00:00:00 John Daub: Welcome to Shizuoka Station. I'm back, but this time instead of a misadventure at night getting lost on my way to the castle, I'm going to buy a Shinkansen ticket, get on the train, and head back to Tokyo.

00:00:12 John Daub: Thank you. How you doing everybody? Just a quick hi. This is going to be a fun episode. If I can, I'm going to keep live streaming. We'll see if the signal is strong enough. I get to ride the Kodama (local Shinkansen service). The weather is really nice today. If we can keep live streaming, I can show you Mount Fuji, which is going to be absolutely stunning with these blue skies. So let's keep going. I got to buy Kanae a gift. The train leaves in about 15 minutes. Let's go get the ticket. Because we're riding the Kodama.

00:00:46 John Daub: We're on public transportation, so masks on. Shizuoka is very famous for green tea confections—you can see some right there. I'm going to get Kanae something green tea-ish. That seems the best gift. But we got to get the ticket first because it's Golden Week holiday. If I don't get a Shinkansen ticket now, there'll be a line later. I'm going at double speed. Beast mode.

00:01:25 Machine: Welcome.

00:01:28 John Daub: I'm actually a little lucky for you guys here.

00:01:31 Machine: Welcome. Please select a ticket time.

00:01:42 John Daub: This is how easy it is to get a ticket.

00:01:49 Machine: Please select a section for the basic route.

00:01:54 John Daub: I put my credit card in right there.

00:02:04 John Daub: This is so simple to get a Shinkansen ticket. It just takes 30 seconds.

00:02:08 Machine: Please wait.

00:02:10 John Daub: Pass code. You can't see that, can you?

00:02:15 Machine: Please don't forget your card and ticket. If you need a receipt, press the receipt button.

00:02:25 Machine: Issuing tickets now.

00:02:26 John Daub: That's about $50. Not too bad for an hour Shinkansen trip.

00:02:27 Machine: Please don't forget your card and ticket.

00:02:32 Machine: Please take your ticket. Thank you very much.

00:02:36 John Daub: Alright, so there you go. There's the ticket. Eh? Chotto matte (wait a sec). It says here to Tokyo—Tokyo-shi. So Tokyo or Shinagawa. Boom, we did it. Alright, got the ticket. Next up, get a gift. Never go home empty-handed. I learned that the hard way.

00:03:03 John Daub: Where's my gift? Of course they don't say that. Oh wow, okay, hold on. These are called Koko (custard buns). I sent these to our Daimyo supporters before. They're very famous in Shizuoka because it has some of the best eggs in Japan. That might be a good gift for Kanae. Let's get some Koko.

00:03:30 John Daub: I hope this signal's better than yesterday—lots of dead zones with 4G LTE. Download speeds in Japan are great, but upload? Eh, not so good. Wow, why would they have Uji chocolate? Uji's in Kyoto, and Shizuoka brand is even better. Why Uji anything in Shizuoka? That's a crime, I think. Hey, Craig Kawaguchi! You got it! That's what we're on the prowl for—something good.

00:04:18 John Daub: This shop's kind of small. Let's go to the other side. There's a shop with lots of gifts. Thank you, Craig. And Bradania's here—in on the gift fund. There's a Starbucks, but we're passing because I'm already overly caffeinated from convenience stores. We gotta be on the platform quick. Alright, gift shop, left side.

00:05:11 John Daub: Check it out—they have fruit sandwiches. Whoa, that's a good-looking strawberry sandwich, huh? $5 or equivalent. There's a melon sandwich. There's some Koko—big Koko. That's a big box. I can't get there because these ladies are Koko ladies. It's all empty. Okay, this'll work—about $9. Oh, Mister Donut.

00:07:05 Staff: Here's your card. Thank you.

00:07:39 John Daub: Wow, the maguro (tuna) here is also very famous. That's a good-looking maguro don (tuna rice bowl). Alright, maybe I'll get an ekiben (station bento) on the inside. There's some ekiben right here. Are they cheaper inside or outside? Does it matter? Ekiben or bentos for the train. That one's pretty colorful. Alright, skip it. Off to the Shinkansen.

00:08:17 John Daub: Look at all the people waiting for family—Golden Week holiday. The next train is the Kodama, the super local, in 15 minutes or so. I'm taking the Kodama—takes an extra 20 minutes, but it's okay. Hey, Rainer's here! You're given a choice: left for Tokyo, right for Nagoya. I'm going left. Oh look, there's a Starbucks—but look at that line before the train. Insane! Never mind. I could have bought Koko here. The Baumkuchen (layered cake) is also famous. Oh, the Maruko-chan (Chibi Maruko-chan character goods). I think the Koko is enough. Oh, ekiben shop!

00:10:18 John Daub: So the ekiben is about $10? Yeah. Ok, let's go—Tokujō Makunouchi (premium assorted bento). That looks pretty good. They have a unagi (eel) bento too. Oh, that one with the animation character looks like it's got good stuff. Let's go for the Tokujō Makunouchi bento. This one has green tea in the rice. This one looks like the shape of Mount Fuji. Interesting.

00:11:39 Staff: Oh, it's a card. You don't use it? Oh, really?

00:11:42 John Daub: Then I'll use cash. Thank you.

00:11:52 Staff: Please give me your receipt. Yes, thank you.

00:12:17 John Daub: I always get these official receipts called ryōshūsho (detailed receipt). Kanae says to always get a ryōshūsho, so I do. It's like a business receipt. Because bento is business. Alright, up we go—taking the escalator. Usually cars 1 to 5 are... oh no! She got the high-speed past. We just missed it. Darn it. Maybe we'll get another one. Cars 1 to 6.

00:13:38 John Daub: There's a shop on the platform. Gosh, look at all the people! Only on Golden Week. The Kodama is going to be crowded! Look at the picture of Pichu-san (Pikachu character). This is Golden Week—it's always crowded. The further you go, the fewer people, because people are inherently lazy. They don't like to go too far. I, on the other hand, like to make it harder—trying to go as far as I can. Kodama still looks pretty cool, right? I'm going all the way to car 1. Yeah, that's right, the female announcer is an Aussie. Good call, Rainer. Oh my gosh, it's kind of crowded. Kids going by full speed. I missed it.

00:15:26 John Daub: Shizuoka is one of the places the Nozomi doesn't stop, so it zooms past at over 300 kilometers an hour. The next stop is Shin-Fuji. Let's take a look at car 1. Ready for a ride. There goes another Shinkansen on the other side. I can't believe the Kodama is this crowded—usually nobody around. I thought it'd be great for an ekiben unboxing. But there are people. Anyways, I'm going to get that ekiben and take it to another seat. One thing I want to do is take you past Mt. Fuji if the signal holds.

00:17:04 John Daub: I guess it's a new Kodama. Shocked me—I didn't expect another Shinkansen this quick. That's why we're waiting. They're always so clean on the Shinkansen. I really enjoyed my stay in Shizuoka, although I had to because I messed up the shoot yesterday—lost data on the SD card, had to redo today. But it worked out—the weather's better. Look at the blue skies. How you doing, Ryan? Kodama live stream. Daniel comments on the narrowness of the toilet—I guess it depends how not narrow you are. Alright, let's see if there's fewer people in car 2.

00:18:25 John Daub: The announcement just said to wear a mask. Public transportation—you should, just makes sense. Still going to be an issue for a while. Yeah, if you like fast trains, click thumbs up. Do it now. There's another one—the whole train swayed left. I missed it. I have water from before—that's enough. It's just over an hour to Tokyo from Shizuoka, but Kodama takes another 20 minutes. There it goes. And now they finally closed the door. GI169. Bye bye, Shizuoka. They're locking us in for maximum speed. Boom. Too late to bail. We're in it for the long haul—which is the next station. This is a local Shinkansen. Bye Shizuoka, bye people. A lady waving—bye lady. Bye kid, bye man, bye station attendant, bye platform people.

00:21:12 John Daub: The gimbal's leaning left into the speed buildup. Stayed at the Tokyo Inn business hotel—pretty good, clean. Shizuoka is such a beautiful, clean, quiet city. Heading back to Tokyo. Let's look the other side—hopefully not many tunnels. Mount Fuji is on the left, coming up. But I want to keep live streaming. If we go through a tunnel and I lose you, hang in there. Okay? I'll be back. Oh, now we're really picking up speed. Go go go. Kodama may be local, but it's still Shinkansen. It's such a beautiful picture-perfect day. You can see the Japanese Alps to the left—beyond these hills, some white peaks in the distance. Now we got rolling shutter at 300 km/h. Fuji-san should be coming into view soon, around the bend.

00:23:12 John Daub: Shizuoka can be a day trip for sure—only an hour away. You can go to Shin-Fuji, less than an hour on Shinkansen. But you can take a bus—you don't have to take Shinkansen to Mount Fuji. There's a bus from Shinjuku to the fifth station where you climb. Leave Shinjuku, go direct to the trail—incredible. That's how many climb in summer. I've done it a couple times. Come back, catch bus to Shinjuku. Not many take Shinkansen to Fuji—typically bus. After Shinkansen, you bus anyway to fifth station. We're hanging in for a shot of Mount Fuji. I might not eat the ekiben with you—it's crowded. Once I remove my mask, I can't say a word. Disruptive. I drink sencha (green tea) on the train. Or beer. You can't in America, but in Japan on public transport, you can—or sake—as long as not disruptive.

00:24:46 John Daub: I think soon you'll be able to ride Shinkansen [inaudible]. Here's a tunnel—so I might lose you. Hang in there, I'll be back. Signal's getting bad. Don't worry—I'm sticking here until we see Mount Fuji. You're watching playback—fast forward. Mount Fuji covered in clouds because weather too nice. Sunshine caused condensation—all the water rising.

00:28:11 John Daub: For a bit after Shin-Fuji, I'll show the ride. Then before the tunnel, end livestream. But maybe in next couple minutes it clears—I've seen it become visible quick. Doesn't look promising, but you're looking at live pictures of Mount Fuji. In clouds—not the same. If you want Mount Fuji, look at my bento—nice picture there. I used to live here straight ahead—Fujinomiya, town at base of Mount Fuji. Lived there almost six months, teaching English to kids at a chain school. I was a turnaround manager—if somebody got fired, they'd send me to fix it. Turnaround manager sounds cooler than just teacher. My gosh, this is so cool. That's why we couldn't see it from Shizuoka train—they were... oh, she's shoo-shooing her futon (beating out bedding). Cemetery.

00:30:10 John Daub: Is Shinkansen stopping here? We're on the platform at Shin-Fuji now. Hopefully not a lot lining up—I'm taking three seats. Alright, to that yellow wall then jump back. This little challenge: touch yellow wall and run back. You ready? I'm going to touch it. Two, one. Touch the yellow wall! Run back! I'm going to touch it two or three times. That means another Nozomi flying through. Do you see the tracks? Those mean a passing train. Wonder if one's coming from behind at full speed. The Kodama really takes its time. I'm never in a hurry. Wow—16 cars that fast. That guy got the shot. Now I got him—you're not as fast, dude. But you got it, I didn't. Maybe another coming. Shinfuji is Kodama stop—no Hikari here. Fuji and clouds like that. A real man would wait for the bell then touch yellow wall. Just saying—maybe next time. No idiot would do that.

00:33:09 John Daub: This is Fuji City. Toyota Rent-A-Car—mental note. My friend Dean Newcomb and I, in a green tea episode, were at front of station renting bikes, riding to the tea farm. Pretty unique. At Shin-Fuji, you can rent bikes—ride all the way to Mt. Fuji. No need to wait for bus. Alright, off we go. Full speed ahead while I bring you factories of Fuji City from the train window. Only one person got on—so not too crowded yet. Next stop Mishima, I think. I don't know why the wall is yellow. That station probably renovated in 1964—built back then, yellow was nice then maybe. They built Shinkansen before 1964 Olympics—so lots of stations need renovation. Next time, maybe futuristic color. Would you want to live at base of Mt. Fuji? How high up? Not a lot of houses where they can go.

00:35:04 John Daub: Alright everybody, this is end of line for us—tunnel in 60 seconds. Thanks for watching—don't forget like button. Appreciate sharing the ride. See you back in Tokyo, where I edit all the footage. Try to get monkey video out tonight. Gosh, these are moving fast. Hi Mt. Fuji. Cloudy.