Student Blog

5 min read

Mao is thriving as a YouTuber with over 900,000 subscribers on her channel "MaoMaoTV." She shared how her time at APU has influenced her life.

Alumni Profile
Name: MAO Tsai-Ti
Nationality: Taiwan
Graduated :2015, College of Asia Pacific Studies
YouTube: MaoMaoTV

What are you currently doing?

A.I am currently promoting my lifestyle in Japan on YouTube and Instagram.
I sometimes take on tourism promotion projects for various local governments, such as Hokkaido and Iwate Prefecture. I also appear on travel programs aired on television stations in Taiwan and Japan, showcasing Japanese tourism.

How has APU changed since the last time you came?

I was surprised to see how beautiful the buildings were. I also felt a sense of nostalgia when I saw students of various nationalities walking around the campus. It reminded me of the many stimulating experiences I had in APU's international environment, and I felt like I was 18 again. Earlier, when I was walking around the campus, many students talked to me saying they were interested in APU after watching my videos. I was very moved to realize that my videos, which I have been posting with the intention of doing something fun, are actually having an impact on someone's life. It made me very happy.

What did you do while you were a student at APU?

During my time at APU, I studied a wide range of subjects with a focus on tourism. I also studied media on a domestic exchange program at Ritsumeikan University. Now that I think about it, I studied tourism and media, two things that are perfectly suited to my current job. As for extracurricular activities, I participated in various weeks such as Vietnam Week, Indonesia Week, and Taiwan Week. My greatest treasure at APU is all the friends I made from all over the world.

How did you the start your channel?

It all started when I was at APU. One of my friends who was already on YouTube invited me to appear in a video. After that video was posted, various friends recommended that I should start my own channel, and so I did. I learned how to do basic editing from a friend while eating a cheeseburger at McDonald's down the street. I still use the techniques I learned then, such as how to cut and how to add music. Back then, I didn't have the money to get all the equipment I needed, so I was shooting with a smartphone propped up against a book or plastic bottle. I didn't consider it as work; it was part of my hobby of posting what I thought was interesting.

What did you do after graduating from APU?

Since I studied in Japan for four years, after graduating I decided to try my best in Japan instead of going back to Taiwan, so I got a job at JTB Singapore. JTB Group is a Japanese company, so I worked in Japan for two years to learn about Japanese culture and its working style. At that time, the number of subscribers on my YouTube channel, which I had been continuing as a hobby, surpassed 50,000, and after receiving an offer to appear on a program from NHK, I gradually began to think that I could make YouTube my job. So, I decided to concentrate on YouTube and resigned from my job.

Tell us about your current activities

I place an importance on delivering information about the Japanese lifestyle since there are some things you can only see by living here. My channel is mainly watched by people in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and I feel that many people are interested in the aspects of Japanese life that they cannot see when they travel. Currently, I am posting videos of my husband's family living in Kagawa Prefecture, where I go to pick bamboo shoots in the mountains behind their house, re-cover tatami mats, and participate in other aspects of traditional rural life. The hardest part is the editing process (laughs). I got a hernia from being too absorbed in editing. There are many YouTubers who ask a third party to edit their videos, but my videos need to be translated and many of them are deeply related to my life, so I want to edit them myself. I know best what I want to deliver, so I am particular about that. I am also attracted to the fact that all the videos I put my heart and soul into will become memories of my life.

What are your future goals?

I would like to continue to have fun while posting videos.
Also, I recently started a travel agency called New Adventure with my husband, so I would like to provide travelers with unique experiences that are not possible through ordinary sightseeing.

What would you like to tell the current students?

I want students to do what they love. Since I was a child, I was the type of person who would try anything that interested me and then get bored with it and quit, but the one thing I continued was YouTube. I think that if you don't like what you are doing, you won't be able to do it well, and you won't be able to continue it.

Loop.A.S. Interviewer

Name: SHOBU Yukino
College: College of International Management (APM)
I’m Yukino Shobu, a second-year student in the College of International Management. I love thinking about which country to visit on my next vacation.
By meeting many alumni during my Loop.A.S. activities, I have grown to love APU even more. By conducting interviews, I hope to share with current students the inspiring stories of alumni who are thriving in their careers.

Loop.A.S.

The name says it all: student Organizations Loop.A.S. main goals are to connect APU alumni and the current students and to make chances for APU students through a variety of activities and events. And their activities are for both Alumni and Students. They work with the APU Alumni Association to create opportunities for alumni and students that they can meet, share knowledge, and gain better understanding of life after APU/in APU. The Student Blog posts interviews with alumni conducted by Loop.A.S.