How Did I Meet Ryotaro? | The Story
Added 2019-02-16 20:01:40 +0000 UTCHey guys!
So it's currently 4.30am as I type this. I feel destroyed and I should be in bed by all accounts - but I'm sitting here patiently waiting for tonight's Journey Across Japan video to finish uploading. And seeing as I have 20 minutes to kill while I wait, I thought I'd quickly regale the tale of how Ryotaro and I met, seeing as how today is officially the 3 year anniversary since he first appeared in a video.
———
Back in Spring 2015 I was in the middle of my “Yes Man” phase of just saying yes to every opportunity or event that came my way. It was part of my strategy to get out more, meet more people and have new experiences, as I’d spent the first year in Japan being fairly introverted and somewhat shy, hunched over textbooks attempting to grasp the language.
My good friend Yuki (as seen in the Marmite video), a local Yamagata entrepreneur invited me to take part in a Start Up Weekend event in the nearby town of Tsuruoka, and though I knew the language barrier may complicate the situation, I nevertheless signed up.
Start Up Weekend is a global event that takes place throughout the year, where entrepreneurially minded folks get thrown together into teams and have the weekend to think up a business idea and pitch it before the other attendees.
It was here at this event I met two interesting guys in particular; one was a venture capitalist in Sendai, and the other an IT specialist in Niigata.
The IT specialist and I became good friends (as we ended up on the same team) and when I visited him in Niigata, he actually introduced me to Roy, who I clicked with and who featured in the Journey Across Japan episode where we ate silly amounts of fried chicken.
But it was the Venture Capitalist, Takeda san, who lived in Sendai who was to introduce me to the man, the myth, the legend that is Risottoro.
He'd heard that I was considering moving to Sendai in the not-so distant-future and arranged for me to join a dinner in a months time, with some prominent local businessman in the Sendai area. Top of his list of people for me to meet was his friend who’d lived in the UK and who was working on trying to promote Tohoku and north Japan to the outside world, and he could see the potential for a partnership between Ryotaro and I, before we’d even met each other.
And yet, Ryotaro never made the dinner as he got caught up somewhere else. However, during the dinner I received a phone call from him.
“Hello mate, sorry I couldn’t make it.”
At first I thought I was talking to a fellow Brit.
“It’s Ryotaro the tourist guy. Let’s meet for sushi tomorrow.”
The next day him and I met at sushi restaurant in downtown Sendai, and instantly had a rapport due to his time living in the UK and shared experiences we’d had of London. I won’t lie, I was fairly impressed; unlike a lot of Japanese people I’d met who’d travelled overseas, it seemed as though he’d actually been shaped by the outside world and saw the world as a foreigner, rather than a Japanese person.
I could speak my mind clearly without any cultural barriers and thanks to that, I knew this was a guy who I could work with in the long run.
One of the most frustrating aspects of Japanese culture is how difficult it can be to have a frank conversation with someone and just throw your thoughts and opinions on the table. With Ryotaro I knew that’d never be a problem; and so when he convinced me to move to Sendai and to work together to produce videos in Tohoku, I gladly accepted and the rest is history.
Creepily, though him and I don’t believe in fate, we did have one link that surprised as both.
Ryotaro had lived in the UK and Germany while in Europe, but the country he loved the most was undoubtedly Spain. I told him that I used to frequently visit Spain on holiday, as my Uncle owned an apartment in the town of Nerja - an unremarkable but pleasant town bout 30 miles east of Malaga. Many of my fondest childhood memories come from my times in Nerja, paddling around on the beach and stuffing my face with Paella.
But when I mentioned Nerja, his jaw dropped.
It turned out he’d spent two months living there with a home stay family and he considered the town his Spanish hometown. When he lived in Europe and after moving back to Japan, he’d often visit there, even after getting married he took his wife on a trip.
For the rest of our meal together over sushi we reminisced over our memories in Nerja, and that more or less sealed the deal. It was quite a bizarre coincidence, given the hundreds of towns along the Spanish coastline.
Today Ryotaro has featured in 23 videos and been watched by over 17 million people around the world and it’s been a lot of fun producing our travel videos together. So the moral of the story is; always get involved with stuff as you never know where it may lead! (Or just do start up weekend!).
My favourite to this day is still the first we ever made “Staying in a Traditional Japanese Inn”, just as I could feel like it was the start of something special!
BUT what’s your favourite Ryotaro moment? Let me know in the comments below! I’ll be sure to show him tomorrow when I see him in the afternoon!
For now though guys, the video has just finished uploading, I’m gonna hit release and roll over into bed!
It was very stupid to stay up until 5am before my first major event in front of a crowd for 2 years. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.
Here’s the new video!
- Japan’s Paradise Was My Nightmare
https://youtu.be/jVcf5iOszjc
Chris
Comments
By far it was the first time he complained about being called Risottoro on a video - thereby ensuring that the nickname stuck forever. C'mon - he'd lived in the UK before! He knows how that stuff works!
2019-02-19 17:05:18 +0000 UTCI always have a laugh with Ryotaro :D love the chemistry between you guys
2019-02-19 10:15:19 +0000 UTCOne of my favorite moments was in the end of the "Japanese Nightlife Etiquette" video where Ryotaro merrily skips away from the camera. Seeing him so drunk and with so much pep in his step was absolutely hilarious for me and my parents XD
2019-02-19 08:56:19 +0000 UTCI love videos with the two of you! You guys make me laugh and make me want to visit the places you are showing.
2019-02-18 16:27:13 +0000 UTCJust wanted to drop a note and say how much I appreciate your keeping up all the Patreon posts all these years. Makes it really worth it. Awesome story about serendipitous encounters. :)
2019-02-17 15:51:13 +0000 UTCFor me it has to be with the 5 must-eat meat dishes video where when asked about Uterus he replies "Yeah, I just had a uterus last night". Spat my fucking tea out when I heard that, but was worth it.
Andrew Hackett
2019-02-17 13:48:37 +0000 UTCMy favourite Ryotaro video is "Japan's Most Stunning Onsen". Out of all your travels to lesser-known destinations, my immediate response after watching was "I HAVE to visit Aomori". The luxurious hot spring hotel where you bathe beside a waterfall under a canopy of leaves looked heavenly, and those glorious towering lantern creations must be a sight to behold. And I'm not even that fussed about cider! Hopefully this year unlike last, my Aomori jaunt won't get called off due to another flu-meets-snowmageddon combo. If Ryotaro's primary mission is to promote hidden Tohoku gems, he's doing a great job. Also, the endless scathing sarcasm and put-downs thrown between the two of you really make me laugh. Keep up the good work, Sir!
Mz. Ultraviolence
2019-02-17 11:51:26 +0000 UTCWhy are you wearing helmets while cycling? One of the good things about cycling in Japan is that no one wears them?
Peter Foss
2019-02-17 11:47:02 +0000 UTCThanks for the little history lesson, very cool! I, too liked the visiting a japanese Inn video an Ryotaro (japanese traditions are just so comforting, melancholic, beautiful and after watching Hanasaku Iroha, this video filled me with new determination as it rekindled the anime's spirit), but then the Japan's funnest Ski resort video hit and I remember watching with my boyfried and we both agreed "this is it, this is the end" - it feld too force, too scripted maybe, or that your personalities didn't fit? It's probably just that we felt you were changing your style, trying to go big and corporate, which isn't a bad thing per se, but you know, some people don't like change when they love something ;) Anyway, we were proven wrong and still get excited over your videos and grown to like Ryotaro a lot! It's good to have somebody on board who's a bit more mature and organised than Natsuki, it gives the more "educational" videos an appropriate vibe. Ryotaro seems like a genuinely nice person, open, knowledgeable and his primary goal seems to be promoting the places and culture he loves, which is very inspring. A big thank you to Ryotaro!
2019-02-17 08:39:50 +0000 UTCOf all the people featuring in your videos, Rissotoro is my favorite! I like his positive attitude, he is always smiling and always seems genuinely happy (basically the opposite of you :> ) Thats why I like watching you two together: him saying happy silly stuff, and you being grumpy, sarcastic and mildly hateful while mocking his english phrases ("I feel luxury", "I've never felt a cloud"..) :D :D
2019-02-17 07:52:07 +0000 UTCCan't believe it's been 3 years since you started working with Ryotaro! He's a big part of what makes AiJ so unique.
Argus9 (Jonathan)
2019-02-17 05:34:38 +0000 UTCSide story, this is my first year volunteering as a English language partner. The local university hosts visiting scholars from their sister universities overseas (Asian, European, Middle East, etc) As an attempt to get over my crippling social anxiety, and make friends in my target language (Korean) I thought this sounded like a good way to volunteer and at the same time not be full time committed. A majority of the scholars are in school full time and have various other activities they are required to participate in. Little did I know, I would meet the most amazing Sister-from-another-mother/heterolifemate, that I had been missing my whole life!!! And then through this awesome friendship meet other wonderful people! So I hope that in saying all this, I understand fully what your encounter with Ryotaro was like. Watching you and him interact reminds me of the exciting and unexpected feeling of finding someone familiar to yourself, especially when you are at your most vulnerable.
Imalovernotahater
2019-02-17 02:49:31 +0000 UTCI love this post. It's always great when you write something rushed and spur of the moment. Feels really candid and I connect with it so much more. And about the little Spanish town, I had very similar experiences all over the world - which is why I don't believe in coincidence, but I 100% believe the 6 degrees of separation have come down to 2.something
2019-02-17 00:17:31 +0000 UTCMy favorite Risotarro moment was the $3000 Japanese Hotel Room video where you were forced to undergo numerous dangerous sports. I saw it when it first came out and it was the first video of yours I properly watched. The dynamic between you both there was something special and I spent the remainder of summer 2017 watching all of your videos and I have been a Patreon supporter since.
2019-02-16 23:48:04 +0000 UTCIts interesting how we meet people sometimes. You never know what can happen.
Michael Baker
2019-02-16 23:15:58 +0000 UTCIt's not so much a moment, but the running gag that Ryotoro is plotting to kill you and take over the channel someday that just somehow appeals to me.
Mathew Williams-breese
2019-02-16 21:56:09 +0000 UTCWhat a great story! Not sure what my favourite video with Ryotaro is, but it's either that ryokan one (because I <3 onsen) or one of the ones where Ryotaro says funny things about you and/or food :). Good luck tomorrow!
Nynke de Haas
2019-02-16 21:54:00 +0000 UTCHard to pick a single moment with Risottoro but I had a good laugh at that video where you two dress in costume and play against the Japanese idol girls.
Laura Beaumont
2019-02-16 20:56:17 +0000 UTC
