00:06 John Daub: Alright, so I'm still in Kyoto and the thumbnail that you just saw is of Sannenzaka (third-year slope), which is the third stairway incline going up towards Kiyomizudera (Kiyomizu Temple). I'm actually walking up towards Kiyomizudera right now to give you a quick shot of that. You see it? Right there on the top, that's where Kiyomizudera is. I'm not actually going to walk up there because I want to show you something else. As you can see, it's loaded with shopping streets, food, street food, things to eat, things to buy, things you don't need, things you throw away in about three weeks. But this is also the reason why I'm here. Not the street food and the shopping, although that's all really good stuff. I'm here for what lies down this shopping street.

01:07 John Daub: So I'm going to walk between Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka (second-year slope). Ninenzaka. I have to tell you, I have mixed feelings about Kyoto. On the one hand, I really like it. I love the history. I love the architecture. I love the way it preserves its essence from centuries ago. And then there are the tourists and the loads of people and the crowds. And it's a lot. Especially in the summer when it's super humid here. This is Sannenzaka. This is the third stairway up towards Kiyomizudera. It's Tanabata (Star Festival), right? It's already July. It's the 7th.

02:14 John Daub: Please take a picture. Oh, picture? Okay. That's good. Please wear the clothes I'm wearing. Oh, Tanabata is good. Tanabata is good. Thank you very much. He speaks very Japanese. I live in Tokyo. Oh, you live in Tokyo? Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I want you to say that too. Are you from Kyoto? Yes. Oh, gift! Wow! Gift? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You're welcome. Have a nice day.

03:01 John Daub: You see me? Kawaii (cute)! So let's walk down Sannenzaka. Look at that! You see that up there on the roof? This is really natural here, isn't it? Really cool. On this street you're going to find a lot of people wearing yukata (light kimono), geta (wooden clogs). They're tourists, okay? Just so you know. For the Westerners, you'll see Asian people wearing yukata walking around here. They're not Japanese, they're tourists. But you can have your picture taken with them. A lot of my friends have come and go, I love how all the Japanese people wear yukata here! I'm like, um, they're tourists. You can try to talk to them. And it's actually fun to get your picture taken with people that are in traditional dress anyways.

04:53 John Daub: Along this street between Sannenzaka and Ninenzaka, you're going to see a lot of really traditional buildings all made of wood. The neighborhood is very protective in the way that they have a lot of regulations and rules. So you can't just build anything on this street. You have to conform to the tradition of this neighborhood. And I think that's what makes this area really special. This is a new coffee shop. I'm seeing more and more chain shops opening up business along this route. And that's one of the reasons why I'm here. Wow, high school kids. I am dying for an ice cream. This is a matcha flavored ice cream. I'm going to try this. They're from the countryside in Japan. So a lot of kids. This is a tourist place, not just for foreigners. This is a tourist place for Japanese as well.

06:18 John Daub: You'll find a lot of kids coming on high school and junior high school trips to Kyoto because they have to study the history. It's like in the United States when I was in school, I had to make trips to Washington DC to learn about government. Kids will come here to learn about their own culture and I think that's really great. So there's loads of little gifts and trinkets and things like this that don't particularly interest me. Gachapon (capsule toy machines)! Oh that's interesting. This is umeshu (plum wine). Ume is a Japanese plum and they make the alcohol out of it. This looks really good. These are all local Kyoto labels. So I might come back to the umeshu. Look how nice the shop looks.

07:48 John Daub: So we left Sannenzaka and now we're moving towards Ninenzaka and that's the reason why I'm here. I'm here in this area of Kyoto for a foreign chain that's opening up a branch on this road. Oh, here we go. Oh, they've done a lot of construction here. Here's Ninenzaka. Chicken omelette biscuits, thank you very much. You know what, Ninenzaka is a little bit more impressive than Sannenzaka. Look at that little vending machine. So they've preserved a lot of the old architecture from the buildings during the Meiji era. They're all made of wood. All of these buildings are made of wood so they're not original original meaning they don't go back centuries. The owners probably go back centuries, but a lot of these buildings have been rebuilt because they're made of wood.

09:24 John Daub: Not too bad. I have to tell you something though. I don't think geisha are that attractive. I don't know, it's just me and my personal preference, but I'm not into geisha. Geisha girls. The geisha you probably won't see, you'll probably see people that are dressed like geisha walking down the streets, but they're maiko (apprentice geisha). Or they're tourists dressed like geisha cosplaying the part down around Kyoto. So it can be a little bit confusing if you're a tourist to know what's real and what's not. Is that a real geisha? Or is that a maiko? Or is that just a tourist cosplaying as a geisha? You'll figure it out.

10:17 John Daub: The reason why I'm here today is because Starbucks is opening a brand new branch. And the next episode of Only in Japan is Japan's most beautiful Starbucks. Which is in Toyama. At least that's what the internet argues is the most beautiful Starbucks. However, this, at the same time that I'm opening this, they just happened to make a press release and announce the fact that the Starbucks is opening here. And it looks really, really nice. So I'm gonna have to find that and add it to the video. M-A-I-K-O is how you spell maiko. I love these little alleys too, down the roadway. So I'm just gonna walk to the end of the street and walk back and then look for the cafe. Ah, there's a Totoro store. Da da da da totoro totoro. Ah, so that's an official Ghibli store in there. So I'm not gonna go into the Ghibli store.

11:25 John Daub: Alright, where did I go here? Oh, I passed it. So I have a map. I'm actively looking for this location. And I went past it. It's pretty hard to navigate. Because if you miss a side street or an alley, you get taken down the wrong place. Alright, let's go back up. I know it's around here. There you go. Oh, here's the Sannenzaka Museum. Ah! So good. So good. This is a big store. Ah! Again! Where are you going? Gion (geisha district)? Ah, Gion? From 1pm. From 1pm.

13:15 John Daub: I read the press release. No one knows. Only us. I think this person knows. What are you doing? I'm doing a live stream on YouTube. What? There are 250-230 people. What? What is your name? I don't know. Do you do Seki-shi [?]? I was doing an interview there. What? Ah, the famous one. That's a very famous place. Yay! I was doing a live stream on Twitter. Oh, really? Wow. What time is it? Isn't it crazy? It's 1pm and from 12.30pm, the Starbucks store will be open. Oh! It's really big. So, we're early. We're early. Is there a ticket from 12.30pm? Yes. It's over there. It's next to the Starbucks store. Ah, on the map. I see.

14:31 Daito: You can get a ticket to go in in 30 minutes.

14:34 John Daub: So where? Can I ask a question? Ah, wait a minute. Where are you now? I'm here. Turn left here, turn right here, and go straight. There's probably a lot of people. Really? Sorry, what did that say? It said you can get a ticket to enter at 12.30pm, but it's down here. Probably they don't want the neighborhood a lot of people waiting here, so they've moved it over there. Do you have a question? In English? In English. In English? Ok, then I'll go this way. Alright. What's your question? Can I ask you a name? Ah, my name is John. John, thank you. What's your name? Daito. Nice to meet you. Where are you from? I'm from America. America, thank you. You're welcome. I'm from Japan. Saitama. Oh, from Saitama. Which city? Ageo [?]. Is that the 17-5 line [?]? No, it's not. What line is it? I don't know. It's ok. Have you ever come to Kyoto? Wow, I've been to Kyoto many times. Oh, I see. I understand. You're doing your best. How long are you going to stay in Japan? How long are you going to stay in Japan? I live in Tokyo. Tokyo? Thank you. I will stay in Japan forever. Maybe. Thank you. Have a nice day.

16:37 John Daub: Is this the line? Where are you going? For the Starbucks. You get a ticket to go into the new Starbucks. What's that? There's a Starbucks opening today with all the tatami (straw mats) and it's a brand new thing. Oh, where is it? It's over there but you can't go there because the neighborhood doesn't want a lot of crowded people so you have to go get a ticket to get in. Oh, is it open now? No, it will be open but you have to get a ticket or else they won't let you in. And what time will it be open? Well, the tickets start selling in about 10 minutes. Not selling, just give away because they give you the ticket system and it tells you when you can go in and enter so nobody queues up forever. Oh. So could be in the next 10 minutes? The tickets, I'm trying to find the tickets but you gotta get that now by 12.30. Yeah. And then you can go to the Starbucks at 1 when it opens. Which is down there. We're looking for a coffee. This one might be hard because it's going to be really crowded because it's the first day.

17:40 John Daub: That's right. One of the things I do is tourist information. Alright, you said make a right turn and then go and look for the people. I don't know where the heck the Starbucks is. He said go here and then make a left. So in order to go into the Starbucks that's opening today I need to go and get a ticket that allows me a space to go in and go to that Starbucks. And I gotta find the place where the ticket is. It's really complicated but makes sense because this neighborhood that I just took you through is very very restricted as I told you. It's very traditional and they don't want a lot of people and crowds of people in front of a building and disturbing the ambiance for everybody else.

18:28 John Daub: Can I take a picture? Sure. Thank you. Wow. Wow. You're with everyone? Yes. This is the first time. Hello. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. You're very welcome. Sign. Sign? Okay. Sign. Here? Yes. You're welcome. Alright, tourists. Oh wow. Yeah. That must be it. You see that crowd? That's totally it. Nobody lines up in a park like this unless they're waiting for something. My gosh.