Japanese vlogger Ghib Ojisan catches PM Lee’s attention with Singapore heartland video

SINGAPORE – Upon hearing that this reporter has never tried the famous Blanco Court prawn mee, Japanese YouTuber Ghib Ojisan lets out: “Aiyo.”

In many ways, the 33-year-old is a true-blue Singaporean. He owns and lives in a Housing Board (HDB) flat, uses Singlish proficiently, is able to belt out the 2001 National Day song Where I Belong, and has explored more heartland neighbourhoods than the average Singaporean. He has even visited a local prison.

The full-time content creator, who makes popular videos documenting local life twice a week, moved here five years ago to be with his Singaporean wife, whom he declines to reveal more about. He has more than 265,000 subscribers on his channel.

He even caught the attention of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who shared on Facebook a recent video he had shot showcasing Ang Mo Kio in the style of popular Japanese travel show Japan Hour. 

Ghib Ojisan, who has never revealed his full name and wants to be known only as Mr Ken, gushes: “It’s insane, right? To get recognised and shared by the PM – it’s definitely a big milestone.”

While he feels his wife is happier about it than he is, he says: “It was really cool, my viewers were happy and I definitely feel motivated to put out even better videos.”

Born in Osaka, Mr Ken was raised in the United States until high school, and definitely did not start his YouTube career thinking that he would be making videos about the Lion City. 

After quitting his salaryman job in Japan in 2017, his grand plan was to travel the world with his guitar and busk on the streets of metropolitan cities playing music from Studio Ghibli films – which explains his YouTube name.

But then he passed through Singapore and met his wife while busking on the streets here. They connected over a Studio Ghibli number he was playing, went to a cafe afterwards and the rest is history.

“If I hadn’t met my wife, I probably would have stayed for a few days or weeks, then left and just never came back. But I did, and we discussed living together, and I thought it would be pretty cool to move to Singapore,” he says.

In 2018, he relocated to Singapore for a digital marketing job and later married his wife. He quit his job six months later to become a full-time vlogger. 

His videos were initially targeted at a Japanese audience, comparing life here and in Japan. But after a video of him exploring Yishun – which he cheekily called “Singapore’s most dangerous area” – went viral with 185,000 views, he became Internet-famous.

Now, about 80 per cent of his viewers are from Singapore.

He says: “Initially, my channel was just a vlog documenting my life. I wasn’t thinking that much, I just did what I thought would get me more views. Now, I want to make things that are more meaningful, things that focus on the undiscovered or less well-known culture and traditions in Singapore.

“I want to explore the heartland neighbourhoods like Pasir Ris and Punggol because these places aren’t getting shown online. I don’t want to go to tourist spots such as Marina Bay Sands all the time and make the same content, that’s boring to me.”

On the day The Straits Times met him, he was interviewing the owner of Hainanese-Western food joint Prince Coffee House in Beach Road, which has a history of more than 45 years.

He also sometimes addresses hot-button issues like cost-of-living concerns here.

Among his favourite videos is one he uploaded in January, interviewing a Singaporean couple who chose to retire in Penang for its lower cost of living.

“It talks about the reality of leaving Singapore, and I really liked it because I feel like the couple I interviewed were very intentional about their lives and I think it gives hope to my viewers that you can pursue the life you want, and it will be okay.”

In the pipeline are plans to interview more Singaporeans living abroad, which has attracted a bit of criticism from his detractors.

“Some people are like, ‘Hey, why are you making these videos? Are you trying to inspire people to leave Singapore?’ But I think it’s good, sometimes people start to appreciate a place only after they leave.”

He adds: “On the flip side, I also get comments that say I’m too positive, that I show only the good side of things in Singapore. I’ve kind of become numb to a lot of it. I’m a pretty positive person and I just know that what I’m doing is good for me and my viewers.”

Mr Ken, who bought a resale four-room HDB flat with his wife in 2020 and received permanent residency here in 2022, has no plans to return to Japan or leave Singapore any time soon.

When asked what his favourite thing about living here is, he says: “It’s a combination of so many things. The food is fantastic, for one thing, but ultimately, it’s the people that I enjoy the most.

“It’s so easy to make friends here. I know so many hawkers who treat me like they are my real aunties and uncles. They’ll say, ‘Did you gain weight?’ It’s quite straightforward, and in Japan, it might be considered rude, but I appreciate this sort of friendliness and relative lack of boundaries among people here.”

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