About Yohji Ohtsubo: Building a Career Across Belgium, Shanghai and Digital Marketing

About WANDERWORK

WANDERWORK is an independent publication for people who want to work across borders without treating real life as an afterthought. The site covers digital-nomad planning, workations, remote-work systems, visas, cities, money, connectivity and the practical choices that make a stay workable.

I am Yohji Ohtsubo, the founder and editor. I write from a combination of professional experience, time lived abroad and formal study in Digital Marketing. My route has included building a business in Antwerp, a corporate assignment in Shanghai, and postgraduate study at the University of Liverpool.

That background does not turn every answer into a universal rule. It does mean I take the operational details seriously: legal status, work infrastructure, local context, cost, timing and the gap between an appealing idea and a plan that still works on an ordinary Tuesday.

Choose your next guide

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Do not read ten articles in parallel. Pick the one closest to your immediate decision and complete one concrete step this week.

How I came to work across borders

The central idea behind WANDERWORK is simple: work does not have to be tied to one place. That is not a slogan I adopted from a trend. It grew out of living and working in very different places, each with its own rules, pace and friction.

Before working abroad, I studied textile design at Tama Art University and taught myself garment construction. I later worked in fashion as a pattern maker and designer, including roles at Yohji Yamamoto. Design taught me to pay attention to construction, context and the small details that determine whether something actually works. Those habits still shape how I approach marketing and editorial work.

Europe: building a business in Antwerp, Belgium

My first experience of working abroad began in Europe. I travelled through the region as a backpacker while looking for work, and eventually made Antwerp my base.

Antwerp is known for fashion, design and a distinctly international creative culture. It was there that I obtained a Belgian work visa and established a business as a designer. Working in another country quickly makes abstractions concrete. You have to understand the visa, communicate across language and cultural differences, and work within a legal system that was not designed around your assumptions.

The documents above are personal records. They are included only as evidence of the period described and with personal details limited to what is necessary.

The lasting lesson was not that working abroad is glamorous. It was that it is possible when you respect the operational reality behind it. Borders, permits, language and local relationships are not background details; they are part of the work itself.

Asia: a corporate assignment in Shanghai

After returning to Japan, I continued my career in product planning and material development before moving into an overseas assignment in Shanghai. I lived there with my family while working for a Japanese company.

Shanghai brought a different perspective. It is one of Asia’s major business centres, with a fast-moving consumer market and a pace of decision-making that can feel very different from Japan or Europe. In that environment I developed practical experience in global marketing, consumer insight and cross-border business.

Living in Shanghai reinforced an important point for anyone considering a move: a city is more than a cost comparison. Its speed, communication norms, daily logistics and the people around you shape what kind of work you can sustain.

United Kingdom: studying Digital Marketing at the University of Liverpool

Alongside my professional career, I completed postgraduate study in Digital Marketing at the University of Liverpool. I completed the Postgraduate Certificate in Digital Marketing with Pass with Merit.

The programme gave me a structured way to connect practice with theory: digital marketing strategy, brand strategy, consumer behaviour, analysis and global marketing. It strengthened my view that good marketing is not noise. It is the disciplined work of understanding an audience, making a useful promise and delivering on it consistently.

What this experience means for WANDERWORK readers

My work has also included roles in material development and marketing at global companies. Across fashion, product development and marketing, the common thread has been learning how people make decisions in real environments rather than in idealised slide decks.

WANDERWORK applies that lens to location-independent work. The site is for readers who want clearer choices, not exaggerated promises. A digital-nomad plan has to account for immigration rules, employment and tax obligations, family circumstances, time zones, insurance, payment methods, reliable internet and the kind of accommodation in which you can actually do focused work.

Remote work, workations and digital nomadism can widen your options. They do not remove responsibility. The right move is to choose a model that fits your work, finances and legal position—not to copy someone else’s highlight reel.

Editorial approach: useful, evidence-aware and direct

• First-hand perspective: I draw on life and work in Japan, Belgium and Shanghai, while making clear where an article is general guidance rather than personal experience.
• Research before recommendation: For visas, rules, product terms and prices, official sources take priority. These details change, so readers should verify the current official requirements before acting.
• Practical decisions: Each guide aims to help you choose and do the next sensible thing—shortlist a city, confirm a stay, prepare backup connectivity or check an official requirement.
• Clear commercial disclosure: Where an article contains affiliate links, that relationship is stated. A commission may be earned at no extra cost to the reader; it does not replace independent judgement.

Professional background at a glance

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Work with more freedom—and more intention

I started WANDERWORK to make the path toward location-flexible work more practical. Whether you are considering a short workation, a move abroad, a digital-nomad visa or simply a better way to work while travelling, start with the constraints that matter and build from there.

Choose one question, read one guide, and take one useful action. That is how a vague ambition becomes a workable plan.