Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad

Before my recent trip to Japan, I visited a high street bookseller (no independent book stores where I live, sadly) to see what was on the shelves. There wasn’t a huge selection, but I liked the look of ‘Abroad in Japan’ by Chris Broad. As I was making my purchase, the shop assistant seemed interested in the title and said ‘Maybe this will inspire you to plan a trip to Japan?’ I hope so, I replied, I’m going tomorrow. As I started talking about the places I was going to be visiting, it hit me - I was actually going to Japan.

Picking the right books for holiday reading is important. I already had a Murikami (always wanted to read Haruki in his homeland) an audiobook, and a couple for the Kindle. I wasn’t going to read them all, but as you’ll know from reading this blog, I like to float in and out of books. This looked fun and informative, a handy airport/airplane/customs queue/ read, something I could enjoy a few gulps at a time.

Who is Chris Broad from ‘Abroad in Japan’?

The early parts of the book are taken up with Broad’s experiences as a teacher in Yamagata prefecture, in rural North Japan. There are a lot of struggles, especially with anxiety, loneliness and culture shock and he’s quite open in describing his experiences. The life of a JET (Japanese Exchange and Teaching programme) teacher certainly doesn’t sound glamorous, but it does eventually become rewarding. There’s something heartwarming about the way he begins to make connections with the people of Sakata.

Japan

Stricken by jet lag on my first night in Japan, and suffering from a bit of culture shock, I probably inhaled the first 100 pages of this in one go. My mind wanted all the information, like it does when it doesn’t quite understand something and just can’t get enough.

Fun as the book is, it’s also breezily informative about Japan. I read about how he visited Izakayas (meaning - ‘reside, sake, shop’), his experiences of the education system and bullying (it’s not good to stand out in Japan as a teenager), and the problems of renting an apartment as a foreigner. Conduct on trains, hostess clubs, his own hilarious experience in a love hotel - too many to mention and I lapped it up.

There was also a lot about Japanese people - about etiquette, manners, language and the time it takes to make get to know them. There are some interesting stories about the attitude of both teachers and students to the use of English in school, and it does take him some time to make connections.

Abroad in Japan Youtube

I’d watched a few youtube videos on Japan before I went - and there are a lot of Japanese travel vlogs out there - but I mostly enjoyed ambient walkthroughs on various cities, but nothing too detailed. I wasn’t aware of the Abroad in Japan youtube channel, (3.2 million visitors) and to be honest I’ve only watched a couple since - like the book itself, the videos I watched were fun, irreverent and informative. I’ll be watching a few more though.

His life as youtuber takes up the last number of chapters. There are some interesting stories from when he worked as a documentarian, following famous people (Ken Watanabe) and visiting areas affected by the 2011 earthquake and the Fukushima disaster. As interesting as I found these chapters, ( just not as insightful as ‘Ghosts of the Tsunami’ ) the pace dipped and they didn’t grab me like the earlier parts of the book, and felt a bit crammed in. I suppose I just wanted to read more about Chris’ fish-out-of-water experiences adapting to life, and Japan through a western lens.

Summary

Chris has an easy way of narrating his experiences, so I’d say this works just as well as an audiobook. It’s an breezily informative account of life in Japan as a foreigner, and I also tried an episode of his podcast and found it just as engaging.

Thoroughly enjoyed this, and it just what I needed landing fresh in the country, and I had it finished before I’d left my first destination of Osaka. I’d say there are other books that are deeper dives into the cultural mores and history of Japan, but this was perfect for my buzzing, jet lagged, insatiably curious brain. Find room for it in your luggage I’d say.

305 pages, Paperback

First published August 3, 2023

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