Abroad in Japan

Chris Broad (born 21 April 1990), also known online as Abroad in Japan, is an English YouTuber, filmmaker, podcast host, author, and former Assistant Language Teacher. He focuses on creating videos about Japanese culture, Japanese food, and travel in Japan, primarily in the Tōhoku region.
Broad's interest in filmmaking began at the age of eight when his grandfather had him record his aunt's wedding in Vancouver, as his grandfather could not travel from England to attend the ceremony. Broad briefly appeared on the TV series Robot Wars in the UK, where his father and team were regular contestants with their robot, Killertron.
Broad studied English and business at the University of Kent from 2009 to 2012. While attending university, he developed interests in filmmaking and Japanese culture. After graduating, Broad worked in several jobs, including a porter role at Leeds Castle and an office position at an energy company. After learning about 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. He left the programme after three years and moved to Sendai to advance his career as a full-time YouTuber.
In February 2023, Broad revealed on Twitter that he was engaged to fellow YouTuber Sharla Hinskens. The couple moved to Tokyo later that year.
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. One of Broad's first videos to gain widespread attention was his review of the Japan-only McDonald's McChoco Potatoes. Other subjects of his early videos included topics such as what it's like to drive in Japan, KFC as a mainstay of every Japanese Christmas, and love hotels. He later moved to Sendai to remain in the region but to be in a location better connected to the rest of the country, thus expanding his business opportunities as a full-time YouTuber. As the channel grew in prominence, Broad began to create more travel-themed videos, including a video describing a trip to Aomori, where he visited the city's Nebuta museum, and another in which he travelled to Hokkaido with his close friend Natsuki Aso, who often appears in Chris' videos.
On 29 August 2017, Broad was visiting a town in Aomori Prefecture near the Shirakami-Sanchi wilderness area when he was woken by the J-Alert being triggered by the North Korean August 2017 missile launch over Japan. He posted a video discussing the rudeness of conducting such a test so early in the morning and proceeded to criticise the regime of Kim Jong-un, as well as foreigners who visit North Korea. The video was featured as "Trending" on the day it was posted. It subsequently attracted national attention in Japan, with Broad being selected to represent the term "J-Alert" in Japan's annual Words of the Year event.
On 31 May 2018, Broad released the documentary film Natsuki: The Movie, which tells the story of his journey to Europe alongside his friend Natsuki.
In 2018, Broad launched his Journey Across Japan series, featuring various YouTubers, such as The Anime Man, along with his friends, as he travels across Japan by bike, documenting local customs and daily life along the way. A sequel to the series was produced in 2020, featuring The Anime Man and Natsuki in a road trip adventure originating in Tokyo, primarily set in the Chūbu region, titled Journey Across Japan: Escape to Fuji. In early 2021, Broad began filming a third entry in the series, titled Journey Across Japan: The Lost Islands, featuring The Anime Man and Natsuki, which takes place in the region of Kyushu. In June 2021, the single "Too Much Volcano!" by Abroad in Japan, featuring The Anime Man and Natsuki Aso, was released on the iTunes Store and Spotify. The song and its accompanying music video were recorded during the production of The Lost Islands and centre around Mount Aso. The song peaked at number 14 on the UK iTunes downloads chart on 22 June 2021.
In December 2021, Broad unveiled a new studio constructed by the set design company Jiyuro. The design is inspired by the 1982 film Blade Runner and 1960s Japanese shopping arcades. On 16 March 2022, the studio sustained damage due to the 2022 Fukushima earthquake.
The channel features several documentary-style videos. In addition to the previously mentioned Natsuki: The Movie, Broad created a documentary focusing on the effects of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on the citizens of Kesennuma and how they and external organizations are working to rebuild their city's image and livelihood. Broad expressed concern about the aversion to the area stemming from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, which motivated him to create documentaries about the region, including one in development that will focus on the positive aspects of life in Fukushima.
In December 2019, he released a documentary interview with the rock artist Hyde, capturing his performances at Zepp Tokyo. Broad revisited the disaster area in a second documentary uploaded in 2020, focusing on the region's recovery. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki praised Broad's documentary work in reference to this second documentary about the 2011 disaster in a tweet posted on 1 December 2020. A publication by the Cabinet of Japan commended Broad for his ability to capture "the heartbreaking sorrow of the disaster victims and the hopeful steps being taken towards recovery" in his documentaries.
Together with Pete Donaldson, Broad presents a twice-weekly Abroad in Japan series of podcasts on Radio Stakhanov, focusing on Japanese culture, current events, and cuisine. Some recurring topics in the series include the Lotte soft serve, Coolish, and a pizza vending machine that once operated in Hiroshima. The pair also discuss Japan-related stories and questions submitted by their audience via email in a segment they call the "Fax Machine," a jest towards the obsolete method of communication that remains commonly used in many Japanese workplaces.
Broad spoke at a TEDx conference at Tohoku University, where he presented on the power of YouTube and encouraged the audience to share their experiences with the world through the platform. In 2017, Broad hosted a documentary about cats in Japanese culture called Cat Nation, where he, despite being allergic to cats, travelled throughout Japan to document cat-centered activities and places, such as visiting the Wakayama Electric Railway, where a cat named Tama became a tourist attraction after it was appointed the station master of Kishi Station. Broad hosted an episode of "Explore Regional Flavors – Visiting the Hidden Village," a documentary about Japan's local cuisine, which was broadcast on NHK World in August 2017. In 2022, Broad appeared in an interview with the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan and received an honorary membership for one year. On 11 December 2022, Broad participated in a chessboxing match against PJ Brittain at the Mogul Chessboxing Championship, held at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, United States.
In 2023, Broad published the book Abroad in Japan — Ten Years in the Land of the Rising Sun, an autobiography describing his life living in Japan as a foreigner for the past decade. It received positive reviews and was a Sunday Times Bestseller in August 2023.
In 2022, Broad and Connor Colquhoun collaborated on an eight-day, 750 km (470 mi) 'cyclethon' across Hokkaido to raise funds for the Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF). The event was streamed live on Twitch and raised over $310,000 USD. This was followed in 2023 by a nine-day, 900 km (560 mi) bike ride in Kyushu, which raised over $555,000 USD; and in 2024 by a fourteen-day, 1,000 km (620 mi) bike ride from Yamaguchi to Tokyo, raising over $1 million USD.
Media related to Abroad in Japan at Wikimedia Commons