Abroad in Japan cover art

Abroad in Japan

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

When Englishman Chris Broad landed in a rural village in northern Japan he wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. With no knowledge of the language and zero teaching experience, was he was about to be the most quickly fired English teacher in Japan's history?

Abroad in Japan charts a decade of living in a foreign land and the chaos and culture clash that comes with it. Packed with hilarious and fascinating stories, this book seeks out to unravel one the world's most mysterious and impenetrable cultures.

Spanning 10 years and 47 prefectures, Chris takes us from the chilling summit of Mount Fuji to the chaotic neon-lit streets of Tokyo. With blockbuster moments such as a terrifying North Korean missile incident, a Japanese national TV experience gone horribly wrong and a week spent with Japan's biggest movie star, Ken Watanabe, Abroad in Japan is an extraordinary and informative journey through the Land of the Rising Sun.

©2023 Chris Broad (P)2023 Penguin Audio Asia Travel Writing & Commentary Funny Witty Feel-Good Inspiring Thought-Provoking Heartfelt Village Imperial Japan China

Critic reviews

From wide-eyed exchange teacher to seasoned youtuber, Chris Broad explores Japan in all its quirky glory, surviving earthquakes, North Korean missile alerts, cat cafe allergies and Love Hotel evictions. Endlessly fascinating! (Will Ferguson, author of Hokkaido Highway Blues)
Fascinating, fact-packed and very funny. Broad's wry humour, in-depth knowledge and adept storytelling make him an engaging guide to the bewildering Japanese experience. Accurately captures the excitement and dream-like disorientation of a foreigner discovering Japan. An excellent and enjoyable read for the Japan-curious. I loved it and learned a lot. (Sam Baldwin, author of For Fukui's Sake: Two years in rural Japan)
Chris Broad's wry, self-deprecating memoir carves a unique path across Japan bringing him into contact with far too many cats, heartening renewal in Tohoku, and even pizza with Ken Watanabe. This is a thoroughly contemporary book, a memoir of life in Japan that couldn't have been written at any other point in history. (Iain Maloney, author of The Only Gaijin in the Village)
All stars
Most relevant
A greatest hits of Chris’ Japan experience, filled with laugh out loud moments, and poignant self reflection.

A masterpiece.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have been following Chris’ journey on YouTube for quite a few years and was looking forward to learning more about his early years in Japan and life in general. Chris’ writing is entertaining and I enjoyed the first 2/3 of the book very much. But with his move away from Sakata to Sendai the story peters out somewhat and the last few chapters seem to be more a collection of important events in Chris’ life than an evolving story.

Entertaining read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Such an interesting, thrilling, informative book. I felt I was there with him! Loved it.

So interesting …

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fascinating insight into a remarkably unique country. Was hooked from the start. Hilarious in places, poignant in others, and a tribute to the triumph over human spirit. Thank you!

Very entertaining!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Interesting to hear about the cultural differences and navigating rural Japan. A story of persistence to get what you want out of life, with tribulations along the way. Funny moments which made me laugh out loud, and times where I felt the hardship of situations. An insight into changing Japan and the rise of social media in travel and making a living from travel

Fascinating insight into the authors experiences in Japan

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews