My Biggest Regret After 10 Years Living in Japan (Patreon)

Hey everyone, I hope your weekend’s going better than Connor’s did in our ill fated train episode.

If you haven’t seen the latest Wacky Weekend, in which I systematically break Connor’s spirit over two days in Kyushu, then be sure to give it a watch on Youtube!

Now, I assumed people would be outraged at the psychological and physical torment I inflicted on him—but no. The real controversy?

I didn’t cook a steak properly.

Let’s be clear: I CAN cook a steak. I just deliberately made it worse for Connor because I believe in balance. The universe gave him a deep, soothing voice and an abundance of youthful energy, so it was only fair that I gifted him food poisoning in return.

Also, if you enjoy exclusive bonus content, including 18 glorious minutes of deleted scenes, outtakes, and footage that was too awkward for public release, you can find it right here on Patreon.

 I Slept on Japan's CHEAPEST Overnight Train | Ft.‪CDawgva
🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/7o5CR74sos8?si=hU5Beb0xJGSyrY5H

How I Ended My Friendship with Connor | Patreon Exclusive
🍿 Watch: https://youtu.be/G59LCuSYp7A

------------------------------------------------------------

So, Where the Hell Have I Been?

It’s been a quiet start to the year publically, and you might be wondering why. The truth is, no—I haven’t been kidnapped, and I haven’t run off to join some weird rural cult that worships vending machines.

Over the past decade, I’ve been bloody lucky to traverse every prefecture of Japan, climb Mount Fuji twice, and consume a truly formidable quantity of FamilyMart fried chicken. But the one thing I have consistently failed to do?

Master the Japanese language.

Now, to be fair, my Japanese isn’t entirely terrible. I can read around 2,000 words with relative ease. Hell, I can order a fine meal in a rural town, converse with the locals over sake and then fall down a ditch thereafter.

But here’s the problem:
📌 I still can’t read an entire book without wanting to cry.
📌 My public speaking in Japanese makes me sound like I’m a possessed sat-nav.
📌 And worst of all, I’m missing out on amazing opportunities to produce documentaries via hindered interviews.

It's consistently been my only real regret living in Japan. That I've never become fluent to a native level. I've had plenty of time in between everything I've done to achieve it. There's really no excuse.

So, in the past few weeks, I’ve finally buckled down to sort this out. Not just to pass a JLPT test (which I might take), but more importantly, to rebuild my confidence in Japanese.

----------------------------------------
How I’m Studying (It’s Painful)

Now I realise this isn't the first time I've declared this. But this time, I'm announcing it over one month in to my studies. It's actually happening!

So far, progress has been good, mostly because I’ve forced myself into a daily study routine. I’m using SRS (spaced repetition software)—which sounds fancy but is basically flashcards on steroids.

🔹 The process? I get a sentence with a missing word, and I have to fill in the blank.
🔹 If I get it wrong, I get slapped in the face with it repeatedly until I remember.
🔹 If I get it right, it smugly disappears for a few days before coming back to test me again.

This brutal technique is insanely effective, and I plan to grind through 4,000 words this year. On average, I’m reading 300 to 500 sentences a day, which takes about an hour of my life I’ll never get back.

(FYI: It looks like this)


I then go out and use the new words in conversation, usually with Natsuki or Ryotaro, both of whom will feature in upcoming videos.

Speaking of which…
----------------------------------------

What’s Next?

We have a huge Natsuki road trip video . While I won't reveal what our ridiculous goal was just yet, we ended up crossing five prefectures in two days in my beloved kei car, which—until recently—was about as roadworthy as a shopping trolley on fire.

Shockingly, Natsuki fixed it.


Yes, he spent $1,000 replacing the battery, windows, and air conditioning—which means that the repairs officially cost more than the actual car.

This is not how capitalism is supposed to work. But I'll take it!
The Jurassic Park clip at the top was taken amidst the shoot as we passed through Fukui.

As for Ryotaro, I'll keep that one under wraps for now. Suffice it to say, it's a really cool mini-doc that I've been wanting to shoot for a long time.
----------------------------------------

The Grand Strategy for 2025 (Or: How I Plan to Make Life Even Harder for Myself)

I haven’t fully figured out what 2025 looks like yet. But here’s what I do know:

✅ More documentaries—covering serious topics and intriguing stories
✅ Less travel content, more challenge videos—I still want to travel Japan but under the guise of undertaking certain quests with a purpose (like our next upcoming video)
✅ More creative risks—because I've been doing the same thing for almost 12 years now

I’ll be honest—I feel like I haven’t been incrementally improving as much as I used to. However, on the most recent Wacky Weekend, we experimented with new color grading, and my god—it looks stunning.

ALSO shoutout to Marcus, our editor, for some top-tier animation work on the Japanese history and myths section.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about how YouTube has become a landfill of forgettable content. There are millions of videos being pumped out every day, most of which will be watched once, if at all, and then discarded like a used napkin.

My goal this year is to avoid becoming part of the content landfill.

I want to make videos that stick with people, that actually mean something.

Even if that something is simply “god help you if you take me to Okinawa to do water sports."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another reason I’ve been a bit quiet?

I’m writing another book.  That's right, I’ve decided to put myself through another publishing deadline. God help me.

But that’s a story for another day.

For now, I’m heading back to editing the Natsuki road trip video. Have a great weekend, and thanks as always for the support!

Chris

P.S. Don't forget our epic collection of Patreon Exclusive Content guys! We've got more than any other Youtube channel I know. 

⭐⭐ Abroad in Japan Patreon | 50+ Bonus Episodes ⭐⭐

🍿 https://www.abroadinjapan.com/bonus.php

Access Code: A6oDHKLN