My TOP 5 Abroad in Japan Episodes in 2022 Revealed! 🥳 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!
I hope no matter where you are in the world today, you have a great start to 2023.

We’ve had quite the year and before I reveal my top 5 favourite Abroad in Japan episodes from 2022, first things first, here’s what you can expect in 2023.

These last 6 months the fitness journey has been front and centre. The journey took us from Hokkaido, the mountains of Niigata for the Spartan Race and even downtown LA to get punched in the face. It’s been an extraordinary few months.

The only problem is Abroad in Japan kinda took a back seat to it all leading to a lack of videos this year.

While we’ve been able to achieve incredible things over the last 12 months, it seems I’ve failed to learn my lesson once again - that being a dickhead control freak will always hold you back.

But I’ve genuinely learned my lesson once and for all and so next year, I’ll be expanding the team behind the scenes, hiring additional editors and even a Manager to help run everything.

At the end of the day it can feel a bit like playing whac-a-mole, as I dart between shooting a video, to presenting a podcast, to having meetings, to writing a book, to boxing training and editing a video. By trying to be a control freak who’s everywhere at once, we’re ending up nowhere at all. I’ve not only held myself back but the channel.

The ONLY thing I should be doing at this point is focusing on Youtube (and the Podcast), where I can script and present the videos, so we can hit the target once and for all, of producing weekly videos. The holy grail I’ve failed to reach every single year this last decade.

With the new team on board we’re currently planning out a wishlist for 2023 and so far the projects we’ve got in the works include; Journey Across Japan: Secret title, Wacky Weekend Epic Kyushu Cycle, two Documentary projects, a massive series focussed on travelling Japan (now that Japan is finally open at last), several videos outside of Japan, a Short Film project and a partridge in a pear tree.

It all sounds comically vague and that’s because I don’t want to get ahead of myself or spoil anything too soon.

But know this. I’m throwing everything I’ve got behind 2023. One of the reasons I wanted to get fit by the end of this year was to prepare myself physically and mentally for what’s planned next year. A year that I’m confident will be the most epic year yet for the Abroad in Japan channel and our amazing community.

And providing the Abroad in Japan book sales go well, I could be touring the World and meeting you guys in person as well! While I still haven’t formally announced it publicly, you can find the pre-order page here guys.

https://linktr.ee/abroadinjapanbook

The book covers 10 years of living in rural Japan and everything I’ve learned along the way. (Mainly that Family Mart chicken is indispensable).

Above all though, a massive thank you for watching and your continued support!
Now here are my top 5 favourite Abroad in Japan videos of 2022! Let me know your favourite in the comments below.

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MY TOP 5 ABROAD IN JAPAN EPISODES | 2022
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5. I Drove to Japan’s Snowiest Town | Wacky Weekend
You can’t beat a good road trip and for this one, Connor and I ventured into the deepest train station in Japan, drank the sake vending machines dry and saw the snow monkeys of Nagano. Given Connor’s love of monkeys and delight at encountering them lazing around the hot springs, it made the snow-filled adventure all the more memorable.

🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/SBqCL3AIRZ4

4. Why NOT to Teach English in Japan
Sometimes the best videos are the simplest. Two guys at a bar, recounting the absolute horror that was their careers. Having spent over a decade teaching English in Japan, American Pete finally escaped the job and gave us one hell of a rollercoaster ride that’ll make anyone think twice about teaching English in Japan. From the story of how he taught English to a literal foetus or was thrown in the deep end by his employers on day one, from start to finish his story was one of the funniest highlights of the year.

🍿https://youtu.be/UEJpDrXuP98


3. I Spent a Week with Japan’s Biggest Movie Star | Ken Watanabe
We never thought this would actually happen. To meet Ken Watanabe, let alone spend an entire week with him, was the most trippy experience of my career. But what made the video special was sharing the inspiring story of how a town had been reborn from the destruction of the tsunami, and how Japan’s most famous actor had played a huge role in the local community. From the awkward opening at the coffee shop to spinning the spinner from Inception in the closing moments, I feel absurdly lucky to have had Ken Wanatabe appear on Abroad in Japan.

🍿 https://youtu.be/TlW1tN34MZU

2. I Cycled 750km Across Japan in a Week | Hokkaido
One of my proudest achievements of the year was somehow cycling 750km across Hokkaido, raising $300,000 for the Immune Deficiency Foundation with Connor, pushing us both to our mental and physical brink. A real team effort thanks to Connor, Ian, Paul and Pete (aka. Van Gang), it was the adventure of a lifetime, as we battled through wind and rain. I’ll never forget the immense sense of relief that came when pulling into the finish line at Hakodate station. It was a miracle we pulled it off and an even greater miracle that we were able to pack it all into an epic 40 minute episode.

🍿 https://youtu.be/MBr9bOKPUMc

1. I Rented Japan’s $800,000 Yacht in Okinawa
Don’t be fooled by the annoying clickbait title. Packed into this epic video we had; Natsuki take on the yakuza, a dinner in a traditional Okinawan home, an afternoon on a spectacular yacht with the most incredible waters and the spiciest food on earth.
From the ridiculous cinematic sketch with Natsuki at the start to Chiaki’s Father’s shrine of Colonel Sanders, there were brilliant moments throughout and even an expensive soundtrack licensed from Spandau Ballet. Blockbuster Abroad in Japan at its finest, even though the rest of the series struggled to match it, despite appearances from Dr Jelly and a Ryotaro vs Niatsuki lightsaber battle. I wish every episode could be this good.

🍿 https://youtu.be/Og4GBEiIAW4

So there we have it guys - let me know your favourite and above all, have an amazing start to 2023. I’ll see you all on the other side of the New Year!

Chris


P.S. Many of you guys have asked for an equipment rundown video and I recently appeared on my friend Joe Allam’s Youtube channel where we chatted cameras and producing Youtube videos behind the scenes. You can give it a watch here! https://youtu.be/kPMx5oESH7I