Audience interaction is the cornerstone of success on YouTube
But because I'm rubbish, I think the last time I did it was three, about three years ago. So today, to celebrate the upcoming
2000 kilometer cycle across Japan
You can even see the.. just realised you can see the tire of the bicycle in the background. Should have, should have thought about that
earlier
but today I'm gonna be reading out your questions guys. Questions you've sent in, deep, personal, far-reaching questions that will challenge me both intellectually and
and philosophically as well.
Does pineapple belong on pizza?
If you were a fish, would you eat donuts?
Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized horses? Hehehehe
There's pineapple belong on pizza? You know, there was a time when I used to love ham and pineapple pizza
There's kind of saltiness of the ham mixed with the juiciness and sweetness of the pineapple
It was beautiful was like a taste explosion of flavors in my mouth
But that was when I was 7 years old, and I was an idiot by all accounts. Now, I know better it doesn't work
It's a stupid combination and I hate it. Get out
if you were a fish would you eat donuts? You bet I
fucking would. If I were a fish I'd take whatever I could get, if some human was stupid enough to throw a doughnut in a lake
I would be the first one to get it and nothing, NOTHING, would stand in my way
Would you rather fight one horse-sized duck or a hundred duck-sized horses? Hehehehe
I think one horse-sized duck. I think if you're looking at a hundred
duck-sized horses. It's going to require a 100 to 150 rounds to take them down
potentially whereas with one
horse-sized duck you could do it with at least two to three rounds to the head
I think it'd be a lot more, a lot easier
But if we're talking about one-on-one fistfight, I would flip that around and I would take down a hundred duck-sized horses. With my shoes
Definitely
Could I survive in Japan being a ginger person? No, you'll be incinerated. Yes, you'll be fine. Just remember to wear lots of sunscreen
And take an umbrella in the summer months. Otherwise, you'll end up looking like this.
I learned a valuable lesson that day
What inspired you to be a youtuber? I remember before I came to Japan
I started going online, on YouTube, and looking for vloggers, people that were living here
And so I could kind of get an insight into life in Japan
And I came across this video of a Canadian girl slowly, but passionately eating some bread
And I saw that this groundbreaking act had been watched by over 1 million people
It was then I thought I know I could probably do that as well
Although I could never have imagined that I'd become friends with the aforementioned bread girl. This is quite cool, isn't it?
You can watch someone on the screen and then then you can become their friend exciting world we live in
What is your favorite board game? My favorite board game is Monopoly
Nothing beats the thrill of kicking your family's ass by having an empire that spans the board of houses and hotels
Unless I lose in which case I hate it. It's the worst game ever
What's an activity or hobby you have in Japan
you would never have considered doing at home in the UK? Walking down a dark alleyway at night. Seriously,
I don't think I'd ever do that in the UK.
Yeah, I guess doing YouTube in general
I'd never have started if I didn't move here because I would have felt like I'd have nothing to vlog about
I don't think me myself
I'm not interesting enough to ever warrant doing it
And so yeah, probably YouTube and alleyways what's a video or topic you want to do?
But haven't had the funds connections or time to accomplish it
I think if there was no limit to what I could do, I would produce a video
comparing Japanese convenience store Fried Chicken
So, you know, we'd look at Lawson's Fried Chicken Family Mart Fried Chicken. 7-eleven Fried Chicken
I'd eat it all and compare it
You know within the space of an hour everything that's worried me as health considerations and certainly in the run-up to the psycho
I've been trying to be healthy and not eat things like that
I'd also love to make an 80s style music video with a kind of Blade Runner
Aesthetic I'd probably do that in Osaka or Tokyo. I just haven't had the time to do it
Well there we are passing through Osaka during the cycle so could do it then
I'd also love to make some short films as well something. I'm looking at doing next year making some short films
But yeah, the main factor is always just time having the time to write it, script it, produce it
It all takes so much time. How long did it take for you to be able to hold a conversation in Japanese?
I think it took about a year to have a conversation that was good. Sure after a few months
I could say basic phrases like hi. I'm Chris. This is a pen. I like pens
Do you like pens? Took me about a year to transcend that level of breaking conversation? Have you ever met Yakuza? You bet I have
Actually, I mean no
But I've probably spoken to somebody who's been a member of the yakuza who just didn't tell me, who wasn't open about it
But yeah, they're everywhere, you know
But I've never spoken to anybody who said "I'm a yakuza" and then talked to me about it
So I guess no. Is the plant in the background real or fake?
The plant in the background? It's actually it's actually real - a real fake plant. I'll show you why it's here
I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, don't tell anyone. It's actually there
To mark to hide the mark on the wall. Look at that. This was left by the leather sofa
I don't know how that happened
Somehow the leather rubbed off on the crappy cheap wall and did that so we put the plant there and nobody's any the wiser
clever eh
It's just a secret between me and you don't tell anyone
In your opinion, what's the one thing from Japan that's worth bringing back as a souvenir the most?
Sense of self worth and the new sake Kit Kat flavour. It's amazing tastes incredible. Definitely take some home with you
It'd be a crime not to. What is the meaning of life? -To be subscribed to the Abroad in Japan channel
..and probably something about being happy
It's so inspiring having easy access to positive people like you online, especially when I'm having an off day
What life lesson experience has made you such a positive person?
Yeah, yeah positive. That's me. I like to start every day with a smile
Yeah... it's not convincing is it? I wouldn't say I'm actually that positive I just don't let negative things get to me
I think it's less about being happy and smiley and positive all the time and more about just
Not letting crap things get you down. I think I've been lucky to surround myself with good people
friends family
Who never have
stood in the way of anything I wanted to do.
It amazes me how many people I've talked to who complain about the people around them
You know, there's always somebody who
Puts them down or makes them feel bad or stands in the way of their dream or goal if you have anyone in your life
Like that cut them out and get rid of them. Don't ever compromise on the people you choose to spend your time with
Life's too short for all that crap. That got serious very quick. Didn't it? bloody hell. Oh, why do we exist?
Seven years ago. I went to the Caribbean and I laid down in this hammock
Oh my fuck it was a revelation floating in the Caribbean breeze with the Sun beating down upon my face
I realized this hammock
Personified existence better than any sentence ever could and not a single day has passed since then that I haven't thought about that
Moment seven years ago in that hammock. And so that's it. That's the meaning of existence for me
You know, we've all gotta find our kind of a unique hammock moment
And I think once you do, the the puzzle of existence will kind of all come together, fall into place. Like that
Have you had any experiences where you felt like you made a big difference to someone's life
Ryotaro and Natsuki. They'd be nothing without me, NOTHING. probably works the other way around as well
Honestly, I don't know. I get a lot of messages of people saying the videos made them want to come to Japan or teach English
Which is awesome that's always really rewarding. I must admit I did once by my ex Japanese girlfriend
Some post it notes and I've always wondered if she put them to use if she put them to good use, you know.
in a compelling way, you know, I think if you use post-it notes in the right manner
There's no telling what you can do, it unlocks a whole different world of
Possibilities so, you know, hopefully it changed her life in the way that my post-it notes change mine every single day
I''ve got to get some new socks, shit. Forgot about that
If you could bring one aspect of Japanese culture or technology to Britain, what would you choose?
Well, I think the obvious answer would be to bring back trains that aren't shit.
Also the concept of respecting other people's possessions somebody close to me had their bike stolen in
London the other day
And they had it chained up and they went off of 10-15 minutes and somebody'd sawn off the whole fucking train bike had gone
Whereas in Japan people leave their MacBook Pros, just lying there on the coffee shop table
They go to the bastard midget golf and walk somewhere for 10 minutes and their MacBook Pro is still there
And they don't have to worry about it that level of trust
I know it's absent in most of the world but it feels like something the world could certainly learn from Japan
And yeah
I think that's the one thing I would export to the world if I could but I can't and I don't think I'll ever be able to.
What is your pet peeve? Journalists and writers who overuse the phrase tour-de-force
That pisses me off that and music by rap singer Iggy Azalea whenever I hear a song by Iggy Azalea
It makes me question whether the Big Bang was worth it
The only thing that could be worse would be if a journalist used the phrase tour-de-force to describe an Iggy Azalea album
That would send me right over the fucking edge. Do you like spending time alone?
I mean going to the cinema or cafe by yourself walking alone, etc. I absolutely love being alone
It's probably my favorite thing in the world. I like hanging out with people for sure
But when I'm alone, I'm at my most kind of creative and ideas come you know
I often try to walk for 40 minutes a day somewhere around and when I do that's when the ideas
Happen in my head, and I'm relaxed the most
I'm usually just driving through the countryside somewhere in a car sitting there listening to music
that's what I'm I'm at my most happiest unless an
Iggy Azalea song comes on the radio in which case I hate it and all cars and all radio and sound. It's all shit
I hate it. What did you do with all your worldly possessions when moving abroad? I liquidated them into incredible wealth by incredible wealth
I mean about 300 pounds. I didn't have a whole lot
I had lots of clothes and DVDs and things I took them to what's called a
Car boot sale in the UK I think in America you call it garage sale is it or is it... I don't know
What do people do in America to sell things? That's not eBay?
But I basically took all my stuff into a field where there's lots of people and cars and then I sold it all
Flea market, maybe that's what it's called
I don't know help me out here God if only I could do this live
But I had a DVD collection of like a hundred DVDs. I
Basically gave it all away. I barely made any money half of them, but it's the feeling of getting rid of everything
It was it wasn't so much about raising money. It was just about getting rid of all my stuff and it was the most amazing
Liberating experience ever and I absolutely loved it. Just be able to fit my entire life into two suitcases was just awesome
How much longer will you live in Japan?
And if you do leave have you ever thought about life after Japan this question came up more than any other it was like 20%
Of the questions I had and it's a question that I've got every single day now for the last six years not a single day
Has passed that a viewer or a friend family
Just random Japanese people in the street have not asked me this question as a result
I often feel like somebody who's overstayed their welcome at some kind of party Oh Chris Yura is still here
I mean originally I came to Japan for two years. The plan was come to Japan for two years
Go back to the UK get a career get a mortgage and then die after a few decades or something
But I found a connection with the Japanese culture that I didn't think I would have and obviously doing
YouTube gave me a sense of purpose as well
So there's still so much. I want to do here in Japan, which is kind of what the cycle is about
And yes, you can't see the tire now because the door shut nah, that's a naughty
Continuity error right there, isn't it shocking in a sense Japan feels like my home more than the UK
I have a
role here that I play and I have a network of friends across the country that I just don't have back in the UK and
As much as I love the UK, and I'm sure I'll move back there someday, even if I did leave Japan
I'd probably go and live in another country and start all over and try and learn another culture and kind of do what I did
Here there
But that isn't the answer you want is it, you want a nice clear-cut hard number.
Because you've waited for a few minutes to get to this point and this is what I'll say
I hope to be in Japan at least another three years
Beyond that I can't say, but I think the Olympics in 2020 are gonna be very exciting that's gonna be an awesome time
So I want to make sure I'm around for that the very least that's it for now guys
I've got to pack my bags the cycle, 2000 kilometer cycle kicks off in about two days, and I'm not even
Ready or prepared? And finally the abroad in Japan podcast is now on Spotify
You can find it in the link below
A lot of people have been asking about it for weeks or months on end
And it's finally there so you can listen and download it on Spotify to your heart's content. But for now guys, that's it
No matter where you might be out there in the big wide world
Thanks for watching and be sure to tune in for the cycle next week
As long as we don't come across any horse sized ducks Iggy Azalea or hammer pineapple pizza. It's going to be fucking amazing
I guarantee it