raimoh 's review for:

Abroad in Japan by Chris Broad

4.0

adventurous funny informative inspiring medium-paced

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I didn’t know who Chris Broad was before reading this book. Well actually I listened to the audio book, narrated by Chris himself. I found Chris’ story of living in Japan very informative, and I really enjoyed reading from the perspective of a foreigner living in Japan. Chris explains Japanese culture very well and in way which feels real and respectful. I feel like with the rise of anime and manga in Western culture Japan can sometimes be glorified. Chris has a fine balance between the positives of life in Japan, as well as the negatives. A lot his fondest memories stem from the people he meets and the unique places they take him, and his experience making documentaries about different topics in Japanese culture. Some of the downsides of Japan he talks about the earthquakes, the issue of bullying in Japan schools, troubles with not knowing the language and also the realities of being a foreigner, like not being able to find housing. When I realized in the book that he eventually becomes a youtuber, I took a look at his channel and thought it looked a bit click baitish, however after watching a few I really enjoyed them. Overall it was a nice read and although the pacing towards the end was a bit off, the plot kinda going in every which way, I really enjoyed listening to this and I will probably be going back to his YouTube channel to watch more!