Abroad in Japan: The No. 1 Sunday Times Bestseller

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When Englishman Chris Broad landed in a rural village in northern Japan he wondered if he’d made a huge mistake. His editing and eye for detail is incredible but this book really shines a light on his amazing writing ability. Upon moving to Sakata, Yamagata to teach as an Assistant Language Teacher with the JET Programme in 2012, Broad decided to vlog about some of his experiences as a foreigner living in the rural Tōhoku region. By coming with few preconceptions, he manages to overcome culture shock, isolation, a lack of direction and confronts the difference from his own upbringing in the UK to his new home.

After learning of and applying to the JET Programme, Broad moved to the city of Sakata in Yamagata Prefecture in 2012 while creating videos about his life and experiences in Japan. I particularly enjoyed the early years in Japan when he was finding his footing at the school and learning the culture, language, and making connections. Series: Chris Broad's "Japan Not Listed in Guidebooks" (Chapter 0) What I can do to convey "the charm of Japan that Japanese people overlook" as a foreign YouTuber? The best part of the book is the first 60%, detailing his time teaching English in rural Japan and reaching the highs and lows of that experience.Without really thinking, I mentally started to compare our experiences though different with him being a teacher and an youtber and me as an exchange student. That's right, five lucky winners will have the chance to own a special edition of the book, personally signed by Chris Broad himself at the summit of Mount Fuji! Packed with hilarious and fascinating stories, this book seeks out to unravel one the world's most complex cultures. I’ve been a fan of Chris’ work for a while now and when he announced the book, I knew it would be worth the read.

Because I’m not familiar with the YouTube stuff, I felt like we hit fast-forward around 2016; I think he assumes we will be familiar with his journey. It's a quick and fun read which gives some insight into the realities of living in Japan as a foreigner as well as the highs and lows of being a YouTuber. The country’s longest mountain range, at 500 kilometres, it would soon become the physical barrier between me and everyone I knew. Abroad in Japan charts a decade of living in a foreign land and the chaos and culture clash that came with it. Ludwig brings Chessboxing to the world of content creation with the Mogul Chessboxing Championship".My favorite quote, and one I tell myself every time I encounter something that gives me anxiety was "if I walk away, will I live to regret this? From chapter 1 all the way through to the end I couldn’t wait to hear the next tale of his time in Japan. It was still fun but it felt a bit long and the vast fry humour got replaced with more serious topics like the 2011 earthquake.

His experiences have made him a sought-after voice on life inside Japan and he has been featured on the BBC, TEDx, NHK and the Japan Times. 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. He doesn't shy away from his struggles assimilating into the famously insular Japanese culture as a Gaijin (foreigner).It was also hilarious to see how the videos he put the least effort in actually got the most views, that indeed made me quite hopeful of the trajectory my channel may someday take. To my relief, I soon learned that the volcano was more or less dormant, last caught puffing out a mediocre quantity of smoke in 1974.

I can't recommend this enough and I'm rather certain that I'm one of the very first people to have read this in the world!It was also great to read about his meeting with one of my favourites on the channel, the one and only Natsuki! He has also covered contemporary issues through documentaries on the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.