Episodes

The phrase "Do what you love and you never have to work another day in your life" fits Mac Salman perfectly. Mac left the finance industry and pursued his passions - Travel, Japan, and tasty spirits. We discuss his customized tour business Maction Planet where he has never conducted the same itinerary twice. Then his pivot to Kanpai Planet when the pandemic halted Japan tourism. We discuss these two businesses and life in Tokyo while we sample three "Japan Related" tequilas. Mac is an inimitable...

Meshida is an ex-Japanese salaryman turned English language standup comedian. For the past eight years Meshida has been performing his style of comedy in both Japan and the UK. In addition he is a successful YouTuber, mostly known for his comedic commentary on Japan's "pink" culture despite his many other "wholesome" cultural topics. We discuss why he decided to become a full-time standup comedian, the difference between Japanese and Western humor, stories from the stage, how much he earns from ...

This conversation is one of the most amazing I've had since starting Now and Zen Japan. This episode could certainly change your life. Especially if you suffer from unhealthy lifestyle habits. Prepare to be blown away by Kaki Okumura's wisdom, demeanor, and insight into well-being and nutrition. Kaki breaks down Japanese based wellness concepts through her "Four Essential Pillars to Healthy Living" in a very convincing and non-preachy way. She is a writer, an illustrator, a wellness coach, and v...

It's a real feel-good conversation with uber positive and incredibly humble entrepreneur Anthony Griffin. He is the founder of Saga Consulting where he "helps organizations and individuals tell their story to the world". It's global communications through excellent copy-writing, digital marketing, and cross-cultural coaching. Anthony often writes insightful and though-provoking articles for Kokoro Media on LinkedIn. He is especially passionate about Japanese language learning and frequently offe...

We all miss traveling, and this episode I get to speak with long-time, airline professional, Don Bunkenburg. Don is the Senior Director in Japan for the Lufthansa Group. Which includes Swiss Airlines, Austrian Airlines, and Germany's Lufthansa. We talk about how Lufthansa competes in the Japan market renowned for its level of service and hospitality, the "No risk culture" similarities between Germany and Japan, how each airline in the group tailors their service offering to reflect the culture o...

Frank Foley is a charismatic 30-year Japan professional with a deep understanding of character licensing, content marketing, and IP management. He was the country manager for Guinness World Records Japan where he successfully shifted the business model from wacky and crazy to a more Japan focused local strategy. Even participating in the record-setting worlds largest beef skewer event. Frank has represented IP entertainment brands from the Rolling Stones and Ariana Grande to children's education...

Part 2 of my interview with author Robert Whiting about his recent best selling memoir "Tokyo Junkie" 60 years of bright lights, back alleys, and baseball. In this episode, Bob tells great stories about colorful foreign players and well-known Japanese baseball stars. Part 2, we talk mostly about the baseball stories from his memoir, but also get into the important story of how writing his first book "The Chrysanthemum and the Bat" completely changed his life. Together with episode #1 this is ano...

I have been a big fan of Robert Whiting ever since I read "Chrysanthemum and the Bat" back in high school in the 1980's. Numerous, critically acclaimed books later, I sit down with Bob to discuss his latest book, a memoir, "Tokyo Junkie" 60 Years of Bright Lights and Back Alleys . . . and baseball. We discuss his firsthand insights into six decades of of entertaining, dangerous, bizarre, and heartfelt experiences sandwiched between the 1st Olympics in 1962 to the current 2021 games. This is part...

This episode is #40, and the content is a little different from the past 39 episodes in that today's guest is . . . myself. It's actually a re-purposed podcast from Dr. Greg Story's "Japan's Top Business Interviews" podcast. I was a guest on his show in early 2021 and took that content and edited it to use for this Now and Zen's 40th episode. The original podcast (thus this episode) we discussed my 30 year journey from department store buyer to helping everybody in love with culinary, achieve th...

Have you ever dreamed of an ultimate luxury vacation in Japan? If so, then Alex Debs is your man. He is the founder of Hitotoki, the Luxury Travel Designer. This episode you will hear all the intimate details of luxury travel planning in Japan including the most demanding request his team was tasked with. We find out how he has been coping despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the struggles as a small & specialized agency and dealing with the large Japan travel associations, exclusiv...

Parissa Haghirian is an internationally renowned expert on Japanese Management and Leadership and a Professor of International Management at Sofia University. She is the author of 12 books on Japanese Management, Cross-Cultural topics, and Consumer Dynamics. We examine these as well as some cultural concepts from her latest book. We also discuss how Japanese management practice is uniquely different, successful Japanese corporate survival strategies and what foreign firms can learn, why cross-cu...

Everything you ever wanted to know about the grocery & convenience store business in Japan with Haribo Japan President, Paul Craft. He is an expert on Japan's packaged consumer goods market. Paul started his Japan career 13 years ago with Starbucks Japan, then launched HoneyBaked Ham (their first ever foreign expansion), and has been the country manager for Haribo Japan since 2018. We discuss the production of a localized Haribo TV commercial with real Sumo wrestlers, inside info on distribution...

Jeff Crawford is the president of Zo Digital, a bi-lingual digital marketing agency he founded over seven years ago. He describes many of the mistakes foreign companies make when setting up their web presence in Japan and explains how to remedy these issues. What hidden gems can be discovered in your site analytics to improve eCom sales. Why Japanese sites are often so busy and loud. Simple and practical advise on how to increase traffic and improve conversion rates through "Authoritativeness" a...

Neil Butler is a 40-year Tokyo veteran and CEO / Publisher of Metropolis Magazine. Neil is well-known in Japan from his successful 13 year stint with Australian Meat & Livestock where he coined the catch-phrase "Aussie Beef" and you will hear this great marketing success story during this episode. However for the past 13 years, he has been the driving force behind the free Tokyo magazine Metropolis and its on-line version. Neil talks about his numerous challenges he has faced in the publishing b...

A fascinating look into the on-line gaming business in Japan with Aiko Smith, the CEO of Aloha Shark Casino. Aiko has more than 15 years experience in this exciting industry and is one of the pioneers in the Japanese on-line casino market. This episode you will hear how Aloha Shark localizes their site for Japanese players, learn about on-line casino’s “Payout Percentage” and how this compares to other forms of gambling in Japan. How the potential future legalization of land casinos in Japan wil...

Katheryn Gronauer is the founder of Thrive Tokyo. She is a cross-cultural trainer and business coaching entrepreneur based in Tokyo. We speak about the most common cultural frustrations newcomers to Japan face and how she helps them overcome these challenges. As a young entrepreneur, discuss self-branding and how she markets her services, how her early start in health coaching led to the beginnings for Thrive Tokyo, an in-depth analysis of Japanese communication styles and why this topic is ofte...

Learn how to become a confident public speaker, a more effective presenter, and the formula for influential story-telling. Dr. Greg Story is the president of Dale Carnegie Japan and the best-selling author of "Japan Sales Mastery" and "Japan Business Mastery". We discuss successful sales techniques and how the sales process will change post COVID and other topics from his books. We debate if his six different podcasts is "too much content", and Greg tells stories of true-life experiences which c...

Deanna Elstrom is a veteran brand marketer, brand strategist, and consumer insights specialist. She has recently launched her own company called Somi Insights, where she combines her love of branding with a fascination of how culture influences human behavior. Japanese consumers is a key area of Deanna's expertise as she led two major agencies during the past seven years in Japan. We discuss the the Japanese name "Somi" which she coined, we learn the big difference between "insights" and "findin...

Eric D'Ignazio, a 14-year Japan hospitality veteran who's resume includes InterContinental Hotels and the The Accor Group. Eric has spent his entire professional life working in Japan and has had a very non-traditional hotel career path where he eventually became Representative Director at Accor for seven years. It seems his destiny was to work in hospitality as he got his start as a child working at his grandfather's Italian restaurant in Philadelphia. Eric recants the training and cultural ins...

Dive into the world of traditional Japanese sword making with craftsman Taro Asano. He is one of only a handful of practicing "Kajiya" (a person who forges Japanese swords / Katana) still in Japan. He also offers a workshop in English where people come to make their own custom-forged "Samurai knife". It's a unique once in a lifetime experience. We discuss all things Katana, how he became a Kajiya, his future plans - which include taking on a 20-year old American apprentice and creating a You-Tub...

Welcome a true Hospitality Professional to the podcast. Mr. Matthias Sutter, the Rep. Director of Shangri-La Hotels Japan and the GM of the Shangri-La Hotel Tokyo. We discuss Japanese customer service, how different nationalities have different hospitality expectations, his two requirements for anyone to succeed in the hotel business, and how starting off in Food & Beverage helped craft his strong sense of hospitality. We also talk Trip Advisor, hotel rankings, and the guest comments he likes th...

An amazing and iconic Tokyo veteran - Timothy Langley. With over 40 years experience in Japan, Timothy is the founder of Japan's premier government & public consultancy Langley Esquire. Most unique about Timothy, he was the first foreigner to work in the Japan National Diet working alongside many senior Japanese politicians. In addition he has served as top Legal & Gov't Affairs Specialist for Apple Computer (Japan), General Counsel to General Motors (Japan) and director of numerous companies fr...

Award-winning broadcaster and radio host Guy Perryman. Guy's soothing and melodic voice has been heard throughout Japan for the past 30 years starting with the launch of Virgin Megastores in 1990 and then Tokyo's InterFM since 1997. In addition, he's a voice actor, event producer, and writer. He has DJ'd for British Royalty and interviewed 100's of world famous artists and businessmen from Paul McCartney and Sting to Richard Branson and designer Paul Smith. We discuss some of these interactions ...

This episode I sit down with Japan veteran and savvy businessman Seth Sulkin. He is the founder of Pacifica Capital an international hotel developer and operator. He has also recently become a disruptor in the restaurant food delivery business with the launch of his new gourmet restaurant food delivery app Food-e. In this episode we learn all about this booming industry, why before Food-e high-end restaurants couldn't or wouldn't join delivery apps, and the innovations which convinced these repu...