Why 2020 Wasn't a Total Disaster | Abroad in Japan Rewind 2020 (Patreon)

Well here we are at the end of 2020 - a year which felt more like a final boss battle in a very long video game.

But while I won’t look back too fondly on this year - like most of you I’m sure - I’m still immensely proud of what we achieved on the Abroad in Japan channel over the last 12 months.

I mean, we finally made it into 4K! If that’s not an outrageous achievement, I don’t know what is.

(Truthfully, all Abroad in Japan videos have been shot in 4K since 2018, but it wasn’t until this year we had a computer powerful enough to render them!)

The Abroad in Japan Patreon community is such a huge part of everything we do from supporting the documentaries and podcasts we produce, to generating original ideas (such as Journey Across Japan). And so for the last Patreon post of the year I’d like to share with you the major achievements and milestones we’ve hit throughout 2020.

After all, as supporters of the channel our success is also your success! So let’s take a look at what those achievements were.

2020 IN REVIEW

It’s certainly been a year of firsts for Abroad in Japan as we:

• Moved to 4K and upgraded to full frame camera equipment (Panasonic S1H & Sony A7Siii)
• Hosted Live Shows for the first time ever, from the Sapporo Snow Festival to Natsuki’s Birthday and last week’s Christmas special. 
• Moved the Abroad in Podcast to a twice weekly upload schedule
• Launched a decent website with a soundboard at AbroadinJapan.com
• Gained a record 500,000 new subscribers in a year
• Even got a shoutout from Youtube CEO Susan Wojcicki praising the Tohoku Tsunami documentary
• Produced 38 new videos across Abroad in Japan & Abroad Perspective
• Produced the hugely successful series, Journey Across Japan: Escape to Fuji!
• Recorded 78 podcast episodes with Pete Donaldson and guests such as Joey & Sharla
• Released over 30+ Patreon exclusive videos
  
  One upside to spending 3 months of this year sitting indoors for COVID reasons, was that I was able to finally sit down and study cinematograph, lighting and filmmaking in general. If you look at the videos from early this year compared to the second half, the difference certainly shows as well.

PERSONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Setting aside numbers though, for me personally when I look back over the crazy and diverse range of videos we’ve produced this year, I have to say I’m genuinely delighted and proud of what we’ve made.

Whether that’s an 18 minute rant on why I hate Japanese television (complete with “groundbreaking” green screen vfx), the driving in Japan episode which showed off the stunning countryside of Tohoku, filming inside the first class cabin of a bullet train with Ryotaro or going on an epic journey with Natsuki and Joey through the Japanese Alps and numerous exotic locations to get the perfect view of Mount Fuji.

Of all the videos we’ve made though, if I had to choose a personal favourite, it’d have to be “What Teaching English in Japan is Really Like.” Before filming that episode, I often looked back at my time as a teacher with a sense of embarrassment.

Particularly in the first year, I wasn’t confident in the classroom and I carry a lot of awkward memories - some of which I revealed in the video. (NickerpokerG springs to mind, hehe).

But while I was scripting the video and going through my box of memorabilia from those three years, I found myself reflecting on my time as a teacher a lot more fondly, and lots of great times came flooding back. By the time I’d finished the video, far from looking back in shame, I looked back on it all incredibly fondly, and glad to spend such wonderful years teaching in rural Japan. It was a weirdly powerful experience.

Then again, I think my real highlight was watching Natsuki incinerate his mouth with the Last Dab hot sauce. We’ll definitely need to do that again next year…

But what was your highlight of this year on Abroad in Japan? Go ahead and let me know!

For now though folks, I hope we were able to cheer you up with the videos and podcasts and give you an escape through this rather unpleasant year.

Wishing you all a very happy New Year and I look forward to seeing you on the other side!

Goodbye 2020.

Chris

P.S. My first act of 2021 will be to do a post to Patreon listing the 30+ exclusive videos from 2020 so you can easily discover watch them!