Chris Broad moved to Japan in 2012 as part of the country’s exchange teaching program. Little did the young Brit know that, within a few years, he would run the most popular Japan-focused Youtube channel in the world, cleverly called “Abroad in Japan.”
Chris’ early hits included the kind of video you might expect from a 22-year-old: Testing McDonald’s latest fries with chocolate sauce and ranting about North Korea after being woken up by a missile alarm. It’s the kind of video you might now see on every internet corner but which, back then, offered a unique take on Japan beyond “5 Must-See Sights in Tokyo.”
Still, Chris always felt there was more calling out to him. Deep down, he knew these were not the videos his channel was truly for. Shortly before hitting the big milestone of one million subscribers, Chris set out to do something bigger. Having lived in Japan’s Tohoku region for over half a decade, he decided to make a documentary. On the international stage, the area was mostly known for the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. But there was so much more to it, and a lot had happened since the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
So, instead of a two-minute video covering the hottest fast food of the day, Chris spent months traveling, shooting, interviewing people, and editing to create an 18-minute film a large TV station could not have produced any better. He showed how people had gotten on with their lives after the disaster. How creative and resilient they proved themselves to be, with ideas like building a Lamborghini out of cardboard, having fishermen provide wake-up calls to people struggling to get out of bed, and opening new cafés for customers yet to come.
Most memorable to Chris was the story of Ichiyo Kanno, a local B&B host, who first lost her little hotel to the disaster, then, years later, her husband, daughter, and son-in-law in a boat accident. And yet, she was still here. Still being of service to her guests every day. Still hosting them with a smile. In his memoir, also titled Abroad in Japan, Chris recognizes the documentary as a turning point:
“Until the tsunami documentary, I’d never felt proud of any of my videos. But when I released it, the outpouring of comments from viewers around the world inspired by the stories of Ichiyo Kanno and the reconstruction of Onagawa made me understand the power and satisfaction that comes from sharing important stories with the world.”
The video did well and got featured in more important places than his usual clips, and that was nice too, Chris writes. “But most importantly, in the years since the release of the documentary, many Abroad in Japan viewers have made the long journey 400 kilometres north to the city of Kessenuma to stay at Ichiyo’s inn. It remains one of the proudest chapters of my career.”
The work worth doing is never the easiest, but, usually, we know what it is. It’s the work for people who deserve it. The work that makes our hearts sing, if only after we complete it. The work no one else is willing to do but which the world will be better off for once it has it.
In the years since the documentary, Chris has continued to cater to his audience’s tastes. Sure, there are videos about expensive wagyu, tiny cars, and cheap trains. But the documentaries, too, have become a staple. Chris talks about volcanoes, earthquakes, and the problems tourists and influencers like him sometimes cause to the country. When he looks back on his career, these are the videos he remembers more so than which vending machine snack tasted the best.
Choose the work worth doing.
