"Ryotaro: The Movie" | Abroad in Japan Channel has a Drone! (Patreon)

Well guys, it’s done.

I finally bought a drone.

I can’t really understand why I gave in after all the time (and complaining about how much I hate drones). Perhaps it was the realisation that unlike most vloggers in Japan who live in Tokyo (and thus can’t use it due to city restrictions), I actually spend most of my time out in the countryside.

And even I can't deny it’s an excellent way of doing the scenery justice. Particularly with the upcoming cycle, I’d be foolish not to take one along!

I took it out for a spin for the first time yesterday with Ryotaro, which is what the above video is about!

You can expect three things from this vlog:

1) Chatting with Ryotaro in the car at 7am this morning
2) Ryotaro: The Movie
3) Some footage from our first ever flight yesterday

A lot of people have been asking me to make a movie about Ryotaro following on from Natsuki: The Movie - and this is about as close to the real thing I can do for the time being. Hopefully, this will satiate the thirst of those who want another movie. (Even though it definitely won’t - despite the cgi dog and explosions).

As for our first flight, we actually did it in Onagawa - the town from the Tsunami documentary earlier this year - as both of us were giving a talk about our documentary and why we wanted to make it. And it seemed like a fitting place our first shot at flying (shame about the weather though).

We’ve had some crazy floods in West Japan this week around Shikoku and west Honshu. Thanks to everyone who enquired about my wellbeing, but I couldn’t be further away. If any of you are down there, I hope the situation quickly improves - and please share your thoughts/experiences of what’s happening so we can all get a better idea.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I went off to South Korea for a few days last week. It’s strange - it always seemed so far away, and yet it’s just 3 hours from my front door to Seoul, thanks to the miracle of low cost airlines (and the fact Japan and Korea are ridiculously close to one another geographiclly - that definitely helps).

I spent a heck of a lot of time comparing it to Japan while I was there, as I was once offered a job in Korea (before I came to Japan), where I would have been doing a similar teaching job, and I imagine, creating a Youtube channel called Abroad in Korea. 

- There was no way I was leaving that `"Abroad" pun out, wherever I ended up.

So it was a fun experience, daydreaming about what it would have been like had I ended up there. I loved the country and had a great few days and I'll chat about all the differences and similarities between Japan and Korea in the next Patreon vlog. Suffice to say, they’re more different than I’d anticipated.

For now though guys, enjoy “Ryotaro the Movie”. An unforgettable motion picture experience for not all the family.

I hope you’ve all had a great start to the week so far! New video will be out on Youtube Thurs/Fri!

Chris

P.S. AND if you have any ideas for the Ryotaro/Natsuki cross over video (as mentioned in the vlog), I’m all ears!