Book Recommendations

Abroad in Japan

By Chris Broad

Biography & Autobiography, Personal Memoirs, Travel, Asia, East, Japan, Essays & Travelogues, Social Science, Popular Culture, Humor, Topic | 320 pages
1 recommendation

THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

'Chris Broad explores Japan in all its quirky glory..Endlessly fascinating!'
Will Ferguson, author of Hokkaido Highway Blues

'Carves a unique path across Japan bringing him into contact with far too many cats, heartening renewal in Tohoku, and even pizza with Ken Watanabe.'
Iain Maloney, author of The Only Gaijin in the Village

'Fascinating, fact-packed and very funny..An excellent and enjoyable read for the Japan-curious. I loved it and learned a lot.'
Sam Baldwin, author of For Fukui's Sake: Two years in rural Japan


When Englishman Chris Broad landed in a rural village in northern Japan he wondered if he'd made a huge mistake. With no knowledge of the language and zero teaching experience, was he about to be the most quickly fired English teacher in Japan's history?

Abroad in Japan charts a decade of living in a foreign land and the chaos and culture clash that came with it. Packed with hilarious and fascinating stories, this book seeks out to unravel one the world's most complex cultures.

Spanning ten years and all forty-seven prefectures, Chris takes us from the lush rice fields of the countryside to the frenetic neon-lit streets of Tokyo. With blockbuster moments such as a terrifying North Korean missile incident, a mortifying experience at a love hotel and a week spent with Japan's biggest movie star, Abroad in Japan is an extraordinary and informative journey through the Land of the Rising Sun.


Number one Sunday Times bestseller, August 2023

Latest recommendations
Vanessa Ovington
13th Nov 2024
"I read this book before visiting Japan this year (finishing it on the plane!) It is both hilarious and educational, covering the ten years Chris spent in Japan as an English teacher. He covers the differences in culture, the varied and beautiful places he visited, the good friends he made and a wealth of information that is really useful for other travellers. I gained far more insight into the country and its people than I would have done from any ordinary travel book and can’t wait to go back and experience it again. He is a witty and talented writer who made me laugh out loud and conveyed his affection for Japan in a unique and humorous way."