I always joked that I'd leave Japan the day I got to have coffee with Ken Watanabe. - So this is fairly awkward. 🍿 It took 9 years to get here but it's finally happened guys! Ken Watanabe himself will be featuring in an Abroad in Japan documentary in a few months time.

Been trying to read more this year. Two awesome non-fiction books I've got lost in worth recommending. Chasing Aliens by Daniel Lavelle - Daniel undertakes an epic journey around America meeting the folks obsessed with the world of UFO's. Some extraordinary encounters along the way. Made me want to hop in a car and drive off across the desert. The Wager by David Grann - A British warship gets stranded in Patagonia in 1741 and all hell breaks loose. An astonishing story of survival at the edge of the Earth. Let me know what to read next!

Awesome to see Neuromancer shot on location in Japan. From the scene sprinting beneath the tracks in Ueno, Tokyo to the neon lit backstreets of Dotonbori, Osaka. Feels like it's all grounded in a real world. (And then there's the trailer for Blade Runner 2099 TV series 😬).

You don't need to hop in Bezos' rocket for a decent view of the stars. In 36 years this was the clearest view of the Milky Way that I can recall (though it did take an airplane and two boats to get there). Hatoma is one of Japan’s most remote islands, 2,000km south of Tokyo at the end of the Okinawa island chain. These days just 50 folks live on the island (down from 500). It’s an extraordinary place where the goats outnumber the humans, the sea is gloriously transparent, and the largest coconut crabs on Earth trudge around through the foliage at night like they’re on a mission. Spending 72 hours hanging out with the locals and getting a glimpse of island life was a much needed escape from the city. 🍿 Enjoy the brand new episode out now on Abroad in Japan!

I remember the good old days when Youtube was about videos. Now it's shoveling garbage looking games on to my homepage. What on earth is this?

I appreciate all the kind words on the latest video! It's funny, as I've gotten older I've found it a bit harder to open up on camera like I used to. I think with age, you start to take yourself more seriously perhaps. But I've always thought the coolest thing about Youtube you can just be yourself, and connect with folks in a way that wasn't possible back in the days of TV. It was refreshing to do that again. The internet/Youtube/everything is changing at an unprecedented rate - apparently 20% of Youtube shorts are already AI videos (absolutely insane) and soon they'll come for us all perhaps. But I still love what I do and I've been re-discovering why more recently. Making videos, experimenting with cameras, sharing this whole journey is what I live for. And in the last few weeks of relentlessly travelling on the road filming, I'm pleased to say we have so many great videos up ahead! (Particularly a special project with Natsuki to be announced shortly). For now though, in case you missed it, check out the latest video on Abroad in Japan where I go a bit crazy in a hotel room for 7 days. And above all, as always, a huge thanks for watching!