00:00:03 John Daub: Hey everybody, we're live from the top of the weather lookout station here in Ogasawara, Chichijima, which is an island 1,000 kilometers away from Tokyo. I'm here at a rather disappointing sunset viewing. I'm trying to film this for the main channel, and this is the best that we can do. Hey everybody, I see a lot of people coming in. There's Nathaniel and Shorty. Thanks for chatting. Hey, there's Funky Monkey. It's a spectacular view from the weather station here. But the problem is that the sun is behind a lot of clouds, and I'm trying to do a time lapse for the main channel.

00:01:18 John Daub: It was quite a hike. It took me about 15 minutes to hike up the 1.2 kilometer trail, but it's definitely worth it. And we have these amazing long views. Hey guys, it's nice to see everybody here. This is the view from the weather station for those that are joining us. And I can't fly my drone here, but you don't really need to when you have a view like this, looking down at the sea crashing on the rocks. And when you see the ocean crash down and there's a little bit of turbulence to the water, you can see how blue the water is. You see that Bonin Blue—they call it Bonin Blue.

00:02:06 John Daub: I always call it Ogasawara, which is the official name. But even with very limited sunlight and with the sun having already set, you still get this really beautiful color out here. It's just how nice the view is, even on a cloudy day. And a typhoon has just rolled through here, so you would think we'd have really clear views, but I guess it's gonna be better tomorrow. So tomorrow's gonna be a very long filming day, where I start at about 6 a.m. and try to film everything. You can see the clouds up there moving really fast. They're low here in the Pacific. There aren't really that many islands around here. We're definitely far from the mainland—a thousand kilometers from Tokyo.

00:03:02 John Daub: This reminds me when I was on Easter Island about 18 years ago. I stayed there for 10 days on Rapa Nui. It had amazing long views of the South Pacific. And here we have views of the North Pacific that just are endless. You can look for hundreds and hundreds of kilometers—if not a thousand. And there's nothing there. And that empty space is just amazing to me. Yeah, 18 years ago I was on Easter Island before it was trendy to go there. Let me take you onto the other side here. So we have another view. This is Higashijima, the East Island. It's a pretty view. Even with the sunset and low light conditions, it still looks really beautiful.

00:04:00 John Daub: I think I can stream for another 5 or 6 minutes and show this before it gets too dark. I gotta make a long walk home through the dark though, because I didn't come here by car. I came here on foot, which is crazy. If you look down here, you can see along the coast. If I had a drone, I would fly it here and take you all along the coast. But I'm gonna try to do that for the main episode tomorrow. I'm gonna try to fly the drone in a couple of really neat spots. Armanillo1 says, get an Uber. Yeah, you know what? I don't think there's Uber here. There aren't any taxis. You can hitchhike. It's pretty local. All these people that are here, most of them are tourists coming here to look at this view for the first time.

00:05:03 John Daub: You can come here to watch the whales, believe it or not. In season, they'll be crossing through this area, and you'll see the whales even jumping out of the water. So you can see them from this point. Just, we're not in that season. We have the blow where you'll see water sprouting out of the water, the spy hop where the whale is kind of just peeking out to look around. They got personalities—the head slap, the flipper slap or the pec slap, the tail slap, the fluke up and down. And then the breach, which is the all-out flop. It's pretty cool that they have this thing explaining what you'll see out there. Because believe it or not, you will see this from this point in season. And it's just not the season. It's not even the sunset season. We have an awful sunset today. But I'm hoping if we stick around for another five minutes, we might get some color. But I don't think we're going to be that lucky. The clouds are moving really fast.

00:06:38 John Daub: I apologize that it's not a better view. This is the best we can do. But I wrote in the title, Try One. So we're going to give it another try tomorrow. If the weather is clear, we're going to have an outstanding sunset. But this makes for a pretty good story. And once again, for those who are joining us now, I can show you down there. This is the sea crashing onto the rocks here at Chichijima. It's just, even with low light, it's pretty stunning. I'm going to try to get here earlier tomorrow and bring you another view from this platform. People come in and take pictures. And in this light, each time during the day gives you a different sense of what the island is. This is a low light situation. So the iPhone 7 Plus is doing a pretty good job of bringing you what I see. It's getting darker. I'm going to stay here for another four or five minutes to see if we can get some color out of the sunset. So if you guys want to stick with me, I'd appreciate the company.

00:07:52 John Daub: I've got a long walk through the dark to get back though. If you just stand here in one spot and not move, you can really see the clouds—how low they are or maybe how high I am compared to them. And it almost feels like it's eye level, these clouds moving. Once again, we're looking... This is looking towards Japan, a thousand kilometers away. Just nothing out there. I'm looking for SOSs or some stranded scuba divers. If you see anything that I don't see, raise your hand. Let me know. I will call the authorities. Right now we're on the lookout. We can call this the lighthouse mode, where we just pan across the entire Pacific looking for stranded somebodies. Now in the middle, that's just a rock. That's not somebody stranded out there. I saw that movie called Open Water where scuba divers were trapped in the sea for a few days. And one of them got eaten by a shark, I think. That scared my wife into not wanting to scuba dive for six months.

00:09:27 John Daub: Percy writes in about drone use. This is a National Heritage site, so you need to have permission to use the drone. And there are some agents or people that you can contact to help you with that. I have a map of where you can't use the drones. But even with that, it was encouraged that I contact some of the people that are authorized. Hey, Chicken on Biscuits is here. John, greetings, sir. You've been rocking the live streams lately. Thanks, brother. You inspired me to stream. Hit 40,000 views on my kayak. Awesome! Congratulations on that. You know, I think if you make a live stream and you use a gimbal and you add in a lot of useful information, even though it's a live stream, it's not edited. It can be useful for people. And the fact that you can get the content out there fast means that we're basically like news services. We're getting things out to people quickly and at pretty good quality. I think this might even be HD.

00:10:40 John Daub: I was talking to a guy named Cleon about going to a movie theater. If you're interested, why don't you come? Oh, I know. It's near the supermarket. Oh, really? I haven't been there yet. We're going together today. Oh, okay. Let's go. We're going after dinner. Oh, really? Yes. So they're going to an izakaya (Japanese pub) later, so I'll see them at the bar. Yeah, izakaya. Where is it? RIP something restaurant? You don't know, right? I don't know. When are you going? Now? After dinner? Okay. I'll see you guys there. What time? 6 o'clock. I think we'll go back to the hotel at 7 or 7:30. Okay. All right. See you there at 7:30.

00:11:56 John Daub: So they've asked me to go to the izakaya at 7:30. So we're going to go there and check it out. It's going to be a lot of fun. Actually, we were on the same ferry. And I said to you guys, if you are on the ferry, always say hi to people and always be kind. So they are going to join. I'm going to join them for a drink. It's going to be a lot of fun. So it does not look like, guys, that we're going to get a really nice sunset. And I will be back. Alan, I'm pretty fine with walking. Actually, my hotel is in the opposite direction. I'm staying on the other side of a tunnel. And it's kind of like a last moment reservation kind of place. But the hotel that I'm staying at was the first hotel on the island. And when NHK came here 50 years ago, when the island was returned to Japan from the United States, there was no place to stay. And the locals said, well, you can stay here. And they made a hotel out of this place. That was the first hotel. Somebody had canceled, and that's the only reason that I have a place at all. You have to make reservations like a month in advance, especially during this season.

00:13:24 John Daub: I had no idea about this. That's why I don't have a motorbike. But if you keep at it, things eventually break your way. And so far, I've been pretty lucky with accommodations. I've been able to get a lot of accommodation. I've been able to meet people. Even though you don't plan things properly, you still gotta go. And somehow it just works out, being out there. It's like the hitchhiking thing—whenever you're out there, stuff just happens. Just like with the livestream. When you livestream, anything can happen. That's what I like about it. But I'll be fine just walking home. And I can use the exercise because I had a shark burger with extra fries, which I should probably not have had. Alright, guys. Disappointing sunset. You get a nice view of the Pacific. If you are living in Tokyo like Alan from My Life Japan, I'm looking at you, Alan, right now across the ocean to you guys in Tokyo. I can see you. Just you have to squint really hard to see Japan on the other side of this.

00:14:23 John Daub: Was the shark burger any good? It was. And I had a super chat from somebody who asked me about tennis courts. They have three tennis courts in really good condition here. So if you do want to play tennis, I highly recommend coming here. They've got three tennis courts that were not in use. So just a shout out to the last super chat who asked me about tennis courts here. Hey, Gavin. Whoa, watching from Patagonia, Argentina. You guys can write in for the last 30 seconds where you're watching this from. It's always cool to know how global our audience is. Where everyone's watching from different continents. It feels like I'm on a different continent right now. Like I'm not even in Asia. Somewhere between the US and Japan in a way. Because this used to be San Francisco—like 50 years ago this was considered San Francisco. Had a California zip code. And now it's part of Japan. Sydney, Delaware. Look at that. Sweden, California. This is crazy. Tennessee, Philippines, Australia. I'm looking in all your direction.

00:15:35 John Daub: Yeah, this was considered California. This was considered San Francisco. And I'm learning about this history now. It's pretty interesting to see a 966 zip code. If it was 90210 we would know it's Beverly Hills. But it's a 966. That's up there in San Francisco. So it's kind of cool to learn about this history. And there's nothing on the internet about this history because it's from the 1940s and 50s. So I'm learning this from the old timer locals here. And this is important to preserve this kind of history I think. I'm going to pan down now to the water. And it's getting too dark to live stream almost. It's going to be pretty fun getting back. Alright, I'm turning this. We didn't even get any color out of this sunset. Very disappointing sunset. Turning it off. Got the GH5. So I got my setup here. Got different lenses. I have a clipboard for interviews. Maps. And this is my live streaming one. And I forgot water but I brought a grapefruit from the supermarket. It was the last grapefruit.

00:17:07 John Daub: Why San Francisco instead of Hawaii? I really don't know. Back then, I think Hawaii was just a state. Arizona became a state. I think it was 1947. And then Hawaii in 1949 or something. They were pretty new states. So at that time, administrative centers were mostly in California, I believe. So it wasn't Hawaii. And Guam was a possession, just like this was. Now Guam is more set. But this one was returned to Japan, as well as several other islands that were in the possession of the United States after World War II. I don't want to tell you guys all of the stories. I want to save that for when I do the live stream at the hotel tomorrow. That's going to be tomorrow's live stream. And maybe I'll do more than one, depending on if I can find some interesting topics. But this island, its history—it's just really fascinating.

00:18:03 John Daub: And if you're American, you can find a lot of traces of not just before the American occupation, when they had a lot of World War II guns pointed at the planes flying—like from this point. There'd be U.S. planes flying towards Japan, and then there are guns here, turrets to shoot them down. Still on this island. And this kind of history, although it's ancient and we don't have those feelings anymore, it's neat to see what was left over—what was World War II on this island. And again, Iwo Jima and Iwoto, which is famous from the Clint Eastwood movie and from the battle. The Americans, we still call it Iwo Jima. That island is part of Ogasawara. And they have a Tokyo zip code. But it used to be America. It's pretty neat to see that history today. For me anyways. And it's good to preserve it while people who were alive during World War II are still here. We want to preserve what our grandfathers went through when they were younger. And now in the age of the internet, this kind of stuff is harder to find. And it's my duty as a YouTuber in Japan to document as much as I can for everybody.

00:19:22 John Daub: Because I'm not really good at anything else. I make a big mess and my wife is always angry at that. I'm doing better though. I'm cleaning up more. It's different when you live with somebody. The first three months are like a grace period. Anyone who's married knows. We do a pretty good job. Nobody gets really angry. We just kind of tease each other. For now. Wife should get used to you. You know, professor, we get used to each other. That's the way it rolls. You know why? Because sometimes I don't get angry is because sometimes I'm completely wrong and she's right. And there were times when I got angry when I was wrong. And I learned my lesson a long time ago. Look, don't get angry because I might not be right. And sometimes I'm not. So when I'm not right, there's no reason to get angry and just kind of play cool. And in the end, we both win. I just don't get angry anymore. I haven't gotten angry since my 20s.

00:20:42 John Daub: Like there's no sunset, I could be angry. Instead, I'll just go drink with those dudes. I'm not really worth taking advice from. You know what I'm doing? That's my experience. You just go out there, you do it, and stuff happens. That's what I've been telling people. But if you just go on any path, another path will find you. That's what I tell when people ask me. A lot of people are like, I don't know what to do with my life. And I just say, do something. And then when you do that, you'll find something else. If you do nothing, you'll find nothing. It's as simple as that. So that's why I came out to Ogasawara without any plans. Because I knew if I just come out, I might find something interesting. And that's what I did. Yeah! Only in Japan.

00:22:00 John Daub: Oh, hello! What's your name? Kengo. Nice to meet you, Kengo. Yeah, in Ogasawara. I'm trying to do time-lapse, but it's not a good sunset today. Wow, where are you from, Kengo? I'm from Tochigi, Nikko. I used to live in Utsunomiya. Really? Not now, but... I lived there 15 years ago. Izumicho. You know, it's not a good area. It's alright area. Yeah. I'm here until the 12th. Until the 12th. Yeah, and then I go back on the ferry. Back to Tokyo. No, not Kengo Kuma. I'm actually live-haishin-chu (live streaming). Yeah, yeah, yeah. I checked yours. Yeah, they said, are you Kengo Kuma? I said, no. Kengo Kuma is designer of the stadium, the Olympic Stadium. No. That's not Kengo Kuma. You can say hi if you want.

00:23:08 John Daub: My friend's boat is broken. Oh, really? Oh, wonderful. There's Kengo. Sorry. That's not Kengo. He's anonymous. It's beautiful. How long are you here for? Oh, okay. Same boat. Yes. I saw you maybe. I was trying to. I'll try to film the boat going back. I was too tired. Yeah. Probably, so you guys are watching, I'll probably upload this video end of this month. So should be good. I'm trying to make three episodes, but I can't tell everybody what it is. Because people sometimes steal my ideas. Although this is hard to hide. Do you scuba dive? Ah, snorkeling? Yeah. I'm going to go to see the dolphins on the 5th. Yeah. I hope so too. After the typhoon, usually it's clear. So hopefully tomorrow I'll come back here. And it'll be better. The typhoon is just kind of leaving. That's one reason why we still have some clouds. The typhoon rolled through here, but it's still kind of the effect is around. Then some high pressure systems come in and clear it out.

00:24:45 John Daub: There's a light down there. Something's flashing. See it? Maybe it's someone in trouble. Help! Yeah. Alright. Thank you, Kengo. Bye bye to you guys too. It's getting dark. Seriously, it's dark going down. There's no light. And you remember when I was—do you remember there were lots of people here? Because I'm talking to you, there's nobody here now. This video was the last one. This is scary! Alright, will you guys walk with me a little bit at least? I don't want to walk alone. Because this could be some zombies or something. I have a very, very vivid imagination that just is not good for this kind of stuff. So goodbye to the view.

00:25:44 John Daub: I have a very vivid imagination of getting attacked by zombies and any sound might be a thing. Stuff like this. Why am I talking about it now? Really, look at this. This parking lot was filled with cars and you can't even see it anymore. There's nothing here. I gotta walk 1.2 kilometers down. Wait, is it this way or this way? Oh my gosh. This is gonna be bad. I know, and there's lots of ghosts here. I don't even have a light. Alright guys, I'm gonna go. I'm getting kind of worried. Hold on, turn it around here. It's pretty dark down there, so I'm just gonna book and go fast. So I'm gonna give you the last two minutes, 20 seconds of me streaming down the mountain with the wind noise and the rustling of the trees before it gets even too dark. If I book, maybe I can make it with this stream. Probably tomorrow. Thanks for watching. Click that like button if you like it and I'll see you tomorrow. Bye bye. No RIP! Don't say that! Pick clean out there. We'll be okay. It's a straight shot downhill, right? Just stay quiet and nothing will happen to you. Bye.