00:01 John Daub: Hello everybody, greetings from Shirogane. This is the Yumoto Shirogane Onsen Hotel. Onsen (hot spring) is basically a resort. There are about seven or eight really big hotels here, all with onsen water inside. I stayed here for the night at a reduced rate because a lot of the Chinese package tourists cancelled their trips due to the coronavirus problem going on all around China.

00:36 John Daub: I'm going to take you to one of the main attractions of this area, Shirahige Falls (Shirahige no Taki). It's a waterfall that was fortified in 1988 after Mount Tokachi volcano erupted not too far away. The city of Biei fortified it so that it would be preserved. But there was something that happened as a result of it, which I'm going to show you. To get to the viewpoint, we have to go over to that bridge. Do you see the bridge across there? Of course you do.

01:10 John Daub: We're going to go over there right now. It is about minus 10 right now, so it's warmer than minus 29, which I had two days ago in Rikubetsu, the coldest city in Hokkaido. For the last 10 days I've been on a tour around Hokkaido. Thank you so much for subscribing and following me because when we go live it's very exciting to get those notifications and join me—you're with me! That's what you subscribe for! Alright, we're going to go across this bridge now.

01:44 John Daub: It was 1988 that Mount Tokachi erupted, creating this really amazing natural reaction to what they did to fortify the falls. I'm getting used to the cold weather, gloveless. Compared to yesterday at Lake Akan, this is nothing. Shirahige no Taki—taki means waterfall in Japanese. We're in the center of Hokkaido near Asahikawa, and here's a map of where we are. Lots of snow here. Oh, this is so exciting because in about 15 seconds you're going to see it. It's pretty spectacular. Not that I ruined the surprise with the thumbnail, but that's all part of the fun. If you guys want to see this waterfall, hit the like button right now! Because it's going to be pretty awesome!

03:04 John Daub: 3, 2, 1. Whoa! Awesome! Not just a waterfall coming out of this beautiful snow. Look at the trees caked with snow. It's so spectacular. Look at the ice down there—it's been below zero for a very long time up here. And you can see very distinctly through this beautiful iPhone 11 Pro HDR technology, the water's blue! It's a freakishly light blue!

04:00 John Daub: The reason is we believe they used aluminum or a new material to help fortify the waterfall here. Inside the pipes and construction, they used this material. The result was the water turned blue! And that created the Blue Pond or Aoiike, which is about 2 kilometers down the road. I'm going to introduce it in another video really soon. Blue Falls is beautiful. If you're a Patreon supporter, I sent postcards last year with a drone shot of the Blue Pond—Aoiike is so spectacular. Here's the other side of the bridge, and as the water flows underneath, it's blue!

04:59 John Daub: Greg from LifeRom loaned me his Mavic Pro 2 because I only have the Mavic Pro 1 for this trip. I took some spectacular drone shots following the water here. I'm going to see if I can get down there and film a little bit more before I make my way back. I'm planning to stop off in Yubari if I have time to check out melons in the winter—they're just like seedlings or something. I'm meeting a ton of Australians in Hokkaido. I'd say about 80% of all the Westerners here are Australian, escaping the heat and coming to Niseko for skiing. One hand in my pocket, one on the gimbal.

06:26 John Daub: We could also go down to the end of the thing. Up there on the top of the mountain is an eruption museum. When Mount Tokachi erupted over there, it really damaged a lot of things in the area. They did all they could to preserve this big tourist attraction for Biei and Furano in the winter. That's what the construction was for. It's really cool that it created blue water. Do you think they planned it? It's like aluminum oxide that reacts to the natural onsen water coming out of the ground, creating this blue color. The snow is really powder snow here, and with just a little bit of wind, it falls off the trees like it's snowing.

07:44 John Daub: It's gonna be so much better in 4K when I upload the video. But I cannot not do this live—I can't share this because I'm alone here, but when I go live, I'm here with you guys. In the winter, the Blue Pond is not really blue—the pond is frozen. It's just far enough downstream where the onsen water is not hot anymore, and when it freezes, it becomes white because of the snow. But what they do is pretty unique: they take blue LED lights. Check out Instagram stories—I'll put a post up showing it. The lights give it a dramatic feel, making it an attraction even in winter. There are free buses from these hotels at 6:30 and 7:30—you can get there for like 30 minutes.

09:03 John Daub: Last night it was minus 24. I was there for an hour freezing, trying to get drone shots. Sorry, Greg—I left the ND filter on. Why is it so dark? I had to change it in minus 25—it was pretty rough. The drone battery went from 80% to 10% because of the cold, so I had to bring her back. I didn't crash her, Greg. That stairway there, that hamster tube, takes you up to the eruption museum, which I'm gonna go to after this live stream. Hokkaido's got a ton of volcanoes. They don't erupt as often as the ones in Kyushu, but when they do, creates all sorts of problems.

10:33 John Daub: I've been in Japan for 22 years now, since 1998. My wife's Japanese, so I'm trapped here—I'm not gonna complain. Oh man, it's probably hot water—do you see the steam coming off it? I'd love to take a bath in there, but maybe because there's aluminum oxide in the water. I stayed in this hotel on the banks here, and there's an outdoor bath. It was freezing last night, minus 25, 30. I got there right before it closed. You're naked, and you have to go down the steps to the outdoor onsen. You do this girl run—ah!—down into the onsen. Then you warm up, your body gets super hot, and the steam keeps your head hot too.

11:50 John Daub: When I got out, dripping from the onsen, the drips created a patch of ice instantly because it was minus 25, 30. I slipped on that, hit my arm, and cut it up a little bit. You have to be careful—that's a self-inflicted wound. I've had worse. Driving here was a little nerve-wracking because of the snowy roads. I'll post a picture on the Discord server—it's free, Only in Japan Discord. We have general discussion, cherry blossoms 2020, and stuff like that.

13:32 John Daub: Here's the thumbnail I took—pretty cool, right? Driving was nerve-wracking on snowy roads. If you have questions about traveling in Japan, join the Discord. The countdown has started for late February. On JAL and Yamagata for cherry blossoms? I'll give an update—they're giving away 50,000 free domestic seats. Yamagata does awesome cherry blossoms. Rent a car, hit two or three spots—countryside is better than crowded cities with drunk salarymen. Yamagata peaks mid-April, about three weeks after Tokyo. It's gonna be chilly, so bring sweaters.

16:11 John Daub: You can see the string between the trees there. Great question. Animated—I don't see the hippos, but I'd love to be in that warm water. Getting down there would require ropes—nobody's down there. Thanks so much for watching—we're live from Hokkaido, Shirogane Onsen, and this is the waterfall that creates Blue Pond or Aoiike, about two kilometers this way. All created after 1988 when Mount Tokachi erupted, and the city of Biei started construction to fix it up. If you want to see another livestream today, click the thumbs up—it helps playback later.

19:04 John Daub: I want to go down there, but if tourists go, they ruin the snow—like at Blue Pond. They need signs in English too. Shirahige Tourist Association, give me a call—I'm happy to help show off Japan's beauty. If you have questions about Shirahige Falls, leave a comment below. Ever been here? Share your stories. Subscribe so you get notifications—you can join live, it's more fun. Have you seen the sea ice? I already did—check my 2018 footage from Abashiri.

20:34 John Daub: If someone relieved himself in the stream, it would turn green—yellow and blue make green. For all the nine-year-olds watching. Going to Kaku no Date for hanami and Okinawa for astrophotography? Hirosaki Festival is awesome, between April 22nd and 27th. You can't drink that water—onsen has chemicals and minerals. We soak in it for smooth skin. Say goodbye to the blue Shirahige Falls. Best time is winter for onsen, or spring/summer/fall for the Blue Pond nearby. The view is beautiful with caked-on snow, ice structures—stand on the bridge in awe.

24:44 John Daub: From drone shots at 120 meters, the view panning closer—gonna be an awesome video. Some dude lost his mask—gross, stay away. You guys want to see my rent-a-car? Look at the chains on the tires. Road's closed up there. Shirahige no Taki—sorry, not Shirogane, that's the onsen.

26:12 John Daub: Hey Toby (crow), back off my car! Dude, Toby's freaking out. You understand me? I saw you in that movie with Hitchcock—don't even date. You guys stay away from me and my car—it's a rental. Crows, I know you're looking at the car. You think I'm gonna take you to Sapporo for free? You and your kind stole from bears two years ago—you're dubbed thieves.

28:29 John Daub: I better get in the car—I just summoned a thousand of them. This is gonna turn into a Hitchcock movie. Let's get out of here. Thanks so much. See everybody as I make my escape from these birds of death. Oh, he took a dump!