As you guys saw in the last episode, Natsuki and I managed to squeeze ourselves into the Moco, traversing the best part of 100km to make it to Kinugawa Onsen. I’ve always wanted to come to Kinugawa as it looks like some sort of apocalyptic wasteland with its dilapidated buildings and rusted bridges clinging onto the valley. However, set against the backdrop of Autumnal reds and golds the town is pretty damn impressive.
Onwards to 'Miniland', we experienced the wonders of Paris and New York, merely metres apart. Natsuki impersonated Godzilla, a fruitless endeavour given his face is horrifying enough. Whilst we were rampaging around many a capital city, the team was working away on the first video for you guys, all from the back of an RV. You’ll meet them in this episode and I’m sure they’ll be popping up throughout the series.
Thank you so much for sending in all your challenges - we’ve had thousands of submissions and some of them are actually good. Anpanman returns for the first challenge of the series, ‘Find a local celebrity’ (unfortunately Natsuki doesn’t qualify), which took us to Ouchi-juku, a thatched roof village dating back to the Edo era, in the hopes of finding someone of significance. Alas, the weather screwed us, with a downpour so severe I had to buy new shoes to weather the storm. Fortunately, some kind ladies running a souvenir store - seemingly the only place open - took pity upon us and plied us with a random assortment of pickles. Probably the only healthy thing we’ll be eating on the whole trip.
Abandoning the desolate village, we hit the road after Natsuki’s desperate online searches led to the discovery of a truly iconic, inspirational character and indeed a local celebrity. None other than Sakura the cat, the official attendant at Ashinomaki Onsen station in Aizuwakamatsu. By the time we rocked up, she had knocked off for the day though - she’ll need to work longer shifts if she wants to be promoted to Station Master!
Despite our semi-failed challenge, we absolutely won the day by finding the restaurant 'Katsuichi' in Aizuwakamatsu. Highly recommend visiting this spot if you’re in the area, offering the best damn Tonkatsu I’ve had in a while. Sauce Katsudon is the famous dish of Aizuwakamatsu. Deep-fried breaded pork, drenched in Worcestershire sauce, sitting on a bed of rice and lettuce. The pork was delicious, the rice perfectly cooked and the sauce is so damned tasty, with just the right level of sweetness. If you visit the town - head here for your dinner, you won’t regret it!
Join us tomorrow as we head to Kitakata, AKA ‘Ramen Town’ to eat our entire body weight in noodles! Let's just say Natsuki has slurped up more than he can chew...
Chris
P.S We’ve dropped new merch so you too can layer up to stay warm this Winter! Check it out in the Abroad in Japan store.
So today we unleash Journey Across Japan: Non-Stop North! Shooting kicked off a couple of days ago and we can't wait to share the ridiculous first episode with you all.
We've truly compiled the 'A-Team' to make this ludicrous project possible - Chris (that’s me!), Ian, Yasu, Paul, Ellen, Marcus, Dave, Mario, Eiji, Ross, Lucas, Eugene. Before we left Tokyo, we took a quick team photo in the Abroad in Japan studio - let's see how long it takes within the 21 days to wipe the smiles off their faces! This is the most complex production we’ve undertaken, both in scale and time on the road and we're looking forward to sharing the adventures and challenges with you.
Transporting the team through the 2,000km of remote Japan countryside is no joke and requires some serious logistical planning. We've snapped up 3 vehicles to transport the team between locations - the tiny Kei car that Natsuki and I purchase in episode 1, the RV for the editors (so they can work from anywhere along the route), and our support van. We'll be taking you guys along for the ride, alongside our clothing, equipment, and sanity (or what's left of it) through North Japan, come rain, sleet or snow.
Since this is such a complex production, I know you guys will be interested in the 'making of' the series, so I'll be sharing a daily production diary with you here, as well as an exclusive weekly video featuring behind-the-scenes action from throughout the week.
Episode 1 kicks off in typical frenetic JAJ style! It’s day one of the trip and we managed to grab Japan’s tiniest Kei car, admittedly no thanks to Natsuki. With a budget of almost nothing, Natsuki and I wandered through a car showroom with over 200 cars to choose from. Naturally the not-so-thrifty Natsuki encouraged me to buy absurdly priced vehicles including a Mercedes and a Mini. Eventually however, we found quite the bargain - a Nissan Moco - something more akin to a toy car.
After much speculation as to why it was so cheap (including Natsuki’s theory the previous driver died at the wheel), it turned out it was just due to mileage and the age of the car, so we did the deal and I found myself in the surreal situation of making a 3 hour journey across the world’s largest city, in the world’s tiniest car, with the world’s worst navigator (as you’ll see).
The day ended at Kinugawa Onsen in Tochigi, an old run-down resort town with an 80’s charm and a stunning river, setting us up for the first real day of our Journey Across Japan (tomorrow).
Episode 1 drops in a few hours, don’t miss it - we’ll be back tomorrow with the diary for Episode 2!
Before setting off for Journey Across Japan this week (for 21 long days on the road), I'm in the studio one last time today for a live show on the Chris Abroad channel.
Come along and discover what's going on and send me your questions!
A journey 2,000km across Japan shared through daily videos.
The whole aim of doing daily videos at the time wan’t so much an obnoxious challenge, as a way of taking viewers along the for the ride. Tune in everyday, join the journey and discover Japan.
And in many ways the series delivered.
We discovered unexplored regions of Japan, met many wonderful people along the way and had a refreshing variety of guests every step (or rather, every pedal) of the way.
However, we also failed to live up to the promise of daily content due to poor planning and boundless stupidity on my part.
Ever since, I’ve wondered what if we could live up to that original promise.
Well after 5 years and a ton of learning, it’s time to find out.
It’s time to end 2023 in style.
It's time for JOURNEY ACROSS JAPAN: NON-STOP NORTH!
1,500km. 6 Prefectures. 6 guests. Daily videos. Daily challenges. (And not a single fucking bicycle in sight thank god).
As you guys may know, despite being home to six huge, diverse prefectures, Tohoku region in north Japan receives less than 1% of overseas tourists. Over the course of 21 days travelling through Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, Aomori, Akita and Yamagata, on Journey Across Japan we’ll encounter the people, places, sights and dishes that make the region unique.
There’ll be some familiar locations and not some new ones along the way and with daily challenges sent in by viewers to spice things up, it’ll make each day just that extra bit hellish.
But hopefully we’ll be able to encourage more folks to head up north on their trips to Japan. Especially as on recent trips to Kyoto and Osaka for a separate project, I nearly got swept away in the crowds. It’s a shame more travellers aren’t diverting from the usual spots.
Unsurprisingly, given the cold weather and snow we’ll face, we won’t be able to use bicycles on this trip (oh no, what a shame!). But we’ve got some other cool transport lined up.
And to produce daily videos with a high production quality, we’ve hired quite the team to make it happen.
Above all, I’m just looking forward to spending time in Tohoku, my favourite place in Japan. I realised that given Ryotaro and I produced so many travel videos there around 2016-2018, I almost felt as though I’d done it all, even though that couldn’t have been further from the truth. And I don’t think I should feel any shame in re-visiting certain locations again given half a decade has now passed. (Especially as we now have 4k wonder vision).
For those of you now really worried that I’m going to get burned out and shatter more promises, we have no less than six editors working on this trip and a team of 10 people joining at any one time. Simply put, there’s nothing short of an army this time around.
And though the videos will be released daily, there'll be a two day delay for editors to work on each video, giving a safety window to the series. For example, we start shooting on 28th of November with the first episode dropping on December 1st.
EXPECT more details in the week and a full public announcement, but for now guys, I hope you’re as excited as I am about this journey. Hopefully we can end 2023 in style with the trip of a lifetime, across an amazing region of Japan and above all, take you along for the ride every step of the way.
Journey Across Japan: Non-Stop North - across land, sea and snow, here we come! (And get your challenges ready, you'll be able to submit them in a couple of days time).
P.S. This is a PATREON backed project guys, so a big thank you for making this possible!
Hope you've had a fantastic week so far! It's TIME for the Patreon Q&A, answering the questions you guys sent in. I've packed in as many as I can (around 25) and to those I wasn't able to answer, don't you worry, we'll be having another one very soon.
Abroad in Japan PATREON Exclusive Q&A ⛩️ 21+ Questions ANSWERED!
ALSO in case you missed it, this weekend we had a huge, bumper Abroad in Japan episode with 12 things to steal from Japan. A lot of time and effort went into this one and thankfully, despite the title, absolutely no crime at all. (The real crime was that banana case).
Every year we hold an exclusive Q&A just for the folks here on Patreon, and the time has finally come!
Send me your questions about anything; travel, Japanese, chicken, sausages, etc, and I’ll head to the Konbini, grab a large coffee and answer from the brand new studio in Tokyo.
Drop your questions on the comments bellow with #askabroad so I can find them and I'll be back next week in video form, with all the answers you could ever want.
As someone who struggles to read and hold a physical book out of sheer laziness, audiobooks have been a godsend over the last few years.
Whether I’m at the gym on a treadmill, sitting on a bullet train, or falling asleep on a plane, the odds are I have an audiobook in my ears, or a city pop album, or Duran Duran, or just anything from the ‘80s. It’s great being able to learn while on the go.
And what better way to learn than by listening to the brand new Abroad in Japan audiobook, out at long last and narrated painstakingly by yours truly. It’s a miracle my voice box survived.
It took three very long days, but admittedly it was a pretty cool and surreal experience being at Penguin’s headquarters in London to narrate the book in August. I confess I felt some pressure, given the last speakers before me in the booth in previous weeks were actors Brian Cox from “Succession” and David Tennant from “Doctor Who.” Following these mighty actors and titans of industry was bloody nerve-wracking. But I’m pretty pleased with how the book turned out.
One of the most frustrating aspects of reading the audiobook was going through the book and reading it properly for the first time in about nine months. It made me realise there are lots of things I’d like to change, add, or remove. So fingers crossed for a second edition. But for now, if you haven’t grabbed yourself a copy, it’s available on Kindle, Audible, and Amazon. It’s a retelling of my 10 years living in Japan, so check it out. You can find a few clips from the recording sessions and a sneaky preview above!
RV Road Trip
Also as you might have seen folks, I’m currently on an RV trip in the Izu Peninsula with CDawgVA, Ludwig, and American Pete. It’s been going well and we've just wrapped our last day. So if you’ve missed it, check it out on Connor’s Twitch. Yesterday we did canyoning where I nearly smashed my head on some rocks. We've also made pottery and nearly crashed in a Tuktuk, in scenes reminiscent of an Indiana Jones film. When all is said and done, it’s been a lot of fun.
Inside a Tiny Tokyo Apartment
And lastly, we’ve just released a video on what an average Tokyo micro-apartment is like. I won’t lie; it’s low-hanging fruit. It’s the sort of video I hate, yet I did enjoy filming it as it’s always fun hanging out with the ever cheeky and suave Alex. We're currently working on two large videos that are taking some time, and rather than have no videos for two weeks, I wanted to put something out and this presented itself as a good little option to put out in the meantime.
It’s an entertaining video with a truly shocking apartment that I’m not quite sure how people can justify living in, although it does come with a free pet. Check it out on “Abroad in Japan.”
Recently I've been thinking about sharing my thoughts more often here on the Abroad in Japan Patreon about contemporary issues within Japan. With that in mind, here’s my first ‘fun’ post about about a steamer who’s been terrorising Japan over the last half year and finally got arrested last week.
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One of the most frustrating aspects of living in Japan is when a foreigner behaves poorly, as it often reflects negatively on all foreigners.
I'm not entirely sure why this is the case. perhaps it’s due to Japan’s homogenous nature, but I've experienced it firsthand in 2017, when good old Logan Paul visited Japan and unleashed hell across Tokyo, before mocking a victim of suicide in the Aokigahara forest.
Back then the media spotlight quickly turned on foreign YouTubers in Japan and I found myself on Japanese TV, attempting to clarify that not all foreign YouTubers in Japan are inherently shit.
The whole experience was surreal, with the entire segment overshadowed by the ridiculousness of a Japanese presenter approaching my front door to ask “Are you Youtuber?”
Recently, you may have seen news about a streamer in Japan who had been causing chaos for six months. The dickhead in question, Johnny Somali, has gained notoriety for all the wrong reasons—from wandering the streets shouting “Nagasaki”, “Hiroshima”, and “Fukushima” in public, to screaming on trains, harassing other streamers, and even trespassing on construction sites and vehicles (like you do).
The culmination of his antics was his arrest, streamed live as he was apprehended by six police officers in Osaka. By all accounts, an incredibly enjoyable stream.
Currently, he is detained for up to 28 days while authorities decide on his punishment. Given his actions and the subsequent media attention—so much so that even the Japanese prime minister commented on the nuisance of such ‘Youtube influencers’—it's hoped that he'll face deportation and be barred from re-entering Japan.
Of course, he is not representative of YouTubers, streamers, or foreign influencers in Japan, and yet it's been infuriating to see one person tarnish the reputation of an entire community.
It doesn’t help that, a few weeks ago, another foreign streamer was arrested for entering an abandoned building in the Fukushima exclusion zone—a decision that garnered similar media attention. It's certainly concerning to think that such incidents might become more frequent, especially now that Japan is reopening, making life increasingly challenging for the 99% of foreign influencers here who aren’t imbeciles.
Over the past decade, I've been fortunate to travel across Japan, filming diverse locations without any real issues and Japan is honestly a very welcoming place for content creators. It's distressing to see a few individuals jeopardise that atmosphere and exploit the kind nature of the people of Japan.
We can only hope his time in Japan will come to an end and his deportation can serve as an example to other influencers hoping to follow in his footsteps, though I do worry he may be left off. I guess we’ll know in coming days.
Publicly, I’ve held off discussing Johnny Somali until now, as it’s just the most mundane, unimportant issue and naturally I don’t want to aid his fame in any way shape or form. That being said, many YouTubers and publications have covered him to such a degree he’s already received considerable notoriety for his actions. And with folks asking me for my thoughts on it all, I’ve finally caved in and decided to mention it on the Podcast at the very least - especially as one man’s actions threaten the community as a whole which I’m proudly a part of.
We can only hope despite the platform ‘Kick’ refusing to outright ban him, Japan at the very least, will ban him from being able to set foot in this country ever again.
Fingers bloody crossed🤞.
Let me know your thoughts below though guys! Going forward I’m keen to talk about contemporary issues - good and bad - here on Patreon and have a discussion with you all. For better or worse, this is the first!
Hope you’ve all had a great start to the week so far,
And at last I'm back in the Tokyo studio and ready for a much needed and long awaited catch up with you guys!
Grab a drink and join me tonight as we discuss the month's events and what lies in store for the coming weeks and months, as well as news and gossip from around Japan.
As you know, a few weeks ago we had the big, long-teased Mount Fuji climb and against the odds we somehow bloody well pulled it off! It was a gruelling and lengthy endeavour but we managed it and I’m immensely proud of Natsuki.
Somehow we didn't have much behind the scenes footage after the edit. It was physically and mentally very demanding filming and climbing at the same time, and a heroic effort from Paul to concentrate on lugging all the camera gear up into the sky while simultaneously filming us.
Big kudos to him - but as a result, there wasn’t too much left on the cutting room floor.
On top of that, straight after the Fuji edit we were right on to the chaos of Wacky Weekend. With that out of the way though, we've taken another look at the Fuji footage and have actually uncovered some funny moments that didn't make the video.
I was in two minds whether it was worth a Patreon post as it wasn't a significant amount of content like we normally share here, but I thought you all might enjoy watching it nonetheless. So here we are, presenting these hidden gems!
Expect terrible Darth Vader impressions, Natsuki being Natsuki, me being absolutely shattered and even a clip of a short livestream we did half way up, for those who missed it.
Apologies for the delay and I hope it’s still of interest, enjoy!
If working like a madman has taught me anything over the years, it’s that the greatest, most original ideas come from the moments in between when you’re doing nothing.
Surprise, surprise, when you’re not consumed with mental overload and your mind is clear, wonderful things happen.
With that in mind, I tried my god damn hardest to take a couple of weeks off in September, hence why I’ve been quiet on social media and Patreon this month guys, so my apologies for that.
I say “tried my god damn hardest” because ultimately I failed. As you may have noticed we’ve had three weeks of videos back to back this month and while on holiday I spent half of it slumped on a hotel bed with a microphone narrating scenes of Connor and I stumbling across Huntsman spiders, or the owner of a Ryokan inn going kayaking at 5am, or Natsuki triumphantly stumbling across the summit of Mount Fuji.
Still, it’s certainly been an extraordinary month of content so far! And with the Wacky Weekend Patreon Exclusive episode out today and one more cool video out this month shot in the studio, there’s plenty to look forward to.
In today's Patreon Exclusive video you’ll find a few scenes that we couldn’t fit into the main video, a story about Yakuza at a ramen shop and perhaps a record number of bloopers.
But I’m now finally back in Japan refreshed, renewed and undeniably jet lagged, with a bucket load of ideas to dive into from now until January, that I’m very excited about.
Having rushed off to the UK to narrate the audio book in August, it’s been amazing to return to Japan and have not only an apartment in Tokyo, but best of all, an oven-ready studio that we can film in at long last.
In case you missed it, while it’s not publicly been released yet, you can catch an exclusive first look here on Patreon.
Inside the Abroad in Japan TOKYO Studio: 1970's Living Room 🇯🇵 Patreon Exclusive FIRST LOOK Watch:https://youtu.be/LHX_Woa9aLI
As to what lies in store between now and January, why I don’t want to give too much away right now, above all you can expect a lot more videos.
It’s no secret that during the last 18 months, Youtube hasn’t been my absolute top priority, what the fitness arc last year with cycling, chessboxing and Spartan races, and more recently the Abroad in Japan Book this year. Moving my whole life (and studio) for the first time in half a decade wasn’t easy either!
But we’re now ready to go full throttle and in the coming months you can expect a brand new travel series with Natsuki, the long awaited Japan itinerary video, a couple of documentaries, more in-studio episodes and more Wacky Weekend to name a few.
I’m so proud of Natsuki for pulling off the Mount Fuji climb and I feel like he deserves a reward of some kind - something the upcoming travel series may well revolve around.
I’m also thrilled that the latest Wacky Weekend was essentially a mini-documentary on Japanese island life in disguise - something I discuss in the Patreon episode.
My delight at the release of the Ryokan documentary set in Yamagata was tempered by it's not-so-great performance. Quite possibly, as I don't appear in the thumbnail, regular viewers weren't aware it was an Abroad in Japan episode. It's not entirely clear, though I'm proud of the video and having the chance to tell the amazing story of Takinami Ryokan. Check it out if you missed it!
Hope to see you there! And as usual, if you can't make it, leave your questions for me here in the comments below and I'll check back in before the show.
🎉🎉🎉 The Abroad in Japan Book has somehow become the biggest selling book in the UK this week! 🎉🎉🎉
I'm not really sure what else to say other than "Bloody hell innit mate". I'm just delighted to think thousands of folks around the world are reading and learning about an obscure, quiet, rural corner of north Japan and the amazing people that live there.
It feels like my first 10 years in Japan can now finally be wrapped up in a neat little bow and a line drawn underneath. No matter where things go from here, I'll look back on the last decade with an immense sense of gratitude and pride to how things worked out and the stories and adventures we had along the way.
A big thank you to all of you guys for being a part of this whole journey. Getting the Abroad in Japan Book to No.1 Sunday Times Best Seller status is an incredible win for the whole community.
I'm now back in London stuffing myself with cheese and preparing to record the audiobook at long last. I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off - 80,000 words in 3 days with 1 voice box. Pete Donaldson mentioned he recorded his audiobook a few years back and he was wrecked after 30,000 words. So I'm absolutely screwed.
And speaking of Pete, it's been great to catch up with the man himself over here in London and record some episodes together in person at last. They'll be appearing over on the brand new Abroad in Japan Podcast Youtube channel in the next few days!
In the most recent episode on Abroad in Japan we rented a convenience store for the day for the Q&A, the highlight of which, was arguably getting to tie up my friend Yasu and leave him in the fridge.
But there were a few questions from the Q&A that didn't make the final cut and you can watch them in the Patreon exclusive outtakes and bloopers. We don't normally do these BTS videos for episodes shot indoors/in studio, but there's enough awkward moments in here to make it worth a watch. Particularly when re-enacting that damn scene with the Principal.
Inside the Japanese Convenience Store: Outtakes & Deleted Scenes ⛩️ PATREON Exclusive 🍿Watch: https://youtu.be/6ZKOa6I6PNU
That's all for now guys!
Currently watching over and refining the Mount Fuji episode and Wacky Weekend on an island, out very soon!
Oh boy, am I going to spoil you with content today.
Not only do we have an exclusive preview of the brand-new Abroad in Japan Studio, but we also have a video shot in a convenience store (allegedly used for adult films).
ALSO after five years and 400 episodes, the Abroad in Japan podcast is finally on YouTube!
This week has been something of a whirlwind. With the release of the book, the completion of the studio, and the launch of the podcast, it's been a challenge to keep up with everything. I have a lot of reasons to be happy.
Hell, I just found some Norwegian brown cheese in a local supermarket. My god this might be the best cheese yet.
Once again, the new Abroad in Japan set doesn't merely feel like a film location. It's more of a living, breathing world and much of it will never even appear on camera. Case in point, the team constructed an incredible roof on a 1970s apartment set, which will seldom appear in shot!
Although we likely won't showcase the 1970s room publicly until September — as I'll be heading back to the UK for a book tour — I wanted you guys on Patreon to be the first to see it, given this whole studio was made possible by the Patreon community. A massive thank you to everyone for making this possible.
I genuinely hope you'll relish exploring and discovering the set over the upcoming weeks and months - Natsuki hasn't seen it yet, and I'm keen to show him, especially now that we have his very own hair salon built him within the set 😅
The first episode of the podcast is now available, where Pete and I tackle the somewhat controversial and peculiar topic of "Barbenheimer".
What seemed laughable in the West hasn't been received as well in Japan, for reasons you might anticipate.
While it's our inaugural episode and there are some kinks to iron out, hopefully it sets a promising tone for the bi-weekly YouTube series. I hate to say it, but don't forget to subscribe to our new channel, "Abroad in Japan Podcast". The first episode is linked below!
Lastly, in our annual "Ask Abroad Q&A", I rented a set including a convenience store in Tokyo, an apartment, a bar, and an office space.
I initially thought it was just a regular film location, but it appears that it might have been used for adult films in the past. Some features of the set, like certain locations, showers, and costumes, give that away. I Rented a Japanese Convenience Store for the Day 🇯🇵 🍿Watch: https://youtu.be/qy1E2I-UlH8
I hope you enjoy the videos guys! I just realised, I need to go and untie the convenience store owner. Whoops.
Enjoy the video content, and I'll be back in a few days with another big, exciting announcement and the Patreon BTS from our convenience store outing.
So after many months of dread, wondering how the Abroad in Japan studio could possibly be moved between Sendai and Tokyo, we now have our answer.
Not only did it survive the journey, but it's been hugely upgraded - at least TWICE the size.
Yesterday, the team finished wiring up the several dozen neon lights, signs and TV's scattered throughout, and the end result is a stunning, immersive set of streets that feel like a natural extension of the previous Sendai set.
From Natsuki's hair salon shopfront, to a 1970's inspired Japanese living room and a greatly expanded electronic store, with more moveable walls to ensure we can shoot in every corner.
Here's a few shots of the new set, including our model (and one of the editing team) Dave and we'll be following it up with a video here on Patreon later in the week! But that's not the only news...meet me below the photos!
All in all, the set designers have blown my expectations out of the water once again. As you'll soon discover, the attention to detail is absolutely absurd yet again!
The 1970's house has a rather impressive roof on it, which is bonkers considering it'll rarely be in shot. They essentially built half a house inside a building (the office). Wild, haha.
But the second piece of very BIG NEWS is that after 5 years of recording the Abroad in Japan Podcast audio only, we've decided the time has come to release it on Youtube.
Not only that, but we're going to film every episode and release it on a brand new channel, originally titled "The Abroad in Japan Podcast."
I think at this point, the question is not so much why but what took you so long?! As I've stated in the past, filming complicates things a bit more and the appeal for me, has been that the Podcast doesn't get in the way of the videos.
But I think it's an issue I've overplayed, given that filming the Podcast isn't really much of a stretch, and we're well placed to pull it off, given our experience recording on opposite sides of the world for 5 years and the new set to use as a backdrop.
Hell, even Pete has been working on his backdrop and it's looking good. But fundamentally, it's been a shame that so many folks simply don't discover the podcast, due to its absence on Youtube. We hope this'll help grow our audience, without us needing to change the format that's been pretty popular this last half decade.
It's also a very good opportunity to put the set to good use! I'm still working out where to film between the ramen shop and the house - open to your ideas!
And of course, for those of you happy to continue with audio-only, we'll still be on the same platforms as before.
On a final note, I realise July was a fairly quiet month for videos guys, especially given how busy May and June were, but rest assured, August will be an amazing month for videos.
We've got a Q&A video shot in a convenience store out later this week, followed by our epic Mount Fuji climb with Natsuki, a long awaited documentary about a ryokan and even a brand new Wacky Weekend being shot tomorrow.
It's going to be a great summer! And of course, the Abroad in Japan book is FINALLY out this week. Somehow, everyone in Germany seems to have already got their hands on it, haha.
But I really hope you enjoy the book! Apologies for promoting it everywhere recently, but naturally I want it to do well. I'm the master of failing to promote things from this Patreon and the Podcast, to the merchandise. It's not an error I plan to make with the book!
IN this month's Patreon live show ,it's time for an exclusive first look tour of the glorious, brand new Tokyo studio, which will be completed later today!
We'll also discuss Mount Fuji (and how it went) and what lies ahead for August, with four new videos and the hotly anticipated - and somewhat nerve-racking - book launch.
Natsuki blew us all away and made it to the summit of Mount Fuji over a long, torturous 18 hour round trip.
I won’t lie, it looked like he wasn’t going to make it several times. Frequently out of breath, with his legs practically broken, there were a few times he really struggled.
At one he took a nasty fall and rolled down the mountain backwards. But he got up and kept going no matter what the mountain threw at him.
We took the Fujinomiya route around the back of the mountain - one of the least popular routes. The reason being it has 25% of the foot traffic of the main Fujiyoshida route.
Still, there’s a reason people don’t do this route.
Far steeper, rockier and with worse weather conditions - as it faces the Pacific side - the worst aspect is the descent, with precarious rocks making every step a hazard. Whereas on the main route, it’s volcano sand which you can plough through without issue.
I’ll save my commentary for the Patreon video though guys, along with the outtakes, bloopers and secret deleted scenes that won’t make it to the Abroad in Japan video. And my god what a video it’s going to be.
We’re going to turbocharge the edit on the Fuji episode to get it out at the start of August, and in the meantime we have a video out in the next few days of the Q&A shot in an awesome location (spoilers: I shot it in a convenience store).
ALSO the brand new extended Abroad in Japan studio is practically finished! More on that in the next few days.
Until then guys, a big thank you for all your words of support for Natsuki - we read them out to him on the climb to keep him going! Clearly it worked 🥳
P.S. Managed to sign a few copies of the book up the mountain for the video as well. The world’s highest book signing? 😅
At long last, the hotly anticipated 14 Days in Japan Travel Plan is here!
Now as much as I'd love to film this right now, it's barely possible to step outside for longer than 10 minutes without being roasted to a flaming crisp. But we will absolutely be shooting it beyond the summer so fear not.
In the meantime guys, I know many of you are planning on coming to Japan in the coming months and I really hope you'll find this useful for ideas on where to go and what to do in Tokyo, Osaka, Nara and Takayama.
I believe this to be the perfect well-rounded trip, for first-time travellers coming to Japan.
We'll be following it up soon for 21 Days in Japan as well, for the lucky folks able to visit a little longer, or those heading here for the second time.
You can find the itinerary pamphlet attached to this post!
And in case you can't read the PDF right now, I'll enclose below, the opening page of the trip plan, explaining how and why I chose this route and the locations within.
Let me know in the comments below what you AGREE or DISAGREE with in this itinerary! Would be keen to hear your thoughts on where you'd skip and WHERE you'd endorse?
Share with us below! Chris
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14 DAYS IN JAPAN: THE ULTIMATE TRAVEL PLAN
Whether you're traversing the neon-lit labyrinth of Tokyo, or losing yourself in ancient Kyoto's narrow alleys, breathing in the sweet scent of incense sticks, or stuffing your face with fresh sushi and succulent Wagyu beef, while consuming the ever formidable Strong Zero.
The Japanese travel experience is a heady cocktail of culture shock, exhilaration, language barriers, and despair. For many there'll be many situations you've never found yourself in; immersed in a tranquil hot springs - naked - or spread out on a soft tatami straw mat, sleeping on fluffy futon.
The sad truth is, for many, a visit to Japan is a once-in-a-lifetime event, due to the wallet busting expense and the considerable distance travelled to reach this far-flung corner of the globe.
My mission has always been to share Japan with the world and uncover the unique locations, that have gone under the radar for too long, often avoided by the guidebooks and honestly, crafting travel itineraries for Japan is always a ton of fun. Especially for second time visitors, or those here for longer than 14 days, who can get a bit experimental and go off the beaten track.
But the first 14 days in Japan are the most important; these destinations have earned their reputation and represent the essence of what makes Japan great and I hope, after experiencing these locations, travellers to Japan will be keen to return and explore the rest of the country, from frozen Hokkaido to sub-tropical Okinawa.
This 14-day itinerary spans the eclectic corners of Tokyo, the serene mountain town of Takayama, the vibrant Osaka nightlife, the cheeky bowing deer of Nara, and the poignant Memorial Peace Park in Hiroshima.
While it's difficult to put a figure on this itinerary, $2,000 per person seems a reasonable estimate (excluding flights), though for budget-conscious travellers, I recommend bypassing Shinkansen and hotels in favour of buses, hostels and capsule hotels.
It also helps that the Yen is essentially worthless right now - there's never been a better time to visit from overseas!
While we'll be transforming this itinerary in an action-packed Youtube episode soon, I hope this itinerary sheds some light on where to go and what to do on your own journey through Japan, and if you really can't wait, fear not! We've already visited 90% of these locations on previous Abroad in Japan episodes in Tokyo, Osaka, Takayama and Hiroshima. (No Nara and Kanazawa just yet).
The Abroad in Japan Studio is gone. Long live the Abroad in Japan Studio!
Alright, maybe I'm being a little bit dramatic but it's tough watching your second favourite thing in the world be dismantled, over the course of two intense days, and stuffed into the back of a truck to be sent off to Tokyo.
- You can witness it happen in the above Patreon exclusive video!
Truth be told though, it's an exciting time.
The studio will be reopening in Tokyo next month at almost TWICE the size, along with a few exciting new changes.
For example, as you guys are probably aware, we weren't really able to use one half of the set given it was quite narrow by the sweet shop and electronics store. Going forward in the new design, the electronic store will be placed at the back of the street, beyond the ramen shop meaning it will feature in the background of all future Abroad in Japan videos!
As much as I love the Blade Runner projection, it always felt like a bit of an illusion breaker when you saw the edge of the screen projection, or on one recent video, the damn loading screen which I never realised it was stuck on throughout the whole shoot!
Meanwhile, the sweet store and the door that once concealed Ken Watanabe (albeit in cardboard form sadly) will soon lead into a retro 1980s Japanese living room!
I make no secret that I love all things retro when it comes to Japan. In fact, my favourite museum in Japan is the showa retro museum in Takayama where we filmed the Dr. Jelly commercial.
The new set will be inspired by some of the rooms in that musuem! I can't wait to see it in the next few weeks and spend hours exploring the re-designed set, to see what secrets the production team hideaway within it once again.
But of course, it's also sad to leave Sendai behind after over half a decade living in Tohoku's largest city, a place I've been very happy to call home during that time.
Some people are worried that maybe I won't be spending as much time in Tohoku or the countryside, but that couldn't be further from the truth.
Having lived in Tokyo for two or almost three months now, I almost feel like I need to get out of the city once a month, and return to the countryside to keep my sanity intact, as somebody who was never really designed to live in a city of this size and scale!
Already over the last two months, I've visited Yamagata twice, including to catch up with Natsuki to check he's actually training in preparation for climbing Mount Fuji! More on that next week.
But for now, guys, check out the video above and witness the team dismantle the studio.
Hell, why not start by watching the previous Patreon video of the team building it almost two years ago first!
You'll see that despite the earthquake and everything that we throw at the studio, it's in pretty damn good condition over the last two years, albeit a few stickers that might have fallen off to this day. All the lights are still operational.
It's honestly a testament to the build quality and the production team's efforts, that the studio looks as good today as it did when it was built back in 2021.
I have to say though a huge THANK YOU to all of you here on Patreon for making this crazy studio/1980's set possible!
This genuinely would not have been possible without the Abroad in Japan Patreon community, as it's quite the investment to pull this off.
I'm so damn excited to utilise it more in Tokyo and finding more ways to put it to good use in future episodes as well as more live events!
I'll be returning here on Patreon tomorrow with a long awaited reveal of my 14 DAYS IN JAPAN ITINERARY in advance of the video that we're currently working on.
While the video itself is still a few weeks off, I wanted to share the itinerary with you guys first, in case any of you are already planning your upcoming vacation or travels within Japan.
For now though guys, I'm off to scheme ideas of how to put the new and improved studio to good use.
And if YOU have any awesome ideas on what we can do in a 1980's Japanese living room, go ahead and let me know in the comments below!
Look forward to reading through your suggestions! (And then unashamedly stealing them for future videos).
Hey guys, Hope you've had an amazing start to July so far!
But for the love of god, I hope none of you are coming to Japan this summer - this heat is an absolute joke. Every time I step outside I feel like I'm being bloody flame grilled 😅
Got a really fun new video up today though to kick off the summer!
You may recall a few years back I did a documentary on Kyoto's disappearing townhouses which are sadly dying out. I interviewed a friendly local entrepreneur called Koji Maeda and he told us about how and why he'd decided to renovate decrepit, crumbling homes across the city.
In this follow up, we examine WHY people aren't choosing to renovate these old townhouses. A stone we alluded to, but mostly left unturned in the previous outing.
We're joined by my cheeky American friend and Japan real estate expert Alex Shapiro as we wander through a collapsing property, that feels like a movie set out of the movie the Grudge.
Enjoy the video though guys and in case you missed the Patreon Exclusive Q&A a few days ago, you can watch that here as well!
And if your question didn't get answered in the Patreon Q&A and may yet appear in the main Abroad in Japan Q&A out later in July.
COMPLETELY unrelated to this, just a few hours ago I received a box from Penguin packed with hardback copies of the Abroad in Japan book including the final stunning cover. My first time to physically see it!
It was designed by illustrator Matt Saunders, who recently just finished re-designing the covers for Stephen King's books.
(And if it's good for Stephen King, it's good for me 😅).
But I've loved Matt's work for years and was absolutely delighted he was willing to undertake the cover for the Abroad in Japan book.
In case you guys have yet to snap up a copy of the book you can grab it from here:
Hey guys, Hope you've all had a cracking good week so far!
Delighted to announce this month's Patreon live hangout will be on Thursday 29th June (tonight Japan time)!
It's a bit shorter notice than I'd have liked, so apologies for that - though surprisingly I find turnout on the live shows is always higher when announced at short notice 😅
But we'll be discussing climbing Fuji, moving into the new studio (at long last), and what lies ahead in July, as well as behind the scenes gossip on the last few videos. After all, it was quite a busy month for content!
Hey guys, Hope you're having a great weekend so far! So we have a fun new video out on Abroad in Japan today - Sharla and I got our hands on a prototype RV from Mitsubishi Fuso, which is supposed to be the ultimate living/workspace on wheels in the tiniest form factor possible.
It was a lot of fun testing it out, though it was the views of Mount Fuji that stole the show, 5 years after our previous ill-fated attempt!
ALSO tomorrow I'm announcing the annual Q&A for the Abroad in Japan channel and for everyone to send their questions in.
However, I want to produce a separate Q&A exclusive here on Patreon, so I can make sure as many of your questions as possible get answered!
With that in mind, please send in your questions below on this post and I'll go through them tomorrow morning over a bucket of ice coffee :D
Naturally, the questions can be about anything; travel, culture, Youtube, chicken, you name it. And I like to think I'm fairly open so please don't hold back.
Ask away with your questions below guys and enjoy today's video! Chris
Hey guys, Hope you're all having a great weekend so far!
And so here it is, my first vlog from Tokyo as a resident. It still feels rather weird to live here in Tokyo but I've settled in at last. I don't even miss Sendai - though I miss not having the studio. Fortunately, we should be able to move it before August!
And we kick things off with the first Day in the Life video on Abroad in Japan in 5 years! Cats, rats, Shinjuku bad boys, a Swedish surfer and even Sharla. You never know who you might run into on a day out in Tokyo.
From cooking a delicious dinner and surfing, to exploring Shinjuku's alleyways and a broken toilet, truly no stone is left unturned.
We've got a Patreon exclusive episode to follow with some cool deleted scenes that I removed begrudgingly to make the Abroad in Japan video more lean, but for now enjoy the first Tokyo vlog of many and let me know where you'd like to see me go off and explore next!
We have no less than three videos including two more Patreon exclusive episodes from Journey Across Japan: Frozen Frontier.
AND a brand new Abroad in Japan video, featuring three absolute horror stories of the worst things I've ever done in my time living in Japan.
JOURNEY ACROSS JAPAN: Frozen Frontier
Well after four episodes and 1,000km through the snow, Journey Across Japan is over once again. A big thank you to all the kind words on the series, I really enjoyed making this one, despite the freezing temperatures.
IN episode 3, we visited Lake Akan and in the Patreon exclusive episode, I discuss how it might just be my new favourite place in Hokkaido (and why).
Episode 3 What REALLY Happened at Japan's Coldest Town | Patreon Exclusive Video 🍿 Watch:https://youtu.be/BdxoOae5dJk
And in a fourth and final episode, we visited the notorious Abashiri prison and rode the ice breaker ship into the Sea of Okhotsk.
In this Patreon exclusive episode, I take a look back over the highs and lows of the series and reveal if I had any regrets along the way! We also share a deleted scene of an ice festival that didn't make the final cut! (For reasons you'll discover in the video).
Episode 4 Do I REGRET Journey Across Japan: Frozen Frontier? | Patreon Exclusive Video 🍿 Watch:https://youtu.be/1EtNXOSYr90
But a huge thank you guys for supporting the series - I hope you all got to discover at least one or two new places you'd like to one day visit and maybe we may have tempted some of you to come over to Japan in February! Honestly, the month is completely underrated.
And finally, in this week's Abroad in Japan episode, I reveal the three worst things I've done during my time in Japan.
From a terrible language mistake and a horrific sushi dinner, to an awkward moment with Ken Watanabe! Feels good to get back to a story time video from the studio!
1) Firstly, the next Patreon Behind the scenes exclusive video is up featuring outtakes, bloopers and commentary from our ride on the Fuyu no Shitsugen snow train.
So as you guys know, here on the Abroad in Japan Patreon we produce a lot of behind the scenes videos to accompany each video, but Patreon itself isn't the greatest way to curate the 50+ videos we now have here on the platform.
It's a shame as new folks that join often miss out on previous videos and we're periodically forced to do a big silly Megapost on here, listing everything off. And so to get around this, we've gone and built a slick catalogue of all our bonus content, all in one place, accessible to watch with a code.
You'll be able to see the page, but to watch a video you'll need to enter this code, which will be changed at the start of every month and announced on here. But hopefully now, you guys can go back and see anything you've missed!
What a great way to while away the hours, until the final episode of Journey Across Japan: Frozen Frontier drops tonight! 🍻🥳
Hey guys, Hope you've all had a cracking good week so far.
Pleased to announce our Patreon live show hangout for this month will be May 31st!
Plenty to discuss including the move to Tokyo, the brand new studio we've just found and what lies ahead after Journey Across Japan: Frozen Frontiers. And of course, the book!
We've been dropping the episodes thick and fast and sadly our epic 1,000km adventure around Hokkaido is almost over, with one more episode dropping later this week.
ALAS, we've got plenty to look forward to in this week's episode including: ✅ Exploring an indigenous Ainu village (extremely rare to find in Japan) ✅ Staying at an inn overlooking a frozen lake ✅ Wandering around Japan's coldest town ✅ An epic rap battle with DJ Jelly vs. MC Rapsuki
With some of the most stunning scenery in the series yet, get ready to escape to the snowy sub arctic wilderness of Hokkaido once again!
