Hypnosis in Japan with Chrisjones

In July of 2017 I was presented an opportunity to bring an America's Got Talent Chrisjones to Tokyo. Chris called me up one early summer day and said "Shane, I want you to show me the Japanese experience... I'm booking tickets in two weeks" I quickly replied… はい。

A LITTLE ABOUT WORKING WITH CHRIS

I worked in developing content for him on tours from 2015 - 2018, through filming stage performances and on the go live video for his fanbase on social. He leads by breaking down cultural nuances while providing smiles and laughter to whoever he meets. It’s something so infectious it ties directly into his daily mantra of “Dream Big Dreams”. As we hopped around from place to place, we were saturated in what makes culture so brilliant. The personalities. The culture. The beautiful. The ugly. Each adventure with Chrisjones has taught me the power of storytelling, creating impact and being yourself at one hundred.

Eating Nagashi Somen.

GETTING CHRISJONES ON TBS TOKYO

For our tour, I reached out to my friend in the NPO scene, who connected me with a friend looking for guests on a tourism segment for TBS Tokyo. The show was Biz Street, which covered a small company which places foreigners in Japanese cultural activities. We participated in creating Nagashi Somen, a summertime tradition of eating cold noodles out of a bamboo shoot. We cut bamboo down and exchanged conversation with a group of internationals. We carved our own chopsticks and bowl. We finished by sharing a meal with the host. Chris performed a couple magic tricks. It was an all around great experience.

Connecting with the locals.

Getting to do a few street performances was fun, and a little bit of a nod to David Blaine. We ended up at an Okinawan restaurant called Alohi after a day at the beach, and started interacting with customers. While I translated a few ideas, Chris spoke to them fluently through the universal language of magic. The memorable feeling was diving deep into the local scene and we had a blast.

Connecting with the Internationals.

We decided to pop by a hostel I worked at one winter called Yadoya Guest House, in Nakano.

I wanted Chris to experience the opportunities of connecting with Japan traveling expats, locals and resident foreigners — one beneficial way of processing the Japanese experience. The routine consisted of hypnotizing one English-speaking Japanese guest, and performing magic tricks. 

Film footage and experience created for Chrisjones, featured on Chicago web series "PRGirl Series."

Connecting with the Comics at the Main Event.

All of the anticipation for this trip came to fruition in our last four days, as we were granted a stage at Tokyo's biggest comedy club — Good Heaven's British bar and Stand-Up. Getting into this space was electrifying as much as the process was eye opening. After reaching out to the owner through a spontaneous email, he was more than happy to give us time. Chris delivered a 90 minute set, breaking down his first experience in Japan — which prompted an encore headliner days later. 

All in all, this experience was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. I was able to bring a person I call a brother out to a foreign country and show him why I love it, and what he could experience there. At the same time, my drive to connect people creatively was brought front and center as I set up experiences for us to get involved in along with the video footage I shot. We met a lot of great people that trip and created a bunch of great memories. I’m thankful for the chance to work and play with Chris in a place I know call home — Tokyo.