00:00:01 John Daub: Hello, hello! Greetings from underneath the Rainbow Bridge here in central Tokyo. This is really cool. What we're going to be doing today, you can see that to get onto the Rainbow Bridge from the Tokyo side, well, the center of the city, you have to wrap around on this loop that goes up there. You can see the Yurikamome line from Shimbashi going to the station. Right now I'm underneath the bridge. I'm walking from Mita Station, which is about a kilometer this way.

00:00:34 John Daub: Now this is a really good way to get to Odaiba because you don't have to spend a lot of money. In fact, you don't have to spend anything. The bridge walk, the bridge climb, it's all free. It's a great way to see all of Tokyo across Tokyo Bay on a beautiful sunny day. Let me show you the top of the bridge up here. This is where we're going to be climbing. The bridge that I'm climbing up to, it's really a massive bridge. And I'll tell you a little bit more about the history of the Rainbow Bridge when I get up there.

00:01:21 John Daub: But because they didn't have a lot of space to build a ramp to go up to it—they didn't have a lot of space because this is Tokyo, right? Tokyo is a really crowded city. And they built this in 1993, so it's pretty recent. They didn't have the space to build a ramp to go up because that takes like a half a kilometer or more. So what they did was they made a spiral. You can see behind me the spiral. And I think I can show you on the map what it looks like. That's the spiral. Now we're going to go up to the top.

00:02:11 John Daub: Now that up there is the Shuto Expressway and the Yurikamome Line. They both share the bridge crossing over Tokyo Bay. What a beautiful day today. Now I'm pretty much, now we can see the line, the bridge and the arc. I've crossed this bridge a few times walking across it. It's not the shortest walk in the world. It's actually 1.7 kilometers long so it's going to take about 15 minutes or so to cross to the other side. But on a beautiful day like this, no problem whatsoever. And I'm excited to get to the other side. I haven't eaten lunch yet. It's lunch time here in Tokyo.

00:03:18 John Daub: So you can see here are the hours of crossing the Rainbow Bridge. From April to October it's 9am to 9pm. And then in the winter you can see the time is a lot shorter. 10am to 6pm. And that's between November and March. Last entry is marked in red. So 5:30 last entry in the winter and 8:30pm last entry in the spring and summer.

00:04:10 John Daub: This was New York or any other area underneath the bridge, it's not exactly the safest place. But here in Tokyo it's really really clean and beautiful. That's the bathroom. You can walk your bike across as well. This is the south route and the north route. Promenade. 7th floor promenade. I want to go up. There's an elevator. Cool. If I take the elevator is the signal going to cut off? If we cut off I'll be on. Don't go anywhere.

00:06:05 John Daub: Waiting for the elevator. Rules in English. Wow it's taking a really long time. Okay. That's a good sign. Here we go. Wow. Going up. So this is actually the seventh floor of the elevator. So we're seven stories high right now. But we are right now on the bridge. Whoa! Pretty cool. Yeah. So there's some rules. No littering. Don't throw things into the water or at the cars. This is the Shibaura Anchorage. And the north route.

00:08:05 John Daub: See here. We are here. And we have to walk all the way here. Now, they have announcements and stuff. It's like shaking. So you can see here the bridge starts just suddenly because we took the elevator. And because of the lack of a ramp to enter on the Tokyo side, it spirals around that I showed you earlier. Wow, this is so cool. There's the Yurikamome line. The subway. But it's more like a monorail. Yurikamome.

00:09:00 John Daub: Whenever cars are passing me, I feel like I should be holding a cardboard sign. Whoa! It's so much better to walk on a day like this than to take the train. And the train is kind of expensive. I think it's 310 yen, which is about $3 just to cross the bridge on the train, which makes no sense. Why would you pay when you can walk on a beautiful walkway that's clean? It's clean and safe like this. A lot of energy here with the cars whizzing by, the trains. I can see the boats over on the other side. Look at this view! That's Tokyo. You can see Tokyo Tower.

00:09:59 John Daub: We're just getting started. Because it's a 1.7 kilometer walk to get to the other side. So we're going to be on this trip for about 15 more minutes. So much to see. It's pretty cool to be under a bridge. Now we're wrapping around one of the pylons. So we'll get an unobstructed view of the city. So there's Tokyo Bay. You're going to see a lot more of this as we get closer to the 2020 Olympics. That right there is where the Sumida-gawa starts. The Sumida River, which is very famous, cutting through the center of the city. And now you get a view looking back from the bay to Tokyo Tower on the left side over there. Beautiful day.

00:11:06 John Daub: And here's a nice shot of the bridge. So we have to cross that. And we're just starting. But it's such a beautiful day today. Again, this is totally free. Anybody who's coming from Hamamatsucho Station, if you have a JR pass, you're probably going to go to Hamamatsucho Station. You can go and walk from there to this point. Or if you're taking the subway, you can walk from Mita Station, which is about a 10-15 minute walk, depending on how long your legs are. And then cross the bridge to the other side and you're on a beach. That's right! On the other side of this is a beach! I'm going to the beach today!

00:12:13 John Daub: This is a big deal because I haven't gotten out of the house much for the last week. So I'm kind of stoked about this. There goes the Yurikamome. The train cuts through the middle of it. So there's traffic on this side and there's traffic on this side. Both sides there's traffic. And the Shuto Expressway is above us. That's the main highway. If you get a glimpse between the crack there, you can see some cars whizzing by. There you go. That's the Shuto Expressway and this down here is a local road. The speed limit on the bridge is 50 km an hour. I'm so excited to cross a bridge.

00:13:10 John Daub: Now the history of this bridge is pretty interesting. Yeah, I did some research. So I came to Japan in 1998 and at that time this bridge was still fairly new. It was completed in 1993. It's called the Rainbow Bridge. Yeah, there's a history behind the naming of this bridge as well. I don't know too much about it but what I do know is that at the time the public was still talking about it. The public rejected the name Rainbow Bridge. They didn't like it. They said this name really sucks. So the locals, a lot of the locals or the old timers don't like Rainbow Bridge so they call it the Renrakukyō. The Tokyo Bay Renrakukyō. The Tokyo Connector Bridge. I like Rainbow Bridge. It just sounds colorful. The Shuto Expressway Tokyo Bay Renrakukyō. So yeah, the city rejected the name Rainbow Bridge. But we still call it the Rainbow Bridge because it's the Rainbow Bridge.

00:14:34 John Daub: Get a glimpse now. I love just sitting there watching the boats go by. Well it is a Sunday afternoon so there's going to be a lot of traffic on this bridge but if you come on a weekday you might be the only one up here. There's not a lot of people walking across. Most people will take a taxi, a bus or the train or drive themselves. Because not that many people know about this walkway that crosses the bridge. You can walk. Last time I walked on this side. And you get a different view of the city over here. I guess in the afternoon they'll switch it so you get a better view. From the other side you can see where Fuji TV has a really impressive looking tower with a dome ball in the middle of it. That's on that side. And on this side you have, well I like this side because you get the view of the city. You can look back at the city.

00:16:02 John Daub: After we finish this bridge climb and walk, I'm going to make another live stream over on Odaiba Beach. So you can take a look at what's going on in Tokyo on a man-made beach. Do people swim in it? You're going to have to wait for the next live stream to find out that answer. But I'm pretty sure if you search the internet you can find it out in about two seconds. I love suspense. Alright, so we're in the middle of the bridge right back here. Maybe about 15 meters back there was the center of the bridge. And in total the bridge is 798 meters long. Alright. 798 meters, what is that, like half a mile? But the walk, because of the ramp on the other side is 1.7 kilometers. They're about like 1.2 miles, 1.3 miles long. So it's a nice walk. It's not a far walk, but it's a nice walk. It's not enough for me to want to take the subway. All these suckers that are taking the Yurikamome line, paying 310 yen on a beautiful day like this, you want to be on the walkway.

00:17:38 John Daub: Now the towers are about 100 and, I think it was 140 meters high. Between 120 and 140 meters high, which is pretty darn high. Last year there was an idiot from another country. I'm not sure which country he's from. He tried to climb this fence. He tried to climb this fence and then climb up to the top because he wanted to get a picture of the city. Now all around this bridge, and I'm losing my voice because I have to shout, all around this bridge are video cameras. So yeah. They're watching those cameras. And the cops came here in about five minutes and they arrested him. And he was held for two weeks, I believe, for doing something really bad, which is climbing a dangerous bridge. Climbing the bridge. You don't do that. Well, he did it. He tried to climb up there and he wanted to go up there, up on the cables. And the cops stopped him. I think the cops stopped him. And they confiscated his video camera. I think they confiscated his video footage, but I guess he uploaded something before. So there's some YouTube video on it. But obviously you don't want to do something stupid like that and lose your life. This bridge does oscillate. It does go back and forth. And the wind is... It's kind of a calm day today, but there is wind up there.

00:19:30 John Daub: This is such a spectacular city. You can see one little boat making its way up towards Sumida-gawa. The Sumida River. And here's the end of Kachidoki. If you like monjayaki, if you keep going on this little island. This also used to be where the prison was back in the Edo period. But if you keep walking, you get to Monja Street, which is in Tsukishima, which is a place I haven't covered yet. But maybe I'll go there later on this year. See, from this point, you have a lot of really beautiful views. Again, you have Tokyo Tower. Metropolitan building. That's in Shinjuku. There's Tokyo Tower. And I guess behind there is Shinjuku going that way. And once again, these pylons and these towers. Whoa, I'm right underneath it. They're about 130 meters high, I think. This is the north route. Alright, we're making our way there.

00:20:58 John Daub: So today I walked from Daimon. And then I took the thumbnail picture here. And now we're right here. So we're almost there. But this is where the hard part is. This part is where there's a lot of walking. Alright, we better... Let's get to it.

00:22:05 John Daub: So this, if you're watching this, this is the Only in Japan Go channel. This is not the main channel. So a lot of people are watching these videos and not subscribing to it because they think they already are subscribing to it. And then they get angry and say, why aren't I subscribing to it? I'm missing it. You can see it live if you're watching right now. If you subscribe to the channel, you're gonna get the Only in Japan Go channel live. Which is super cool. But you have to subscribe to the channel. There we go. So, let's do that. Subscribe, please. Okay, here we go. This is my pitch.

00:22:47 John Daub: So, remember we walked across the bridge. We walked across the bridge and went up over on this side. Now, once again, I walked this way and have to go through another pylon with automatic doors, of course. It's so quiet in here. All right. Harry Lin, thank you very much for the super chat. I will get a very good meal on the other side of this. Thank you so much for that. And Wado EJB, thank you so much. Wado EJB for the super chat. Have a nama biru. Thank you. I will. I'm gonna totally have a nama biru and maybe... Maybe I'll live stream it on the other side. So, I appreciate very much the super chats. That's what helps keep this channel funded. That's what helps pay for the bandwidth. I think I spent about... A lot of bandwidth live streaming last month. So, the super chats help with that as well. All right. So, we're going down now towards the other side.

00:24:15 John Daub: We're no longer under any part of the bridge. Now, walking down, which is good because I'm getting so hungry. Really hungry. Yeah, and it helps pay for the beer too. I see that comment as well. When I'm doing these live streams, I'm not always reading all of the comments going by because it's going really, really fast. But when somebody puts a super chat up there, I also see your question really clearly. And I'm really high tensioned up, really high strung because I'm so excited about climbing the bridge. Gosh, I want to be water skiing.

00:25:11 John Daub: Now, if you're a tourist coming to Tokyo, you can take... You see that boat coming into view on the bottom right? Now, that boat is... You can hire boats to take you up and down the bay. But you can also take a ferry from Asakusa that'll take you underneath the Rainbow Bridge. And the ferry is about 700 yen or $7. Take it from Asakusa. It takes about 40 minutes. Beautiful, beautiful ride. You won't climb the bridge like we are today. But it'll be an interesting way to see the city. Now, in the distance on the other side, you can start to make out Fuji TV building. Looks like something from the future. Now, that behind me, that's old Tokyo. That's established land. Odaiba, which is where we're going right now. Oh, I can see the beach. This is going to be awesome.

00:26:34 John Daub: After I cut off this live stream, I'm going to make another one from the beach in about 30 minutes from now. So, you definitely check that one out. Now, Odaiba is all new land. It was... In fact, they're still making it. It's sort of like Holland in a way. They reclaim land. Bikers. So, they reclaimed land and made new land here. So, everything that I see on this side, including here and the island in the middle, a lot of it is new. Tokyo is growing. This is all new here. This island here is new. This is all new. All the buildings on here. Built on land reclaimed from the sea.

00:27:35 John Daub: That's where we came, everybody. All right, trekkers. Yes. Live stream from a bicycle would be an awesome idea. I think I'm going to do this again then. Why not? Go really, really fast on a bicycle. What a beautiful, beautiful day. We lucked out today. Now, there's Tokyo Tower right here. And there's a helicopter going by, which is pretty cool. It's got a red color, so it's a rescue helicopter. Now, that's Tokyo Tower. And on a really clear day. When there are no clouds and it's not so warm, there's no humidity, you can see Mount Fuji in the background. But the best time to see Mount Fuji is not now. The best time to see Mount Fuji is in the winter. Because the winter, the skies are, the air is cold. So, there's no humidity. That means there's no haze. And the views are so, so clear going really, really far distances.

00:28:46 John Daub: I'm so stoked. I can see the beach over there. I'm really, really excited. Because for the last week, I've been inside, last two weeks, longer, just editing, editing, editing. Taking the footage from the hitchhiking trip. A lot of the livestreams that you see really are on in this channel. Working on that and making a DVD out of it. It's been a lot of work. Next week, I'm traveling, sorry, on Wednesday, I'm traveling to Chōfu on the other side of Japan to shoot an NHK show about journeys in Japan. I don't know if any of you know that. I don't know if you've seen that on NHK World. But it's a beautifully shot show. And the purpose of that is to show Daisen, which is the Mount Fuji of the West. So, I'll be climbing Daisen. And I'll be trying to livestream. I've got to work and make the show for NHK. But I'll try to livestream onto the Only in Japan Go channel. To bring you a different point of view. Because I love Tokyo, but Japan's a big place. It's expensive to get around the country. Because we as residents don't have the JR train passes. We don't have access to what you have as a tourist. So it makes it expensive for us to get around. Thankfully though, the TV station will be paying for the transportation and the meals and everything. So, it should be a lot of fun.

00:30:19 John Daub: That's where we came from. We're almost done. Oh, now I'm starting to get views of the Tokyo Skytree. You see it? Does anyone see the Tokyo Skytree yet? There you are. Boom. Tokyo Skytree. It's about 634 meters in the sky. No branches though. Not much of a tree really. Just a really high tower. There's the city of Tokyo. There's the Rainbow Bridge on the left side where we just walked. And straight ahead, dead center, is Tokyo Tower. Which is 333 meters high. About half, yeah, roughly more than half of the height of Tokyo Skytree. But it's still really impressive. And that's Tokyo Bay. And we're getting to the end of this livestream.

00:32:08 John Daub: So, I'm going to go to the other side. Alright, this is the north route. I want to go on the south route. Okay, yeah, let's do that. Alright. I'm going down these steps to the south route. And no, I'm not jumping into Tokyo Bay because you give me a super chat, okay? That's sort of dangerous, okay? So, I'm going to jump into Tokyo Bay. Oh, that's sort of neat. There's a little walkway. You can start to see... Oh, Daiba, how green. This area is because this right here is a park. It's called Daiba Park. And there's a little bit of history behind Daiba Park.

00:33:04 John Daub: Momo, the livestream is 480p because that's all that YouTube will allow on 4G. The Only in Japan Go channel will be 480p for 4G livestreams because YouTube won't allow 720p because I don't know why. I'm using Docomo, which is the biggest cell phone carrier in Japan. I'm using their 4G signal right now. And it's blazing fast, okay? It's blazing fast and YouTube won't allow me to do it in 720p. I already talked to them about this. They just put up their hands too. I'm sorry about that. That right there, my friends, is Daiba Park. And you can see the walls around it. This used to be a gun embankment. A place where they had anti-aircraft. Anti-aircraft fire to planes coming in. I believe it was... I'm not sure too much about the history but it could be World War II. But I know that this was here well before World War II. And after the war, they turned it into a park. And it's such a beautiful park as well. And you can see still inside where some of the guns were. There's a little fort inside there. And right now there's people walking down around the park. And there's Odaiba. There's a beautiful view of it. There's the Fuji TV building on the right side. The beach on the front. Little dots of people there. That's my final destination. There's a Ferris wheel as well. One of the shopping malls has it to attract customers. But my favorite shopping mall is the one right there with these blue colored tarps on the top. Because you can sit on top. It's called Decks. And you can just sit up there on the top. And you can sit on one of the deck restaurants and drink coffee or beer or whatever you want. And just relax and look back at the city of Tokyo. It's stunning. And here's another shopping mall. I forget what that one's called. But also has really nice restaurants up on the second and third floor with decks that look back at the city.

00:35:25 John Daub: And now that I'm on the north side, I can see the final few meters. Which means that this live stream is coming to an end. But I'm going to be live streaming from the beach just a little bit more in a separate episode. In about 30 minutes. After I get something to eat and drink. Because it's pretty cool. And I don't know when I'm going to be back here. Because I'm going away for more location shoots. And I'll be home editing for most of the summer. But maybe on location. So if you haven't already, it's live right now. Subscribe to the Only in Japan Go channel. The more people who come and watch the shows, the more I can do this. Because I've got to pay for the bandwidth as well as the traveling. Which is sort of cool. Well, I'm losing my voice.

00:36:13 John Daub: The Only in Japan Go channel, the reason why I made this channel. One of the biggest reasons was because I don't have to edit it. I can go to places that I'm already there on location and cover topics that I wouldn't make a full episode on for the main channel. And a lot of these topics are things that you've asked for. The viewers, you who are watching this today. You've asked me to make episodes. And I can't make fully edited episodes of them for one reason or another. Or just because it takes so much time. I have to look at the big picture. But I can do this. And this is a reason why I really appreciate having this channel. And having your support. And a lot of people are watching these live streams. But they're not realizing that they're not subscribed to it. So when they don't get the notifications, some people say they don't even know about this channel. And it exists.

00:37:07 John Daub: Now the bridge is way down onto the water. There's the end and the bridge enters into the park. So if you're coming from Odaiba and walking back to Tokyo. This is also really, really good. Yeah, I'm not going to do a live stream from Aokigahara. Because one, I don't even think that they have cell phone coverage. So how would I live stream it? And two, why would you live stream it? It's not that interesting. It's just a forest. There's nothing different between... You know, here's the park. So, just because it has suicide in it. And that's just, you know... That was definitely in English too. So the foreigners call it that. There you go. Boom. North route, south route. Bicycles go this way. Walkers go the other way. I'm going this way. Towards some food. Some coffee. Maybe a beer. Thanks for the super chats everybody. Really, I appreciate it.

00:38:14 John Daub: So once again, this bridge is open in the summer until 9pm. Alright, last entry on is at 8:30. Because it takes 15 minutes to cross about. But if you're here in Tokyo in the summer. Don't take the train. Forget the train. Walk it. And enjoy the view. Thank you so much everybody. And I'll broadcast a little bit later from the beach. See you later.