Only in Japan Go — Transcripts
Summaries + full diarized transcripts
2020-12-21 · Ep 884 · 52m

Japanese Christmas Market and Tokyo Lights

TokyoChristmas MarketGerman FoodTokyo LightsCOVID-19 Measures
Summary

Japanese Christmas Market and Tokyo Lights

Overview

In this festive episode, John Daub visits the Tokyo Christmas Market during the unique circumstances of December 2020. Despite the pandemic, the market is open with strict safety protocols in place, including temperature checks, mask mandates, and social distancing rules. John explores the German-inspired stalls, sampling traditional treats like Glühwein (mulled wine), sausages, and cheese dogs while interacting with his online community.

The video captures the blend of German Christmas traditions transplanted into Tokyo, from the ornate mugs to the nativity scenes. John also searches for the perfect Christmas ornament for his wife, Kanae, who stays home for safety. The episode concludes with a look at the Tokyo Christmas lights and reflections on the holiday spirit during a challenging year.

Highlights

  • 00:38 COVID Rules: John reviews the strict safety guidelines posted at the entrance, including temperature checks and time limits.
  • 07:13 First Glühwein: John purchases his first hot wine and keeps the commemorative mug.
  • 10:04 Tasting Notes: John critiques the spice level and alcohol content of the Japanese-made Glühwein.
  • 19:54 Lindt Chocolate Stand: A long queue forms for limited edition Christmas ornaments and chocolates.
  • 27:11 Food Order: John orders a cheese dog and a second, spicier Glühwein from Gregor's stall.
  • 31:14 Cheese Dog Review: John tries the Christmas cheese dog, noting it's smaller than German versions but tasty.
  • 34:11 Holiday Reflections: John shares hopeful messages about 2021 and Santa getting vaccinated.
  • 45:40 Ornament Hunt: John searches for the perfect ornament for Kanae, consulting viewers for advice.
  • 50:19 Final Purchase: John buys multiple ornaments to ensure Kanae likes at least one.

Timeline / Chapters

  • 00:00 Introduction: Entry procedures and temperature checks at the Tokyo Christmas Market.
  • 02:08 Market Scout: Walking through the stalls, observing food options and social distancing.
  • 07:13 Drinks: Buying the first Glühwein and keeping the mug.
  • 12:49 Christmas in Japan: Discussion on how Christmas is celebrated differently in Japan.
  • 21:43 Food Hunt: Looking for sausages, Eisbein, and other German specialties.
  • 27:11 Lunch: Ordering a cheese dog and apple kuchen.
  • 36:32 2021 Outlook: Viewer poll on hopes for the new year.
  • 42:20 Ornament Shopping: Browsing the Lindt and decoration stalls.
  • 50:19 Conclusion: Buying ornaments and signing off.

Japan Travel Tips

  • COVID Protocols: Expect temperature checks, mask requirements, and limited capacity at events. Some venues enforce time limits (e.g., 2 hours max).
  • Mug Deposits: Many Christmas markets sell drinks in commemorative mugs (500–1000 yen). You often keep the mug, or can return it for a deposit refund.
  • Best Time to Visit: Arrive early to avoid crowds and lines, especially for popular items like Lindt chocolates. Weekdays are less crowded.
  • Payment: Cash is still king at many outdoor stalls, though some accept IC cards or credit.
  • Trash Separation: Japan separates trash meticulously. Look for bins labeled "burnable" and "non-burnable" (e.g., trays vs. food scraps).

Japanese Language & Culture Notes

  • Christmas in Japan: Not a national holiday. Often celebrated romantically or commercially rather than religiously. Fried chicken and Christmas cake are traditional foods.
  • Glühwein: German mulled wine popular at winter illuminations. In Japan, it may be less alcoholic or sweeter than European versions.
  • Itadakimasu (いただきます): Phrase said before eating, meaning "I humbly receive."
  • Kanpai (乾杯): Japanese toast meaning "cheers."
  • Prost: German toast used interchangeably with Kanpai at German-themed events.

Food & Drink Guide

  • Glühwein (Mulled Wine): 07:13 Hot spiced wine. John notes the first one was sweet with little spice, but the second from Gregor's stall was better. Comes in a keepable mug.
  • Sausages: 02:43 Various types available, including beef stew and sirloin stew.
  • Cheese Dog: 27:11 Sausage with cheese, served in a bun. John compares it to Munich versions. Price: 600 yen.
  • Apple Kuchen: 27:11 Apple-filled cream donuts/pastries.
  • Bacon: 24:23 Honey mustard sauce bacon mentioned as a warming option.

People

  • John Daub: Host. Exploring the market alone due to pandemic safety concerns but interacting heavily with online viewers.
  • Kanae Daub: John's wife. Not present physically but frequently mentioned. John buys ornaments for her and consults her via chat.
  • Viewers/Chat: Active participants including Jeff Ang, Jonathan Chong, Jennifer French, Marty Dittmer, and others who suggest food and ornaments.

Key Takeaways

  • The Tokyo Christmas Market adapted successfully to 2020 safety guidelines without cancelling.
  • German Christmas traditions are popular in Japan, though often modified (e.g., sweeter Glühwein).
  • Community interaction (online chat) helped replicate the social aspect of the market during isolation.
  • Christmas ornaments and decorations are highly sought after, with long lines for popular brands like Lindt.

Notable Quotes

  • 01:07 "This does feel very much like you're not in Japan when you're here. Because that's sort of what Christmas is here in Japan. It's not really a Japanese thing. It's more of a German thing, I guess."
  • 09:13 "Whether you're Christian or not, there's just a good feeling at Christmas time. I don't think it really is a holiday that excludes anybody. It's just a jolly time."
  • 34:11 "Christmas is a special time. You know why? Because it means the year is ending. We're rounding the corner. I think it's going to get better."
  • 36:32 "I heard that Santa Claus got the vaccine, according to the CDC. Kanae told me, according to the CDC, Santa got the vaccine, so he's going to be fine entering your house."
  • 50:19 "It's not about... It's about the spirit, okay?"

Related Topics

  • Tokyo Winter Illuminations
  • German Food in Tokyo
  • COVID-19 Travel Restrictions Japan
  • Christmas in Japan Traditions
  • Hibiya Park Events

Search Tags

#only-in-japan-go #tokyo #christmas-market #gluhwein #hibiya-park #winter-travel #japan-food #covid-19 #tokyo-lights #german-food #christmas-ornaments #2020


Full Transcript

00:00 John Daub: Hello everybody, welcome to Tokyo. I'm about to go into the Christmas market here that they do every year. I was surprised that this was not cancelled. So join me as we take precautions. They're also going to be checking our temperature. Oh, that was pretty interesting. You use your hands to check your temperature. They're not allowing a lot of people in.

00:38 John Daub: Here's some of the rules for the Christmas market here. Probably in Germany's Christmas markets next year, maybe. Three people to a table. Social distance. Wear your mask. Take your temperature. Use alcohol. Don't speak loudly. Don't cross the line. Two hours maximum. And if you start to feel bad, call that number. Wear a beard over your mask. That's a good one.

01:07 John Daub: They also have a mug that you can buy, which I might take back to Kanazawa. And look at the... Wow, this does feel very much like you're not in Japan when you're here. Because that's sort of what Christmas is here in Japan. It's not really a Japanese thing. It's more of a German thing, I guess. And over there you see the big wheel. My friends in Munich taught me this, but I don't even remember what it is. But we'll get a closer look at it.

01:43 John Daub: And for the next 30 minutes or so, we're going to be around here. And I'm going to take you to the Christmas lights. I'm going to take you to where the Christmas lights are on the other side of the event. And it's going to be pretty interesting to see Tokyo at Christmas at this time of year. And I know a lot of you aren't feeling that Christmas spirit. Maybe for a little bit, you can. With food. And booze. A little bit.

02:08 John Daub: Alright, let's walk around before we decide to get into eating stuff. Because I want to scout the lay of the land here. A lot of it is sausages. And beer. I know yesterday they had a power outage, so they had to cancel. I've been looking at the Twitter page to see if they're still doing the Christmas market. And they were! How cool is that? And yeah, there is kind of a little bit of a Christmas spirit here. It would be pretty cool if there was some snow.

02:43 John Daub: Oh, apple pie! Sausages with gravy. Beef stew. Sirloin stew. Sausage just wrapped in a coil like a snake. How you doing? How you doing? It's not warm. There's a heater here in the middle to keep you warm. So there are things that are going on all around this market.

03:21 John Daub: Okay, I think that's copyrighted music. Let's escape. We're gonna cut through this tent real quickly. Alright, so this is the event hall where people are kind of eating and drinking and being merry. But three at a party. A lot of spacing here. Because of the protocols, I'm not live streaming with anybody and I'm keeping my distance as much as possible from everybody. You have to be responsible in these times here, but it's pretty interesting to just see if Christmas markets had going on in Germany would it be like this now this market is open.

03:54 John Daub: I know that they've all been cancelled in Germany and in Austria and other places all around Europe. In fact Christmas in the UK has been cancelled outright. I heard I don't know. I don't know what how that works. I'm gonna go get some hot wine here.

04:13 John Daub: This does sort of feel like I was back in Germany. We were with Kanae last year in Munich and Innsbruck and Prague and Vienna. It sort of feels like that just a little bit but not really cuz Kanae's not here. She didn't want to come because we wanted to be safe. So I just came here. Suzette's here for your snack fund. I will put that to good use in Raymond's and I'm gonna go get some hot wine. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to the Only in Japan family. Happy holidays season's greetings. Hi John, happy holidays from Jeff Ang. Thank you, Jeff. All right, let's get some stuff.

04:57 John Daub: Last year this market was actually moved to Tokyo Tower. This market was on the other side of the city and I had a hard time finding it. Kanae and I actually I think we did a live stream there, but it was the first time the market had a really wonderful view of Tokyo Tower. But it's a smaller venue this time. They kept it back at here, but it's not quite the same because I came here before the evening so that I could have a better chance of staying away from people.

05:29 John Daub: I wanted to just get a flavor before I walk away from here and go to the Christmas lights around the city. Each one of these booths is a little bit different. Where's the warm spiced wine the Kinderpunsch? Can I want some Kinderpunsch? All right, is that Kinderpunsch? Kingdom punchy, that's not German food is it? That's it looks like car again. Oh here it is. This one looks like warm spiced wine here.

06:23 John Daub: Hot chocolate, I don't see the warm spiced wine. I just see beer. Ah, there it is up there. Now each one of these shops each shop is different. Last year I had some nasty one. I had a really nasty wine. It's hard to know which one is the best one here. Alright, let's just go and do it. Alright, potato chips, french fries. I'm not really into that. Salmon? They don't have that. I didn't see salmon in Munich.

07:13 John Daub: So there's a line here. We have to stay on the line. Yes, one Glühwein please. One red wine please. Can I have a red one? Here you go. Thank you. Where do I put the mug? It's closer. Oh, it's closer? Thank you. Hey, we get to keep the mug.

08:13 John Daub: Alright, let's get to a place where nobody is. Follow the wine. The Glühwein. Glühwein. Glühwein. Let's go to the bench. Big merry-go-round. Jonathan Chong says thank you. Jonathan Chong says nice mug. Check it out. At least they're going kind of slow. Because I think I would get dizzy if they went any faster.

08:54 John Daub: I do like in Germany, they do keep the nativity scene. And they do keep the traditions of Christmas alive. And whether you're Christian or not, there's just a good feeling at Christmas time. I don't think it really is a holiday that excludes anybody. It's just a jolly time.

09:13 John Daub: Oh, Tisbee has one of those. Alright, I want to get away from people a little bit. So then I can take off my mask to drink this. Let's go to the corner here. I saw that there was kind of stools. I guess it's a stool. This qualifies. I'm real. Merry Christmas. This is great. Alright, I got a tripod. Let me put this on here and then I'll talk to you for a minute.

10:04 John Daub: So I am staying away from people. Keeping it safe. Prost. Merry Christmas. That's pretty good. I don't think that has any alcohol in it. It just tastes really sweet. The ones in Germany make me feel a lot warmer. Not a lot of cinnamon. Actually, there's not a lot of spices or flavor to it. It just is. Grape juice with vodka. A little bit of booze and not enough spice. But it's not bad. You get to keep the mug, which is cool.

11:07 John Daub: I got a feeling that the Japanese staff did it. And they probably cooked it at too high of a heat. And all the alcohol kind of dissipated. Which probably keeps us all a little bit safer. I don't know. If we get some boozed up people here, that might not be so good. Like, what are they waiting in line for? Santa Claus? Do not tell me Santa Claus is here. If Santa Claus is here, I gotta... If Santa's here, this reminds me of the scene in Elf.

11:52 John Daub: If Santa's here, we have to feel the spirit. You must at least have a funny hat or sweater. That's right, Jennifer French. I'm ready for Santa. I'm geared up. Can you imagine a year with no Christmas at all? Imagine. And I think somebody corrected the record yesterday as we talk over a Glühwein here. Santa does come to Japan. He makes a stop at our United States bases to deliver presents to the kids there on base. As well as some of the men who keep us safe and women. I was corrected by our viewers. So Santa also refuels apparently at the military base. I was also told by military personnel.

12:49 John Daub: But in general, a lot of families don't have Christmas trees or chimneys. So Christmas is a little bit different here. Now this event is called Tokyo Christmas Market. It's the biggest Christmas market in the city of Tokyo. There's another one going on in Roppongi. They do this every year. And last year it was moved over to Shiba Park, which is not too far away. Actually, it took us a long time to find it. And this year I was surprised that they still had it going on. But I see that they're taking precautions. And they're limiting the numbers here. So if you don't get into the event early, there's a line for you. It's one in and one out. So it never gets as crowded as it usually gets. Which is a safety measure, I suppose.

13:42 John Daub: But we're going to go get some food after I finish this Glühwein. Maybe get like a sandwich or something like I had in Vienna. And then we're going to cruise the street. Take a look at some of the Christmas lights. In about 5-10 minutes from now, it's going to start to get darker. I know because the sun is set already. It's already set over there. So the night sky is out. And the moon, if you can see it in the center of your screen, that's the moon. So it's a beautiful day here in Tokyo. Just chillier than normal.

14:27 John Daub: Is anybody feeling the Christmas spirit? Just a little bit? It's nice out here. Hey, Betty C. Thanks for bringing this to us. Especially those who are in cities where most Christmas stuff is closed. Yeah, Betty, I know. I feel that because my friends are saying the same thing. They don't feel Christmas this year. And it's really hard for me and Kanae too. Even with a Christmas tree in our house, we're playing Christmas songs from morning to night. That still doesn't help. You have to be around people and family, right?

15:01 John Daub: Michael Sassano is in the house here contributing to the food fund. Thank you. Hey, Brandania is off of work. And with us from Hawaii. I will absolutely get something for Kanae. And Brendan Walker here. How are you doing, Brendan? Is it time to get in trouble with Glühwein? I'm not allowed to get in trouble. But I'm allowed to maybe imbibe a little. A little. So we don't want to get in trouble with that, right? Jennifer French writes in, show us the mug decoration. I can do that. Here we go. Check it out. Oh, Christmas tree. Oh, Christmas tree. There's a nutcracker on my mug. A big fat bear and loads of stars.

16:02 John Daub: Oh, Christmas tree. Is that one of those Russian little doll things with lots of little babies inside there? Da, da, da, da, da. And that's the thing right there. Underneath it, there's no tag. But inside of it, there's just a little baby. And it's a little bit left. And it's two liters. And that's what's right there on the mug. See that? Pretty sweet, huh? You can't down Glühwein, but you're supposed to drink this with friends. So I'm happy that you're here and we can social distance digitally. Ooh, there is alcohol in there. I feel the Christmas spirit. There's a couple of drops in there.

17:08 John Daub: Off we go. This is a nice mug. Oh, Christmas mug. Oh, Christmas mug. You're going to get warmed again with another drink. And then there were people spinning. Not because of the booze I drank. Oh, I don't know what these are called here. Here it says Echt Erzgebirge-Holzkunst mit. That means with. Hers, which is the opposite of his, I guess. I can't read German, which is odd because I'm 25% German. You know, my German friends say, nah, just give up, John. Speak English. I'll always keep trying.

18:01 John Daub: I guess there's a bag that you can put your mug in. So they mentioned the process here. The rule is you pay and you get the mug. You take the mug, get the drink, then take your drink. And when you're done, you get to keep the mug. Just put it in a bag. Maybe the same with the beer glasses. The mugs are 500 yen. But the beer glasses are a thousand yen. You get to keep the glass or you can get the thousand yen back. So that's how it works. Listen to the nutcracker. Here we go. Let's see if we can find some food before this place gets too crowded. The good thing with this thing not being crowded is there's actually places to eat.

18:48 John Daub: The doggies. He's inside of a basket. That was so cute. Hey, Kanae. That's a bear. Look, they have a mega size. We get that. I got that in London like several years ago. They have a mega size chocolate Lindt bear. So what are they waiting in line for? Is that Santa? Is that Santa in there? They're waiting in line for what's in the front here. Let's go look. Hey, Kanae. They got Christmas ornaments here. I got to bring Kanae now. They got Christmas ornaments. Look, Kanae. They got dancers. Awesome.

19:54 John Daub: This is what the people are waiting in line for. Oh, it's the Lindt Merry Christmas. Oh, Lindt has some sort of thingy going on here. Kanae just sent me online. Oh, my God. She wants one of these ornaments. This is the Lindt chocolate stand, and the line is long. Oh, look at that. Mama's taking a picture of the babies. This is so precious. I'm trying to help. It was almost, we almost had it. I'm drawing a crowd. That's it. They got it. Oh, my God. I helped. The Christmas spirit. I helped a little bit. Who knew that my talents for barking might come in handy one day? Who knew? I was able to bring cheer. Ho ho ho. They said ho ho ho. Awesome.

21:43 John Daub: All right. Let's go around a little bit more. Let's find some more spirit. Oh, they got beer here. Dangerous. What's this? Run away, run away. And you won't hear me saying run away from beer very often. But let's be honest. No good can come from John falling over in a pandemic. Whoa. Eisbein. What is Eisbein? There's no ice in it. Looks like a big chicken log. Wow, this food looks amazing. What is that? Looks like a pig foot. It's awesome. Roast chicken. Is that like Schweinshaxe? Schweinshaxe. Yeah.

22:33 John Daub: Hey, Marty Dittmer's here. Ornament and Lindt fun. Marty, I'm going to come back with Kanae, I think. I think she cannot not come here, right? If we come on a weekday now, I think it would be pretty safe, right? I got to come back here on a private time. I want her to pick the ornament. Thank you, Marty. And Frankie goes to Hobbywood. Get a nice Christmas ornament for Kanae. That we can do. So I want Kanae to pick it up because I know she's going to say, oh, can you take it back? I don't like that one. So I'm going to bring her with me. And you know what? I'll post pictures on the Only in Japan Go community page for everybody. Because we have four days to go to Christmas. This is really nice.

23:21 John Daub: And you can see these are like candle holders here. That's pretty nice there. One of the things and the charms of the markets in Germany was that you can see some of the traditional goods, the ornaments, the markets, the sellers. And there's a smell in the air of the food. So let's go and get some of that food. I can smell it. Therefore, I need it. I could use another Glühwein, too. What is this? White sausages and soup. I could totally go for that. Is that German? Pair Iko. Never heard of that company. They have Christmas cake here. What do you think I should get? I'm going to let the Internet decide. What should I get? Should I get a plate of six sausages? I know that's not healthy, though. I'm literally on a diet.

24:23 John Daub: Get something with cream filling. OK, Jennifer, there goes my diet. Just do it. Christmas sausages. Get the cake. Get the sausages. Cake, sausage, cake, sausage. There's a fight going on between the cake and the sausages. The bacon. What about the bacon? No one said anything about the bacon. This is a honey mustard sauce bacon. Two points for bacon, especially in cold weather. Just the sound of it. Bacon. It makes you warm like you're baking.

25:01 John Daub: All right. I'm going to go back to where we came because I think that this area everybody comes in and they go to the right. So let's skip over. We're going to go. We're going to cut through here. This will become the definitive night twenty twenty Christmas market Tokyo video. I think. Thanks, everybody for joining me. Click the thumbs up if you like Christmas. You like Christmas. Click thumbs up. And if you can see here, I like how they do separate the garbage here. They have the unburnable and the burnable. So chopsticks and stuff and then anything that you can't eat with soup or something, you can put it into the buckets and somebody comes to clear it out. The trays go here. It's all done so orderly. Very Japanese. So it is in many ways a Japanese Christmas market.

25:55 John Daub: Let's get some food now. Twenty six minutes is a long time without chow. Oh, I'm looking for the Christmas. The smoke. My smoking scent. Oh, there's those Russian thingies. That's what I'm looking for. The smoking Santa smoking triangle things. So if you see them, let me know. People. All right. Let's move over here. Oh, this looks like the sausage hut. His name is Gregor. Zollerhof Gregor Haus. I'm in the spirit of Gregor. Gregor's got some good sausages there. Let's see what they have here. This is a plate of sausages. I got to bring Kanae here. I can't eat all this stuff. I'm forty six. This stuff will kill me. Oh, this is OK. I'm getting this one. So I can eat this one. It's like a sausage in a bun. I'm going to eat this.

27:11 John Daub: OK, I'm in the spirit of Gregor. I saw that John Kimura. I'm going to answer you in a second. Hello. 24. Christmas. Snow. Cheese dog. OK. 600 yen. All right. Hey, do you have any more Glühwein? Can I have some instead? Yes. Let's support the Gregors. All right. I got these apple. Apple-filled cream kuchen. There's two donuts. We gotta come here, Kanae. We cannot not come here. Thank you very much.

28:20 John Daub: Alright. Thank you very much. Whoa, okay, follow the hot dog. This tray looks like it could collapse like it's made of paper. So I'm going to the other side, which had more less people. Just go this way. Oh, I'm gonna drop the tray. Oh, the lights are starting to get brighter. Go to the side where there's no people. I feel the spirit of Christmas. And it says don't drop the tray. Look at that cheese dog. I don't remember cheese dogs in Germany.

29:31 John Daub: Alright, I saw some empty spots over there five minutes ago. Before I helped out the dog lady. Alright, you know what? I'm gonna just go to the fountain. So, we have a cheese dog. It's very German. I'm proud of the cheese dogs of Munich. And another Glühwein. Michael, it's not blue wine. It's Glühwein. Because I also made the same mistakes. I was thinking it was something else. For an extremely long time, that was not the case.

30:24 John Daub: I'm the only one here wearing a Santa hat. And I'm not embarrassed. I'm proud. The thing with geeks. They're proud to be geeks. If you're not proud of it, you're not a geek. Wait. Most geeks are not proud to be geeks. Actually most geeks don't know that they are geeks. Therefore, knowing that I am one makes me not one. The tropical looking waters of Hie Shrine park might not exactly suit the spirit of Christmas more the spirit of a Tahitian Christmas. So we're gonna move this way.

31:14 John Daub: All right, to people. It's all about people. All right, let's give this a try here. This is a Christmas cheese dog. And if anybody's ever been to Germany, they know that the cheese dog is a big deal. Now, it's half the size of a normal sausage that I would get in Germany. But it's a sausage nonetheless. So, itadakimasu. That's pretty good. Kanpai, prost. Oh. Gregor makes a better Glühwein. More spices. I think I had to get the second one. You had to get the second one to compare the spiciness, the taste of it. This is so much better. Mmm. It's a good cheese dog.

32:34 John Daub: It's really hard to come here with... I'm going to turn it around so you can take a look here at the market on the other side. But it's really hard to come here alone. I think you need to come here with... I definitely need mustard. Or garlic. Or gravy or something. The cheese is good though. But it's hard to come here alone. I think you definitely need to come with friends. That's part of the Christmas spirit. People. Skål. Yeah, you need to come with people.

33:04 John Daub: Tis the season. So, somebody said hello to me. And I... Tis the season to run away from strangers. Japanese TV was saying one of the things that made 2020 strange was this is the first year if you took off your mask, people got freaked out. Usually people get freaked out when you wear a mask. This year, when you took off your mask, people freaked out. It was that kind of a year here. It's a different kind of a cheese. I've never had this before here in Japan. It's definitely not a Japanese cheese.

34:11 John Daub: You know folks, Christmas is a special time. You know why? Because it means the year is ending. We're rounding the corner. I think it's going to get better. I don't know if there's any kids that are watching. I heard that Santa Claus got the vaccine, according to the CDC. Kanae told me, according to the CDC, Santa got the vaccine, so he's going to be fine entering your house. That's what I heard.

34:53 John Daub: Let's scroll across here. Oh, look at the two love birds. Santa should be bringing the vaccine to everyone. It would be hard though. So I think Santa is not a doctor or a licensed practitioner. And I think it'd probably be handled better with a doctor. I think that Santa would have to give you the injection when you're sleeping. That'd be pretty interesting if you woke up and there was a note in your stocking that says you've been vaccinated. That would be actually quite creepy. Imagine you wake up with a note in your stocking, you've been vaccinated. Check your arm and you have a band-aid that says with the elves on it. I can see the elves all coming out and vaccinating everybody. Jumping back into Santa's bag and sleigh.

36:32 John Daub: But kidding aside, a lot of people are not. I asked on Instagram, do you believe that 2021 is going to be a good year? And 80% of the people said yes and 20% of the people said no. So why aren't those 20% saying yes? I'm a little worried about that. I got Kanae on my mind here. I'm thinking about checking out one of those ornament stands and getting something for her to take back. So let's go do that next because I'm Glühwein'd out. Oh, here we go. Excellent.

37:12 John Daub: So Winane got vaccinated on Friday. Congratulations. We will not be able to get the vaccine until the end of February is what we're being told here. So yeah, right now it's just not approved in Japan yet. So I want to say prost to everybody. Kampai to the spirit of Christmas here. That's my mug. And it's kind of nice that we can celebrate Christmas a little bit in Japan where it's been canceled completely in the United Kingdom. Oh, he's put some fruit in here. The Gregor people are really nice. They put some fruit in there. That's Stan. I gotta recommend them over the other one. I think when you come to the markets, you do have to try more than one. Because each one is serving something different, I think.

38:14 John Daub: Alright, we're gonna go take a look at the ornaments. And don't worry if I don't buy anything. I'm gonna look because I want Kanae to get something that she wants. And I don't live that far away from here. So I'll be back. But I don't wanna leave. And she's definitely getting this mug. This cute mug. Look at it. It's so cute. I'm gonna definitely get something either this time or something that she wants. Kanae, if you see something, just send me online this one. Okay, so I know. Because I think she's watching. She's too shy to chat in here now. She's too shy. Kanae does not want seal curry. Alright? She barely ate the deer curry. She only had one bite. And she wanted more. I know it. But she didn't want to admit that it was good.

39:18 John Daub: They need more Christmas songs. Royalty-free Christmas songs. Jingle bells. Batman smells. Robin laid an egg. The Batmobile lost its wheel. And the Joker got away. What's the next line? Does anyone know? Riddler took a drag of vodka. Punch and toothpaste. A cinnamon. A cinnamon roll. Is there another line to the whole Batman jingle bells song? I've been trying to figure it out. Brandini, right? I'm trying to figure out if there's another song, another line to it. Okay, hold on. Somebody just wrote one here. Joker got away. Hey, Batman smells. Robin laid an egg. The Batmobile lost its wheel. And the Joker got... You're just repeating it. There's another line. There's got to be more to it. Grandma got run over by reindeer. We hear that on the radio, but I think that's copyrighted.

40:29 John Daub: All right. John Daub did not lay an egg. And if he did, it would be a half-boiled egg. And I would put it in ramen. And I would share it with you. He put more booze in this one. Oh. That's an apple. That was the best Glühwein I've had. That would... That can compete with the stuff in Germany, actually. That was really good. Big shout-out to that booth. That's the best one so far. I got to come back here. All right. I'm putting this in my pocket again so it doesn't break. Let's go take a look at the Christmas ornaments. I don't want to make this over an hour again because people have been complaining, John, your live streams are too long in the playback. Somebody even asked me, John, do you mind if I don't watch the whole video? And I said no because I wouldn't know, first of all. And second, it's okay. Watch what you want to watch. If you don't want to watch anymore, don't watch anymore. I'm here for you live. That's what it is for, right? The spirit of Christmas is strong with this one.

42:20 John Daub: All right. Let's move on. That was fun. All right. Mask on. Let's now go and get some ornaments. If we find something, we're going to buy it. It has to be good. Rule number one. If the ornament is not good, I don't buy it, okay? Oh, they're playing that Feliz Navidad song. That's nice. I like that one. The Feliz Navidad. All right. Here we go. Buckle up. We're going to the Christmas market after I get rid of this tray. Okay. Oh, my gosh. There's a 60-minute wait for the Lindt chocolate. It's a 60-minute, one-hour wait. So get here early if you want the Lindt chocolate.

43:43 John Daub: Where do I get rid of this tray? Here. Feliz Navidad. Feliz. That's my dad. Feliz Navidad. It's Christmas in this place. I want to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Where do I put this tray? Okay. Oh, okay. I remember now. It's around the corner here. Follow the dirty tray. All right. It's like you're floating, right? It's the gimbal. I know. Here we go. Burnable and non-burnable. Oh, sorry, sir. Burnable. Burn that cheese. And white tray with white tray. Done. Tray POV. Cobra Bebop's here. Merry Christmas, Cobra Bebop. Merry Christmas.

44:54 John Daub: All right. Let's get a move on. PMX is here. ARS. Is that Argentina? Air to the Ronde. Almost 500 likes. Thanks for that. Here we go. You got to get something for Kanae. It's good though. You don't remember the menu. So that's the menu. It's all around it. Just say sausages and probably you're okay. All right. Back to the ornaments. John Kimura and Marty have spoken. Going back empty handed would be bad. Nothing good can come.

45:40 John Daub: Oh, ornaments. Okay. Really nice. These are really nice. Look at these. They look like little trees over there. Let's go to the ornament one. I can't believe there's a one hour wait for the Lindt chocolate. All right. Here's the ornaments. Kanae, the ornaments. All right. Kanae broke some of the ones on the Christmas tree. So we got to find a dancer. There's like a line. Okay. John, get in line. These are Nutcracker ornaments. Marty, John, I don't know what you think. They look kind of tacky. I don't think they can actually crack nuts. They're too small. Maybe like a peanut that's already been cracked. That's no good. What do we got here? Creepy cat.

47:03 John Daub: What do we got? Oh, you got to look up. You got to look up. Santa in a car. That's kind of cool, but I've seen Kanae drive. It's kind of scary. So there's Santa. He's saying, is that a Justin Bieber phrase? A Bieber? Maybe Reber? Why is he Santa? Santa likes Justin Bieber. Did you see that? I didn't expect that. Oh, ice skating Santa. They don't have any dancers, though. I'm looking for something that she might really like. Llama doesn't really fit in the... Oh, that one. I could see Kanae. No, she wouldn't like that one. That looks like Santa doing the Putin shirtless pose. No. Oh, that's a Santa. No.

48:02 John Daub: You know what? I don't see anything good, though. What about this one? Why do they all have cars on it? Or they're Justin Bieber ornaments? Ai-chan writes a no. Llama one is cute. You know what? They're all kind of like cute, but it's not something that I want to get. I look for the best. And you know what? The people running the shop aren't even outside. They don't even care about selling because they know that their lineup is mediocre. Like, these are nice, maybe, but I don't like the Dancing Queen, but I don't... It's just like a bunch of glitter. I mean, I can get this. I think that would be more on par, right? The Dancing Queen. What do you think? Marty. Marty, help me. Marty. What should I do? There's a gold Dancing Queen. Should I get one of each?

49:17 John Daub: Get her a donut, somebody wrote. Bela, what should I... The ornaments look like what's left in Target. That's how I feel. These look like what's left over at Target on the 26th. But maybe I should get something. I mean, is that a real diamond? I don't know. I'm going to have to... I can't go back empty-handed. Should I get her... Joy says no. Carlos just laughs. Ancon says get it from Amazon. Someone said it's a real diamond. Get one of each. Marty is confused. What are you doing? He thinks a lot, Marty. What should I get?

50:19 John Daub: All right. You know what? I'll just get one of each. It's not about... It's about the spirit, okay? All right. One from John and one from Marty. All right. We're going to just do it. I'm not... All right. It made it... It might be from Target, but it's the Japan version of Target, which is more expensive. All right. Here's the cash. It's going into doing this, okay? I'm just going to do it. All right. We're going to get a silver one. I didn't see the pink one. I don't think Kanae likes pink. Kanae, you want the pink one? You want the pink one or the gold one, Kanae? Pink or gold or silver? Glen writes in gold. Gold finger. No silver. I'm getting one of each. So I think the pink... Gold and silver. Kanae says silver. She said directly. And I'll get one that's gold. Okay. So there. We got one. We got one of each.

51:27 John Daub: And Kanae, you're going to have to wipe these down because part of our COVID protocol. Look at this. It looks nice on here. I think they're going to do good on the Christmas tree, right? Ryan says no. How do I... There's no person to give it to. Excuse me. Excuse me. Yes, please. Jingle bells. Jingle bells. Jingle bells.

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