UFOs and Tokyo's Cheapest Restaurants: A Very Strange Week on Abroad in Japan

Two videos in one week?
It must be an April fools!

Or did I get abducted by aliens and unlock the secrets of space, time and physics? Sadly not. But it has been a crazy week.

I think the closest thing I've seen to an April fool this week is that Ryotaro is randomly in Uzbekistan! I thought maybe he did get taken and dropped off in the wrong place, but turns out he was just on a long awaited family holiday (hope he's having fun!).


I’ve been juggling two ridiculously different projects simultaneously all week.
On the one hand, I've spent my time buried in government documents, travelling to Fukushima, poring over UFO photos and unlocking the mysteries of humanity.

On the other, I've been sat in various Tokyo restaurants stuffing my face, consuming an ungodly amount of reasonably priced food. It's a reminder of what an utterly absurd job this is.

But the truth is, I knew the UFO topic might alienate (pun not intended) a fair few viewers. So I wanted something else to balance it out. And hopefully, regardless of how you feel about the UFO topic, you can gauge my enthusiasm for the subject.

I've also said the most rewarding part of producing Abroad in Japan videos is trying to challenge myself in terms of filmmaking and cinematography and even more enjoyable than covering UFOs, was lighting the studio and transforming it into the den of an investigative reporter. Though, admittedly, it looked more like a rambling mad man's shed.

Still the challenge of lighting the set, the props (and photos), the composition, colour grading and chromatic aberration made shooting in the studio incredibly fun and rewarding. The whole shoot was like a practical film studies course and I'm delighted with the end result.

This Isolated Town in Japan Has Sighted UFOs for 50 Years
🍿Watch: https://youtu.be/aqvBLl2wKmU


Meanwhile because I know not everyone is interested in UFOs (and sadly, the video has done predictably not so great), I wanted a completely different video - and one that may be more useful to travellers visiting Japan.

I also came to a rather soul-crushing realisation this week: almost nobody seems to know about Japan’s greatest culinary treasure — a humble little restaurant chain called Ootoya. Frankly, this is a travesty. It’s cheap, it’s delicious, it’s everywhere, and yet for some baffling reason, it’s been entirely overlooked in favour of gimmicky conveyor-belt sushi and ¥12,000 slices of fruit. 

I do realise that by mentioning it here, I may well have sealed my own fate. The lunchtime queues are already bad enough. But if I turn up next week and find I have to wait behind a busload of Abroad in Japan viewers, I won't complain!

With all that in mind I challenged myself to see how far I could get on ¥1,000 at five Japanese chain restaurants. And it's out now for your viewing pleasure.

Forgive me for the damn video thumbnail, I made it hastily last night. As we always put the effort into the content, never the marketing.

I Tried Tokyo's CHEAPEST Restaurants 🇯🇵 5 Meals Under $10 | Budget Japan
🍿Watch: https://youtu.be/VqDyRks8YfI?si=1iQ7riuSy5L3crZj



CYCLETHON 4: Kicking off April 13th 
But the rest of this month is shaping up to be... well, utter chaos.

We’ve officially kicked off preparations for Cyclethon 4 — our wildest, longest, most ridiculous cycling adventure yet, from Hokkaido all the way down to Tokyo. We announced it on stream last week, and I’m dangerously excited.

Hokkaido, as many of you know, is God’s gift to cyclists. Vast, empty roads, stunning scenery, and just enough bears to keep things interesting. Even Connor agrees with me — and that never happens.

We’re kicking off at Cape Nosappu, Japan’s easternmost point — the kind of place where it genuinely feels like you could fall off the edge of the world if you’re not careful. I’ve wanted to return ever since Journey Across Japan: Frozen Frontiers, though fingers crossed it’s not quite as cold this time (as last time it was -17 celcius). Otherwise, we’ll be cycling for all of six minutes before curling up in a snowdrift and quietly dying.

I’ve now got 12 days to get fit — which is, let’s be honest, not enough. So if anyone has any miracle cures for becoming a semi-professional athlete in under two weeks, do get in touch. Preferably before I’m hospitalised.

Before we hit the road, we’ve got one more video coming your way — a proper old-school moan with Connor in the Abroad in Japan studio, where we shout at clouds and complain about modern life for a good 30–40 minutes. Should be fun.

Until then — enjoy the latest videos, let me know what you think, and spare a thought for me as I attempt to become marginally less round before embarking on 1,000km of self-inflicted suffering.

Best,
Chris