JOURNEY Across Japan: The Lost Islands (Release Date!) | CDawgVA Collab (Exclusive) | "Why Not to Move to Japan" Video (Patreon)

What a weekend.
Half of it spent with Natsuki, half of it with Connor (CDawgVa). Albeit not together fortunately, that’d be a bit too much to handle.

LOTS of news this week folks.

First off, in case you missed it on FB/Twitter/Instagram yesterday, we posted a promo video featuring Natsuki working at his shop. It’s part of the full official trailer for Journey Across Japan: The Lost Islands that we’re releasing on Abroad in Japan next weekend.

You can watch the clip here!
🍿https://youtu.be/Wh-p0B7gsgg

We also have a confirmed release schedule for the series.
- Sunday 30th May - Journey Across Japan: The Lost Islands - Official Trailer
- Saturday 5th June - JAJ Lost Islands: Episode One (Kagoshima & Yakushima)

Then every weekend throughout June the series will be released!

We’d previously hoped to release the series at the end of May, but we really needed the extra few days in June to finish up the series to a high production standard and I’m confident it’ll be worth the wait!

Before the series drops though, I’m also currently producing a video titled “Why Not to Move to Japan”, discussing the hardships and challenges that come with moving to the country. (The video will be out later this week).

It’s a sensitive topic and perhaps a bit odd coming from me - the guy who’s made 200 videos making Japan look like a magical gumdrop wonderland. What the hell am I thinking?!

But my aim isn’t to deter folks from moving to Japan, be overly negative or crush any dreams. Far from it - I want to prepare everyone that does actually hope to live here one day, for the ups and downs you may face along the way.

I’ve never seen this topic tackled to the degree I hope to cover in the upcoming Abroad in Japan video, and with 9 years of awkward personal experiences to draw from, I intend to discuss a lot of stories I’ve not ever talked about before. 

And finally, Connor (CDawgVa of Trash Taste fame) visited me in Sendai over the weekend, where we produced a new video together - and hopefully the first chapter in a new series we’re planning to work on!

While I can’t give too much away, it should be a lot of fun and I’m going to share part of the trailer for the series exclusively here on Patreon - a trailer which we shot on a particularly rainy night on the roof of Sendai station.

I’ve had to cut out a few scenes of the trailer for spoiler reasons, and the result is it actually looks like a serious trailer for a ridiculous film, rather than the parody we intended it to be. So don’t take it too seriously! You can check out the trailer for Connor Batman here!

Abroad in Japan X Connor CDawgVA Series Trailer
🍿https://youtu.be/ViKZTmZtqPY

I had a lot of fun filming these promo videos! I get a real kick out of producing this short cinematic pieces, especially when you’ve got talent like Natsuki and Connor to work with.

On a final note, there are still no updates on when Japan intends to re-open for international tourists. In recent weeks, there were talks about vaccine passports later in the year. And to the surprise of many, the Tokyo Olympics are going ahead, even if 60-80% of the Japanese population is against it.

In the meantime, I’d strongly advise against booking any holidays or flights to the country in 2021. While there’s certainly a chance it might be possible to enter in late Autumn, it’s still not likely enough to warrant booking anything. But the moment I hear any positive news on the subject, I’ll be heading straight here to give you guys updates.
For now, have yourself a great start to the week and I’ll be back with more in the next few days!