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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This was brilliant!!! I've loved the abroad in Japan YouTube channel and podcast for many many years and it was great to finally read Chris' tales from the JET programme - makes me just want to move to Japan immediately!!!!
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
I’ve been watching the author’s documentary-style YouTube channel for a long time. He has a very fun personality, as well as a reverence for the places he’s come from and the culture he’s been a part of for so long. The audiobook is especially nice, as he narrates it himself.
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Really enjoyed the first half of the book which details his first year in Japan - was disappointed by the way the second half romped through 10 years.
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
funny
informative
medium-paced
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Written for those who are already familiar and enjoy his signature dry humour and deadpan sarcasm (I laugh at the prospect that anyone picks up this book expecting it to be a travel guide, given the title).
I truly enjoyed the reflection back on the twists and turns Chris’ life had taken, each suitably miraculous and unlikely, culminating in the unique life he leads today. As a long time fan, scrolling through his old videos and watching them as they’re mentioned is such a nostalgia trip!
I do wish it was more candid , he seemed to blaze through the recent years in the last third of the book, with some not getting a single mention. I really enjoyed reading about his interactions with the lively people of Sakata who brought such flavour to his life, and wanted more details on those who are now in his life and circle of friends. Paradoxically, despite being a YouTuber and occasional blogger, he keeps his personal life quite private (for good reason), so what we did get was certainly a treat.
I truly enjoyed the reflection back on the twists and turns Chris’ life had taken, each suitably miraculous and unlikely, culminating in the unique life he leads today. As a long time fan, scrolling through his old videos and watching them as they’re mentioned is such a nostalgia trip!
I do wish it was more candid , he seemed to blaze through the recent years in the last third of the book, with some not getting a single mention. I really enjoyed reading about his interactions with the lively people of Sakata who brought such flavour to his life, and wanted more details on those who are now in his life and circle of friends. Paradoxically, despite being a YouTuber and occasional blogger, he keeps his personal life quite private (for good reason), so what we did get was certainly a treat.
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Content was interesting enough. Such as the Japanese taxi driving service. Didn’t care for him name dropping women he’d taken to love hotel and that he’d been plenty of times was just icky. Couldn’t stand his friend who he climbs Mount Fuji with, he sounds absolute insufferable.
Too much hyperbole: the coldest in the world, the worlds worst throat infection, japans most eccentric man, the worst this, the worst that. Until the chapter “the worst start” I rolled my eyes because I expected more of the same until it was a sad glimpse of Japan’s bullying problem and that a student had attempted to kill themselves. He ends the chapter kind of awkwardly and then promptly goes on to the next lighthearted topic about japans tradition of KFC on Christmas.
Didn’t care for all these mentions of his YouTube channel and him telling us how successful it’s making him. And all these awards he’s won. Very much felt like typical white guy stumbling through life and being rewarded for mediocre things. Most egregious is probably the video he did during a North Korea missile launch - why is he on TV speaking about geopolitics current affairs? Surely you’d brush up on the history before making a TV appearance and try educate the West if that was the point in all this?
He only briefly mentions his more serious documentaries about Fukushima and the tsunami, like way less than his other silly videos. I feel like although he says he is proud of them and he should be, I get the feeling he’s actually more chuffed with the silly videos.