Episodes

This episode I speak with Joseph Delmastro, the author of Cultured Gaijin. It’s a unique book set in 1970s Japan about what happens when Joseph, an airman stationed in Tokyo, breaks free from expectations and fully embraces Japan’s traditional way of living and loving. However it’s much more than just a memoir, it’s also a travelog, a cultural and Japanese language reference guide, and it’s also a love story in more ways than one. You will hear all about the motivation behind writing his first n...

Have you ever thought about working for a Japanese company in Japan, but were turned off by all the stories of long hours, low pay, slow career path, no incentives for performance, archaic hierarchy rule setting, social drinking requirements and more? Then this episode is for you. Alvin Tan is here to discuss his recent controversial article on Medium titled “Why More Foreigners in Japan Should Work for Japanese Companies, Six reasons why you should consider working for one”. It was quite the c...

This episode we deep-dive into well-know, but often misunderstood Japanese culture topics with Kiyoshi Matsumoto. Kiyoshi is the author of the book “Japan Unmasked, Understanding Japan and its people”. Kiyoshi is Japanese but has lived outside Japan for 33 years working in the travel industry. During this time he has spend countless hours explaining Japanese culture to his foreign guests and realized there are a lot of common misconceptions about Japan and the Japanese. He wrote Japan Unmasked t...

Drinking wine should be a relaxing event and lifestyle enhancer, at least this is how Swirl co-founder Federico Fanelli views it. Originally from Italy, Federico came to Japan on a mission to introduce the wine lifestyle to Japanese. After a few years selling wine B2B, he together with his co-founder started Swirl, an online wine subscription service. Swirl is a very user friendly website incorporating gamification, fun navigation, and a super easy searchable wine cellar with over 140 wines from...

This episode you will hear from Dominic Carter, an expert on Japan market entry, market research, and branding. Dominic shares great insight, knowledge, and current research results, for anyone working in Japan or looking to expand into Japan needs to hear. You will learn the 3 Golden Rules for Japan market entry success, the 4 Marco Trends shaping modern Japan, as well as numerous great quotes about how to succeed in the Japanese market. This is must listen to anyone doing business in Japan. Ot...

Sean Nichols has been an entertainer on Japanese TV, a Manzai stand-up comedian, the global representative for Japan's biggest YouTuber, went on tour with Aerosmith, but is most famous for his starring role in the Ultraman series - the only foreigner to ever appear in the 40 year history of the franchise. This episode he discusses the dream journey from watching Ultraman on TV as a child, to becoming "Sean White" for 50 episodes. Sean talks about the Japanese entertainment industry from starting...

This updated and re-released episode we get into Hospitality and Retail with professional sales and leadership trainer Masako Yamamura. We discuss Omotenashi possibly leading to world peace, Bartenders are the most fun hospitality people, Commissions and culturally why Japanese avoid the system , Fortune-tellers, and the numerous differences and similarities between the retail and hospitality industries in Japan. Other highlights from our conversation: What the hospitality industry could learn ...

Have you ever considered opening your own bar, cafe, or restaurant in Japan? It seems daunting and bureaucratic doesn't it? On this episode you will hear just how simple it can be. I speak with William Ryan, the founder of Japan Hospitality Consultants (JHC), and the owner of the An Solas Irish Pub in Yoyogi. William has been running Irish pubs in Tokyo for over 20 years and started his own pub in 2014. With this proven track record he started JHC two years ago when he realized there was an unde...

A topic near and dear to my interests and business: Retail in Japan. Specifically the Outlet Mall industry. This episode we hear from Julien Rey, the Leasing Director for the Outlet! Company. Japan already has numerous outlet malls and Julien explains how his company is differentiating and innovating in this competitive market. The fascinating quantitative and psychological factors behind mall layout, location, and loyalty. The politics of space allocation, the strategies malls use to attract cu...

This is a deep-dive into those mystifying Japanese business practices foreigners in Japan often struggle with. Intercultural Facilitator Masafumi Otsuka explains the frustrating Japanese business practice of "Why Japanese mangers change jobs every 3 years", and "Why they always see the glass as half empty". The periodic job rotation system and the risk adverse decision process is logically explained by Masa. This episode is filled with many cultural Japanese business concepts often misunderstood...

Connecting International Curiosity with Japanese Content with 34-year Japan entrepreneur Ruth Jarman. She is the founder of Jarman International and the author of six books in Japanese. We talk about these books, this content, and where her passion for Japan comes from. We also discuss "Reading the Air" and other non-verbal conversation traits in Japan, her top 3 cultural reasons Japanese are uniquely wonderful, and how her new corporate partner is helping solve the nightmare for foreigners that...

It's passionate travel stories from rural Japan, fascinating historical story-telling, and insightful cultural observations with Diane Tincher. Diane has been in Japan for 35 years, lived in Kagoshima for 26 years, has 8 children, and is the owner of the must-see website "More than Tokyo". She is a prolific writer of little known historical stories she has researched in Japanese, an accomplished tour guide for Walk Japan, and her knowledge of Japanese history, folklore, and idyllic rural travel...

Serial entrepreneur Tyson Batino, founder of three businesses in Japan including the successful English school chain One Coin English, is the guest this episode. His latest business is 'Scaling Your Company' where he advises and coaches small business owners how to scale their business 5x to 100x! We talk about his start in Japan, how three mentors changed his career and his business life. Tyson even shares the best two pieces of advise from these mentors about working in Japan. Tyson explains ...

If you are a regular listener to Now and Zen, you'll know many of my fascinating guests are non-Japanese living in Japan. So it's always fun to have a bi-cultural Japanese guest on the show and hear their insights and perspectives. This episode I speak with Yuko Tamura, she is an award-winning writer on the Medium platform and the editor of Japonica - the publication for everything Japan. She describes her writing as Fun Facts about Japan and "a little Rebellious essays" from Tokyo. We discuss ...

This episode I step outside my comfort zone and talk about investing with Alternative Investment Specialist Frank Packard. Specifically we discuss Passion Investing, things like art, watches, and fine wine. What are the opportunities and what are the risks. Do you have a collection of something which might be worth a lot of money? Then you know It's not just about portfolio diversification, but also about the joy of ownership. Frank is really interesting, he was actually born in Japan and only m...

A very entertaining conversation all about the Italian pasta business in Japan. This episode you meet Nikhil Gupte the Managing Director for Barilla Japan. Barilla is a 145 year old family owned Italian food company and Nikhil is responsible for introducing their traditions, values, and world famous pasta to the Japanese market. What happens when Italian authenticity comes up against Japanese Wafu style pasta recipes? Why Barilla's packaging is unique only to Japan? How has COVID changed the way...

I thought it might be a challenge to interview my old friend David Clement. After-all we both grew up in the same small town and have known each other in Japan for over 20 years. However, his wisdom, Japan insight, and most of all, his entertaining stories make this a very fascinating episode. 22 years in B2B sales working with the biggest names in Japan and now the country manager for a "perfect start-up" in Japan. How does one make this big transition? David shares three riveting stories on le...

Fascinating innovations are happening in the food & beverage industry around the world and Ugo Bataillard is introducing them to Japan. Ugo is the Founder and CEO of GourmetPro, a startup which began as a Japan market-entry consulting company for foreign food and beverage companies. After a successful 1st year of having too much business, GourmetPro shifted their business model to focus more on plant and cell based foods, sustainability, and other innovations in food and beverage. You will hear ...

Cynthia Usui becomes the 1st ever return guest to the podcast. Less than a year ago, Cynthia was surviving as a part-time supermarket cashier after losing her high profile job, and now, she is the Japan Country manager for a new chain of budget hotels in Tokyo! LOF Hotels. Once again Cynthia has reinvented herself. This episode you will hear this amazing story, why she initially turned down the hotel offer, how she's using her personal brand as a marketing tool, what is the business model of thi...

Now and Zen Japan welcomes Mr. Ed Thompson, a Marketing Consultant and the founder of Concept Design. This episode we share beers and talk about his 20+ years in Japan and professional career in marketing, branding, advertising, and academia. He has also been a lecturer at Temple University for over 15 years. Ed is a straight talker and has strong opinions when it comes to the business of marketing. We discuss his early years in Japan getting beat up with bamboo sticks everyday, working with bur...

This episode is an entertaining and simulating conversation with a forward-thinking, self-described "Evangelist" for for Digital Transformation in Japan, Mr. Evan Berkosky. Before you decide to tune-out because "Digital Transformation" sounds unexciting, Hold On! Evan makes this topic both insightful and relevant and shares his ideas on how he would initiate quick wins to transform Japan digital landscape if he were to hypothetically, be appointed to the newly created "Japan Digital Agency". Wha...

This episode I have an entertaining conversation with an old friend of mine. Yukie Kito is an award winning movie producer with over 20 films to her credit. This is really an "insiders" episode where we talk about her life, challenges, and successes as an independent producer and really gain a lot of insight into the Japanese film industry: What has happened to creativity and how some missteps have allowed S. Korea to become Asia's entertainment powerhouse. She talks about some great memories ma...

It's time to get your motor running and head out to the highway. This episode I speak with the president of Ducati Japan Mr. Mats Lindstrom. You do not need to be a "bike guy" or a "gear-head" to enjoy this conversation with Mats. We chat about "Empowerment" in Japan, his unique strategy and reasons for conducting management meetings in English, and his biggest takeaways from days at IKEA when he arrived in Japan to set up the first stores in 2005. Of course we also talk about the bike business,...

This episode we are treated to a wonderful conversation with an amazing woman who continues to have a fascinating life. Karen Hill Anton discusses her memoir "The View from Breast Pocket Mountain". Published in late 2020 the book has received numerous literary awards and has a 5 start rating from Amazon. We talk about her motivation behind writing her 1st book, she offers solid advise for anyone contemplating a memoir, dive into some of the back stories and highlights from her book, and the chal...