Abroad in Japan Featured in Japan's Biggest Newspaper! | My Top 4 Media Blunders Revealed

"VIDEOS LIKE A PARTY" reads the headline on Japan's biggest newspaper, the Yomiuri Shinbun.

Below the headline, is a large photo of me filming myself, whilst standing alone in the middle of a road.

"Videos like a party".

Filming myself.

"Videos like a party"

Alone in the middle of a road.

Over the years, the Abroad in Japan channel has been featured fairly regularly in the mainstream media, and it often seems to go slightly wrong, with the effect of me looking comically ridiculous somehow.

To be honest, I revel in the absurdity. It's usually more fun and memorable when things don't work out and all in all I was grateful for the opportunity to feature in the paper.

It always feels great to get the Abroad in Japan name out there, as I feel like it's representing everyone who's a part of the Abroad in Japan community, from fellow presenters such as Natsuki, Ryotaro and Pete Donaldson to you guys on Patreon who back what we do.

Getting any form of acknowledgement from the media, makes me feel like I've been able to impress everyone who has a stake in the Abroad in Japan pie.

You can read the article online here though folks:
- http://www.the-japan-news.com/news/article/0005857938

Over the years, we've had all sorts of features from the Japan Times discussing Natsuki: The Movie (https://bit.ly/2Y2hRMK), to a video of me swearing about North Korean missiles in the World Economic Forum (https://bit.ly/2vQ9CBp), and even being referred to as a Swear Word Missionary in the London Metro (https://bit.ly/2Jx46xG).

One day I'll have to write every single feature down in a big scrapbook, as they're usually fairly entertaining and above all, ripe for satire.

But it made me cast my mind back to four  memorable examples that stand out, as wonderful examples of when things don't all go according to plan.

4) "BREXIT DEFINITELY WON'T HAPPEN."

The day before the British public voted for Brexit, a Japanese tv crew came to my apartment to hear my thoughts on it all, what with being the token British guy in north Japan.

I'd read the Guardian that morning and confidently prophecised Brexit would never happen in a million years (mainly because all the polls at the time predicted it wouldn't and I simply regurgitated their commentary).

BEFORE BREXIT: Confident, brilliant, sophisticated.

Later that night, Brexit definitely happened.
(Or at least the vote did).

The next morning the tv crew came to my apartment again and I had to sit in a chair and look glum (mainly because they told me to). In one of my first appearances on Japanese tv, I quickly discovered that the producers effectively give you the opinions and then tell you to repeat them. I went along with it, proclaiming the UK and everyone in it would probably be dead in 18 months and Japan was better.

The whole affair made me realise it's probably best to avoid politics and Japanese tv and stick to eating fried chicken alone in a room.

AFTER BREXIT: Absolute tool.

3) ARE YOU YOUTUBER?

Once upon a time a Youtuber called Logan Paul came to Japan.
Whilst most foreign tourists go and eat sushi and look at a temple, Logan Paul had different ideas.
He filmed someone who'd hung themselves and followed it up the next day by throwing a Pokemon ball at a police officer.

Cue global media shitstorm the likes of which the wacky world of Youtube had never seen.

As one of the foreign faces of Youtube in Japan, the Japanese media descended on me for answers.

Admittedly, I had none.

Top of the list of the media that came knocking was Fuji Tv's Mezamashi Television - Japan's biggest morning tv show. They hopped on the train to Sendai and burst into my sitting room to ask me how I felt about this American rascal who didn't play by the rules.

Whilst for most of the show I sat on my sofa surrounded by two Japanese guys, and pretended to be angrier than I was about the deeds of Logan Paul for half an hour, the highlight was undoubtedly the opening, when the presenters knocked on the front door of my apartment.

I opened the door feigning surprise at their appearance, only for the presenter to inquire "ARE YOU YOUTUBER?" in the most ridiculous manner possible.

It was exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from Japanese TV and it instantly became my new favourite phrase.

Are You Youtuber: https://youtu.be/VUDc0PDsN28

2) ATTEMPTING TO PRESENT THE WORLD'S MOST TEDIOUS SHOW ON NHK WORLD

When NHK - the BBC of Japan - approached me to present a show on the local cuisine of Yamagata in the summer of 2017, I snapped at the chance.

Global exposure and the chance to represent the place I loved and had called home for 3 years seemed like an unmissable opportunity.

Only after did I discover the programme was sponsored by some kind of Agricultural organisation and the show would essentially be me walking around looking at plants in a field, performing completely out of character.

For most of the episode I wander aimlessly down empty streets, seemingly lost and confused, having mind numbingly awkward interactions with locals about the intricacies of pickles and despair.

Nevertheless, I did my best to be entertaining and try and throw in some sarcastic wit.
The day it aired, it quickly become clear they'd removed all of those scenes.

At one point the editor (who it emerged didn't understand English) even cut me off mid sentence, all the while with the monotonous voiceover droning overheard like a newscaster from a failed Communist regime.  

Straight afterwards I decided never to set foot on Japanese tv again for fear of another awkward, humiliating re-run.

If you want to see how not to do a tv show, let this shitshow be your guide:
https://bit.ly/32qmmQD

1) THE GREAT BBC NEWS iPHONE DISASTER

In 2015 I'd cleverly given my Japanese friends a form of British poison known as "Marmite". A super salty yeast extract spread, which can turn mouths to dust in seconds, I recorded the demise of my friends as they gulped it down upon pieces of bread.

The video went viral in the UK (this is the video: https://youtu.be/XFpjLn3rIBM ), and I spent an entire day being featured on BBC local radio stations across the entire country. Sitting in my crumbling Toyota Starlet in the school car park (it happened on a work day), I clutched on to my iPhone whilst giving live interviews over Skype to bemused radio DJs across the country.

But the thing I was most excited about was the live interview on the BBC evening news; one of the most watched evening shows in the UK.

All day long I harassed friends, family and viewers to sit down and watch my smug face preaching on national television about my brilliance, until thousands were perched in front of the television to witness the broadcast of a lifetime.

Meanwhile back in Japan, I was running an evening English class for the townsfolk and planned to dash out midway to give the interview. Hunched on the floor of the communal kitchen I launched Skype and chatted to the producer, who gave me the 20 second countdown before going live in front of thousands around the world.

And then, in the final ten seconds, the iPhone battery that I had so recklessly pushed to the brink all day long on radio interviews, suddenly died. Exhausted at the prospect of Skype, the remaining 10% of the battery, flicked to 1% and then shut down in the space of 10 seconds.

The humiliation was swift and brutal. The BBC presenters sat in chairs waiting, only for a black screen to appear, and for them to move swiftly on to an amusing cat video instead. My invaluable free publicity had come and vaporised in an instant.

The only upside was we re-enacted the entire story for a video, which captures the chaos better than words ever could.

How I Blew Fame & Priceless Publicity:
- https://youtu.be/SHsjJQcBX2g

But the whole episode was a stark reminder in the importance of carrying a phone charger at all times.

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Apologies for the lack of videos recently guys; as I mentioned in a previous post June was the busiest month I've ever had, filming tons of new and awesome videos to launch after Journey Across Japan.

I'm currently editing the final episode of Journey Across Japan in Kagoshima, and scripting an Epilogue Wrap Up episode talking about how much weight I lost and whether or not I regret the project. I've got a lot of blunt opinions to get off my chest.

I won't lie, I'm disappointed that Journey Across Japan is still on going. I feel like I'm trapped in a prison of my own doing, unable to proceed with projects that I'm far more excited about, because of a mega back catalogue of content I've had to work through.

But I owe it to viewers and to everyone who worked with me on the series to see it through. I'll certainly look back on the whole series fondly and we've had an incredible adventure across the almost 30 episodes. That being said, I'm eager to get back to focussing on comedy and weird/wacky topics and taking a break from travel content. I'm not in my element when I'm cycling around looking at volcanoes all day.

This week I'm seeing Pete Donaldson as well to finally film the Q&A so expect that to be out in the coming days, so don't despair, your questions WILL be answered.

And as always feel free to shoot me your questions below and I'll be sure to answer tomorrow!

That's all for now guys, enjoy what's left of the weekend!
Chris