00:00:04 John Daub: Hello everybody, I'm live from Kumamoto. This is the first Only in Japan Go episode where I'm on the go, making live videos from locations all around Japan. I'm in the middle of a month-long hitchhiking trip and I thought I'd stream live from beautiful Kumamoto.

00:00:22 John Daub: And you can see here, boom, there he is, Kumamon. Probably the most recognizable character in the entire country. And he's everywhere here. In fact, I think walking down the shopping arcade, I saw him maybe about 100 times. I didn't count actually, but he's everywhere.

00:00:40 John Daub: Now, I want to take you, I want to take you to the castle, but today is raining. You can see, it's not a very nice day. It's just a little bit of a panning up. There you go. So I can't take you around Kumamoto Castle, but what I can take you to is the shopping arcade, which is right there.

00:01:07 John Daub: Nice. This is actually a very nice shopping arcade. They're called Shotengai (shopping arcade) in Japan. And this one is quite modern. I think it looks like it had been redone. I don't know any of the history or background to it, but I do know they have a Starbucks at the end, which I'll be going to, because I'm in dire need of a big cup of coffee.

00:01:39 John Daub: Kumamoto is a really, really nice town. I'm staying in a hotel, maybe, I think it's about a three minute walk from here. It's not a very special hotel. It's just a normal business hotel. But I'll be able to show that to you in another episode of Only in Japan.

00:01:55 John Daub: I wanted to take this time to explain to you what this show is all about before I answer some of your questions. So Only in Japan Go is different from the other channel, because it's going to be almost entirely like this. Live streams from locations with me and my iPhone 7 Plus and the DJI Osmo Mobile, where I can take you and walk so smoothly around the city of Kumamoto today.

00:02:26 John Daub: And that's pretty much all there is to it. That's all there is to the Only in Japan Go. It's me, you, some camera equipment that doesn't always work well, and a bunch of people staring at me because I'm holding a selfie stick in the middle of the city. What are you going to do?

00:02:47 John Daub: This part of the Shotengai is really exciting because it has more bright lights and more people.

00:03:00 John Daub: We're live streaming on YouTube right now. Oh my god! 300... What's your name?

00:03:08 Passerby (Naoki): My name is Naoki.

00:03:10 John Daub: Naoki! Oh, you can speak English?

00:03:11 Passerby (Naoki): I can speak a little.

00:03:13 John Daub: Oh, wonderful! Go ahead, go ahead! Alright! You meet all kinds of people. Yay!

00:03:33 John Daub: Just walk around the city with a selfie stick and you're going to get people that jump in front of you. You gotta love Kumamoto. I gotta tell you, this place has been really amazing. And this is sort of why I'm having fun doing this hitchhiking trip because I get to meet people all the time. Like that! Different than Tokyo. Because I live in Tokyo. I'm not a tourist. And now I'm a tourist. I'm out here in the elements like everybody else.

00:04:03 John Daub: And it's so much fun. So, that's the concept of Only in Japan Go. Unscripted. Anything can happen. Like those two university students or high school kids jumping in and saying hello or something.

00:04:23 John Daub: I think they just wanted to be part of whatever I was doing. Um... At the end of each episode, I'm going to try to take a break and then answer some of your questions as well about Japan. So I think it's a good opportunity through this format, the live streaming, to do that.

00:04:42 John Daub: I'm so thankful. This channel is not really big yet, Only in Japan Go. So, I'm so happy for everybody watching right now. It's sort of a... It really is a big deal for me to get... Um... Yeah, I think I had 1500 subscribers before I had any content on there. So I want to just say thank you. Arigato gozaimasu (Thank you very much). Arigato gozaimashita. To everybody who subscribed right away. That makes me really happy.

00:05:11 John Daub: Oh, look! It's a Mr. Donuts. I love Mr. Donuts. Come back, Osmo. Huh. Take a look. I could use a donut.

00:05:36 John Daub: What's going on? Free Wi-Fi. Hey! Yay! That was fun. A bunch of girls just jumping in the stream. I know.

00:05:55 John Daub: What's in the water here? People are really, really happy. People are happy, Kumamoto. Excuse me.

00:06:09 John Daub: Now, a little bit about Kumamoto. It was last year that they had the earthquake that devastated Kumamoto. It devastated the city. And I got a chance... Let me turn this around. I got a chance to look at the castle yesterday. And there's still... It's still under construction. You could see where the roof had fallen off. And there's a part in the back of the castle where it's just completely all toppled over.

00:06:32 John Daub: And I asked the construction guy how long it's going to take to reconstruct everything. And he said maybe like 10 or 15 years. They really don't even know. So it's sort of sad. Coming in, when I hitchhiked from Kagoshima into Kumamoto, in the area where the earthquake epicenter was, there's still a lot of debris. And you could see blue sheets on people's roofs because they still haven't been able to repair the roof of their houses. The water would come through without those blue sheets.

00:07:02 John Daub: And it's been, I don't know, almost, what, eight months since the earthquake? I can't remember exactly when it happened, but it was last year, and it disrupted so much production in the city. So, I think it's good. I think people are happy to see tourists coming back to Kumamoto. And I'm happy to be part of that.

00:07:30 John Daub: Alright. So I'm going to get to the end of the street and then take some of your questions. But... Matsumoto Kiyoshi! I need something over there. Need to get a toothbrush? They gave me a toothbrush in the hotel, but it's so plasticky. I don't know. The bristles stink on it.

00:07:51 John Daub: Have you ever heard of Matsumoto Kiyoshi? It's pretty cool inside. They seem to have everything in there. Wait a second. Down boy. Okay.

00:08:13 Passerby: Yeah.

00:08:14 John Daub: Ah, there's the toothpaste and toothbrushes. Okay, that's what I was looking for. These are cheap.

00:08:22 John Daub: Alright. I'll be back after the coffee. Thank you.

00:08:32 John Daub: So I'm going to be in Kumamoto for the next couple of days. Or maybe until tomorrow. I'm not really sure yet. It depends if... I'm trying to schedule an onsen visit to film there. And if they let me, then I'll be here for another day. If not, I might go tomorrow to Fukuoka and continue with the hitchhiking. But these live streams are going to be on this channel. Maybe a couple more on the Only in Japan main channel. And then back here on the... Only in Japan Go.

00:09:00 John Daub: Wow, this rain stinks. You can see behind me. It's miserable today. Yesterday was such a beautiful day. And today is just absolutely chilly and rainy. And it's one of those spring days that just stinks. Up there is the city mascot, Kumamon. Somebody hung him from the rafters. That's not cool. Poor bear. He's just sitting there.

00:09:40 John Daub: Another thing I should explain about the Only in Japan Go channel. This is all streamed using Docomo's 4G network. So if you're getting not HD size, which is... I guess you might be seeing 480p or pixelated video. That's because this whole thing is streaming live on YouTube through Japan's 4G signal. Only in Docomo. I have a Softbank iPhone 6 Plus too. But this is the iPhone 7 Plus. With the front selfie camera.

00:10:10 John Daub: Oh, is the quality awesome? I'm getting some comments here. From Frank de Los Angeles. Thank you for that. I'm glad to hear that. Docomo has, they say, the best network in Japan. So that's one reason why I got this phone and then used their SIM card. I got it last week. Because I thought that this would be the best to stream video with. Is it 720? No kidding. Awesome. That's what I'm aiming for. Because HD would be really expensive. I'd lose all my bandwidth in one video.

00:10:42 John Daub: Oh man. I just ate wrong. I didn't livestream it. But I also like this curry place. CoCo Curry. It's so good. It's a chain shop from Nagoya. It's based in Nagoya. But I don't know. I think I'll stick with Kumamoto local food. Instead of the chain shops. Oh, they're selling DVDs.

00:11:14 John Daub: Oh, there's some pachinko. So I'm pretty much at the end of the street. I'll take some of your questions now. I'm going to stop here for a bit. I have this on a selfie stick. And the reason why is because I don't want, I want you to be able to see the background. Come on, DJI. You made me pay an arm and a leg for this stick. At least you could do his work. Okay, there we go. Sorry for the shaking. There you go.

00:11:46 John Daub: So let's take a look at some of your messages here. Questions. Katsudon. Yes, I'd love to eat a katsudon. Maybe later. I will do some more 360 videos. The goal is to do it with the cherry blossoms. But they haven't, the cherry blossoms haven't bloomed here in Kumamoto yet. It's late this year because they said they've had a very cold spring.

00:12:13 John Daub: What am I doing? I'm live streaming from Kumamoto. Well, I'm hitchhiking from Kumamoto. I'm from Kagoshima, the lower tip of Kyushu Island, all the way up to Hokkaido in a month. And while I'm doing that, I'm going to be live streaming and making a video. I'm trying to fund this through Kickstarter and Patreon. But Kickstarter turned down my plan because they said that I've already started the project and I have to convince them otherwise. So I'll give you the link later if people are interested in that.

00:12:46 John Daub: What should I visit when I go to Japan? Kumamoto, first of all. Because I happen to be here and I've been having an amazing time. The people just jumping in front of the video, they're really happy people here. I love Hiroshima. Kagoshima was awesome. And that's where I just was. They have the volcano that just erupted three days ago, Sakurajima. And the Tsunomushi Onsen, the volcanic sand bath, which I also jumped into two days ago. Which is really awesome. Onomichi. I don't know if I'm going to be planning to visit on this trip.

00:13:21 John Daub: I'll eat some desserts. That is really good. I could go for dessert. I just had ramen and a bowl of rice for lunch.

00:13:30 John Daub: What do you love most about Japan and what do you miss about America? I miss the people in America. I like talking with strangers in line. It's sort of like people were jumping into the video here. In America, you can just talk with people very easily. At least that was my experience. Here, people are very closed. And in America, people are more open. I kind of miss that. I miss pizza. But the things I couldn't live without here in Japan is right over there.

00:14:03 John Daub: And the other thing is the convenience of Japan is unquestionably amazing. The convenience stores, the trains, the... Okay, just look at this corner here. This is awesome. The bicycle parking.

00:14:26 John Daub: Just everything is just so organized. You can see here on the map where the bicycle parking spots are for motorbikes and scooters and bikes. And then they've set it up where it's all automated and clean. And you can use an IC card. You see? You can scan your IC card or put in cash. If you have a problem, you push the buzzer. That is the most amazing thing. And you get a ticket when you enter. You pay when you leave. Oh, that's the exit. Recycling bins for the vending machines on the corner here.

00:15:12 John Daub: I love the vending machines here. That's something I miss when I go back. The vending machines in the U.S. stink. I don't know why. I guess it's... People don't like vending machines as much. These are all hot. You can see in the red on the top. And these are all cold. The blue. Suntory? Yeah.

00:15:42 John Daub: Here's some more. This is a Coca-Cola vending machine. Do you see any Coca-Cola? Do you? They're up there in the corner. And there's a very small one. I can tell you right now, Coca-Cola is not popular in Japan very much. It's not big at all. People don't want to drink much of it, so you get bottles that size. Here's my hand to show you. That's my hand and that's the vending machine. I'm going to show you how to use this bottle.

00:16:13 John Daub: Japan is very clean. Except for those up there. You see? The crows [Toby (crow)]. They're kind of scary, man. They don't take kindly to strangers. I've been attacked by a crow before.

00:16:35 John Daub: I got a super plus Fanta. That looks pretty interesting. Extra vitamins. Nice.

00:16:45 John Daub: How do you Japanese people react to my skin color? I don't know. Some people... That's a really deep question. I'm walking back to Japan. I'm going to go back to the Starbucks now before I cut the feed. That's a really great question.

00:17:01 John Daub: I think in Japan, people like... Gai-ken (outer appearance) is your outer appearance. It's quite important in Japan. And to the Japanese people, historically, white skin was... This is all generalizations. Not all people are like this. White skin was considered a thing of beauty. So people who worked out in the fields, in the farm all the time, had dark skin. So farmers who didn't make a lot of money, they were poor people. And people with fair skin didn't work so much outside and they were richer. I still sort of see that today. People have skin whitening and stuff like this. Whereas I prefer the Okinawa girl look. You know, where she's got a little bit of sun and they're not afraid of getting a suntan that look more like me maybe. But a little bit. It's a little bit different.

00:17:59 John Daub: It's easier for people if they have blue eyes, for example. I don't know why. It's just a Japan thing. I don't think about it too much. The thing is, if you speak to people after you get past the first impression of the way you look, this is an important lesson for everybody. And this doesn't just happen to be for... This isn't just for Japan. Once you get past the way somebody looks and you start talking to them, in the first impression, in the last 30 seconds, all of those images of what you thought of that person completely change. And this is not just for Japanese people. This is like everybody around the world. So your skin color, for our generation, it doesn't really matter that much. I think once you start talking to somebody, your opinions change.

00:18:46 John Daub: Once you make friends with somebody, like I did in the car, the guy came around, he picked me up. He didn't know who I was. He didn't want to take me all the way to the city. After about an hour, he asked me where I wanted to be dropped off. And I said, anywhere's fine. The service area. I'm going downtown to the castle. And then he decided to take me down to the castle. It was because he spent some time with me and he got to know me and we became friends. So that's a really good question. It's really deep, but my opinion on it is that. I don't think about it anymore. I'm happy who I am. But you can tell initially skin is sort of a deal here.

00:19:28 John Daub: Do you like it if people call you John, although you don't know their names? I don't mind. People call you John, although you don't know their names. I don't mind. I've met a lot of viewers of the show that came to Japan as a tourist. And they would yell my name. And I was ecstatic. I was like, how do you know me? Ah, that's right. I make this show. And as I said. We get to know each other. You shake hands. Take a selfie. And go about your day. And that's really. For me, that's fine if you call me by my name.

00:20:10 John Daub: Do you like anime? Yeah. I like anime. Maybe not the ones that you like. I watch the old anime. I learned Japanese from anime, basically. Chibi Maruko-chan and Sazae-san, which is on TV here in Japan. On Sundays from 6 to 7, Fuji TV.

00:20:28 John Daub: I do use Line, but I don't want a thousand people sending me stuff online. Sorry about that. I will, however. I was thinking about this. Those who sign up on Patreon. And I'm not doing this. I am doing this to try to fund this trip. Those who sign up on Patreon. I'm going to give people a way to contact me. So when I live stream, I'm going to have this iPhone 6. And I'm going to talk to people live. In the future. Because I don't want to talk like this. And read your questions. This stinks to me. I want to hear your voice. Alright? So, those who support on Patreon, I'm going to give the phone number of this phone. And then you can contact me. And then I will talk with you live for a couple of minutes.

00:21:16 John Daub: And I think that's going to be a lot more fun. So I'll be walking around like this. And I'll have your voice live on this phone. And we'll be able to live stream. And then all of you watching will be able to hear me. And be able to hear the interaction. That's really cool. Because these, you can't see them. But on the left side of my screen, these things, they're too fast. And I can't get into the questions so much.

00:21:41 John Daub: I thought that was a pretty cool idea. So, let's try that. Let's try that. Hey, Carlos. See, Carlos wrote something really nice. And it went by too fast. I got to go back. Big fan here. I like to see the Disney parks. Yeah. I was there a couple of weeks ago. Can you, can I ask you, Carlos, something? You have a Disney pass. Is that in the US? Can you use that here in Japan to get in if you have an annual pass in another country? Does that translate? Not translate. Does that work across borders? I'm really curious about that.

00:22:23 John Daub: The voice chat might be a little bit more confusing. The potential problems with that is that I'll get a phone call from 100 people at the same time. So I'm trying to find a work around that. But. It'd be nice though to talk with people. Because I don't, right now I'm just talking. I'm rambling. And it's better to have somebody else with me. Talking.

00:22:45 John Daub: Anything about, special about Kumamoto? Yeah. There's Kumamon. Who's above me. Everything has Kumamon in it. There's food. Kumamoto is famous for basashi (raw horse meat). Anybody love horses? Yeah, I love horses. But in Kumamoto it's famous for eating raw horse. It's called basashi. It's raw smoked horse meat.

00:23:14 John Daub: It's okay. They're also famous for renkon (lotus root), which is the lotus root. And they put spicy karashi (mustard) in it. That's famous in this area. As well as Kumamon and onsen. And shochu (distilled spirit). They're famous for shochu. So. Yeah, I was pretty upset to eat the horse the first time. But that was almost 20 years ago. So, now I'm a little bit okay. I don't think of it as a horse. I think of it as just meat. That's the only way to get through eating raw anything, really.

00:23:54 John Daub: I think, you know, people ask me about that. A lot of vegetarians are watching. For me, I have to separate myself from the animal and the meat. You walk into the grocery store and you see meat aisles, right? That's like the body of an animal. And you have to just say it's meat. It's there. And if you think about the chicken or the cow, which we probably should more. It's hard to eat it, period. So I can see both sides.

00:24:25 John Daub: Sorry. The signal dropped out. Sorry. I speak Japanese, English and a little bit of Espanol (Spanish). So, I'm gonna go get this coffee. I just wanted to spend the day with you guys. And this is my destination for right now.

00:24:41 John Daub: I don't know why I'm going for Starbucks coffee because I can't find another cafe. I just wanted to share a couple of minutes with you. And show you this Kumamoto Sun Road shopping street called the Shotengai in Japanese.

00:25:02 John Daub: And introduce the show. Thanks. Thanks everybody for tuning in. I'm going to cut off now. It's been interesting. I like this format. In the future, I'm gonna pick one thing to cover instead of rambling all over the place. This is a special episode. But I'm gonna pick one thing to cover. And then I'm going to just focus on that and then take your questions at the end. Like everyone's turning around to watch me. See if they look back. Yeah, she looked back again. I'm gonna focus on one thing. And this is gonna make the live format a lot better. So, I'm saying bye. Thank you, Lina, Yanano, from Kumamoto, with me and Kumamon. Thanks everybody for watching. If you have any questions, write them down in the comments. See you next time. See you on the road.