What life in a 1970s Japanese farmhouse was like episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 3, 2026 · 1H 6M

What life in a 1970s Japanese farmhouse was like

from Unpacking Japan · host Produced by ZenStudio

Meet Karen Hill Anton, a writer who first came to Japan in the 1970s. She tells us about living in a martial arts dojo before moving to an old farmhouse and raising her children in the countryside, and sharing her experiences here as a writer.--0:00 Intro4:05 Living in a dojo7:48 Moving to an old farmhouse14:21 Deciding to stay long-term19:48 Life in Hamamatsu22:27 Karen's dance class24:24 When did you decide to settle permanently?27:58 Key topics in her Japan Times column31:05 Raising children in Japan36:25 What is home?41:17 Working as a corporate consultant50:15 Karen's novel set in 1970s Japan58:58 Looking back1:02:26 Advice to people moving to Japan--Follow Karen:https://www.karenhillanton.com/https://www.instagram.com/karenhillanton/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 Karen Hill Anton, a writer who first came to Japan in the 1970s. She tells us about living in a martial arts dojo before moving to an old farmhouse and raising her children in the countryside, and sharing her experiences here as a writer.--0:00 Intro4:05 Living in a dojo7:48 Moving to an old farmhouse14:21 Deciding to stay long-term19:48 Life in Hamamatsu22:27 Karen's dance class24:24 When did you decide to settle permanently?27:58 Key topics in her Japan Times column31:05 Raising children in Japan36:25 What is home?41:17 Working as a corporate consultant50:15 Karen's novel set in 1970s Japan58:58 Looking back1:02:26 Advice to people moving to Japan--Follow Karen:https://www.karenhillanton.com/https://www.instagram.com/karenhillanton/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/

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What life in a 1970s Japanese farmhouse was like

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This episode is 1 hour and 6 minutes long.

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This episode was published on April 3, 2026.

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Meet Karen Hill Anton, a writer who first came to Japan in the 1970s. She tells us about living in a martial arts dojo before moving to an old farmhouse and raising her children in the countryside, and sharing her experiences here as a writer.--0:00...

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