HAPPY NEW YEAR! ⭐ Top 10 Abroad in Japan Moments of 2023 REVEALED⭐ (Patreon)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
No matter where you are today in the world, I hope you've had a great start to 2024 🥂

(Just as I was about to post this, Japan had a major earthquake on the west coast with a tsunami warning. If you're in the area of Kanazawa / Ishikawa / Toyama, please be careful around. A not so great start to the year).

Every New Year’s on Patreon, before we plunge head first into the next year, I like to take one last look back over the last 12 months.

Honestly, 2023 has been an amazing year for the Abroad in Japan community. We’ve produced almost 40 videos (across both channels), expanded the studio in Tokyo, produced two epic seasons of Journey Across Japan, raised $500,000 for charity, taken the Podcast to Youtube and even had a Sunday Times bestselling book thrown in for good measure.

It’s genuinely going to be a tough challenge to beat 2023, but I’m willing to rise to the challenge together with our incredible team.

Be sure to share your highlight of the year below in the comments, but a huge thanks as always guys for making all of this possible. I really hope we were able to do you proud in the last 12 months.

And so without further ado, here are the top 10 Abroad in Japan highlights of 2023!
(More or less in the order they happened).

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1. Opening a Bar in Kyoto
   After years of doom and gloom not being able to meet viewers in person, Japan finally opened up to the world and to celebrate, we decided to open a bar in Kyoto. We rented a beautiful space in the Gion entertainment district, filled it with sake, plum wine and expired snacks and hired Natsuki to run it. What could possibly go wrong. I loved getting to spend time in Kyoto and do something new though and as well as meeting a ton of awesome viewers, we met an Australian guy called Daniel who pops up again later on in this list!
   
   🍿 Watch:https://youtu.be/rzz0Ex_T3I4?si=A2XpbkywuxtOrbxr

2. Raising $500,000 in Kyushu on Cycleathon 2.0 with Connor
While more brutal than the Hokkaido cycle in terms of distance, mountains and weather, we were able to raise $500,000 for the Immune Deficiency Foundation. That achievement took the sting out of everything. And while we still have a big epic video to release on Abroad in Japan, we’re currently holding off on its release until Cycelathon 3.0. is formally announced in a month or two, to get viewers hyped up for our biggest challenge yet in 2024.

3. Visiting Japan’s Coldest Town & Undiscovered Hokkaido
We travelled to Hokkaido’s far flung and unexplored eastern side for an epic Journey Across Japan adventure, riding dog sleds, steam trains and ice breaker ships (with no ice) along the way. Along the way we fell off of the aforementioned dog sled, explored Japan’s coldest town (that wasn’t so cold) and enjoyed drinks in an impressive village made of ice. And what better way to kick it all off than a failed assassination attempt on Ryotaro, by Natsuki Wick.

Journey Across Japan: Frozen Frontiers
🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/zjmCkr-hd50?si=Uy5kacaEumHTpyph

4. Moving to Tokyo & Expanding the Studio
After 10 years of living in Tohoku, north Japan, I finally took the leap to moving to Tokyo to be closer to the action. I soon managed to find a routine and being closer to friends was a bonus. Hell I even got to surf more often along the way. But it was doubling the size of the studio that stole the show and building a seriously impressive 1970’s Japanese living room. I can’t wait to spend more time in the studio in 2024 and put it all to good use!

Studio Tour | Patreon Exclusive
🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/LHX_Woa9aLI

5. Natsuki Reaches the Summit of Mount Fuji (3,776m)
They said it couldn’t be done. Heck, I said it couldn’t be done.
But incredibly Japan’s heaviest smoker somehow climbed up the towering Fuji for a once-in-a-lifetime view at sunrise. To avoid the crowds, we sneakily decided to go around the back of the mountain and instead faced a much harsher, rockier incline that almost got the better of us (and caused Natsuki to take a tumble). But against the odds, we made it and standing atop the summit with a man who’s only exercise is lifting cigarettes, was a moment I’ll never forget.

🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/6DQYFfO7BQk?si=iY8UJtpZOU8XX-XD

6. The Abroad in Japan Book Becomes the UK’s Biggest Selling Book
Almost a year after I began writing the Abroad in Japan, I arrived in the UK at the start of August to the news that the newly launched book had become the Sunday Times No.1 bestseller, meaning it had sold more copies than any other book in the whole of the UK that week. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the book would do so well and it’s incredibly exciting to think so many readers around the world have got to share my experiences living in rural Japan. And hopefully if it does one thing it convinces folks to visit Tohoku for themselves given that’s where most of the book is set!

7. Launching the Abroad in Japan Podcast on Youtube
When Pete and I started recording the Podcast back in 2018, admittedly we never set out to be the biggest or the best. We simply wanted to have the most fun chatting about life in Japan and discussing weekly news that often gets missed in western media. In the five years since, we’ve managed to grow a steady but loyal cult following and it was a ton of fun to finally go beyond to Youtube this year and find a new audience, as well as see Pete’s cheeky face for the first time since the original JAJ! Expect to see more exciting things on the Podcast in 2024!

Abroad in Japan Podcast
🍿https://www.youtube.com/@AbroadInJapanPodcast

8. Wacky Weekend Island Adventure
Connor and I seem to love spending time on islands recently. But our finest outing on Wacky Weekend this year was undeniably to the island of Oshima! Having met Daniel, an Australian English teacher working on Oshima, all the way back in the Kyoto bar in early 2023, he invited us over for a few days and we set off to discover the island on buggies, with snorkels and by tiny sauna plane. We also went a bit deeper culturally speaking, than previous Wacky Weekends as we met the locals, discovered a laid back way of life and above all, nearly had a panic attack in an abandoned school packed full of gigantic huntsman spiders. The trip was a real adventure and I can’t wait to shoot some more Wacky Weekends together in 2024 as the series goes into its third year!

🍿 Watch:https://youtu.be/Z66XK3zu5Fs?si=uDNBlj1uXI_Xivpe

9. 14 Days in Japan: The Ultimate Japan Itinerary Guide
10 years in the making and perhaps the most popularly requested Abroad in Japan episode to date, Natsuki, Sharla and I set off across the country to Kanazawa, Kyoto, Takayama, Osaka and Nara for a bumper Abroad in Japan episode featuring one of the most detailed itineraries ever made about Japan. It was a ton of fun to film the episode, especially given Natsuki had never properly explored Osaka, Kyoto and Nara before despite being a local and I hope the video serves as inspiration for many of you guys looking to visit the country for yourselves in 2024!

🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/DBVAAnq1dHo?si=UUPgEG7QpsSetDqp

Journey Across Japan: Non-Stop-North
With two thirds of the series now complete we’ve survived deserted islands, Natsuki’s driving and Japan’s spiciest ramen. We’ve stayed at haunted inns and eaten a mountain of tuna, as well as met a Geisha and revisited the Fukushima nuclear exclusion zone.
It’s already been an incredibly epic series in size and scale and with FIVE episodes left, featuring 2 guests and 2 prefectures, and including what may be the worst and most difficult challenges yet, there’s plenty to look forward to as the series wraps up in January.

AND of course as a personal bonus, I also got engaged to the ever awesome and supportive Sharla. I say supportive, but she undid a lot of that in today’s Journey Across Japan episode with a horrific food product.

In case you missed today’s episode featuring Sharla annihilating a British accent, give it a watch below!

I Tried Japan’s Worst Convenience Store Food
🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/mn9By3pawvY?si=9pctgZvsf9CLyw-2

Myself and the team will be taking a few days off, before releasing the final FIVE episodes of Journey Across Japan in early January. Can't wait to share what's ahead with you all!

But for now guys, have yourselves a great start to 2024. I'm looking forward to doing some incredible things together with you once more in the 12 months ahead!

Happy New Year,
Chris