Abroad in Japan: From JET Teacher to 3.3M Subscribers

Channel: Abroad in Japan   Who: Chris Broad, an English YouTuber, documentary filmmaker, podcaster and author   Subscribers: 3.29M (as of 31 October 2026)   Niche: Japan travel, food and culture

In 2012 a young graduate from Kent who had been working as a porter at Leeds Castle moved to a small city in rural northern Japan to teach English. He started filming what life there was like for a foreigner. Fourteen years later his channel, Abroad in Japan, has 3.29 million subscribers, 340 videos and more than 615 million views as of 31 October 2026, and its banner still points fans to one thing first: his Patreon.

Robot Wars, Kent and Leeds Castle

Chris Broad was born in Maidstone, England, on 21 April 1990. He started filming at eight, when his grandfather, who couldn't travel from England, asked him to film his aunt's wedding in Vancouver. As a kid he briefly appeared on Robot Wars with his father and their robot, Killertron. He studied English and business at the University of Kent from 2009 to 2012, and that is where he got interested in Japanese culture. After graduating he worked in an energy company office and as a porter at Leeds Castle.

An English teacher in Sakata

In 2011 he applied to the JET Programme as an assistant language teacher, and in 2012 it sent him to Sakata in Yamagata Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region. He made videos about being a foreigner there. One of the first to take off was a review of McDonald's McChoco Potatoes, fries covered in chocolate sauce that were only sold in Japan. Others covered love hotels, driving in Japan and the Japanese habit of eating KFC at Christmas. After three years he left JET and moved to Sendai to work on YouTube full time.

J-Alert, road trips and documentaries

On 29 August 2017 he was in Aomori Prefecture when a J-Alert woke him: North Korea had fired a missile over Japan. His video about it trended the same day and got national attention in Japan, and he was picked to represent the term "J-Alert" in Japan's annual Words of the Year. In 2018 he released Natsuki: The Movie and started Journey Across Japan, a series in which he cycles across the country with friends. Follow-ups came in 2020 and 2021. He also made documentaries about how Kesennuma rebuilt after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and Japan's Cabinet praised his ability to capture "the heartbreaking sorrow of the disaster victims and the hopeful steps being taken towards recovery."

Books, a bar and $1 million rides

The channel grew into a small media business. He hosts the twice-weekly Abroad in Japan podcast with Pete Donaldson. His 2023 memoir, Abroad in Japan: Ten Years in the Land of the Rising Sun, became a Sunday Times bestseller, and Penguin published Journey Across Japan in 2026. In 2024 he and Sharla Hinskens, whom he married in 2025, opened a bar in Tokyo's Shibuya called Lost. Every year since 2022 he and fellow creator CDawgVA have ridden bikes across part of Japan, streamed live on Twitch, to raise money for the Immune Deficiency Foundation. The 2024 ride, 1,000 km from Yamaguchi to Tokyo, raised more than $1 million.

Owning the audience, not just the views

Chris doesn't rely on ad revenue alone. His channel banner and video descriptions send viewers to his Patreon, "The Ultimate Escape to Japan," for behind-the-scenes content, and on 31 October 2026 that page listed more than 4,800 paid members. Ad rates and algorithms change. Fans who pay you directly every month give you a steadier income.

What other creators can take from it

Abroad in Japan didn't start with a big trip or expensive gear. It started with someone filming ordinary life in a place their audience was curious about, every week, for years. You don't need 3 million subscribers to make that pay. If you live somewhere interesting or know a place well, a few dozen supporters paying a few dollars a month can cover your train tickets, your camera or your next trip.

You can set that up in minutes. On Yaff you can sell behind-the-scenes posts, photo dumps, travel videos and guides behind monthly tiers, take tips, and talk to supporters in group chats and DMs. Starter is free with a 5% platform fee, and payouts go to your bank daily via Stripe. Start your free Yaff page and publish your first post, see pricing, or read how to fund your expedition or adventure with memberships and add Yaff to your YouTube channel.

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Watch Abroad in Japan on YouTube