Why I Avoid CHRISTMAS in Japan 

NOTIFICATION SQAUD: Who wants some Abroad in Japan ASBESTOS merch?! Seriously though, in a year where everything went wrong I can't say I'm surprised. BUT WHAT did you get for Christmas? Thank you for being a part of this crazy journey we've had through 2020, across dozens of videos around the country. Make sure you check out the awesome highlight reel of this year's top moments with Natsuki, Ryotaro, Pete and Joey and we all look forward to seeing you in 2021. Let's pray it's a good one!

We're so glad that it arrived somewhat in time for Christmas. Have a great start into the new year!

Next video: Digging for the Holy Grail in Japan.

"In Japan, Christmas starts a month early" Laughs in USA Chain Stores (they usually start decorating for Christmas usually right after halloween or sometimes before it!)

I love how he receives the gift from the company and still talks smack about the glitches XD

Love how the top comment is just "Dispose of the asbestos yourself", and the next one is "Don't dispose of it yourself". RU-vid, never change.

Didn't even get the notfication. I could just feel the pure power of sarcasm drawing me in to refresh the subpage.

Kindness of Okinawans - I was stationed in Okinawa from 1993-1997. One year I invited a few Okinawans to my home to see our Christmas tree. To show their appreciation they reciprocated by giving my wife a huge Orchid and a Gold Chain. They gave me a ceramic dragon vat filled with Awamori (Okinawan Saki). Still have the vat and bamboo ladle. Unbelievable kindness!

Lol the stone says in Hebrew: "This stone is a donation from the Jerusalem's municipality and is evidence of the friendship between the state of Israel and Shingu 17 sivan 5764 - 6 June, 2004"

Plot twist: John's aroma is actually the smell of asbestos

I’m laughing my ass off thinking of the possibility that Chris’s friend, genuinely thinking he’d enjoy a carrot pen, watched this video and was absolutely devastated to hear the news

6:24 I like to think Chris found this stock footage of cake being crushed by stone, and liked it so much he just wrote the script to have an excuse to put it in a video

By the way, asbestos is dangerous only if broken into small pieces and the fibers and inhaled, so if you have a compromised item, you must just be careful, seal it somehow and call the local garbage collection company to know what are the local procedures in this case. The big problem with asbestos is when you demolish a house that has it in its structure.

Hate it when my friends send me pics of Boris Johnson with Father Christmas after falling over in the snow

"I received a Chinese bathmat and Cyberpunk on PS4" You poor bastard

My family is from Kentucky. The first KFC was a gas station. The colonel also wasn’t really a colonel, but he did shoot his biggest competitor.

I live in Kentucky, and let me tell you. The phrase "Kentucky is Christmas" is truly strange

"You might have seen him in the Last Samurai" Me, an intellectual: Ah, the police officer from Detective Pikachu.

As an Australian, i apologise for 9 news calling you an alternate theorist.

“Interestingly, Christmas in Japan kicks off a month early...” In October? “...in November.” No that sounds about right for the UK.

Getting bathmat full of asbestos In a year where absolutely everything went wrong, seems like a fitting end of the year. - Wait wait wait..till you start playing that Cyberpunk 2077.

“Colonel Sanders is essentially Father Christmas and Jesus, rolled into one.” ~Chris Broad, Alternative Theorist.

In a year when everything went wrong, you still managed to make some great content. Enjoyed every video from this past year.

Chrismas in Japan is basically distilled down to most of the things that people like about the Season, minus any religious meaning. Kids love the trees, Christmas lights and presents on Christmas morning. Girlfriends love Christmas dates and presents. Everybody loves Christmas dinners ans cakes. So it's very commercial, but still very happy and enjoyable Holiday. In the Hersei era, there was even a fairly close National Holiday (the Emperors Birthday) that was pretty close (on 12/23), Sadly that Holiday has now moved to February 23.

I just rewatched this… and who would have thought that the pursuit of Mr. Watanabe would end up being a fruitful one after all! 3:29

As a cabin crew, I would 100% use that veggie pen to give to the relentless passengers that ask to borrow a pen.

He just did a Hitchcock pull on a bath mat, and that’s why I keep coming back!

As someone from Kentucky, I can confirm, we are Christmas.

The work you put into these videos is a rejuvenating experience every time, Chris. We appreciate all of this forreal -from Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Let's just take the time to appreciate Chris reenacting his lowest point in Christmas. He didn't have to, but he did it for you dammit.😂😂😂

Hey Chris, just enjoy the new year.. ...asbestos you can.

ive been watching this channel for 3 years or so and i gotta say its probably one of my all time favorite channels on youtube! been on youtube since 2007!

your videos made that year more bearable for many people, thank you!

"A gift from CD Projekt Red" Ok., I sure wasn't expecting that from the channel lol

Friend: Gives me pen shaped like a carrot. Chris: Former friend. 😂

I love the montages at the end. Really highlights the fun times over the year

technically Christmas is more an economic holiday in the west too, and xmas here in NY seems to start IMMEDIATELY after Halloween, with SOME mention of Thanksgiving along the way (but not much other than on the day).

My favorite part of this video is probably the part where Natsuki sings while his elbow is inside a KFC bucket

Merry Christmas good sir, Thank you for all of the years of great content.

On the flip side, I still want to experience Japan's seasonal celebrations! 😁 I just bumped into your channel few days ago and I like your creativity and frankness. Keep it up Chris. 🤗

Thank you so much for your channel! I just found Abroad In Japan the other day and I'm obsessed! Your cynical and sarcastic sense of humor is right up my alley! I'm an American who appreciates British humor and Japanese culture. You cover great topics while making me truly laugh along the way!

I haven't heard anyone use the word "despair" as much as Chris does.

Eat the asbestos

for this area of content on RU-vid your videos are the best. You are really down to earth and not cringy, like some of the other non-Japanese RU-vidrs I have watched.

At “John’s proud aroma will spread in your room” i coughed up a lung

Chris just to let you know they named a street after you in Cyberpunk 2077. It's called "Broad Street" in the Japantown neighborhood. 🔥🔥🔥

In order to dispose of asbestos-containing material, the standard here in Canada is to put them in two 6-mil specially marked polyethylene bags. The bag then goes to a landfill that accepts asbestos waste. I am not sure about how asbestos waste is disposed of in Japan though. As long as you don't cut, burn or damage the bath mat, the asbestos fibres will remain in the mat. By the way, since I am an asbestos analyst, I believe you can send me the whole mat as an asbestos sample provided it is properly packaged in the two 6-mil bags.

as tourist xmas was the best, shops were open, no annoying relatives, laying in hotel room or going to arcade.. just so much better than sharing fake smiles with family

Watching this after your Week with Ken Watanabe video has released, and dreams really do come true :') This aged so well! That hard work payed off.

This man isn’t running out of ideas his channel is so original and incredible I didn’t just come from a certain podcast

When you're a big enough RU-vidr you randomly begin receiving Collector's Editions of games despite not being a RU-vid gamer.

You've been out of England for too long. Christmas adverts start on the tele the day after Halloween now

Christmas on Japan is kinda strange because they start at November 1st Meanwhile Philippines: *Let me introduce myself*

That Cyberpunk box is the perfect size for Japanese apartments.

The asbestos is currently contained within the bathmat mold/shape." So, double bag it, tying up each bag separately and wait for the recall information. Asbestos is only dangerous in its friable form.

Thank u Chris, Merry Christmas to you too bud :)

Somehow or other, this is my favorite of all your videos. Laughs feel good

Ok but how does the mushroom farm rank

‘Christmas in Japan kicks off on November first’ Me, an American: yeah, that checks out

sitting here in 2022, your video with ken lined up next in the playlist. Keep up the awesome work!

i swear at least once every single episode your incredibly dark and depraved humor always ends up making me laugh out loud. as a Scottish person i love your foul mouthed commentary, so glad i discovered your channel today.

Hello. I actually wrote a small article on the local housing associations webpage outlining how to deal with Asbestos. I'm from Teesside in England and many of our buildings have Asbestos built into them, either through their initial construction or due to steel industry workers taking home Asbestos based blast furnace insulation and using it in their own home renovation projects. The best thing to do if you have identified something as containing Asbestos, or believe something contains Asbestos is to leave it as it is. Asbestos when left alone is harmless, when handled and worked upon it releases the fibres that make it harmful. Removal of Asbestos in buildings should be done only by those with a license to remove it. All Asbestos waste, including household items are to be disposed of in packaging featuring UN approved hazardous waste labels, which you can obtain through contact with the relevant environmental agencies of your country of residence. Stay safe, Chris!

I went to Japan for the new year at the end of 2017 and I loved it.

Love all the remakes of the old videos

Just one question Chris. Why is Natsuki's elbow in the bucket of chicken?

The Hebrew on the stone just says it's a sign of friendship from the municipality of Jerusalem to the village of Shingo.

I think the whisper of "merry Christmas" is the best thing.

if i remember correctly asbestos is not dangerous in it's bound form (walls or items). The problems is in if those things are breaking/flaking apart that's when the fibres start to fly around and when inhaled can cause cancer.

"In a rather bastardized, commercialized form" So..... Christmas.

"Christmas in Japan starts earlier than back home." you can tell chris has been gone for a while, UKers have been dealing with christmas on nov 1st for some years now T.T

These reasons make me wanna spend Christmas there even more !

would love to see Japan. But I am glad that you where happy after all that stress.

Funny enough the Hebrew tablet doesn't say anything about Jesus. It's hard to read but as far as I can see it just indicates the friendship between Jerusalem city hall and this place.

Chris: Interestingly Christmas in Japan starts a month early and kicks off on November first. Filipinos: How about we start from *SEPTEMBER*

Yo Natsukis cameos are always hella fun

Yoo, the montage was dope!

"Chris is over." Maybe Natsuki has something to do with the bath mat.

Christmas without Natsuki, isn’t a Christmas.

John's aroma on your knob. Sounds top notch!

And I just discovered who the mysterious silhouette in the new ramen shop studio is

I was eating my dinner hoping to hear something nice but then Chris started talking about asbestos and John's smell and that was the moment I stopped eating..

Chris, technically asbestos is safe unless it’s deteriorated, then if disturbed the fibers can spread. As long as your bathmat isn’t damaged, you’re alright. If you want to get rid of it, then carefully wrap it up in at least 2 layers of heavy garbage bags, duct tape the seams, and wrap it around the matt. Then I guess give a call to some agency who can dispose of it properly. Stay safe Chris

OMG Ken was sooo good in Midway!

nice one! I loved the recap of 2020

Natsuki with one arm in a KFC bucket while sort of singing a Christmas song was the gift I didn’t know I needed. But I’m glad I got it. 10 🌟. Happy New Year Chris, Natsuki and Ken. 🥂

"Seeing as Natsuki isn't a big spender, we did without." Almost not surprised Natsuki paid. Lol. The gifts seem fitting for all the cheap birthday gifts you gave this year. 😂

woah i had no idea about KFC during xmas haha!

I use to come to your channel to train my english (I´m a native language speaker) and your way to speak is very challenging to understand, so I come often for my ear training sessions. Is good to hear someone who is not a teacher and don´t try to ""sound correct"". Have a nice day.

Japan: *starts Christmas on November 1st* The Philippines, starting Christmas on September 1st: *"P A T H E T I C ."*

Happy New Year Chris and crew. Thanks for the amazing videos this year. You really have been a life saver.

There's something comforting about Chris' misery that makes me come back to this video every year.

Happy new year man ! take care of yourself ! p.s. a bit late, but with all my heart...Love your work.

A heavy commercialized christmas with the origins of christianity stripped away? So it IS just like in the west!

My wish for 2021 is for Ryotaro to again say “He’s gonna die” to Chris, and laugh maniacally

Probably other folks have already written this, but if the mats are deteriorated and expelling dust you must wet the mats in water, then seal the mats in a plastic bag that has the wording "ASBESTOS" which must also include the hazardous sign. You must then dispose the material in a hazardous material dump, not your standard dump or trash. It is rather pricey to dump asbestos properly. If mat is good condition, you can place them in a standard sealed garbage bag and dispose in your trash. Best of Luck.

And you finally got Ken!

As someone residing in Australia, falling in snow sounds like a dream.

His cardboard cutout of that dude, I legitimately thought it was Jose Mourinho at first, holy shit.

a dolly zoom in the first minute. love it!

Thanks Chris, always!