A Train Journey Across Japan: Traditional Villages, Onsens, & Authentic Sushi from the Sea of Japan

A Train Journey Across Japan: Traditional Villages, Onsens, & Authentic Sushi from the Sea of Japan

after the four of us hiked 70 km across Japan on the kumoto trail Brian had to head back home but the rest of us still had about a week left in the country our friend Daryl was initially going to take us hiking up a mountain but unfortunately he ended up not being able to make it so instead he planned a road trip for us using Japan’s vast train Network that would take us all over the country the town of H famous for its beef the traditional Village of shirao biking in a resort town the fish markets of kazawa the famous hot springs of kusatsu and all the way to the western coast of Japan [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] all right see you Brian see you on our next trip when it’s a 3 Mile Hi through the woods in the fall all right see you see you we had seen Brian off on his way back home after a night staying in a hotel room we headed out into the streets of Tokyo to head back to the train station taking in all the sites along the [Music] way eventually we reached the train station where we headed to the Jr lines Japan network of local and national trains our local line arrived and we got on board headed for Tokyo Station Japan has a highly developed network of Railways stretching over 30,000 km in total and serving over 20 billion Riders every year although many Railways still run on fossil fuels their emissions are far lower than cars and planes and some of the rail systems in Tokyo run entirely on renewable energy and even as tourists who don’t speak the language we found it really easy to get around the city by train [Music] we arrived at our stop and made our way into the station from here we would catch the shinhan sen one of the bullet trains that stretches across the country the station sells a variety of packed meals called eeky Ben on our way to the platform we perused our options for breakfast [Music] we arrived at our platform and our train showed up shortly after we got on board and enjoyed some hash brown patties while cruising at a speed of 320 [Music] kmph the train sped through the outskirts of Tokyo and the dense City landscape gradually faded into a more and more rural scene in the distance Blue Hills Rose above the Horizon and at one point we even saw a majestic view of Mount [Music] Fuji a dislike lenticular cloud had formed at the top of the mountain accentuating its Majestic [Music] appearance the skies became gray and overcast as our train passed through various smaller towns and cities [Music] eventually our train stopped at ngoya a city west of Tokyo we transferred to another [Music] train we left the city limits and again saw more and more rural scenery as we sped further into the countryside we were treated with stunning views of rivers and [Music] mountains Misty clouds hovered between the mountains which surrounded The Valleys of vibrant turquoise colored water being able to witness rural Japan from our vantage point on the tracks was quite stunning dude you look at some Escape out here and it’s incredible that not only do they have people living out here but they’ve got train tracks roads power everything goes through all this like incredibly harsh landscape a lot of it reminded me of the kumoto and I’m just like how did we walk quaint home stood by the riverbank and a small Cemetery was tucked into a peaceful Hillside it was striking how different this landscape felt to us one thing that stands out is how incredibly clear water is too look down and it’s just like this pristine green water it’s beautiful so whenever we go through one of these tunnels our ears popping and it’s because the tunnel is so narrow compared to the train that the train going fast it just pushes all the air to the front and that changes the pressure in the carriages we passed through a handful of small towns now fully spoiled by the Creature Comforts of civilization we noticed the Train’s climate control was a bit lacking so I have this that when you first get on the train they had admin nice and Co and then every stop they raised a couple of deg so that by the time you get off you cannot wait to get off it’s kind of humid on this train this air is not being conditioned but before long we arrived at our destination takayama a small City in the mountains with a population of 88,000 people known for its historic streets and buildings we made our way out of the station on the way out there was a variety of historic artifacts on display what do you think about these knives I see they have lots of chisels and this is nice little thing for stripping wood that’s for like leveling out pling wood that’ll shave like super thin pieces of Japanese saw here can you imagine if you took a saw like that camping after that we finally stepped out into the open air oh that fresh air smells so good oh that is our hotel so whatever we do today we just need to be back there before nightfall basically sweet cool after several days hiking to KOC Coto we were surprised how contemporary this town felt despite being relatively small so this place is also much more bustling and modern than I expected which that sounds kind of close-minded but some of those villages we visited on the trail were so rustic whereas this has its older Parts but there’s also more newer builtup Parts this certainly was no rural farming town there were plenty of modern amenities like this supermarket with strangely familiar logo this ain’t no Whole Foods this a boss Foods so already I can feel the relaxation and the fun that we’re going to have and I just got to say we got to apologize to Brian the whole point was he came here to do the easier of the two trips and because of this last minute rescheduling of everything he did not only the harder of the two trips he did probably the hardest trip we’ve ever done [Music] we stumbled around aimlessly for a bit and came across a temple ruins of the provincial nunnery main Temple though we had seen plenty of shrines and temples on our recent hike the vibrantly red Tory gate and lanterns were still striking to [Music] us and just outside the temple grounds we found someone’s small vegetable garden eggplants yeah so these are eggplants in the nightshade family and these basically our Asian eggplants cuz they’re much more long and slender compared to the ones you might find in the west and here we’ve got some onions growing onions I don’t know what these are but that looks like a coral reef [Music] almost we continued exploring filled with a sense of being able to go wherever we wanted with ease when you have really good public transportation like this and you pack light enough it’s so empowering you feel like you can go anywhere and do anything just hop on a train hop on a bus whatever you walk to wherever you want to go it’s funny because it’s easy to think of having your own car and being able to drive anywhere as being freeing but having train systems like this actually feels way more free because you can just get on not have anything on you it’s so much [Music] easier okay so it looks like you can’t cross the actual Road you got to take the these little underpasses we got a nice ramp oh probably for bicycles this watermelon cat par look it’s the three of us three Penguins this big bad wolf unlike most of our trips we didn’t have any specific place to be or any major time constraints and takayama was full of interesting back roads to explore the other day I was asking you what you like the best in traveling and you said you just like being able to wander this feels like having a general destination and then winding your way there oh it’s so delightful we spotted a Chinese trumpet vine a flower native to this area we walked by the orderly gutters along the street which ran adjacent to planted flower gardens as well as small fields of rice wonder how much rice you could produce from this one field man especially when I see people planting rice and it’s just they do like one little thing at a time I don’t know anything about it but rice is like the most voluminous of the vegetables so it’s got to be a decent amount right yeah so there’s obviously a lot of Lone words in Japanese and sometimes the transition doesn’t make it completely I think they call Apartments Mansions here actually I noticed a lot of mansions in Hong Kong on Google Maps and I was like these just look like apartment buildings it’s interesting this is the second time I’ve seen a POA tree and you can actually see a tiny little POA fruit growing up here this is a fig tree and uh there’s some plump juicy ones that look like they’re just about ready to be right and we’ve got another pron over here nearby we also saw a fluffy bunny sitting on the grass we crested a hill and at the top we retreated to a beautiful view of the town and surrounding Blue Mountains Furniture maker here so all during our time in Japan we’ve been seeing this three leaf vining plant looks like poison ivy but it’s actually Kudzu and this is a plant that is in the P family it’s native to Japan but in the US it’s an invasive plant all throughout the South which makes sense cuz it’s kind of a similar region in terms of the climate but it’s edible after wandering for a while we arrived at the H NOS historical folk Village an area with old gsho style thatched roof buildings [Music] big throne here and you got this tiny one here you make Thomas sit in that one I was trying to oh wow it shows you the mountains here unfortunately it seemed like the cloud cover was blocking the view in the warm Summer Breeze small Japanese Chimes called foodin rained gently and a flock of ducks swam through a pond there were all manner of toys to play with [Music] nearby my too far [Music] I just learned how you’re supposed to do the top one you’re supposed to spin it first it’ll keep the hole on the bottom oh not that I can do it but that’s that’s essentially the way you’re supposed to do it oh holy crap first try jeez wow okay and now the the foral want the foral date wow wow I did that first try every time heyy it’s funny that they don’t have you fill out any liability it’s funny cuz when you don’t try it and you just see someone doing it you’re like that looks super easy and then you get on it and you’re like nope after goofing around we continued exploring it seems like most of these buildings were from the mid 18th century to the mid 19th century and while this place is a place of historical significance most of the buildings here have been moved here from various parts of the prefecture and region so this is a museum in the sense that it’s recreated like this is not an actual Village that existed it’s just the buildings were buildings that actually existed nearby were six small Buddhist jizo statues meant to save people from suffering and disasters so these piles of wood they got some mushrooms growing on them but it’s showing what the traditional wood shingles that are are used on this building and apparently at one point the government banned these sorts of wooden shingles cuz fires were so common and they ordered the use of clay tiles but in this region those tiles can break easily because of the cold climate so this place is called uh the nakay Yabo’s house from the 1600s one of the things they call out specifically is a hearth here in the Middle where uh families would come and they cook displayed around the house were various types of cookware farming implements for planting and harvesting and carpentry tools back outside we passed through a wooden Tory gate and visited a modest [Music] Shrine as we continued we admired one of the old buildings with its impressive thatched roof you know it does make sense it would be that thick if you build a shelter in the woods you have to really pile the leaves on to actually make it waterproof and if you’re just using these reads I imagine you’d need tons of them to keep it watertight [Music] well right now is the perfect time to test it and I’m definitely dry under the roof so I can actually go to the second floor on this building I’m going to check that out I mean it’s obviously been restored and stuff but it is incredibly well constructed these stairs actually feel super stable [Music] W that’s also really cool there’s logs that are part part of the whole structure holding up the roof but that one has notches cut into it so you can go up another floor higher and it looks like there’s even two levels above me I wonder if they use this just for storing stuff or if this was actual living space inside this building were artifacts like old clothing and giant wooden needles used to sew the thatch roof together how long do you think it took the village to make this roof vill uh week it’s 4 days oh wow some efficient work it was impressive to see just how well constructed the buildings were especially in an age where everything was made out of natural materials and manual labor I wonder is plants growing into the roof a bug or a feature I would bet the Moss actually helps because I’ve seen survival shelters where they use moss on the lower layer of the thatching but I’m sure at some point you would have to replace these roofs there’s so much life growing on the thick roof that there’s even a pine tree growing on the corner of it that’s crazy near all the plant life growing on the roof I spotted a familiar plant all right so this tree is called akusa Dogwood it is from Japan it’s got these really soft red berries that grow on it and these berries are actually edible you can just eat them straight up sometimes people discard the outer skin part just cuz it can be a little bitter I’ve actually seen this growing in neighborhoods in the US as well nearby we saw a bone show a large bronze bell used to summon Buddhist monks to prayer and at the top of a small hill was a shrine with a Sison box for donations I threw a coin in the little collection bin here and I think uh what happened is a good representation of a little bit of my luck here [Music] what now we made our way back to the entrance of the Fulk Village taking in some of the beautiful bolic scenery along the way just outside the village was a small gift shop full of fun little souvenirs they’re shoehorns shoehorns I’m at the little gift shop here and I picked up a saru Babu s just explain so Tom’s got a sarubobo ramun it’s like a type of soda and they’re known for the special bottle in the way to open it and I think I’ve done this once before but I’m not entirely confident so I put ready yep Ready oh wow oh damn now that Ball’s sitting in there m smells very sweet quite good the one thing I don’t know is is the marble just for fun or is it supposed to enhance something or maybe someone really like the sound of ice clinking in their glass oh oh I know what it tastes like it just tastes like those cheap gums you get for Halloween you know yeah like a bubble gum Hub buba Hubba Bubba that’s what do you think it tastes like Hubba Bubba yeah after that we caught the bus back to the main part of town you guys ready for some Hotel archives I am so ready on our way back we saw something interesting we just passed a very tiny Park that said city of Denver Park and looked it up right here and enough takama City’s sister city is Denver oh we got to find some Denver related thing to do here I think that means we need to drink some craft beer oh yeah sounds good enough to [Music] me we wanted to explore some more but first it was time to check into our hotel which was much nicer than I had expected are you sure we can afford this place I mean Thomas made this reservation so you never know in the lobby was Decor made of furniture pieces homage to the history of craft furniture made in the [Music] city wood aesthetic is really cool yeah so nice the room numbers of wood it’s the wood that makes it good so come inspect the beding situation here look at it that is so perfect who’s [Music] banished I knew there was going to be a big bed and a small bed I didn’t think they’d be right next to each other like is clearly intended for a child on the TV was a sumo wrestling tournament taking place in Ro Goku the neighborhood we had just stayed at when we first arrived in Tokyo so why do we put the tallest dude on the smallest bed Thomas is like 63 and this bed is like barely 6t good night that’s just how it had to happen and’s over here naked all he’s like I’m about to go in this hot spring right now you’re like my dog whenever she sees a pool she’s just like I got to jump in I got to jump in Andrew in his shoehorn that’s that’s Andrew’s religion it’ll change your life try it I mean my shoes are already kind of Untied so it’s I will investigate this further now we left the hotel it was time to explore some more and to look for some dinner outside a calm silence had filled the air in the evening as the sun set it peered under a layer of clouds and covered everything in its brilliant Golden [Music] Aura adding to the beautiful scenery was a double rainbow that had formed in the distance we were making our way to an old historic part of town we saw an interesting Temple along the way so that is the H kokubunji Temple it’s a Buddhist temple that’s also somewhat closer to the Oldtown part of the town we saw some other interesting sites like this building covered in Tinsel every Alleyway we wandered through was so aesthetically appealing especially compared to the suburban sprawl of the Midwest and you couldn’t wander through an Alleyway without stumbling across something interesting it’s just Tomatoes 100 again shirok dama Farm the mixture of old and new is like one of the most interesting Parts about your family like you get this just brand new buildings and then combined just like these old buildings well old looking anyway we now made our way to Takay yama’s Old Town we crossed a bridge and saw a huge Tory gate standing in the distance not the biggest now we had reached the Old Town streets lined with wooden buildings from the Edo period and traditional foot Bridges crossing over Stone water channels we were pretty hungry so we decided to investigate a cozy looking restaurant for food okay unfortunately that place required reservations so we’re not going to be able to eat there found another random place up ahead that we’re going to try out at this point though I think anything we find is going to taste amazing we’re looking for some heat up beef fill that’s specifically what we’re looking for according to our phone there was a restaurant that was open just up the street a little ways but it ended up being closed okay strikeout number two everything down here closes at like 5:00 so we might have to do a little bit more walking we crossed back over the bridge and finally found a suitable looking spot for dinner you I mean skewers of meat is probably the most pure way to eat be right that let’s do it there’s a there’s a blinking light let’s go for it we had finally found a place that was open and we’re excited to try the local Region’s beef first up were three cold crisp beers which came with a complimentary appetizer of yam noodles and I I’ll drink it for you too it’s beer tastic to go with our noodles and beer I had ordered a stew with beef tendon one of my favorite Meats for everyone to try let’s give it a go wow that actually is super good whenever Andrew orders any type of weird Meat part I’m like Andrew this is fantastic wow it it does melt in your mouth see your boy knows what he’s talking about once in a while let’s try this wow that is like beef made of butter that literally meling around never was anyone allowed to just cry melt in your mouth unless you’ve had this and next up we’re some H beef skewers oh my God smells delicious wow that’s a genuine smile Andrew’s enjoying the beef so much he’s going to undo all the buttons [Music] we’re learning where all of these phrases come from melt in your mouth at a loss for words we’re having the spiritual experience right here I had to sit there I had to like just enjoy that I could not be bothered to speak otherwise it would have been a waste of this be I mean no offense to this dude but I was a little worried I was like this is a oneman operation either he’s really bad or really good un fortunately he’s really good following our skewers was a piece of seared heah beef [Music] steak Cheers [Music] Cheers top tier top tier so rich in flavor of umami fattiness just permeates through your mouth as you’re chewing it it’s so tender but with enough give to still have substance it’s like the best steak I’ve ever had to speak while I had food in my mouth would be a sin to the cow that sauce was nice and subtle it added like a slight acidity to it but without overpowering the actual natural flavor of the beef put in a little little sauce right there oh man who doesn’t love a good [Music] GZA the hunger spice was getting a little dangerous there it was going to turn into hunger anger hanger the fattiness and tenderness of the beef really compliments The Dumpling form cuz it’s all that juice is stored inside the dumpling and it just like explodes in your mouth super good next we added the leftover broth and fat from our stew to some plain white rice is there anybody who doesn’t like residual juices on Rice I don’t know if your mom used to make this but my dad used to make a dish called meat juice and rice it’s l just like some stewed meat and he put it over rice and I’m sure that’s not what the name was but he called it meat juice and Fri this is not dissimilar my mom did used to tell us that they used to eat a bowl of rice with some lard and a little bit of soy sauce drizzled on top and since then I’ve had rice with butter and a tiny bit of soy sauce and that’s like a delicious late night gluttony snack the beef was so good we ordered a second serving of skewers to enjoy in slow [Music] motion so that was a great dinner but I just realized something I’ll make it even better we got to own some we can go back to oh my god dude I’m going to get in that bath I’m never coming out that’s the end of the trip we’re going to get in credits will start rolling you some of this stuff if you want to eat here it’s pza or ATA sorry ATA when you take away the beers it ended up being about uh like 80 bucks for the three of us so you know do the math it’s a little under 30 bucks for okay so as we were checking out Andrew said tell him that that’s the best beef I’ve ever had so I said that’s the best beef he’s ever had in his life and then he goes really what about Kobe beef and it everything and I go he’s never had Kobe beef but I was like it’s still probably the best though it’s funny how just from hearing him say Kobe and seeing his mannerisms I could tell exct what he was saying it was like the ultimate insult and compliment at the same time he’s never had K that was A5 steak I looked on the sign out front that was A5 feeling good off the beer and satisfied from the beef we wandered aimlessly through the town as a little drizzle started falling from the sky we still had enough composure to find our way back to the old town after hours so this is obviously a preserved area but I don’t know if people still live here or not we seen lights in the building and I’m seeing some cars parked so there must be some people who live here what I’m finding out about Japan is that I want to be very respectful I kind of always speak quietly when I’m walking through a residential area yeah on the one hand it’s unfortunate cuz all the shops here are closed now but the streets are empty and this Ambiance is like incredible the empty streets at night felt like the set of a Samurai movie or a Japanese period piece what made it more astounding was that the buildings were authentic and original the street we just walked down actually had actual preserved houses and it had Ado period architecture from the 1600s through the 1860s I’m sure there’s been repairs and refurbishments but these are the actual old buildings that we’re seeing it’s not just some fake set or anything we continued wandering through the rain taking in all the subtle details that made this area feel so unique and different to what we were used to these gutters are a little bit treacherous yeah old fire [Applause] height this feels like an old western town in the US a yeah the rain kind of adds this atmosphere to it and when you come by these little shops with awnings you really get the sense that you’re like in Ado period Japan and you’re like escaping that storm to puddle over some food I’ve never been to Japan but I’ve been a big fan of kurosawa’s movies and this does feel like you’re in a Kurosawa movie yeah yeah you can really see why the Samurai and Western genres have so much similarities yeah just feeling this atmosphere [Applause] eventually we left the old town and made our way back to the modern parts of the city to get back to our hotel but even here the night Ambiance and the falling rain created a unique feeling we eventually made it back but there were still a few more Shenanigans to enjoy before the day was done third beer opened 8:00 p.m. one of you might want to write that down 10:15 p.m. 2,000 y yeah we we’ll definitely do that okay thanks so much so we took a look at the TV we saw here open air indoor bath private open air bath so we booked it yeah yeah yeah okay [Music] so this is the bath we got a shower up here first but first we got to make this an open air [Music] bath okay I was the first to shower that is fantastic shampoo conditioner oh that feels good this is what I’ve been waiting for since I set foot on the Kaman come join us in the hot tub where am I supposed to go cool air and a hot tub is the only [Music] combination sometimes the funnest thing to do here is just close your eyes and pretend you’re a monkey I feel extreme reaxing I got nothing getting outside getting a little bit cold first and then going back in we got 45 minutes for this bath and I’m like I got to have the contrast to last that one Andrew you look like you’ve got a like a hologram over one eye displaying an eye all right time to go mobile again taking a cold shower for that contrast oh my God worth it yes definitely worth it all right oh so worth it so worth it that contrast what life is all about baby that was very satisfying very content to bre full after the [Music] on the next day we awoke to a bustling town and we quickly packed our things and got ready to head out so Andrew’s been raving about these shoe horns I don’t see the big deal see you put them in look look how scrunched up that is it’s called a skill issue onto the next hotel we made our way down into the lobby and out of the hotel our next hotel would be in a coastal town but before that we had a little detour and for this stretch of the journey we would be hopping on a bus [Music] now the bus left the city of takayama and we made our way through rural Japan once [Music] [Music] again we’ve taken a train pretty much every other time right yeah I guess like first long distance bus I infinitely prefer trains I have very bad memories of a bus in Germany we were driving through hilly terrain and the highway would occasionally enter tunnels that pass through entire mountains these Hills we’re driving through really reminded me of the remote Hills in West Virginia where we’re trying to get to a Wilderness destination so it’s really impressive that they have an actual bus that transports you from one town to the next what’s also impressive is that these roads are just carved through mountains like you go through one tunnel there’s a small break and then there’s another tunnel much rather go through a tunnel than hike up the mountain at least right now eventually we reached the town of Shir Cabo a place famous for its traditional historic village and a UNESCO world heritage site so inside as soon as you get off the bus there’s a little tourist information center that they’ll give you a map to help you kind of understand what’s around here from the bus stop we decided we would try to wander to the opposite end of the village and see as much as we could while stopping somewhere for lunch along the way this is kind of like the village that we went to yesterday yeah and look how beautiful the scene is right now you’ve got this rice field with dragon flies darting around in the sunlight these old buildings in the background that is that’s pretty magical yeah it’s magical the sight of the rice glowing in the afternoon sun and the countless dragonflies darting all about gave this Village a euphoric fairy tale s quality [Music] it’s also crazy cuz you can just smell the scent of rice as you walk by this field smell that like it literally smells like fresh rice to me can’t really smell anything I can smell it in the Hills nearby was an Overlook deck we hoped to visit later for now we wandered past more gsh show style buildings yeah what’s cool about this is you’ve got the old style thatch roof buildings but they’re actually being used for different shops and restaurants so it’s not just a museum piece you actually get to go in and interact with it yeah I was going to say that this is the best proof that these roofs work because they’re actually using them yeah yeah apparently they’re really good for the snow too this place gets heavy snow nearby was a pond that had some fish swimming through it any Lily Pad fun facts well I know that lotuses are in that family of water lies and people will eat the roots and the seeds and it’s also obviously a huge symbol in uh Buddhism and other Eastern philosophies as it turns out the Lotus was once considered part of the Waterlily family nefi but it’s now categorized in a different family naloni we continued walking and came across a stand selling various snacks on the side of the street got some dry Pon looks like some uh beef flavored cashews too that sounds incredible it definitely get lots of snow here in winter time I feel like it’d be cold and a struggle to get out here but the isolation and the beauty of it would be worth it we passed by three large Stone shrines and saw a large Cedar needle ball called Au Sugi dama representing hope and peace I bet that’d be a good ball of Tinder and we came by another fragrant rice patch to me it smells like you’ve just opened a tongu or like a glutenous Mochi to me it smells a lot like wheat oh okay when you said that y smell that this is a Disney Village like I’ve never seen a village this disney-ish in my life before that’s what’s so cool is like I keep expecting these places to be more artificial but there’s actual buildings that have been here for years and are still being used of the many gsho style thatched roof houses here the oldest was the water residence which has been around for over 300 [Music] years there were many different shops and sites to see in this Village but even then it was an interesting tree that caught my attention this is something different this is pomegranate wow there’s some turning red and nice and plump we got some old dried up ones down here I’ve never seen pomegranate before we continued on passing by rustic buildings with small shops and vintage cars inside the further we wandered into the village the more it felt like we were being transported back in time [Music] but despite the Serene environment I could tell the others were getting irritable and hungry so we searched for a place where we could grab some lunch all right so in order to saave off Robbie and Thomas is growing hanger come here for some soba Apparently one of the meals known for this town is eating soba in the mountains there were a variety of Soo meal options while we waited for our orders to show up we enjoyed some water eventually the food arrived and it looked great I ordered some cold SOA noodles I know it might seem unsatisfying to have like a like a meal that isn’t hot but uh I’ll tell you the deliciousness and uh temperatur how do you know it’s delicious how are the cold noodles they are very good I’m very glad I got the cold ones which just very satisfying very flavorful very [Music] delicious you fan of bucke am do you like a buckwheat your I’m generally not a fan of Buckwheat but I’ll give it a go on occasion oh good how’s that fish oh slightly sweet all right you got The Temper Temper shrimp SOA classic that’s a good [Music] fish oh yeah tastes like it’s been like preserved initially or something sweet bones are soft after lunch we res wandering around outside looks like something where you would put a little leaf or paper boat in there and just watch it hey TR put that leaf in [Music] there there he goes nearby was a foot bridge that spanned across a wide river as we crossed it a cool breeze rolled through this feels so good right now oh you can actually feel the bridge moving too that that is that feels less good yeah yeah this weather feels fantastic but this bridge it looks extremely solid but it moves a little bit and it’s a little disorienting in the river below were some strange concrete structures so I believe they have Concrete in there just to help control erosion cuz it’s kind of on the outer Bend of the river the outer Bend is usually where the hardest erosion is so because this is all built up there’s not any like natural vegetation to prevent that I think that’s what those are for many of Japan’s Rivers even in remote areas areas are built up with stone and concrete as a means to control erosion albeit with varying results these blue flowers are a type of spider work there’s a lot of different kinds but these ones are pretty strikingly blue and these ones only have two big petals and there’s some species of this that you can actually eat so all during our time in rural Japan we’ve been seeing just swarms of dragonflies it’s a really beautiful site and it turns out the larvae grow in water um so rivers and rice patties are the perfect habitat for them to grow up and so that’s why when you see rice patties you just see so many of them darting around I imagine they must help like get rid of pests too I know in Michael’s little farm that he has he puts up little fake dragon flies cuz the bugs are scared oh really wow we scuttled down to a rock Bank in the river and I spotted some sort of primrose flower from this vantage point we could see beautiful Cliffs rising from the river’s Blue Waters look at this well first of all these Cliffs just look like a Chinese or Japanese painting but look up there there’s a little opening up there wo look how completely clear that water is also there is not a spot of trash in this entire River oh you found some trash not one Coca-Cola we’ll take it out [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] nearby was a parking lot for buses as well as a visitor center Andrew decided to use the bathroom and even those had a Whimsical nature to them those urinal in that bathroom they said step forward and enjoy the shooting game if it turns green it’s a success there’s a little ninja sticker in the urinal and when you pee on it it turns green really yeah we were all in a relaxed mood as we goofed around craving the beef from last night Thomas decided to buy some skewers from a vendor nearby I can’t get enough of these things would you like that I’ll take a little piece take a little piece I’m interested to see how it compares to last nights yeah pretty darn good I I’m full but that’s still very tender a little chewier than last night and after the skewers Andrew decided to buy an extravagant dessert that’s whoo What did you get this is a melon shaved ice yeah Japanese shaved ice is a whole different ball game got some condensed milk on here too oh yeah you guys want some yeah is so overflowing it’s hard to prevent spillage that is isn’t that better unlike any other shaved ice I’ve ever had and that condensed milk actually gives it like some substance you [Laughter] know brain freeze or something that’s good and this is a lot but this is Prett good there’s so much flavor and beaut in there too it’s not like you know in America when you get a snow cone and then just part of it is just snow there’s no syrup after our delectable dessert we headed back into the main part of the village there was still one more treat we had to try a traditional beverage made from locally grown rice right here in shakago we found the building where they were selling this drink and head it over so this is amazake which is a special type of sake that is a bit sweeter and much less filtered so it’s you can see how like thick and almost pulpy it is oh that is incredibly good almost got like a hint of like some sort of woodiness but besides that it’s this thick creamy consistency kind of like cafir or something but it’s got the slight bits of rice in it that add some good texture and it’s almost got the aroma of like a banana peel as you drink it but it also reminds me of something called Jan which is a similar fermented rice thing it’s a bit more like a porridge but it’s sweet and my mom used to make that and it’s slightly alcoholic but it it’s supposed to be really good when you’re uh sick it smells like a banana and a ham sandwich I could see that I don’t know where the ham sandwich is coming from just it’s like a sandwich in a bag kind of I actually I get what you mean somehow oh but it tastes quite good wow yeah it has hints of like a banana drink or something and that’s the hot here it’s the hot just a oh I like that oh that’s very good hot too too if I could order these drinks regularly at a bar I mean I know it’s not alcoholic but I would drink stuff like this all the time it’s like a sweetened oat milk that’s a it’s got pulp in it when it’s warm it’s not as like almost gelatinous it’s less pulpy it goes down smoother it’s not piping hot either it’s just legitimately just warm yeah I can’t decide which one I like [Music] better after enjoying the amazake we continued wandering around we came across a rock wall that had water cascading over it set in front of a beautiful Farmhouse growing near the water’s edge were some beautiful loose strife flowers and there was also a farmhouse that we could go [Music] inside that is a lot of firewood inside the house was a traditional Japanese Hearth called an eoi used for warmth cooking food and heating the kettle you know generally I look at these old houses and I think that it’d be really hot and muggy and like depressing in here but with all these doors open at once it’s actually quite nice just outside was a little Koi pond and a water channel that fed a rice Pounding Mill that seems slightly inefficient I feel like I’ve seen people beat rice and stuff before and it takes a lot more pounds than that it’s like it’s like one lb per 15 seconds but it is automated this is true this is true we made our way across some stepping stones to another part of the village where we saw another Farmhouse with a wall of firewood wow you ever prepared that hard for a fire man no that’s like a Year’s worth of [Music] fire man I thought the main village was a Disney princess Village this is a Disney princess Village right here like look at this Thomas go dance out there the Homer Simpson frolic nearby were some flowers and a particular looking plant this is hog peanut I’ve seen Andrew identify hog peanut enough time to know that this looks like hog peanut I don’t actually know what it is but it’s definitely not hog peanut nor is it in the Pea family does it look like it though looks like it yeah it does it’s green and it has leaves according to the app I use this is buckwheat so they’re actually growing Buck for the SOA yeah wow I I didn’t realize buckwheat was not actually a type of grain there’s like different types of plants called docks where they have big broad leaves but they tend to have these little seeds that are almost like grains so I wonder if buckwheat is kind of a similar thing as it turns out buckwheat is in the same family as a similar edible plant we’ve often seen called Curly [Music] dock while we Mander about we came across a house whose roof was in the process of being constructed well I’m guessing this is not the same as the old technique but it might not be too dissimilar they’re working from bottom to top cuz if you work from top to bottom then that lets the rain kind of see soak through whereas bottom to top you’ve got shingles overlapping like this so the rain will shed properly I wonder if in the past they use bamboo for scaffolding because when I was in Hong Kong they were still using bamboo for scaffolding even on these like huge skyscrapers oh it’s not so out of the question the roofs were once made of a type of grass called kadi yasu but now Suzuki or Chinese silver grass is used because it grows faster and can be imported into the village check this out we’ve got some chestnuts it is really hard to open with your bare hands but you can see the actual Chestnut right here so could you just roast that right now yeah you can roast this over the fire eat it these ones might be a little um under rpe but but do you guys feel Jack Frost nipping at your toes and in the grass nearby we saw a snake so that didn’t look venomous to me cuz usually you got this triangular head where the Venom sacks are but that looked pretty docile and pretty pretty tame compared to what we saw on the kumota with that pit fiper okay we got about an hour to head back to the bus to head up to kazawa there one more thing we want to check out which is the lookout point near the bus station actually I want to look at this building real quick first it’s like a temporary housing that is way cooler in here yeah that roof must just provide tons of insulation too yeah yeah we got these brooms with really long handles I wonder if that’s to clean the roof as well like it’s interesting thinking about the different plant materials that are used you’ve got actual rope made of different fibers but then you’ve got these kind of uh softer Woody shrubs used to bind the bigger logs together you can see how understanding plants and how you can use them has just been present throughout civilization for centuries and centuries up until the Industrial Revolution when we had a whole host of different materials to work with after that we cross back over the wide bridge to the main part of the [Music] village we made our way to the Overlook but there were plenty of quaint sights to see along the [Music] way okay we’ve got about 39 minutes before the bus leaves it’s about a 12-minute walk up to the observation deck so we’re going to hurry up there hurry back down we should have just enough time for the [Music] bus it’s pretty easy to be jaded about like cool tourist spots but it’s hard to be jaded about this place this is pretty amazing we now hustled up to a steep paved Road some things like this aren’t worth it I think this will be I think this will be quite worth it wow pretty worth it pretty worth it [Music] [Applause] [Music] 24 minutes to get back to the bus plenty of time then it’s to the west coast of Japan in kazawa it was a fairly quick walk back to the bus station and we even had some extra time to rest and taken some of the wildlife after a brief moment it was time to board the bus and leave shirao as we headed out we were treated to beautiful views of rural rice farming Villages surrounded by Rolling Blue Hills it was a fairly long bus ride to our next stop a city called kazawa so we took the opportunity to catch some Shai as the bus drove the skies became more overcast and eventually rain started falling in the distance and along with the impressive story storm clouds we noticed just how sparsely populated this area seemed W this landscape more than some of the others feels like really rural like some of the rural areas are still kind of like a small town but this actually reminds me of Farmland back in the US almost God it’s all rice isn’t it yeah looks like it tons of race fields out there yeah before long the bus had met with the storm clouds and Rain started pouring over us but with perfect timing the sky started clearing just as we approached the city of kazawa the rural environment had faded away and a decidedly Urban environment surrounded us as the bus pulled into the station I don’t know where we are how we got here but we’re here first stop is a fish market to get some sushi wow it feels really weird to be in a modern town after being in that little village wow this is weird there was no doubting it kazawa was as contemporary and bustling a city as any an impressive wooden gate modeled after Japanese suzumi drums greeted us as we exited the station and just outside was a digitized water feature displaying the time and other information what a delightful City yeah this is really [Music] cool yo I’m definitely feeling some Whiplash going from that Village to this city it’s like completely different though the city was very modern you could still find a temple here and there to remind one of Japan’s more rustic traditional past we were searching for a well-known fish market in town and there was an electronic map that was quite helpful for our way got a little light here if you touch down there should light up the map there it is there it is so we go to the end of the street oh it even has arrows light up for you yeah cool almost there yeah the robot from Futurama over [Music] there to get to the market we had to cross the street via another underpass this is cool this is the ni underpass I’ve ever been in only been in like five probably once we exited the underpass we arrived at the omicho [Music] market inside were all sorts of vendors and sights and smells to Delight the senses let’s just forage and browse around here a bit one stand was selling roasted fish which we picked up to try later some stalls sold prepackaged snacks While others sold freshly caught Seafood have an oyster oyster yeah we decided to buy a large raw oyster and I enjoyed it with a splash of ponu sauce oh wow that was like creamy on the inside almost it tasted fresher than the one we had in Tokyo for sure but it was also different in the sense that other ones were like more refreshing this one almost had like a creamy row texture to it I don’t know if it’s like the variety of species or what but it was good nearby was another stand selling oi or Ross sea urchin maybe a little bit of this man if you love Seafood this is like heaven right now I’ve had seon once and it I actually didn’t like it that [Music] much oh wow that is so much better than the first time I had it it’s got like very mild Umami flavor the texture is nice and soft and creamy the first time I had it just tasted like snot but this is so much better it’s almost like a soft egg yolk kind of soft egg egg Yol is the right way to describe it if you’re going to give me this in a blind taste test I think it’s like a sweet egg or something yeah it’s got a bit of sweetness that’s right yeah wow I did not think I would actually like that it’s delectable turns out fresh Sea Urchin from Japan is far better than Sea Urchin from a cheap sushi spot in central Ohio up next Robbie had purchased some grilled eel I love the smell of the sauce they use slightly crispy on the outside the softer texture of eel but still you can tell it’s got that nice meaty taste that was really good like a lot of stuff here I could understand if someone didn’t have a taste for it but eel I think is one of those things anyone could universally love at least prepared that way maybe not prepared to like the Slime deals in the UK or whatever we continued wandering through the market passing by a vendor that sold a variety of fish cakes I think that’s Naruto and that’s uh I forget what that’s called but both types of fish cake are huge clothes we also saw stand selling real fresh Wasabi as well as a strange bread-like ingredient so that store back there was selling these dut shaped pieces of gluten and that’s a specialty here specifically that they use in Oden which is like it’s like a stew you eat the stewed bits but that is a specialty of this city at another stand snail scallops and other shellfish including fresh Lobster were being sold and fresh cot squid and fish were up for sale nearby and another sold squash sweet potatoes and other fresh produce as we wandered a song played on the P system overhead this music’s playing and I’m really curious if this is the music they play at the end of the day cuz they’re about to close in 15 minutes or if this is just the music that drives people to Madness that plays all day long after sampling some snacks we left to look for a real dinner yeah markets like that especially open air markets with like fresh food that you can just buy Buy on the spot and eat those are my favorite types of Street Markets that’s one thing I really wish Columbus had I mean it’s a small City so it’s not surprising it doesn’t but this stuff is awesome I love it is pretty cool yeah as a coastal town kazawa had access to some of the freshest Seafood so we were on a mission to find some sushi man where are we going Google Maps had led us to a building but as it turns out there was a sign specifically saying no sushi but just next door we found what we were looking for are they open where is the I don’t know Google said it was open till 11: it’s like a small Sushi we were in luck inside was a cheerful sushi chef who gave us some hot towelettes and iced matcha tea that c tea is very refreshing the chef started preparing food for us without taking orders up first was a small cucumber seafood salad appetizer while we ate we chatted as best as we could with the chef and his assistant as it turns out he had been working as a qualified sushi chef for over 46 years before our next course the chef provided us with some socket they said no they got to [Music] work D it oh man that’s really smooth it’s very smooth I feel like when it’s good it doesn’t burn no smooth yeah that is sake you can really Sip and enjoy next the chef prepared a variety of beautiful sushi for us to enjoy including Fugu or puffer fish puffer fish contains tetrodotoxin when prepared incorrectly the toxins can prove fatal to humans but the chef’s many decades of experience put us at ease okay she said it’s kind of hard all right it is a little hard that tastes pretty good no I it’s very like chewy but subtle flavor but that Wasabi accompan it really well but it’s nothing like scary tasting or anything like that it’s the food kept coming a rural Japanese vegetable and tofu dish and miso soup next we tried a sushi roll with ground Mountain vegetables M the mountain vegetable one has kind of a sliming texture like okro but it’s very sweet I like that one a lot I like that a lot too yeah as we ate assistant asked us about sushi in [Music] America okay so apparently he went and got this Wasabi himself in May from the mountains from the mountains okay I need to try this Wasabi just straight up oh wow the Wasabi has like a almost a starchiness you might find in a sweet potato like that sort of texture and it’s a much Fuller richer taste than the fake stuff back home that is like so good I just on its own it’s delicious while we ate the assistant presented us with a [Laughter] gift newspaper newspaper oh you turn ITP [Laughter] and now it was our turn to learn how to make some origami yeah just one other way tuck it inside no oh no so okay okay very good samai so the shuriken was made out of two pieces of paper that’s what you can do if you’ve got 30 oh if if you want you can take those [Laughter] home after a delightful evening it was finally time for us to head out that was the best meal I think I’ve had in a long time that was the best sushi and also best restaurant experience you probably ever had Memories Forever first up we got to go to the station and see if they have a lost and found because unfortunately Thomas left his Wi-Fi router on the bus this is my mistake but now it’s everyone else’s problem as the others dealt with the wi-fi at the station I grabbed something special to try got a little fermented snack to try later for you to try or for us all to try for us all and mostly me though to the hotel yes yeah a calm dusk air filled the city as we strolled to our nearby Hotel the city was relatively quiet now putting us in the mood for a bit of rest in our room before Any Further Adventures wow this is a big room yeah love we’ve got some strange well you’ve got some normal stuff to eat I’ve got some weird stuff to eat see Andrew gets excited about like Japanese like fish market stuff like that I get excited about their bakeries got this roast fish from the fish market and I got this nice chocolate bun oh we oh you don’t okay you I touch this fish is like gasping this fish tastes good but it’s definitely got the bitterness of the guts cuz I think it’s still in there and I remember going to a Japanese Market at home and they had similar fish and they said you didn’t have to gut it you could just roast it like that so that must be a thing where they eat it like this muffin is like a chocolate chip muffin but more bread texture this region is known for something called kabura Zushi which is a type of fermented Sushi and I think that’s actually like kind of the origins of actual Sushi this is not that every time I asked about it in the store at the station they were like no no no no but they did have daon Zushi which is pickled daon radish uh on top of pickled dried Herring you can see it’s got this daon and some shredded carrots on the outside and you can see the skin of the herring oh wow so this whole white part is literally a half piece of a daon and then there’s some fish attached to it and the daon itself is kind of similar to those yellow pickled dacons you know but it’s got like kind of a sweetness to it and then the fish the fish compliments the Dacon really good actually I almost wish there was more fish and that the Dacon was cut thinner I like it but the thought of eating this whole thing in one go is a bit much I feel like having little bits of it accompanying an actual full meal would be really good now since we were on the western coast of Japan it was time for one more Excursion to a nearby beach before the night ended good stuff okay see you in a bit Thomas good luck okay so Thomas is going to take care of his Lost Property we got to get to the station in 11 minutes because they only leave on the half hour and we want to get to the coast and check out this [Music] ocean oh man we barely made that train we had like 30 seconds this is a super local train it’s only local people there’s only two cars and there’s no conductor and only the front door opens this is like I’ve never been on a train like that [Music] before it was a fairly short ride to the last stop we got off the train but we still had quite a bit of distance to cover by foot before we making it to the coast and it’s kind of fun to just wander aimlessly in the night like we know we’re going to the coast but beyond that we have no idea what we’ll [Music] encounter the weirdest part about this is that the ocean is that way like we can’t see it we can’t feel it but it’s there there’s like zero Breeze right now hopefully once we get there there’ll be a nice breeze also we are just out here in a random suburb of a small City an already small City I’ve had so many experiences since coming to Japan where it’s just like like out of a dream okay we just saw a sign for the beach we’re going to take this quick underpass now it feels like we’re going into some sort of Bunker [Music] yeah this is a purely utilitarian underpass there’s no bells and whistles for this one [Music] [Music] [Music] now one possible issue is the beach could be closed oh I asked The Sushi Guy at Sushi dinner tonight and they said it’s always open okay I feel like at the very least we’ll be able to get a view yeah so you know it’s partially because it’s dark but this neighborhood looks like any random suburb in the US right now yeah yeah it’s kind of what adds to that weird dream like feeling it’s like your brain is drawing from what you know like it’s not different enough to just be like w okay yeah it’s like the uncanny valley of like suburbs just ahead on our walk we came across something even more eerily familiar and seemingly out of place for Japan okay wait a minute we just went through a wormhole we are back in Indiana yeah that train was a wormhole back to Indiana this is a strip mall it’s even open 24 hours a day it’s funny how familiar this is that is crazy says right there 24 hours a day even that looks like some condominium in Ohio or something Brian’s back in there are we still on track to get thean right so that tunnel goes under a major road and right past that is where the beach is apparently okay awesome we approached the tunnel leading to the coast and saw another sign of the beach oh we got some sand we got some sand waa waa Mama there is nobody here The Familiar of the landscape that like suburban American landscape I just feel like someone’s going to call the cops on us really walking around we should also say that whatever the camera makes it look like it is a 100 times darker it is just for your sake so you can actually see what we’re doing wow this is like a portal like you can just suddenly see the clouds and just a vest void through this tunnel as we approached the beach we saw some sort of Warning Sign okay this might be the end of the line for us it’s warning that your car might get stuck in the sand or something oh yeah it looks like those people over there are like doing some grilling out or something yeah it looks fun yeah it does look fun can you see anything no it’s just like so dark out there besides just a few lights oh we can start to hear it now I can see some waves too yeah I just realized this is a weird Beach this has to be like 500 beers or something it doesn’t really look like it’s a beach that people swim at cuz there’s car tracks all over the place yeah look at this this is like a coastal desert more than a beach like just a desert that happens to be right by the ocean we made it wow looks like in the distance there’s maybe oil rigs or something I don’t know you can see some signs of ships but over on the side here I don’t know what that is look a spotlight out there too so we’re on the western edge of Japan when you stand out here it really doesn’t mean anything unless you know that like if you just came out here and you were standing here nobody told you where you were it’s like an amazing sight but the significance only comes when you know how crazy it is that you’re actually here you fly all the way across the world you go all the way across the country you walk all the way to the edge and then you see this giant ocean that’s been there the whole time so earlier when we were on the kokoto we were close to the Pacific Ocean Side of the country right now we’re on the Sea of Japan side right so we’ve been to I guess if you count those as two sides yeah we’ve been to both of those sides of the the country when you go to the ocean at night it really feels like day will never come yeah yeah it just feels like this is it this is your life now it’s like the vastness and the unknown depths of the ocean adds to that the depths of the darkness yeah but on a hot summer sunny day it probably be pretty inviting yeah yeah it’s not inviting right now no every instinct tells you to go away from here wow very very [Music] [Music] cool as we stared at the vastness of the ocean in the Deep night sky we couldn’t help but reflect a bit on life so have you ever had any good thoughts staring into the void like has there ever been like any positive thoughts like yeah or has it always been kind of vaguely Melancholy when the stars are out maybe a bit more hopeful yeah yeah yeah it’s like easy to dwell on that when you don’t remember that in just like 12 hours there will be Sunshine yeah birds chirping that contrast of day and night also kind of fits with the contrast of this empty Beach and then the bustling town we just came from oh yeah yeah yeah and I think what we’re doing now is a perfect encapsulation of the human desire to EB and flow between like comfort and security and then freedom and Adventure sometimes you just want to come out to God knows where and just stare into the void a bit Yeah adventure and travel for me is that you push your boundary then you come back to home base and then you push your boundary again you try to go a little bit farther that time and you come back to home based it it goes back to the thing where like every time you’re going to a trip and you see people coming home you don’t envy them and vice versa yeah yeah because that’s just where you are in that Journey yeah like it’s going to feel so good to go home oh man yeah but man it felt great to have this all of this adventure yeah God just that rubber band of Life yeah yeah wow this is great yeah okay you know where else we can see these Stars though our hotel I usually don’t know if we can yeah but you know what we could do hotel room drink some cold carbonated beverages that e and flow baby EB and flow and with that we started our journey back to the comfort of our hotel it’s 8:22 there are trains every half hour so we should be able to catch the 9:00 one one thing we didn’t mention is that the breeze was indeed quite cool out here it’s very it is very nice very comfortable right now we it was so comfortable we forgot to mention it cuz we didn’t even notice any discomfort wonder if the water’s warm though I don’t want to test it so that’ll be let someone else test that one that’ll be a mystery forever left unsolved are your feet just completely filled with sand right now yeah oh oh yeah dude this is so weird this road literally just turns into sand [Applause] yeah did you hear that yeah that is a very unique Echo what it’s like the opposite of those Microsoft and echoic chamber or whatever all right goodbye Sea of Japan see you later hello Indiana max value Indiana wait for me don’t leave me on the coast of Japan We’re in Indiana now you’re back home okay I need that shoehorn what if you just started carrying a shoehorn in your backpack with you at all times you had like a pocket shoehorn that extended talked about it before but the idea of experiencing the mundane but in a completely different place is really fascinating to me this is the mundanity of Japan experienced through the lens of somebody who doesn’t think it’s mundane yeah it had been a warm summer night but luckily we found some refreshments to put some pep in our step oh man cheers this was a good choice you know what try both good choices let just that was just right next to somebody’s house and the garage door light turned on so I got scared and I ran away I think it was an automatic light though we continued retracing our steps back to the station as we headed into the underpass this is the most light we’ve seen in a long time finally we made it back to the train station it was a beautiful [Music] sight we had some time to kill before the train arrived so I took the opportunity to empty the sand out of my shoes now we boarded the train which was almost completely [Music] empty and as the train started leaving both Robbie and I had a sudden moment of panic for a second we thought got we got on the wrong train I don’t know why we both thought it was going the wrong way but then I remembered we actually walked from that way also that’s the last stop go way why did we that’s really weird we I was like dude we were going into the darkness just the tracks go straight into the ocean oh man just did you we both had that sinking feeling like just look thankfully the train had not gone into the void but had taken us back towards our hotel as we exited the station we saw a lone break dancer vigorously dancing practicing his moves from the main station we now returned back to our hotel and Thomas was waiting for us back at room Tommy hello hello now it was time for some post Meandering snackage Weir I banana Tarts those banana Tarts are really good actually kind of tastes like a slice of banana with pie crust around the edge truffle chip was this just normal mhm that good at the end of the day we all showered and got ready for bed Andrews towel on his head you look like a straight out of the 80s feel good though good night okay final day of the trip we are headed to kusatsu onen which is just east of Nagano where they held the Olympics in 1998 Johnny something or the other won the Moguls watch that late at night in seventh grade uh first stop the bullet train cutting it pretty close today we got 14 minutes until the train leaves provided we don’t have any problem finding the train there’ll be no [Music] problem 9 minutes to spare yeah all right that’s good I’m going to get on that train and fall right back asleep Thomas is here oh adjustable headrest this is the nicest one we’ve been the train pulled out of the station and soon we were zipping through the countryside once again it was a beautiful day with sunny blue skies which made us even more anxious to get off the train and [Music] explore before heading to kusatsu onen we would be making a stop at Kuru zawa a quaint little mountain resort town from Karu isawa we’d have to get on a bus to KATU onen so we wanted to make sure we had our bearings before exploring around okay we’re going to find our bus stop first and then go find a place to eat after that it’s actually like a 2hour bus ride up to where we’re going so that’s us right there okay so our bus stop is number two up there I say let’s just go eat this weather that train was a portal through the seasons this is the perfect weather we’ve been missing all month thanks to its elevation of 1,000 M Karu zawa has mild summer weather with an average of 70° fhe while looking around for food we came across a bike rental shop you want to rent a bike for like 15 years Andrew and I have been saying we should get a tandem bike together if you guys rent the tandem bike I will absolutely film you but first lunch we had found our way to a small Cafe that served Japanese interpretation of Mexican food and the restaurant had a Decor evocative of Central America in the American southwest do you feel like you’re back in Colorado Thomas is at a cafe in Colorado right now and he doesn’t want to be bothered so don’t talk to him we started our lunches off with some iced coffee and ginger ale what’s your opinion on bendy straws like do you need a Bendy straw I don’t think so I feel like a straight straw is just fine for me if it does Bend I’m going to bend it I like these mugs too very uh Adobe feeling ooh that’s good it is more G yeah that’s way more than you drink good for healthy and for food we had some pressed grilled sandwiches haven’t had a press sandwich like this long time it’s like chili and a sandwich really good I’m really excited to try this yogurt with a little bit of jam in there oh man man I was so hungry oh this is [Music] good I’ll take that as it’s after lunch it was time to rent some bicycles to explore the town okay it’s time getting on these bicycles oh baby going to be great unfortunately Andrew and I were above the weight limit for a tandem bike so we had to just get regular ones you guys look pretty uncomfortable on these bikes when was the last time you rode a bike oh it’s been a minute it’s been like years actually how about you a couple weeks ago on a motorcycle no a regular bike when was the last time you rode a regular bike it’s the same it’s it’s the same as riding a bike no it’s not yeah is it yeah you got to balance it and everything okay go this is so [Laughter] [Music] awesome dude no joke this is like the perfect bike it’s got a nice wide seat it’s got a basket in the front to carry your groceries I’ve always wanted a basket on my bik look at these autumn colors coming into the Autumn [Music] air from the town’s Main Street we turned onto a quieter back road that ran through a wooded area so the sign on this little road said something about bicycles it was in kanji so I assume it meant this is the bike road but I’m not 100% oh there’s somebody else on a bike okay we’re good we’re good although it looks like they’re turning around this also just looks like the US yeah it feels like we’re in New England right now yeah we passed by some modernist looking buildings and followed the street to a small local park yep in the words of Jean lard that was absolutely thrilling the main feature of this park was kumoa EK Pond sometimes nicknamed Swan Lake we noticed some fish jumping in the water as we enjoyed today’s Serene summer weather I think this is the most relaxed I’ve been on this trip so far yeah perfect weather oh [Music] beautiful as we strolled around the park I noticed a familiar looking plant so this is a u tree and these red berries typically come out in the early fall but this whole plant is deadly poisonous except for the red part of this Berry and I’ve actually eaten that red part and it tasted like Cherry medicine but so it was kind of like eating the fugu yesterday yeah if you eat any part of this it’s it’s really poisonous so don’t even try that kids at home and those berries have a very like slimy texture I used to play with them as a kid and just pull them apart and stuff looks like Sierra oh do you miss your dog yeah I do lot of very interesting house architecture here the house architecture here is very mid-century modern in fact looks very Frank lloid right if you’ve ever been to Pennsylvania and seen this famous house there it just kind of Screams that cuz the way that that this Pond kind of feeds into all these other houses it looks like it’s um Falling Rocks or falling water or whatever the one is in in Pennsylvania and in the adjacent Pond we saw a Chinese spot build duck diving through the water and just after we heard the Chimes of clock bells in the [Music] distance it was Now noon so we decided to head out of the park and bike back to the bus station it was an indescribably Pleasant afternoon and we couldn’t get over how familiar this area felt to us despite being in a completely different country the houses look different from where I grew up but otherwise this neighborhood is just like exactly like what I grew up around Forest neighborhoods with little houses tucked away it’s a very peaceful little town as we rode along I decided to give handsfree pedaling a try as I had had learned how to do it a while ago used to be better at that we found our way out of the woods and back to the main street where we saw some bikers zooming by do you wish you were on a motorcycle instead going to say there are a lot of motorcycles out here more so than what we’ve seen before I feel like if I tried to drive on the left side of the road I would instantly die yeah we got back to the bike rental shop returned our bikes and made our way to the bus stop we took in the Serene atmosphere one more time before the bus finally rolled up we hopped on board and found our seats now it was time for our final stop kusatsu onen the hotring town and as we drove off the environment still look strikingly reminiscent of home it’s funny how much this landscape feels like Ohio right now it does it looks like you’re just going to hacking house yeah it looks we’re just driving out of our home neighborhood but before long familiar hardwood forests transitioned into rolling Blue Hills after a moderate drive through the countryside we approached the [Music] town after we got off the bus we made our way out of the station just outside was a fountain with some of the natural hot spring water ooh yeah it’s actually cool enough outside that this feels moderately good yeah it’s really hot it is everything on the way to this town center was picturesque with oldfashioned architecture and narrow winding streets that felt more like hidden Alleyways we neared the center of the Town food and wind Bells cleaned calmly in the breeze which we noticed carried a distinct odor the smell of sulfur is super strong yeah right at the center of town was a giant hot spring called Yubba oh it’s warm it’s like really hot and humid oh yeah think we down the sulfur the water here comes out of the Springs at 70° C or 158° F long wooden conduits help cool the water down before it’s distributed to various ins and public baths the town was beautiful though it definitely felt a bit touristy this feels less authentic than the old villages we went to but it’s really really cool this is really cool yeah so many interesting buildings the town attracts 3 million visitors each year its therapeutic waters are said to be able to heal nearly every ailment except love sickness and have even been shown to have antimicrobial properties this is definitely Stockholm syndrome but this is starting to smell good to me right now I’m like it’s kind of nice the bubbling water cascaded down the Rocks stained green by thermophilic algae and steam Rose from the many pools of water while we enjoyed the sights of the Springs Daryl sent us a message from afar so there is actually a live stream of this area and Daryl just sent us a picture of us after that Thomas wanted to try his luck with a special souvenir all right so tell me what I’m about to do here Robbie you’re about to get your love fortune I guess my love fortune so we didn’t get on camera earlier but I did ask for a fortune earlier and I got the worst the worst bad fortune you also tossed a coin into a shrine and it landed perfectly so it didn’t go in yeah so all right you’re bound for some good luck at this so I’m hoping that this is some good luck here oh he’s digging deep none of us read Japanese well enough to see this Fortune but I think we’ll be able to get the broad Strokes through well then uh by step you will achieve you follow the steps now step it it doesn’t matter what you said why did you say that oh on what does that have to do with love hold on I don’t know you tell me I have no idea I wish Daryl was here how’s this compared to other towns you’ve been in much more Resort but it’s very interesting it feels kind of fun even though it’s a nice little tourist spot yeah all the buildings here look new even though they have a traditional architectural style but you can tell they’re all very new and modern at the same time on our way to the hotel we passed by a public foot bath that some other visitors were enjoying then we followed a narrow Mossy stairway up to our hotel another very contemporary looking building we were guided through a corridor that led to the lobby and the hotel’s Sleek modern aesthetic impressed us oh W yeah this hotel is so interesting we never even have to leave this Ryan when you’re watching this I’m so sorry this is what he wanted to do while we waited for the hotel to get our room ready we found some more dogwood berries outside what are these Andrew they’re little dog wood berries they’re actually edible I got to blow that bug off of it though it looks like a virus of some sort oh it’s different color on the inside it’s good it’s like a mild apple or pear flavor mushy soggy Apple you want to try it yeah you’re really selling it but the Skin’s a little hard but the inside’s good wow that is very mushy nice little flavor though pretty Pleasant right yeah for a little hotel Berry that is not bad you want a berry Thomas I’m good thank you so our room was ready so we headed upstairs to check it out and get settled in you got a shoe horn I think we know who’s sleeping here wow this is like a blend of traditional and modern in the best way possible this is so cool oh yeah and it smells so nice in here just like fresh wood and everything or yeah we’re not allowed in here like I can tell when we come into places like this the people who work here are like wow this is awesome okay so we have one two three different kinds of cool looking robes to choose from we should all wear a different one oh they’ve even got um socks for the sandals oh awesome interesting and look they’ve got three different types of light settings they’ve got relaxed light oo they’ve got NightLight running underne got the lights under here oh yeah yeah and then they have all light oo you want to feel relaxed right I’m not feeling quite relaxed enough yet go I just need to get lower to the ground we go sprawled out completely sprawl beo spay beo I’ve never been to Japan until now and all I’ve ever heard about is the bathrooms the toilets and I always thought that was an exaggeration but it’s not it really isn’t I mean look at this beauty right here you got the the CRA mons right going on here how’s the shower how’s theer oh that is dark and mysterious that is a lovely shower you know they tell you to don’t just let your dreams be dreams Hotel archives baby living the dream so you’ve got the double robe action going on is that actually what you’re supposed to wear they had like a little doll down at reception that they were showing this is what you’re supposed to wear and I think they have like a brown under and a blue over so I think this is what it is but show the inside of it that’s super cool yeah Isn’t that cool they’ve got like a like a little boat look at this beautiful interior of this too this is what I’m talking about man that’s relaxation right there yeah oh man show me they look good too those are nice looking outfits you are on this Council you do not Grant you the rank of Master what this is absurd man you joining us for afternoon tea I guess I have to now get your Rob on you know these are giving reminiscent Vibes to a previous trip we had can you remember which V which uh trip that might be when we were in the South and we had those julips yeah yeah yeah I love that that fits perfectly in there it’s very satisfying definitely the best hotel yet yes this is a good way to end it yeah end it on Cheers Cheers Cheers but I’m not going to drink cuz it’s also the best robes so far yes great robes yeah it’s such a cool blend of modern and traditional everything is also so clean and futuristic it’s interesting how modern and traditional masks itself almost as mid-century modern out here it’s so cool feel free to keep that or cut squeeze my mid-century modern references oh that’s good be feeling really warm in a second though yeah can we get food delivered it’s funny cuz everything it’s like less than 10 minute walk anyway look at this it’s almost shaped like a lemon it’s really good actually it’s like a little it’s a shortbread cinnamon baggot I don’t think there’s cinnamon on this is there I think it’s a sugar oh sugar sorry like a little granulated sugar that’s say it goes perfectly with the tea I think the Brits are on to [Music] something after our afternoon tea we made a quick stop at the bus station to get our return tickets then we found our way to a nearby restaurant for some dinner to start things off we had some beer a cucumber salad and some delicious [Music] [Applause] sake there’s two foods that I always complain about one of them is pears and the other one is cucumbers they’re good though pickled cucumbers are usually good yeah these are pickled much better than a regular cucumber standard [Music] cucumber while we took in the restaurant’s cozy Ambiance our next order arrived some grilled chicken skin yakit Tori skewers I personally think chicken skin is one of the best skewers it’s like bacon yeah crispy and fatty next we had a special mushroom prepared two ways pick it up smell it let me know what you think it smells like take a big one big one definitely has a smell to it like some sauce or I don’t think rabie s a smell is his strongest yeah no joke it smells like my hiking socks after a long trip when you eat it though it’s incredibly tender in the best way possible and it tastes very meaty like chicken so KATU onen is known for its maake and maake is actually Hen of the Woods this is a wild mushroom that grows in the US and I assume in Japan it usually grows at the base of trees like oak trees smells fine smells fine to me and it has a very meaty texture this is The Hen of the Woods temper wow that is great I feel like temper it lives and dies by how fresh like the outside is and this is probably the freshest I’ve had maybe ever actually lots of times you get it and it’s just not fresh one of the things I’m appreciating more about fried food is when it’s been lightly fried not a deep deep fry that’s thick and breaded and coated or something that’s just barely crunchy it like preserves the juiciness of everything on the inside of it after that we’re some chicken tail ERS so this is just like a little piece at the very end like when you get a whole chicken it’s got that little piece it’s like that soft fatty cartilage part that is a good part yeah it’s very good and we also had chicken thigh and green onion skewers the onion is just bursting with juice and flavor that’s really good you know it’s fun to try the Exotic stuff but there’s also nothing wrong with getting like just a standard skewer that you know is going to taste it because it does our next skewer featured some hard-boiled quail eggs with salt quite good it’s interesting cuz they actually Grill it after hard boiling it so egg white has like kind of a harder texture but the yolk inside is nice and creamy it tastes like a regular hardboiled egg except like the flavors are a little bit more acute they’re they’re sharper so because of that it’s pretty good but I’ve never had an egg on a stick this is a salmon belly oh the fattiness of a salmon just makes the skin part super crispy and delicious next up was K A or fried chicken like The Temper this is freshly fried like this just came out is there any Joy greater than a bowl of rice with some meat in it so good now came a simmered stew of tripe and hard-boiled eggs there’s some beef tripe and pork tripe in here that is like no tripe I’ve ever had oh it does have a nice texture yeah it’s like tender right yeah yeah I guess a big part of it is the Al Factor knowing what it is and you have like this predisposition towards it but good oh yeah you can still taste that Porky pungence but it really does fall apart in your mouth there’s a tea egg in here okay it’s hard I love a good tea egg man that’s like a Taiwanese specialty right the flavors are almost very Chinese or cantones lock me out pretty good right here do you want to see the on yeah let’s go take a look let’s go take a look at the on dinner had been fantastic and now we wanted to check out the Town Center at night oh look at the sky right now we looked around and saw yomi Chan the town’s Mascot out and about and taking photos with tourists the entire ubake hot spring was lit up in blue and purple lights which heightened its beauty and other worldly appearance steam swirled off the surface of the pools of hot water illuminated by the glowing lights it was a mesmerizing mix of tradition and modernity a captivating blend of the natural and the artificial the secret to the hot springs water is its acidity which gives it its antimicrobial properties Studies have shown that ecoli cannot survive longer than a minute in the water and the water can even dissolve metal over the course of days the water is said to be particularly therapeutic for muscular and arthritic pain skin ailments bruises high blood pressure chronic illnesses and more we decided to finally test the waters ourselves at a nearby public foot bath all right oh yeah oh that’s hoto that’s really hot too hot yeah I wonder if the different foot Pooles have different temperatures yeah cu the other one up there people were fine and nobody’s in this one no one is here that’s was good for a 5sec dip I mean there’s literally steam coming off this right now it’s hot oh my God that’s hot staying in there you’re going to turn into an on and egg yourself you know after a while you start to lose feelings so that’s the nerve damage you know even though the town feels kind of built up and touristy you have to remember this is a natural hot spring formation right there that’s pretty impressive still in pain still in pain the bath we had tried was a bit too hot we explored around the ubake a bit more taking in the scenery while looking for a more temperate bath to dip our feet in I feet literally feel like they got a very minor burn oh so much better this feels lukewarm by comparison but it’s actually it’s actually hot oh that’s nice I feel my health being [Music] restored the town was absolutely beautiful after dark and the hot steam of Springs contrasted nicely with the cool night air but after scalding our feet in the hot water we wanted some cold refreshing treats from the nearby convenience store after buying our treats we headed back to the hotel to enjoy them I’m not lame I’m coolish ice cream Gogurt it is ice cream gurt in terms of quality of ice cream it’s probably lowest Middle High in terms of fun it’s probably lowest Middle High true I got to say this waffle cone is pretty damn fresh usually you get a like a store bought waffle comb it’s all mushy and everything this is crispy and crunchy I don’t know how they do it something about sucking ice cream out of a nipple on a warm summer day is so satisfying he said that like it’s an experience people have had this is called coolish which I think is supposed to be cool and delish but it just makes it sound like you’re not quite cool enough you like show up with a leather jacket but you you drove like a Prius there you’re part of Adventure archives but the only reason people like you is because you have a dog the cool what if you like squeeze that under that cake that’s not a bad idea actually it’s like toothpaste what was that before Robbie what was that before like what is this originally called what are you doing eat it oh you want me to eat I thought you were holding it there cuz you wanted more what is that what is that a cake it’s a cheesecake steamed cheesecake oh damn these are actually really satisfying I want to eat one of these while I’m in the onen I just want that Caligula like experience and speaking of which it was time to check out the hotel’s private own Sim this is my mushroom foring [Music] basket oh wow this just Open Sky right here I’m [Music] getting that’s pretty nice how much rub is in there not enough we might have to take let’s just do one at a time let you this bath is a little too small for three let alone two of us you got room for the funny part is when we were checking in she was like oh you should be able to fit three people so you guys got room for three in there go get us some drinks servant boy are we just both staying in here or just it’s up to you I don’t right I’m not getting out there’s steam coming off of you this is like the winter they see geralt’s feet [Music] there’s something about submerging your entire body into something warm feel like you’re in the womb again or [Music] something well the good thing is because it’s not winter out I’m not tempted to just stay in here the whole hour I think sharing this bath actually worked out perfectly so that we each get the proper amount of time and be ready for a good night’s sleep after this near the baths was a quiet outdoor lounge that we enjoyed as we dried [Music] off I almost think that this Terrace is better than the bath it’s probably the combination of both yeah yeah once you get in and get out yeah and with that we headed back to the room feels like we’re on a spaceship about to go into hyperspace well good last night I thought was about as good last night as you could ask for so what’s uh which one’s easier guys the kumoto or whatever the hell we just did I like this one we were on the nakasa today so we can say we did the nakasa not going to not going to claim that one I will goggles on everyone [Music] literally the first thing you did when you got up I got to put this robe back on you know the one other nice thing about these RS besides they just look cool is every night in Japan you’re hot and then in the morning it’s just super cold cuz the AC has been blasting these robes are nice and warm though I’m going to steal this one not actually so Andrew could have worn the robe out last night and he’s feeling intense regret so he’s going to do it today what Happ it’s actually kind of funny cuz it’s got the hotel name on the back so it’s like advertising at the same time as enjoying this one has pretty good robes the robes tell you nothing about the actual quality that or do they it was the fourth and final day of our train trip around Japan but we still had a couple of things left on our itinerary for kusatsu in the morning light the hot springs look much more understated and natural in appearance something about wearing the traditional kimono made me want to do some morning kung fu there’s actually a theory that the footwork in our style is like narrow like this cuz people wore long robes like this oh whereas in the other styles you’d be down here after that we grabbed some breakfast at a nearby cafe nice oh my God look at this dude I love a bakery man this is what $8 W that was incredibly cheap jeez it was really cheap think that’s great when you get a croissant that’s not dry they always look dry but when they’re not oh man as your mom would say that is decadent yeah wow it’s all great all fantastic TR the red bean that is a classic East Asian pastry right there red bean you like red bean usually I like it yeah oh depends what it’s in depends what it’s in and on I could never have red bean again I’d be perfectly fine now we went to catch a show demonstrating the yomi a traditional way of cooling down the hot spring water all right there’s a second floor we’re going to go from the top floor to get some good view [Music] in after a brief introductory video performers came onto the stage to the sound of traditional [Music] singing next the performers got into position grabbing large wooden paddles used to cool down the water [Music] the show had concluded and nearby was a whiteboard with drawings by various famous manga illustrators as the staff cleaned up the area we headed back outside yeah you know what was impressive is those paddles are not designed to be held like it’s just a slab of wood yeah there’s no like extra handles like a big tongue depressor yeah yeah after the show we made our way back to the hotel this is an alley oh it begins okay we’re going to check out then we got to grab a bus and we got to grab a train and we’ll be back in Tokyo what would you say a good trip just I don’t know it was fantastic I would say I’m going to rewatch it and enjoy it for the next several years you m me Chan yeah we found our way back to the hotel where we packed up and got ready to [Music] leave that was fast good old shoe for but before leaving we wanted to enjoy the view from the Hotel Terrace one more time it’s amazing to see how culture and nature kind of really blend together on this one you know with the hot springs and the tradition Japan you really see that I’ve noticed that a lot with the Japanese aesthetic is like everything’s so orderly but still natural enough that there’s like some beautiful flaws within it yeah it’s orderly but it’s not symmetrical yeah it’s not on a grid I feel like this trip with this nice full itinerary we had we wouldn’t have done that if it hadn’t been for the fact that we’re sharing it with other people that’s true it allowed us to see so many different facets of Japan man I still feel bad that Brian can’t be standing here with us enjoying this but the plus side is now that we’ve done this we can always come back and we can show him around and and he can experience this maybe at a more relaxed pace okay then we got to thank everybody again yes yes straight back games thank you so much Daryl the ultimate fixer thank you so much Michael and his family thank you so much and everyone watching thank you so much none of this none of this would be possible without all of you that’s very true well I got to go to work on Monday let’s go do you really okay let’s go back to Tokyo our time in Japan created memories that would last a lifetime we hadn’t even left yet but we are already looking forward to coming back but until then it was time for us to return home after a very long and very incredible Adventure okay I got good news and bad news depending on how you want to look at the 11:00 bus doesn’t run today but we can wait around for half an hour it sounds like great news to me I’ve always been curious to try this ever since I saw it in a show they use like a ketchup based sauce H it’s kind of like sweeter and spicier than actual spaghetti but it tastes pretty [Music] good don’t [Music] uh looks like the gates for our train don’t open for another 15 minutes so we’re just going to wait around for a bit and then uh we’ll leave about 20 minutes after that so this Begins the journey back to Tokyo [Music] Jesus right now dude the heat yeah we thought that it was like fall weather no we were just a high altitude or something because it is as summer as has ever been the entire time we were here it feels like 100 and there is there’s a negative Breeze right now like the breeze is like sucking air from my body we’re in the shade too like we’re not even in the sun right now not great Bob not great GL I’m wearing this tank up oh look at this fan Contraption even you’re getting five stars on five stars for my ghetto setup we got bread we got rice we got potatoes we got asparagus eggplant and zucchini they plant from a garden from a garden yeah we’ve got three staple foods rice bread and potatoes so this is a fig fresh from the garden mhm well you just bite into the green part and everything oh yeah wow oh those are good man try they’re gifts they keep on coming oh my God this is so good good Lord look at all that meat that’s what I said that’s what I was like this is a poike meal for a hike we did not do [Music] yes like ferti there anything better than cold waterm no no there actually isn’t well there there’s maybe some things but two or three I can’t remember the last time I had a watermelon that had legit seeds in it oh man that watermelon smell is so nostalgic too it tastes just as good as it smells homegrown baby makes me uh think of uh being at our aunt’s house mhm mhm man that is absurdly good this is your first season ever growing anything let alone watermelon and look how well this turned out look at this man these are super sweet that’s that’s a good reveal wow W I’ve got eight more of these out back man this makes me want to take up gardening yeah this is seriously like so delectably sweet he was back in Ohio he had to work I also got that champagne champagne and water yeah yeah yeah Berry champagne something I look so nice don’t put it back take a bite and spit it out on your PL eat your [Music] water I’ve been waiting for you Obi Maran GG G the circle is now complete when I left you I was but the learner but now I am the master only a master of evil George Smith [Music] Vader your powers are weak you should not have come back you can’t win Smith if you strike me down I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine huh Maryanne [Music] no Jasper caps we’ve been out here for 2 weeks cuz if you’re Expedition Research LLC saying we found gold we haven’t found deadly all you done did is insult my family you’ve insulted Leon and lulin sanj and hang what would sue and ton say I demand [Music] satisfaction Gavin Ryan it’s been nice knowing you can’t say the same for you this is for Christina Alvarez [Music] I want to give a special shout out to Dan vulkins for all his Support over the years did that work and cut boy it sure has been a long day I kind of just want to relax and look at my phone for a bit maybe I’ll see what’s on my favorite social media app zipz most scientists like Rena nette and Joey and Mela will tell you that the Great Wall was built by humans but if you dig a little deeper and talk to some archaeologists like Douglas Jackson you’ll find out that it was actually built by aliens excuse me what’s your name uh my name is James ritky and what do you think about greatlakes waterer craft.com oh I like Great Lakes watercrafts comom I’ve taken them out a few times on the water it’s it’s uh it’s pretty great [Music] yeah here are five things you need to know about the rap battle between Mary cavage and Brian and AI Yamagata number one Marys cavage was born in 1989 in Vancouver Canada and she first wrote her I should probably just go outside Colonel Kelsey kritis this is sanir 1 I’m outside the facility good work sanir special forces led by Dan yevin barovich Vulcans has kidnapped the president and the first lady David and Jennifer Dickerson huh yes avoid detection and exfiltrate them as soon as possible have you found a way inside yeah not a problem I’ll [Music] manage whatuh did I hear something must have just been my [Music] imagination colel I’m at the GPS location of the first family I don’t see anyone huh hello San one I am psychop plantis I can read your every thought what you like Adventure archives what have you done with the first family patreon supported by meline Harley what didn’t you know your boss Kelsey kritis my boss Dan vins they’re all patreon supporters what no Great Lakes one autograph. Douglas Jackson Jasper caps George Smith V I can’t shoot Mary cavage Gavin Ryan Mary and GG Leon and L Lin DAV I can’t do it suon James ritky San Juan Expedition research L stop talking Christina Alvarez and even you San one what no no no snake snake [Music] snake what is that face

We travel from Hida Takayama, to the traditional village of Shirakawa-go, to the fish markets of Kanazawa, to the western coast of Japan, and finally to Kusatsu Onsen. Enjoy the video!

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SCENE SELECTION
00:00 Teaser
00:29 Theme Song
00:54 Farewell To Bryan, Train Rides
03:36 Nagoya Transfer
05:46 Arriving at & Exploring Takayama
09:52 Rice, Mansions, Fruits
11:12 Hida no Sato Folk Village
16:06 Edible Dogwood, Shrine
17:05 Gift Shop
18:20 Arriving at Hotel
20:20 Searching for Dinner
22:51 Delicious Beef Dinner
28:20 Hida Old Town at Night
31:01 Hotel Hotsprings
33:47 DAY 2
35:33 Shirakawa-go
39:36 Soba Lunch
40:55 River Wandering
43:50 Beef and Shaved Ice
45:19 Amazake Sweet Sake
46:56 Exploring Buildings, Buckwheat
51:55 Heading to the Overlook
53:17 Back to the Bus Station
54:45 Arriving at Kanazawa
56:31 Omicho Market, Seafood and Produce
1:00:07 Sushi Dinner, Origami
1:04:35 Train Station, Hotel Snacks
1:06:53 Excursion to the Shore
1:09:45 Portal to Indiana
1:11:11 On Beach
1:16:03 Return Journey
1:19:50 Back at the Hotel
1:20:47 DAY THREE
1:22:26 Karuizawa, Mexican Lunch
1:24:24 Bike Ride & Local Park
1:28:55 Back on the Bus
1:29:47 Kusatsu Onsen
1:31:27 Darrell Livestream, Souvenir
1:32:53 Arriving at Hotel
1:35:31 Robes and Tea
1:37:40 Dinner with Tempura Maitake
1:41:48 Evening Onsen Exploration
1:44:31 Hotel Treats
1:46:07 Hotel Onsen
1:48:52 DAY FOUR – Exploration, Pastries
1:50:48 Yumomi Show
1:52:23 Back to the Hotel, Final Thoughts
1:54:14 Credits
1:56:15 Hanging with Michael
1:58:14 Shoutouts
2:03:29 Secret Shaved Ice

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All of the musical compositions or arrangements and footage in this video are original, and were composed, recorded, and captured by Andrew Lin, Bryan Lin, Robby Huang, and Thomas Sinard

Featuring drums by Nate Laguzza

Original content and music is copyright Adventure Archives (c) 2024