How Tokyo breeds third spaces

Meet James Farrer, Professor of Sociology and Global Studies at Sophia University. He sits down to talk to us his sociology study in China and Shanghai, before moving to Tokyo and finding his own community by studying the third spaces that exist in the restaurants around train stations.--0:00 Intro0:44 Meet James3:32 Shanghai in the 90s8:27 Studies at Fudan University12:18 Coming to Japan15:34 Finding community in Tokyo18:14 The reality of Midnight Diner21:20 Experiences as an outsider28:42 Differences in Tokyo neighborhoods33:53 Street food in Japan?37:02 James's NHK program41:42 Differences between Tokyo and Shanghai46:23 Foreigner-run restaurants50:50 Challenges telling stories on TV55:10 Kabukicho nightlife59:30 How comparable are Tokyo and Shanghai really?1:02:36 Have you found your place in Tokyo?1:09:24 The paradoxical freedom of big cities--Follow James:https://www.nishiogiology.org/https://www.instagram.com/japanfoodresearch/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesfarrer/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/