Abroad in Japan

Abroad in Japan started as the podcast companion to Chris Broad's multi-award-winning YouTube channel, and it has grown into one of the most popular English-language shows about life in Japan. Chris, a British filmmaker who has lived in Japan since 2012, teams up with broadcaster Pete Donaldson to deliver a mix of sharp humor, cultural commentary, and genuinely useful travel advice. With nearly 700 episodes and a 4.9-star rating from over 1,900 reviews, this show has built an enormous and loyal audience. Episodes cover everything from capsule hotels and regional cuisine to navigating Japanese work culture and the country's quirky vending machine obsession. The tone is conversational and often laugh-out-loud funny, with Chris drawing on over a decade of personal experience living in rural Tohoku and later in cities like Sendai and Tokyo. Pete brings an outsider's curiosity that keeps the discussion accessible for newcomers. Recent episodes tackle topics like dating norms, regional dialects, and offbeat travel destinations that most guidebooks skip entirely. New episodes drop twice a week, making it easy to stay current. If you want a podcast that mixes real on-the-ground Japan knowledge with genuine entertainment, this is the gold standard.