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.

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0:00 Intro

0:44 Meet James

3:32 Shanghai in the 90s

8:27 Studies at Fudan University

12:18 Coming to Japan

15:34 Finding community in Tokyo

18:14 The reality of Midnight Diner

21:20 Experiences as an outsider

28:42 Differences in Tokyo neighborhoods

33:53 Street food in Japan?

37:02 James's NHK program

41:42 Differences between Tokyo and Shanghai

46:23 Foreigner-run restaurants

50:50 Challenges telling stories on TV

55:10 Kabukicho nightlife

59:30 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

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How Tokyo breeds third spaces

Unpacking Japan

How Tokyo breeds third spaces