Unpacking Japan

Meet Pablo Aida, a shibari artist who's been practicing in Japan for the last 10 years. He sits down to talk to us about discovering shibari, the philosophy and history behind it, the differences between shibari and kinbaku, and the common misconceptions of this still developing art form.--0:00 Intro0:50 Coming to Japan10:44 Deciding to stay12:42 Discovering shibari19:14 Shibari apprenticeship31:57 Why tie people up?41:05 Kinbaku vs. shibari vs. BDSM47:36 Does shibari have rules?51:40 Common shibari misconceptions54:16 Shibari and the power of surrender1:07:05 Shibari overseas vs. Japan--Follow Pablo:https://www.pabloaida.comhttps://aidamethod.studiohttps://www.instagram.com/pablo.shibariFollow 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 Keiko Fukuichi, a Japanese freelance translator, who sits down to talk to us about her experience translating games, particularly indie darlings Undertale and Hades. She talks to us about nuances of Japanese translation, the biggest challenges she's had, and her experiences studying abroad and learning English.--0:00 Intro0:50 How Keiko learned English5:10 Studying at Florida high school11:20 Deciding on translation as a career13:40 Translation school18:28 Interest in book translation23:44 Experience as a gamer25:35 First game translation project27:21 Limitations translating games to Japanese28:40 Taking on Undertale project30:12 Translating Papyrus33:40 Limitations of not using kanji38:41 Keiko's translation philosophy40:35 Translating puns, jokes, and memes43:54 Working with Toby "Radiation" Fox45:11 Translation workflow48:37 Do you play your own work?49:48 Translating Hades52:33 Translating old English55:41 Can you use difficult kanji?1:00:14 Translating with voice acting1:02:38 Changes in translation industry over 20 years1:06:07 Dealing with slang1:08:38 Looking back1:09:42 Are you worried about AI?1:12:55 Do you have time to play games?1:16:01 Studying vocabulary for Return of the Obra Dinn1:17:42 Is interest in foreign indie games growing?--Follow Keiko:https://www.instagram.com/keiko.fukuichi/https://www.facebook.com/keiko.fukuichihttps://x.com/keiko_fukuichihttps://note.com/kfukuichiFollow 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 Ray, an entrepreneur running a ryokan in Toyama. He sits down to talk to us about his experience in the hospitality industry, his interest and move to Japan, and his challenges establishing a business under the government's new regulations.After recording our interview, Ray thought it would be important to share his visa status. That segment has been added to the beginning of the interview for context.--0:00 Intro0:50 Ray's visa situation3:48 30 days to leave8:46 What now?11:27 Main interview—Why Japan?18:04 Finding a property to buy23:36 Business manager visa25:34 Bringing family to Japan28:46 Coming to Japan for Ray's children35:39 The real work begins37:01 Hotel licenses in Japan40:57 Building a team in Japan44:28 Setting up a restaurant/bakery47:57 Navigating the language barrier53:00 Joining the community in Toyama56:37 How Ray financed his hotel59:14 What he's learned since arriving1:01:32 Why you should visit Toyama--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 Derek, co-founder of YukiHomes, a service that helps people overseas buy cheap homes in Japan. He sits down to talk to us about his own journey buying an akiya in Japan and running a business from overseas, as well as how YukiHomes fits into Japan's problems with depopulation and gentrification.--0:00 Intro0:50 Buying their first home in Japan7:14 Skiing in Japan vs. the U.S.12:28 Why Japan?14:18 Discovering akiya18:49 Regulations on rental properties26:36 Why buy property in Japan?29:21 Should foreigners be allowed to buy property?32:19 Building community businesses34:15 Operating a business from overseas41:20 Getting stopped at the airport44:42 The "right" way to buy akiya?49:14 Aging ski infrastructure52:14 Dealing with an old Japanese house55:22 Next steps--Follow Derek:https://www.yukihomes.comhttps://www.instagram.com/yukihomesjapan @YukiHomes 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 Martin Fackler, a journalist and author based in Japan. He sits down to talk to us about his career in China and Japan, what went into reporting his biggest stories, and the problems with Japan's kisha club system.--0:00 Intro0:50 Meet Martin8:50 Advantages of a foreign journalist15:48 Journalistic autonomy29:20 Japanese bank extortion story37:42 Managing information as a journalist44:23 The Hainan incident49:15 Running from the Chinese police55:08 Responsibility to international conflict59:54 The Japanese banking crisis1:09:45 Responsibility as Tokyo Bureau Chief1:15:34 The Fukushima disaster1:31:45 Journalism vs. safety1:40:53 Why don't we know what happened?1:46:33 Failure of the Japanese media1:56:07 The Japanese press oligarchies2:06:28 Social media's influence on journalism2:19:28 Why AI can't do journalism2:22:53 Looking ahead--Follow Martin: https://x.com/martfackFollow 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/