.facebook.com/heartsongjapanFollow 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 Billy Blanks, a fitness coach known for his Billy's Bootcamp Tae Bo workout program, which skyrocketed him to celebrity status when it came to Japan. He sits down to talk about developing Tae Bo and Billy's Bootcamp, what it was like coming to Japan for the first time, and his own fitness goals here.--0:00 Intro0:50 Finding out he's famous in Japan4:15 Developing Tae Bo workout15:15 How Tae Bo became Billy's Bootcamp25:47 Coming to Japan33:04 Breaking through the language barrier36:07 How Billy's teaching changed in Japan42:34 Tae Bo vs. martial arts45:13 Fitness in Japan50:47 Training with martial arts masters55:56 Billy's goal in life1:01:31 Last words from Billy--Follow Billy:https://www.youtube.com/@taebohttps://www.taebonation.com/https://www.instagram.com/billyblanksofficial1https://www.tiktok.com/@billyblanksofficialhttps://www.facebook.com/thebillyblanks/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 Carla, a German designer known for her videos sharing her eccentric and sometimes silly office and coworkers in Japan. She sits down to talk to us about her journey to and misadventures in Japan, how she got hired at her company and what she does, and projects like the manga she wrote for Comiket.--0:00 Intro0:50 Interest in Japan and anime5:36 Coming to Japan11:07 Internship in Osaka15:25 Homestay with president's parents19:15 Getting hired at current company25:56 First day at work33:52 The eccentric company president36:16 How the social media started40:14 T̶h̶e̶ o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ c̶a̶s̶t̶ m̶e̶m̶b̶e̶r̶s Carla's coworkers43:22 Surprises about Japanese office life51:09 She went viral, what now?55:54 Setting up a booth at Comiket1:00:12 Making a manga (Comiket Take 2)1:07:08 Carla's vending machine designs1:10:22 Is Hayakawa-san single?Follow Carla:https://www.youtube.com/@misstranslatiohttps://www.instagram.com/misstranslationhttps://www.tiktok.com/@misstranslationhttps://misstranslation-shop.fourthwall.com/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 Adrian, an illustrator in Japan best known for his work on magazines like Popeye, Tarzan, and Hanako. He sits down to talk to us about building his career in Japan, what's great about Japanese magazines, and the secret to being a productive artist.--0:00 Intro0:50 Meet Adrian5:13 First year in Aomori12:19 Coming back to Japan18:25 Getting work by drawing in public22:04 Selling point of his style in Japan24:22 Viral coffee cup illustrations26:47 Adrian's sketchbook: Drawing is observation34:15 Role of social media for artists37:25 Working with Popeye magazine51:15 Proof of trust as an artist in Japan53:37 Making a magazine cover56:55 Print magazines vs. social media1:04:58 Selling merch as an artist1:08:38 Community as an artist1:13:07 Blind drawing exercise1:16:48 Adrian's sketchbook1:20:14 Drawing Tobi/Reverse interview--Follow Adrian:https://www.adrianhogan.comhttps://www.instagram.com/adehoganhttps://x.com/adehoganFollow 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 Gearoid Reidy, a journalist at Bloomberg Japan. He sits down to talk to us about his career as a journalist, his perspective covering finance and some of the biggest scandals in recent history, and his perspective as an opinion writer and why people should pay more attention to Japanese politics.--0:00 Intro0:50 Meet Gearoid5:03 JET in rural Hiroshima10:17 Working at Capcom in Osaka13:00 Joining Bloomberg Japan22:19 Learning to write about finance25:27 The Toshiba scandal29:45 Managing a news team33:12 Reading between the lines in corporate speak36:26 Translating Japanese information to English38:17 Difference in journalism for finance company39:52 Machine learning to filter information43:48 Does Japan need AI?49:35 Becoming Bureau Chief52:32 Pivoting to opinion columnist1:06:23 What you need to be an opinion writer1:12:34 People should care more about Japanese politics1:19:44 Where to begin with Japanese poiltics1:24:36 On the Takaichi administration1:30:57 What is the "real" Japan?1:36:24 Goals for the future1:39:29 The Carlos Ghosn scandal--Follow Gearoid:https://x.com/GearoidReidyFollow 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/