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Abroad in Japan: Ten Years In The Land Of The Rising Sun
When Englishman Chris Broad landed in a rural village in northern Japan he wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. With no knowledge of the language and zero teaching experience, was he about to be the most quickly fired English teacher in Japan's history?
Abroad in Japan charts a decade of living in a foreign land and the chaos and culture clash that came with it. Packed with hilarious and fascinating stories, this book seeks out to unravel one the world's most complex cultures.
Spanning ten years and all forty-seven prefectures, Chris takes us from the lush rice fields of the countryside to the frenetic neon-lit streets of Tokyo. With blockbuster moments such as a terrifying North Korean missile incident, a mortifying experience at a love hotel and a week spent with Japan's biggest movie star, Abroad in Japan is an extraordinary and informative journey through the Land of the Rising Sun.
Abroad in Japan charts a decade of living in a foreign land and the chaos and culture clash that came with it. Packed with hilarious and fascinating stories, this book seeks out to unravel one the world's most complex cultures.
Spanning ten years and all forty-seven prefectures, Chris takes us from the lush rice fields of the countryside to the frenetic neon-lit streets of Tokyo. With blockbuster moments such as a terrifying North Korean missile incident, a mortifying experience at a love hotel and a week spent with Japan's biggest movie star, Abroad in Japan is an extraordinary and informative journey through the Land of the Rising Sun.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published August 3, 2023
About the author
Chris Broad
1 book209 followersChris Broad is a British filmmaker and founder of the Abroad in Japan YouTube channel, one of the largest foreign YouTube channels in Japan with over 2.5 million subscribers and 400 million views. Over ten years and two hundred videos, Chris has visited all of Japan's forty-seven prefectures, focusing Abroad in Japan on travel, food and culture. He has also covered contemporary issues through documentaries on the Fukushima nuclear disaster and the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,130 reviews
August 6, 2023
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.
Within the first few sentences of the book I was able to tell that it was very authentically Chris. One thing I love about his YouTube videos is how he is able to merge personal tales and educational facts together seamlessly and this is prevalent in the book also. There are also many descriptions of a lot of the wonderful food you can get in Japan and I also really enjoyed this aspect of the book. I also loved learning about his relationship with Natsuki and Ryotoro.
My 3 star review is simply because the content of the book is not what I was expecting. The first 60% of the book covers Chris' first years in Japan as an English teacher in Yamagata. He talks about the experience of moving to a completely foreign country and all the struggles that accompany it. The last 40% of the book quickly recaps moments of the past 6 years of his YouTube career, featuring highlights such as his viral North Korean missile video and his interview with Ken Watanabe.
It is undeniable that Chris has had a very full life and I would never expect him to be able to recount all the events of the past 10 years in a mere 300 pages, that's just simply impossible. I also understand why the book was focused more on his early years in Japan as these were his most formative years. Everything that happened after that is easily accessible on his YouTube channel. However, as much as I understand I can't help but feel that there were things left out of the book that I thought would have been included, or at least mentioned.
In this book Chris talks about two previous relationships he's had whilst in Japan, one a one-night stand and the other a longer relationship. As these were included I was surprised to see that there was no mention of his current fiancée Sharla, other than in the last portion of the book where she is mentioned in one sentence. I was also surprised to see there was no mention of the likes of Connor and Joey who have featured on Chris' channel a lot and whom he has had a lot of adventures with, such as Wacky Weekends or subsequent Journey Across Japan series'. However, it is his book and is ultimately at his discretion who and what gets mentioned.
I do want to stress that I do think this is a good book and fans of Abroad in Japan will enjoy it. I just went into reading this book with certain expectations which ultimately let me down when it wasn't what I was expecting it to be.
Within the first few sentences of the book I was able to tell that it was very authentically Chris. One thing I love about his YouTube videos is how he is able to merge personal tales and educational facts together seamlessly and this is prevalent in the book also. There are also many descriptions of a lot of the wonderful food you can get in Japan and I also really enjoyed this aspect of the book. I also loved learning about his relationship with Natsuki and Ryotoro.
My 3 star review is simply because the content of the book is not what I was expecting. The first 60% of the book covers Chris' first years in Japan as an English teacher in Yamagata. He talks about the experience of moving to a completely foreign country and all the struggles that accompany it. The last 40% of the book quickly recaps moments of the past 6 years of his YouTube career, featuring highlights such as his viral North Korean missile video and his interview with Ken Watanabe.
It is undeniable that Chris has had a very full life and I would never expect him to be able to recount all the events of the past 10 years in a mere 300 pages, that's just simply impossible. I also understand why the book was focused more on his early years in Japan as these were his most formative years. Everything that happened after that is easily accessible on his YouTube channel. However, as much as I understand I can't help but feel that there were things left out of the book that I thought would have been included, or at least mentioned.
In this book Chris talks about two previous relationships he's had whilst in Japan, one a one-night stand and the other a longer relationship. As these were included I was surprised to see that there was no mention of his current fiancée Sharla, other than in the last portion of the book where she is mentioned in one sentence. I was also surprised to see there was no mention of the likes of Connor and Joey who have featured on Chris' channel a lot and whom he has had a lot of adventures with, such as Wacky Weekends or subsequent Journey Across Japan series'. However, it is his book and is ultimately at his discretion who and what gets mentioned.
I do want to stress that I do think this is a good book and fans of Abroad in Japan will enjoy it. I just went into reading this book with certain expectations which ultimately let me down when it wasn't what I was expecting it to be.
August 7, 2023
4.5 This is armchair travel at its absolute finest.
Let me start by saying I wasn’t at all familiar with Chris or his filmmaking. I picked this up in the bookstore because of the stunning cover and the premise sounded intriguing.
I loved the early years detailing Chris’s experience in the JET programme. After reading the afterword, it’s really inspiring that he struggles with anxiety and did such a cool thing on his own! I moved from Canada to the UK and found that culturally shocking, I can’t imagine going somewhere I didn’t speak the language, on my own, in a totally different climate… it’s amazing!
Chris has a way with writing that transported me to Japan. He can across as authentic with a good sense of humour. 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.
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. He did a reasonable job at bringing those of us that weren’t along for the ride but it felt like we glossed over more and sped up from that point onward. The focus became more about the filmmaking, which didn’t hold quite the same allure for me as the earlier sections.
Still, I learned so much about Japan and this was a pleasure to read. It’s such a great feeling to pick up a book for which I have zero context, and having it be a total banger! :)
Let me start by saying I wasn’t at all familiar with Chris or his filmmaking. I picked this up in the bookstore because of the stunning cover and the premise sounded intriguing.
I loved the early years detailing Chris’s experience in the JET programme. After reading the afterword, it’s really inspiring that he struggles with anxiety and did such a cool thing on his own! I moved from Canada to the UK and found that culturally shocking, I can’t imagine going somewhere I didn’t speak the language, on my own, in a totally different climate… it’s amazing!
Chris has a way with writing that transported me to Japan. He can across as authentic with a good sense of humour. 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.
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. He did a reasonable job at bringing those of us that weren’t along for the ride but it felt like we glossed over more and sped up from that point onward. The focus became more about the filmmaking, which didn’t hold quite the same allure for me as the earlier sections.
Still, I learned so much about Japan and this was a pleasure to read. It’s such a great feeling to pick up a book for which I have zero context, and having it be a total banger! :)
January 17, 2024
There are some interesting anecdotes in this one, for example being locked in a love hotel. Its fairly light reading so enjoyable overall but I felt it lacked the insight or fish-out-of-water commentary I was hoping for from someone who had lived in Japan for 10 years. I think most of what is referenced in here had been covered many years ago by 'Clive James on Television'. Still, enjoyable enough but I'm now looking for something that deep-dives into the culture. Any recommendations gratefully received.
August 7, 2023
(Disclaimer: I do not consider myself an Abroad in Japan fan. I am aware of his content and have watched a few of his videos, but this review is written from a neutral perspective)
My first thought when seeing this book was being written is "what will it actually be about?" The book primarily focuses on Chris Broads first 3 years of his life working as an assistant language teacher. I picked this book up for the flight to go and do the same job in Japan.
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.
A note about the writing style: Chris writes the way he talks. This makes sense since he's spent the last decade writing scripts, not books. When you are reading you'll hear the entire thing as though he's narrating it. I didn't mind this, although some areas of the books read like a video script, and could use some polish.
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.
If you are a fan of abroad in Japan this is a must read. If you aren't, I'd say watch one or two of his videos and see if you like the style and sense of humour before picking this one up. He has a great story to tell, but the style will not be for everyone. 4/5
My first thought when seeing this book was being written is "what will it actually be about?" The book primarily focuses on Chris Broads first 3 years of his life working as an assistant language teacher. I picked this book up for the flight to go and do the same job in Japan.
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.
A note about the writing style: Chris writes the way he talks. This makes sense since he's spent the last decade writing scripts, not books. When you are reading you'll hear the entire thing as though he's narrating it. I didn't mind this, although some areas of the books read like a video script, and could use some polish.
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.
If you are a fan of abroad in Japan this is a must read. If you aren't, I'd say watch one or two of his videos and see if you like the style and sense of humour before picking this one up. He has a great story to tell, but the style will not be for everyone. 4/5
August 21, 2023
A hilarious non-fic you can read in one sitting.
I’ve been following Chris’ journey across Japan for a few years now. Me and my husband, who’s been watching Chris since the very first video, have done multiple binge-watching sessions and we always wait for a new video to come out. So when the book got announced, it was a no brainer that I was going to get it.
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).
We get to see his very first few years in Japan, how he had no clue what he was getting himself into especially with no ability to speak Japanese. The first 60% or so are full of stories we’ve never heard before and I found myself chuckling a lot. I LOVED it!
The latter 40% talk a bit more about the missile and when his Youtube career started to pick up - and that’s when the pacing changes. 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.
Overall it was great and I highly recommend it to everyone who loves Abroad in Japan, or who’d love to learn some new things about living in Japan as a foreigner.
August 19, 2023
Loved hearing about Chris' journey across Japan. Found it enjoyable to read about his first three years teaching at a high school located in the north of Japan, and his struggles with trying to learn Japanese.
The second half of the book was less memorable, briefly looking at his most popular videos, and how he become a YouTuber.
The second half of the book was less memorable, briefly looking at his most popular videos, and how he become a YouTuber.
October 19, 2023
It's like if a YouTube video were a book. See the Whiting books for real insights
Read
June 17, 2024I don't rate biographies and memoirs
Really interesting look at a British guy living in Japan for ten years, first as an English teacher and then as a travel blogger. I will say, for a book stating that it covers a ten year period, a lot of time is spent in the first year of Chris' time in Japan and less time on the subsequent years. However I did really enjoy the early culture shock and the ways Chris spent trying to adapt to the change in climate, culture and language. I also really enjoyed the latter part of the book, focusing on Chris as he travels around the country, working on various documentaries and meeting the wonderful people of Japan. Think a train master cat called Hatchi, a woman rebuilding after the devastating tsunami of 2011 and the superstar Hyde. Chris has an obvious love of Japan, from its language to its landscape, and this was a joy to experience, if a little short for my liking.
Really interesting look at a British guy living in Japan for ten years, first as an English teacher and then as a travel blogger. I will say, for a book stating that it covers a ten year period, a lot of time is spent in the first year of Chris' time in Japan and less time on the subsequent years. However I did really enjoy the early culture shock and the ways Chris spent trying to adapt to the change in climate, culture and language. I also really enjoyed the latter part of the book, focusing on Chris as he travels around the country, working on various documentaries and meeting the wonderful people of Japan. Think a train master cat called Hatchi, a woman rebuilding after the devastating tsunami of 2011 and the superstar Hyde. Chris has an obvious love of Japan, from its language to its landscape, and this was a joy to experience, if a little short for my liking.
June 30, 2024
Niestety, ale minąłem się z tym tytułem…
August 5, 2023
Read the book in 2 days. As a loyal subscriber to his youtube channel, I find that the book reflects a lot of his personality which made it a joy for me to read. However I think even for readers who are not familiar with Chris might also enjoy the tone of voice in this book. It is a great reflection of living abroad in an entirely different culture, and it shows Japan and its people through a deeper level than the ever polite mask that is always shown. Even if you are not a fan of his youtube channel, I'd recommend to read this book.
August 6, 2023
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. His tone, humour and personality shone through the pages and the book was a very enjoyable read that I worked through in just a few hours.
Loved learning more about Chris’ early life in Japan and how he grew during those first few years on the JET programme. The story of how Chris met Natsuki had me chuckling like a madwoman. Also loved seeing more of how Chris and Ryotaro built their relationship behind the cameras and getting an understanding of the deep appreciation they have for one another.
Lots of descriptions of food in the book. Which, if you’re a fan of the Abroad in Japan channel, should not be a surprise. Chris, if you ever decide to go down another career path, restaurant critic should be an option.
If you have any interest in Japan, I’d say it’s worth the read. If you’re a fan of Chris’ YouTube channel, it goes without saying that you’ll enjoy the book.
Loved learning more about Chris’ early life in Japan and how he grew during those first few years on the JET programme. The story of how Chris met Natsuki had me chuckling like a madwoman. Also loved seeing more of how Chris and Ryotaro built their relationship behind the cameras and getting an understanding of the deep appreciation they have for one another.
Lots of descriptions of food in the book. Which, if you’re a fan of the Abroad in Japan channel, should not be a surprise. Chris, if you ever decide to go down another career path, restaurant critic should be an option.
If you have any interest in Japan, I’d say it’s worth the read. If you’re a fan of Chris’ YouTube channel, it goes without saying that you’ll enjoy the book.
April 25, 2024
3.5
At the beginning I thought it'd some kind of a fun guide with smart tips for those who are planning to visit Japan sometime soon, but it was more of a fan guide, for those who love the channel and wanted to hear the origin story and some of the more interesting bits from behind the scenes. Unfortunately I don't belong to this group but I get the appeal - if one of my favourite youtubers would publish something, I'd probably buy it. Luckily, the book was short, still quite pleasant to read and contained some bits of trivia about Japan - so still managed to find out something about the country.
At the beginning I thought it'd some kind of a fun guide with smart tips for those who are planning to visit Japan sometime soon, but it was more of a fan guide, for those who love the channel and wanted to hear the origin story and some of the more interesting bits from behind the scenes. Unfortunately I don't belong to this group but I get the appeal - if one of my favourite youtubers would publish something, I'd probably buy it. Luckily, the book was short, still quite pleasant to read and contained some bits of trivia about Japan - so still managed to find out something about the country.
May 12, 2024
Medarbeideren i Waterstones-butikken i Bath sa jeg burde kjøpe den, der den lå og lyste opp mot meg ved kassen. Han hadde gitt den til sin bestemor, og hun likte den. Jaja, tenkte jeg, og tok ham på ordet.
Da jeg leste bakgrunnen for tittelen, Abroad in Japan spiller på at forfatteren, Chris Broad, har bodd i Japan i ti år, flere av de som engelsklærer, snek skepsisen seg inn, og de 150 første sidene bekreftet den. Chris Broad drar til vestkysten av Japan for å jobbe som engelsklærer gjennom det såkalte JET-programmet, og han forteller stort sett om livet som utvekslingsstudent i form av en mer eller mindre interessant dagbok der historiene er like interessante som historiene til en hvilken som helst annen utvekslingsstudent - altså ikke så veldig imponerende. Når Broad heller ikke har et veldig godt språk, begynner det å ligne på en bok verd en svak 2-er. Jeg blir egentlig ikke kjent verken med japansk kultur, skolevesen eller samfunnet ellers - bare med Broads frustrasjoner og gleder fortalt i et flatt og endimensjonalt språk.
Men så løsner det. Han blir vant med Japan, tilpasser seg, beveger seg rundt i landet, oppsøker mennesker og situasjoner, blir YouTube-kjendis og opplever at dørene åpner seg, og plutselig blir det ganske interessant - på tross av det litt for enkle og naive språket. Vurderingen kryper sakte oppover og lander på en treer. En tilfeldig turist i Stavanger sentrum så at jeg hadde med meg boken på kafe, og spurte meg hva jeg syntes - han hadde kjøpt boken selv. Svaret jeg gav ham er dekkende for svaret du får av meg hvis du spør: Lettlest, underholdende men overfladisk. Som veldig mange av de bøkene vi egentlig liker godt er.
Så les den gjerne, men ikke forvent noe.
Da jeg leste bakgrunnen for tittelen, Abroad in Japan spiller på at forfatteren, Chris Broad, har bodd i Japan i ti år, flere av de som engelsklærer, snek skepsisen seg inn, og de 150 første sidene bekreftet den. Chris Broad drar til vestkysten av Japan for å jobbe som engelsklærer gjennom det såkalte JET-programmet, og han forteller stort sett om livet som utvekslingsstudent i form av en mer eller mindre interessant dagbok der historiene er like interessante som historiene til en hvilken som helst annen utvekslingsstudent - altså ikke så veldig imponerende. Når Broad heller ikke har et veldig godt språk, begynner det å ligne på en bok verd en svak 2-er. Jeg blir egentlig ikke kjent verken med japansk kultur, skolevesen eller samfunnet ellers - bare med Broads frustrasjoner og gleder fortalt i et flatt og endimensjonalt språk.
Men så løsner det. Han blir vant med Japan, tilpasser seg, beveger seg rundt i landet, oppsøker mennesker og situasjoner, blir YouTube-kjendis og opplever at dørene åpner seg, og plutselig blir det ganske interessant - på tross av det litt for enkle og naive språket. Vurderingen kryper sakte oppover og lander på en treer. En tilfeldig turist i Stavanger sentrum så at jeg hadde med meg boken på kafe, og spurte meg hva jeg syntes - han hadde kjøpt boken selv. Svaret jeg gav ham er dekkende for svaret du får av meg hvis du spør: Lettlest, underholdende men overfladisk. Som veldig mange av de bøkene vi egentlig liker godt er.
Så les den gjerne, men ikke forvent noe.
April 30, 2024
This was a cracking read. Funny, informative, adventurous in its own way, and personal.
April 26, 2024
I have found Abroad in Japan for the first time through a friend many years ago but truly dell in love with the channel and the stories dueing covid. This book is a great collection of stories and behind the scenes that will help you get a better perspective.
March 30, 2024
4.5
This was exactly what I needed right now! A thoroughly fun and light read full of adventures, bizarre anecdotes and appreciative exploration of Japanese culture.
I was not familiar with Chris Broad or the «Abroad in Japan» YouTube channel from before, but I still found this book accessible and easy to love from the get-go. It is written with humor, eloquence and a addictive narration, and it made me want to indulge in story after story. I laughed out loud many times and it felt great to have the treat of ending the day by reading a few chapters of this.
I wasn’t quite as engaged at the very end of the book, mostly because there were a lot of time jumps and increasing references to stories/content covered by his YouTube videos. I didn’t mind, but my enjoyment wasn’t quite as high as during the virtual day-to-day accounts during the initial chapters.
All in all, had a great time with this, and my urge to return to Japan is even stronger now!
This was exactly what I needed right now! A thoroughly fun and light read full of adventures, bizarre anecdotes and appreciative exploration of Japanese culture.
I was not familiar with Chris Broad or the «Abroad in Japan» YouTube channel from before, but I still found this book accessible and easy to love from the get-go. It is written with humor, eloquence and a addictive narration, and it made me want to indulge in story after story. I laughed out loud many times and it felt great to have the treat of ending the day by reading a few chapters of this.
I wasn’t quite as engaged at the very end of the book, mostly because there were a lot of time jumps and increasing references to stories/content covered by his YouTube videos. I didn’t mind, but my enjoyment wasn’t quite as high as during the virtual day-to-day accounts during the initial chapters.
All in all, had a great time with this, and my urge to return to Japan is even stronger now!
May 5, 2024
Youtuber Chris Broad describes his explorations of Japan across a decade, starting from his first arrival to Japan as an English teacher as a part of JET program in 2012. The book is an engaging collection of personal experiences that reveal interesting bits about Japanese culture, but on other hand it falls a bit short of insight and depth. An enjoyable read still, because the tone is very much authentic and engaging, and reading about Japan is always fascinating!!
April 28, 2024
Less a rich ramen broth, more of a Pot Noodle; this undemanding travelogue is shot through with self-deprecation. Broad’s culture-clash stories often feel rushed through like a bullet train. Nevertheless, the sarcastic-yet-endeared tone remains consistent throughout, and insights into Japan’s collective resolve through natural disasters are welcome and touching.
November 4, 2023
Really enjoyed this and felt so exciting reading about the places I will see soon!!
April 8, 2024
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Japan, Chris Broad, or both.
This book gives a brilliant insight into life in Japan and Japanese culture through the humorous, sarcastic lens of a British YouTuber. It's hilarious, informative, and eye-opening.
This book gives a brilliant insight into life in Japan and Japanese culture through the humorous, sarcastic lens of a British YouTuber. It's hilarious, informative, and eye-opening.
January 15, 2024
Entertaining enough, but really brought down by an obscene number of Japanese typos and a couple of weird claims about Japanese culture.
To me, it's kind of inexcusable to write a book about Japan and not have it proofread by someone who can actually speak Japanese. I noticed a couple of typos early on and didn't think much of it, but as I continued reading it started to feel like every other italicised Japanese word was misspelt or romanised weirdly. I'm sure a lot of readers won't really care as they're not trying to remember the Japanese words used in the book anyway and are just in it for some wacky hijinks, but I can imagine these typos being quite confusing for beginners trying to learn Japanese.
I kept track of the typos as I read because I couldn't believe how many there were.
Some of the most egregious examples:
"Ika" ("squid") typo'd as "ike" ("pond") in one of the early chapters.
A Japanese character saying "Minna-san" in some dialogue ("minna" means "everybody" but when "-san" is attached it becomes "mina-san").
Chris invents an entirely new method of romanising Japanese by romanising "ochoko" ("sake cup") as "ochocko". No method of romanising Japanese would render "ko" as "cko" and the word was also not loaned into English with this spelling, either, and googling it shows that nobody else is spelling this word this way.
The common phrase "hisashiburi" ("long time no see") is typo'd as "hisashiburu" on page 176.
On page 257 Chris states that the Japanese word for "cardboard" is "danbo". It's "danbooru".
On page 106 "oshieteimasu" ("teaching") is typo'd as "oshiteimasu" ("pushing").
At around pages 70-73 a character introduced as Noriko also seems to suddenly become Naoko after only a few pages!? A character called Naoko IS introduced later in the book, but from context it is pretty clear that he still means Noriko when he suddenly starts calling her Naoko.
Aside from that, the book is just okay. Some of the anecdotes are fairly cliched, like "takoyaki too hot" or "love hotel won't let in foreigner".
The best bits were towards the end of the book, where he talks more about the Tohoku disaster and some of his documentaries.
To me, it's kind of inexcusable to write a book about Japan and not have it proofread by someone who can actually speak Japanese. I noticed a couple of typos early on and didn't think much of it, but as I continued reading it started to feel like every other italicised Japanese word was misspelt or romanised weirdly. I'm sure a lot of readers won't really care as they're not trying to remember the Japanese words used in the book anyway and are just in it for some wacky hijinks, but I can imagine these typos being quite confusing for beginners trying to learn Japanese.
I kept track of the typos as I read because I couldn't believe how many there were.
Some of the most egregious examples:
"Ika" ("squid") typo'd as "ike" ("pond") in one of the early chapters.
A Japanese character saying "Minna-san" in some dialogue ("minna" means "everybody" but when "-san" is attached it becomes "mina-san").
Chris invents an entirely new method of romanising Japanese by romanising "ochoko" ("sake cup") as "ochocko". No method of romanising Japanese would render "ko" as "cko" and the word was also not loaned into English with this spelling, either, and googling it shows that nobody else is spelling this word this way.
The common phrase "hisashiburi" ("long time no see") is typo'd as "hisashiburu" on page 176.
On page 257 Chris states that the Japanese word for "cardboard" is "danbo". It's "danbooru".
On page 106 "oshieteimasu" ("teaching") is typo'd as "oshiteimasu" ("pushing").
At around pages 70-73 a character introduced as Noriko also seems to suddenly become Naoko after only a few pages!? A character called Naoko IS introduced later in the book, but from context it is pretty clear that he still means Noriko when he suddenly starts calling her Naoko.
Aside from that, the book is just okay. Some of the anecdotes are fairly cliched, like "takoyaki too hot" or "love hotel won't let in foreigner".
The best bits were towards the end of the book, where he talks more about the Tohoku disaster and some of his documentaries.
December 25, 2023
As a fan of the YouTube series, I feel as if I’ve already seen the movie. That enhanced my reading experience because I could envision some of the scenes and I could hear the voices of Chris, Natsuki and Ryotaro. The book offers many interesting stories and details that are not covered in the YouTube series.
August 13, 2023
An easy read, but if you're not a big fan of the YouTube channel I'd give it a miss.
August 27, 2023
Thank God this was free. (Thinking something is going to be so bad it’s good doesn’t tend to work well with books I have discovered)
January 12, 2024
For some odd reason, this random book by a YouTuber I'd never even heard of before was exactly what I needed to read in this moment of my life.
April 11, 2024
Okay but lost interest, turned into a me me me travel book
September 30, 2023
The first book I’ve ever pre-ordered! Hilarious, informative and unquestionably Chris Broad:
‘Nishiyama led me into the cavernous building, we passed two giggling schoolgirls sitting on a bench who blurted out ‘Hello!’
I smiled and gave them a quick nod. ‘Good afternoon!’
‘Kakkoii!’ one of them replied, and they both laughed. I had no idea what it meant, so I gave a thumbs-up and hoped they hadn’t just called me a twat.’
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Having watched him on YouTube for a few years at the time, Chris inspired me to take the leap of moving to Japan in 2019. Having also moved from southeast England to teach, reading this book brought back a lot of awesome memories, and it was fascinating to read of his earlier experiences and struggles that were similar to my own, but in the northern Honshu region of Tohoku rather than the southern prefecture of Shizuoka.
My only wishes are that it was longer (too early to ask for a sequel?!) and not being able to get to the book signing!
‘Nishiyama led me into the cavernous building, we passed two giggling schoolgirls sitting on a bench who blurted out ‘Hello!’
I smiled and gave them a quick nod. ‘Good afternoon!’
‘Kakkoii!’ one of them replied, and they both laughed. I had no idea what it meant, so I gave a thumbs-up and hoped they hadn’t just called me a twat.’
-
Having watched him on YouTube for a few years at the time, Chris inspired me to take the leap of moving to Japan in 2019. Having also moved from southeast England to teach, reading this book brought back a lot of awesome memories, and it was fascinating to read of his earlier experiences and struggles that were similar to my own, but in the northern Honshu region of Tohoku rather than the southern prefecture of Shizuoka.
My only wishes are that it was longer (too early to ask for a sequel?!) and not being able to get to the book signing!
May 5, 2024
What a delightful and entertaining read! I'm going to be honest and say i'd never heard of Chris Broad or watched any of his youtube videos that is until I started reading his book. I love that as well as being a memoir of his decade spent living in Japan it was also dotted with super interesting facts and some history, almost like a travel guide. It was such a transportive read and the perfect escapism. I've always wanted to visit Japan and since that won't be happening anytime soon, this was the best way to experience a lot of the regions.
I will now be watching all of Chris's youtube videos in chronological order of course, already started somenof the ones he had mentioned in the book (very clever and very well played dropping these into the book really!)
You can also tell that Chris is such a genuine down to earth person and really respects Japan and its culture even though he mixes his tone with classic British sarcasm and humour. Thats such a great unique balance to have!
I will now be watching all of Chris's youtube videos in chronological order of course, already started somenof the ones he had mentioned in the book (very clever and very well played dropping these into the book really!)
You can also tell that Chris is such a genuine down to earth person and really respects Japan and its culture even though he mixes his tone with classic British sarcasm and humour. Thats such a great unique balance to have!
June 11, 2024
This book is a solid 4.5/5 stars for me. Having watched his channel for almost 5 years now this book feels like one of his videos on paper, all the British humour and sarcasm included. I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading about his years teaching, as well as a slightly deeper look into Japans culture and problems that you would not expect. If you have any interest in a book on travel and what it’s like to live in Japan, I could not recommend this book more and encourage you to watch a few of Chris Broad’s documentaries on the Abroad in Japan channel
August 13, 2024
Audiobook version - A witty and captivating first-person account by a young Englishman who began his journey in Japan over a decade ago as an English teacher, and has since evolved into a successful YouTube travel video and documentary producer. If you’re eager to learn about Japan and enjoy English humor, this is a perfect pick!
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