Abroad in Japan: The No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller

Product Information

TEDx Talks, Learning outside Japan, telling Tohoku to the world | Ryotaro Sakurai | TEDxTohokuUniversity, archived from the original on 18 June 2020 , retrieved 21 December 2018 The book cover Chris's stay in Japan from arriving as a rookie English Teacher in a rural part of Japan to accidentally becoming viral and eventually becoming a famous Youtuber. Along the journey he meets some good friends (Natsuki) and has some sorry heartbreaks (like the Love hotel chapter which is tragically comic and a standout). He doesn't shy away from his struggles assimilating into the famously insular Japanese culture as a Gaijin (foreigner). He portrays and confronts his vulnerabilities, his fear and his anxieties very well with his typically sarcastic, punny and witty British humour that had me laughing out loud in several places. This rarely happens (unless it is Michael Palin and his adventures - this book compares favorably to him). Also because it is a memoir and a slice of life in Japan, I also could see that it can be a good contemporary companion book to Pico Iyers The lady and the Monk: Four Seasons in Kyoto, which I absolutely loved. It’s exactly what I expected - full of fry humour mixed with cool facts about Japan. When I was reading it, it felt like Chris was reading it in my head (his audiobook is coming out in September).

Journey Across Japan: The Lost Islands". Abroad in Japan. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021 . Retrieved 29 May 2021. Anyway, the book is about his first ten years living in Japan. The guy just jetted off there one day to teach English despite having no teaching experience and knowing barely any Japanese. From wide-eyed exchange teacher to seasoned youtuber, Chris Broad explores Japan in all its quirky glory, surviving earthquakes, North Korean missile alerts, cat cafe allergies and Love Hotel evictions. Endlessly fascinating! Will Ferguson, author of Hokkaido Highway Blues Why I was attracted to the "not strange" Japanese identity as a foreign YouTuber]. Yahoo News Japan (in Japanese). 14 February 2021. Archived from the original on 14 February 2021 . Retrieved 22 February 2021. In a way, Abroad in Japan (both the book and Youtube channel) has been one large documentary about Japan, giving an honest (both good and bad) non-native view of the country. I have not had the opportunity to visit Japan yet but thanks to Chris's work, I almost feel like I have experienced it first hand. Having said that, I have a growing wish to go and experience a lot of it for myself. From the onsens to a perilous climb up Mount Fuji, I hope to one day have the chance to go through a fraction of what you have had the chance to experience in Japan. Your journey throughout Japan over the past decade was certainly inspiring and humbling.Your audience is waiting". YouTube. 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 15 January 2020 . Retrieved 17 December 2018. Christopher "Chris" Broad (born 21 April 1990), [3] also known online as Abroad in Japan, is an English Sunday Times best selling author, YouTuber, filmmaker, podcast host, and former Assistant Language Teacher. He focuses on the creation of videos about Japanese culture, Japanese food and travel in Japan, primarily in the Tōhoku region. Pizza vending machine attracts crowds in Hiroshima". The Japan Times. 6 September 2018. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019 . Retrieved 13 September 2019. On 31 May 2018, Broad released the documentary film Natsuki: The Movie telling the story of Broad and his friend Natsuki's journey to Europe. [16] [17] Abroad in Japan (31 May 2018). "Natsuki: The Movie (Life in Japan Documentary)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019 . Retrieved 27 April 2019.

My husband introduced me to the Abroad in Japan YouTube channel a few years ago and we've enjoyed watching all the videos together ever since. When I saw the announcement for this book I was excited to get my hands on it and hear more about Chris' journey from being an English teacher to a highly successful creator. Atsuko Matsumoto (13 July 2019). "Videos 'like a party' look for the real Japan". The Japan News. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019 . Retrieved 13 September 2019. McDonald's Japan's chocolate covered fries: 'it works' – video review". The Guardian. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021 . Retrieved 3 December 2020. Another person I find interesting to hear about was Chris' friend Ryotaro. Never heard how Chris med him aswell. What interesting way to meet a friend as well. But I couldn't anything else but laugh because how they almost has been acted like brothers. Kind of wholesome if you ask me.

Anderson, Shizuka (30 March 2018). "Get To Know Chris Broad from Abroad in Japan". YouTube. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019 . Retrieved 17 December 2018. Atsuko Matsumoto (13 July 2019). "Videos 'like a party' look for the real Japan". The Japan News. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019 . Retrieved 13 September 2019. .

Natsuki Aso ( 阿蘓 夏樹, Aso Natsuki ) – presenter, amateur musician and owner of a beauty salon in Yamagata, Japan In "Abroad in Japan," Chris Broad unveils a narrative that embarks from his initial days as a language teacher in Japan to the serendipitous inception of his YouTube channel. The book is strewn with a gamut of anecdotal stories likely to resonate with, and perhaps charm, the habitual viewers of his digital content. Broad’s storytelling oscillates between immersing the reader in the quintessential Japanese milieu and dragging them through it - a dichotomy that might mirror the gamut of emotions one might traverse in foreign lands. I also appriciated Chris talking about the disater of 2011 and shared storiea from people that was affected. It was so sad, but inspiring the strenght how the local people... Angeles, Zen (12 December 2022). "Ludwig's Mogul Chessboxing Championship Results and More". ClutchPoints . Retrieved 12 December 2022.The last third of the book takes place after he leaves his teaching role and briefly chronicles the rise of his YouTube channel. For me this was the weakest part of the book. It reads like a series of unconnected anecdotes. While it's not bad, I feel like it's a drop in quality from the excellent first 2/3rds of the book. acast (4 April 2018). "Abroad in Japan: Myths about Japan! | Abroad in Japan on acast". acast. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022 . Retrieved 21 December 2018. In writing style, he's passionate yet not overconfident. He 'speaks' well because he's more considerate of his role - a narrator and witness. While he's no expert, he downplays what becomes apparent - his willingness to learn and embrace his new setting. Explore Regional Flavors – Visiting the Hidden Village – Part 2". Archived from the original on 18 February 2022 . Retrieved 24 December 2020.

This book is informative, realistic, and highly entertaining. The author, Chris Broad, is happy to embrace the good of the country and culture he immersed himself in, as well as the bad, the problematic and the downright strange! Tessa Randello (9 June 2018). "Japan's YouTubers go long with crowdfunded content". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020 . Retrieved 22 February 2020. a b Fujita, Hana (23 November 2020). "British YouTuber Chris Broad spotlights resilient locals in Japan in wake of 2011 tsunami". Mainichi Shimbun. Sendai. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020 . Retrieved 3 December 2020. I found this book really interesting with useful advice that will be of use to anyone who plans to live in or visit Japan. Chris does a great job of not sugar coating his experiences, and will highlight the positives and negatives of Japanese culture.Most of all, the book is inspiring. To just get up and go to begin a new life in a foreign land is a brave thing to do. And then to build up a comfortable life there and then leave that behind to follow your dream of making videos could almost be called madness, but he did it, coming out clean on the other end. Follow your dreams! I was hoping to read more about how he met his fiancé, Sharla, but he didn't go into that. Apart from that, I thoroughly enjoyed. So yes, I recommend.