New York City Meet Up ONLY in JAPAN
New York City Meet Up ONLY in JAPAN
Overview
In this special episode, John Daub takes a break from his usual Tokyo-based content to visit his family in the United States for Christmas. While in New York City, he organizes a meet-up with viewers of the Only in Japan Go channel. The gathering takes place at the iconic Union Square, specifically near the Union Square Holiday Market, capturing the bustling energy of NYC during the festive season.
John navigates the challenges of finding a quiet spot in the crowded square, interacting with fans who have traveled from across the region, including New Jersey. He shares Japanese snacks, discusses jet lag, and talks about upcoming plans involving the Awa Odori festival back in Japan. The video highlights the strong sense of community among his viewers and offers a rare glimpse of John outside of Japan, comparing the atmosphere of New York to Tokyo.
Highlights
- 00:00:00 John introduces the location as Union Square Holiday Market in NYC.
- 01:56:00 First viewers arrive; John greets Dave, Michael, and Alex.
- 04:37:00 John notes the difference in atmosphere compared to Tokyo and discusses Sprint network coverage.
- 06:08:00 The group moves to a quieter side of the square to talk.
- 09:58:00 John discusses jet lag and his travel schedule between the US and Japan.
- 10:48:00 Amanda, a Patreon supporter, is introduced and helps with the camera.
- 11:33:00 John mentions participating in the Awa Odori festival upon return.
- 14:20:00 John distributes Japanese snacks (sweet potato, black sesame, caramel) to the group.
Timeline / Chapters
- 00:00:00 Introduction at Union Square Holiday Market.
- 01:20:00 Meeting viewers at Whole Foods.
- 04:16:00 Moving into the market area; discussing network coverage.
- 06:00:00 Relocating to a quieter spot in the park.
- 09:50:00 Group conversation about travel and jet lag.
- 11:30:00 Discussion about Awa Odori festival participation.
- 13:30:00 Introductions of more viewers (Robert, Isabel, Rebecca).
- 14:20:00 Distributing Japanese snacks.
Japan Travel Tips
- SIM Cards: John mentions that Softbank users in Japan can use Sprint networks in the US for free, though coverage may vary.
- Meet-ups: When organizing meet-ups, scout locations for space and noise levels beforehand; Union Square was crowded.
- Jet Lag: John notes that staying for 10 days or longer helps adjust to the time difference, but readjusting upon return is necessary.
- Meeting Points: Use recognizable landmarks (like Whole Foods) for initial meet-ups, but have a backup plan for conversation space.
Japanese Language & Culture Notes
- Awa Odori: John refers to the "Alamori Festival," which is corrected to Awa Odori, a famous dance festival in Tokushima Prefecture.
- Yukata & Happi: John mentions his "Hanepa Dancers Yukata," likely referring to happi coats and yukata (summer kimono) worn during the festival.
- Community: The video highlights the polite and encouraging nature of the Only in Japan Go community, reflecting Japanese values of respect even among international fans.
Food & Drink Guide
- Japanese Snacks: John brings egg-shaped sweets from Japan.
- Flavors: Sweet potato, black sesame, caramel.
- Origin: Brought from [Narita Airport] area.
- Context: Distributed to viewers as a thank-you gift.
- Timestamp: 14:20:00
People
- John Daub: Host and creator of Only in Japan Go. Visiting family in the US.
- Dave, Michael, Alex: Early arriving viewers who greet John at Whole Foods.
- Amanda: Patreon supporter who assists John with filming during the meet-up.
- Robert, Isabel, Rebecca: Viewers who arrive later and receive snacks.
- Group: Collective viewers from NYC and New Jersey area.
- Staff: Market staff member John interacts with briefly.
Key Takeaways
- The Only in Japan Go community is global, with fans willing to travel to meet-ups.
- Jet lag is a significant factor when traveling between Japan and the US (14-hour difference).
- John plans to participate in the Awa Odori festival upon returning to Japan.
- NYC during Christmas is bustling and loud, contrasting with Tokyo's atmosphere.
Notable Quotes
- 00:30:00 "The reason that I picked this place is because it's got like a Christmas feeling to it, you know?"
- 04:37:00 "This is totally different from Tokyo."
- 09:58:00 "I'm slightly jet lagged. Slightly. I found the first few days that I come to the United States around 5 p.m. I just start dying out."
- 12:09:00 "It feels really good to have to see everybody here. I think a lot of you have also commented on the videos and I might know some of you from the comments."
- 13:45:00 "Rebecca. Isabel. Robert. Oh, well, you have warm hands. I want to keep that. It's really cold out here."
Related Topics
- Only in Japan Go Meet-ups
- Traveling between Japan and USA
- Christmas in New York City
- Awa Odori Festival
- Community Building
Search Tags
#only-in-japan-go #new-york-city #union-square #meet-up #christmas-market #travel-vlog #community #awa-odori #jet-lag #japanese-snacks
Full Transcript
00:00:00 John Daub: I'm here to meet a couple of people. Yeah, there might be about 20 people signed up on the Facebook page. Hello. I don't know who that was, but it's really cool to be in New York City. I've been here for a couple of days. I'm here in America visiting my family for Christmas time and it's nice to be in the city. On the other side, it is a lot more bustling and hustling than in Tokyo. Wow. And right in front of me is the Union Square Holiday Market.
00:30:00 John Daub: The reason that I picked this place is because it's got like a Christmas feeling to it, you know? And I've been doing a lot of Christmas streams over in Tokyo. It's neat to do one here in the United States. It's pretty cool. So I'm here at Broadway, up there, Broadway and 14th. Boom. This is probably my first stream ever in the United States. This is pretty cool.
01:20:00 John Daub: Alright, let's see who's here. I told everybody to meet in front of the Whole Foods. So this is the Whole Foods here. This is pretty cool. Oh, hello! Okay, there's a bunch of people over there. Hello! I'm actually streaming this.
01:56:00 Dave: Hi, I'm Dave. Nice to meet you.
02:03:00 John Daub: Nice to meet you.
02:04:00 Michael: I'm Michael. Nice to meet you.
02:05:00 John Daub: Nice to meet you, Michael.
02:06:00 Alex: I'm Alex.
02:07:00 John Daub: Alex. Wow, this is a really tight spot. Hi, my friend. Hi, nice to meet you. Oh, bring it in. Big hug. Let's wait for a minute. Oh, hello. Hi.
02:30:00 John Daub: Wow, I saw on Facebook there was like 20 people coming. That's really cool. Let's go to a place on the other side that's not maybe as tight. Wait for one minute in case someone's coming. So this is everybody. Hello, everybody. Nice to meet you. Hi. Yay. Oh, there it is. In the back. Oh, tall. Hello. Oh, that's great. Is everybody living here in New York?
03:00:00 Group: No. No.
03:01:00 John Daub: Across the river in New Jersey?
03:04:00 Group: Yeah, that's where my parents live. That's where I'm going back.
03:07:00 John Daub: Oh, cool. Yeah. All right. Cool. So I only have about 30 minutes, unfortunately. I have to go back. My dad's picking me up. I feel like I'm a teenager again. My dad's picking me up on the other side of the river. So that's how it goes. Nope. Yeah. I wish I had a driver's license. Gotta take the bus. But that's the way it works. Wait for like one more second and then we'll go over there. You know what? I think people will be following the live stream. We'll be able to follow where we are, right? We have a pretty good turnout. We're gonna go over to the Christmas Market and get out of here. If you're looking for us, just follow the stream. I guess that's the best way. Thanks for coming out, everybody.
04:16:00 John Daub: Yeah. New York. This is really cool. Yeah. Is that worse? I don't know. There's the Holiday Market. Let's wait. I'm gonna get in here. This place is loud. This is totally different from Tokyo. Thank you.
04:37:00 Staff: You're welcome.
04:37:00 John Daub: This is totally different from Tokyo. All right. Am I still using Sprint Network? Everybody who uses Softbank in Japan can get Sprint for free here. It's kind of cool. Except it's really not that good.
05:02:00 Group: Why?
05:02:00 John Daub: All right. So there's about 400 people watching on the Only in Japan Go channel. It's pretty cool. Has anyone been here before to the Holiday Market?
05:13:00 Group: Yeah, we did.
05:14:00 John Daub: Everybody? It's like everybody. Hey, back there. Trying to keep the group together because I didn't know it was gonna be this tight. I thought that would be the easiest place to meet up because you could find Whole Foods on the map. Wow. New York. You know, the other side of the square has the most space. I think I found. So here it is. Union Square Holiday Market. All right. Do we got everybody?
06:06:00 Group: You need a flag.
06:08:00 John Daub: I know. Yeah. It's pretty tight everywhere we go. The other side of the square has the most space I found after scouting it too late. So let's go to the other side of the market. All right. If you're coming to the meet up and you're a little bit late, we're gonna be on the other side of the square so that we could talk. I brought some snacks from Japan for everybody to try out. And yeah, it's pretty cool. It's pretty cold. I'm surprised how cold it is. It's about like one degree Celsius, I think. Something like that. You can see the entrance to the market. It smells like Christmas. Like that spicy smell to it. The city of New York. New York with some spice. That's Christmas. Very nice. So we're gonna go to the other side of Union Square. There's more space. And then from there we'll be able to meet everybody and then kind of take it easy.
07:15:00 John Daub: Wow. NYPD. Cool. It's like I'm inside of a TV show. Wow. So this is Union Square, everybody. Okay. I'm slightly jet lagged. Slightly. I found the first few days that I come to the United States around 5 p.m. I just start dying out. And by 6 I want to go to bed. And if I fight through it, by 9 p.m. I wake up again. And then I'm up all night. It doesn't work out the best. The thing is, by the time I go back to Japan, I'm so used to America, I gotta do it all over again. All right. We're looking for a spot on the other side of the square. Near the Christmas market, it's really crowded. I haven't been here in ages. I don't know. Maybe we could go in there? Is that better?
09:01:00 Group: Yeah.
09:01:00 John Daub: Okay. Let's go into the park. There's some benches here. Is Amanda here? Oh, back there. Okay. I said Amanda. I know Amanda from Patreon. And she said if we need help, Amanda's here to help out. So I could use Amanda's help. Wow. This is so New York. Okay. Cool. This is better. It's better than Whole Foods. Yeah. Let's go in the area. We're just gonna take it over. I don't have a permit or anything. I don't know how strict it is. Welcome to Union Square. All right. Very cool.
09:52:00 John Daub: So how's everybody doing? Yeah?
09:56:00 Group: How are you?
09:58:00 John Daub: Jet lagged. Out of my mind. Very jet lagged out of my mind. I'm here for until the 28th. It's funny. I like I catch. I came here on the 20th. Has anyone been to Japan before?
10:16:00 Group: Yeah. Yeah.
10:16:00 John Daub: Just like everybody's been to Japan before. They got their hands up. So I came here on the 17th. But I arrived here on the 17th. I leave on the 28th and I get there on the 29th. I lose the entire 28th, which is, you know, how it works. Yeah. I'm getting used to the time difference now. And then when I go back, I'll have to get used to the time difference again. It's about 10 days. If you stay here for 10 days or longer, you kind of go backwards and you have to get ready for you have to get used to the time change once again.
10:48:00 John Daub: If Amanda's here, you could hold the camera for the Go channel. There she is. It's so cold. I'm sorry. So everybody, this is Amanda. There she is. That's Amanda right there. Thank you very much. All right. There's everybody. So. Yes, we don't really have a lot of time. But if you have any questions, the Awa Odori Festival, probably because I went there to dance last summer.
11:33:00 John Daub: And the Happi Dancers Yukata, it's still in Alamori. So I have to go and get that. So I guess that means I'll be participating. Probably soon.
11:45:00 Group: Definitely let me know.
11:50:00 John Daub: Because. But it's about a week long, but I'll probably be there for maybe two days. Yeah. Yeah. Do you have a question?
12:03:00 Group: I say thanks. I really enjoyed obviously.
12:09:00 John Daub: Yeah, no, I'm really so happy to see so many faces. I feel like welcome. It's like seeing your family here. I did a meet up in Malaysia last month and then like two days before you announced it. And I think I've been to Malaysia two or three times before. And then I come down to the lobby of the hotel. There's these people going, hey, whoa. It's so cool to have a community of friends like family. And it feels really good to have to see everybody here. I think a lot of you have also commented on the videos and I might know some of you from the comments. Hopefully not the bad one. You know, surprisingly, not surprisingly, people who are watching the channel, they're really kind and polite and very encouraging. It's not easy to make the shows for the main channel. And I wish I could make more content. That's why I did this. The Only in Japan Go channel so I could go on location and then stream live and not edit. But still make something that's a lot of fun for you to watch. And I hope you're enjoying that, too.
13:22:00 John Daub: But hey, hey, hey, back there. I hope that's like it. Hello.
13:27:00 Group: I'm here to watch you.
13:32:00 John Daub: Oh, on YouTube. Yeah. What's your name?
13:37:00 Robert: Robert.
13:39:00 John Daub: Robert.
13:40:00 Isabel: Isabel.
13:41:00 John Daub: Isabel.
13:44:00 Rebecca: Rebecca.
13:45:00 John Daub: Rebecca. Rebecca. Isabel. Robert. Oh, well, you have warm hands. I want to keep that. It's really cold out here. I brought some stuff. I think there's just enough people. I brought some stuff from Japan for you. Oh, here. Here. Alright. Can somebody help me give these out? Alright. We have two people. So these are called eggs.
14:20:00 John Daub: This one is sweet potato. This one is black sesame. And this one is caramel. And this should be one for everybody, I think. I hope. This is more than signed up!
14:37:00 Group: John are you going to do a ten trick or something?
14:38:00 John Daub: Oh yeah, oh yeah, we're gonna be doing a group picture. All right, so this is sweet potato, and it's kind of like on a first-come first-serve. This one is black sesame and this one is caramel if anybody wants a egg. This came from Narita Airport about four days ago. Thank you, you're welcome. You're very welcome sweet potato anybody.