Tokyo's Famous Coffee Town Experience Kiyosumi Shirakawa
# Tokyo's Famous Coffee Town Experience Kiyosumi Shirakawa
## Overview
John Daub takes viewers on an extended walking livestream through Kiyosumi Shirakawa (清澄白河), one of Tokyo's most underrated neighborhoods and a hidden gem for coffee enthusiasts. Starting at Tiny Paradise, the highest-rated cafe in the area on Google Maps, John embarks on a mile-long walk through winding residential streets lined with artisanal coffee shops, charming cafes, and local businesses. The walk culminates at Arise Coffee, where John declares it the best coffee he's had all year, before ending at the original Blue Bottle Coffee Japan location in a converted warehouse.
What makes this video special is its authenticity—John gets completely lost navigating the neighborhood's non-grid street layout, providing genuine, unscripted moments. He interacts with local business owners, samples a decadent truffle baguette sandwich, and discovers hidden gems like a temple ceremony blessing a Ferrari. The livestream captures the essence of what John calls "real Tokyo"—a quiet, uncrowded residential neighborhood where locals live peacefully, distinct from the tourist-heavy areas of Shibuya and Harajuku. The warm summer afternoon atmosphere, complete with wind chimes and the sound of laundry being hung, creates the quintessential image of Tokyo that John cherishes after 30 years of living in Japan.
## Highlights
- [00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0) John introduces Kiyosumi Shirakawa on the Oedo Line—the perfect antidote to Tokyo's crowded tourist areas on a Saturday afternoon.
- [00:02:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=131s) Starting at Tiny Paradise, a pandemic-era coffee trailer with 4.7 Google Maps rating—highest in the area. The barista writes the cafe name on cups in real-time.
- [00:13:11](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=790s) Discovering Cafe Tanton, a tiny neighborhood spot with affordable menu items including Beef Hayashi rice (1,000 yen), onsen tamago, and yakitori.
- [00:28:44](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=1724s) A monk performs a blessing ceremony for a Ferrari parked outside a local temple—spiritual insurance costing 20-30,000 yen.
- [00:31:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=1886s) John discovers Walter White Coffee Lab—a coffee shop treating coffee-making as a science with beakers and laboratory equipment.
- [00:34:53](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=2092s) Sampling a blowtorched truffle baguette sandwich topped with freshly grated real truffle (100 yen per gram). John declares it incredible—"The diet restarts tomorrow."
- [00:39:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=2391s) Arriving at Arise Coffee—John's favorite discovery. The owner hand-drips Dominican coffee and was recently featured on NHK Cool Japan. John calls it the best coffee of the year and plans to revisit with friend Peter von Gomm.
- [00:45:41](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=2741s) Visiting the original Blue Bottle Coffee Japan—a converted warehouse that was the first chain entry into the neighborhood, attracting crowds to this previously unknown area.
- [01:04:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=3858s) Learning about Fukagawa Meishi—the regional specialty dish with clams—and Karepan, the original curry donut shop located 150 meters away.
- [01:21:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=4912s) John's philosophical conclusion: "Different perspectives. Japan's got something for everybody." He contrasts the peaceful image of Tokyo (wind chimes, quiet streets) with the common tourist view of Akihabara and Shibuya.
## Timeline / Chapters
**Introduction & Arrival (00:00 - 02:11)**
- John introduces Kiyosumi Shirakawa on the Oedo Line
- Explains the neighborhood's appeal: quiet, uncrowded, perfect for those tired of tourist crowds
- Shows location map with Kiyosumi Park and the area's layout
**Tiny Paradise Coffee (02:11 - 05:35)**
- Samples iced coffee from the highest-rated shop in the area
- Notes the pandemic-era origin of the trailer-style cafe
- Observes the neighborhood's small businesses establishing themselves
**Exploring the Streets (05:35 - 13:11)**
- Walking through residential alleys and small streets
- Discovers City Coffee (misses the location due to walking the block)
- Views an old school barbershop with spinning barber pole
- Mentions Mat City festival photos and the area's history
**Getting Lost & Discovery (13:11 - 31:27)**
- John becomes disoriented in the non-grid street layout
- Discovers Cafe Tanton with its affordable menu
- Finds En Vadrouille dessert shop with kakigori, craft cola, and crepes
- Watches an unagi restaurant chef grilling eel
- Samples the truffle baguette sandwich from a nearby bakery
**Temple Blessing & Coffee Science (31:27 - 39:52)**
- Witnesses a monk blessing a Ferrari at a local temple
- Discovers Walter White Coffee Lab with scientific coffee-making equipment
- Notices a wine bar opening later in the day
**Arise Coffee - The Finale (39:52 - 47:22)**
- Arrives at Arise Coffee corner location
- Owner hand-drips Dominican coffee for John (redoing the first cup that "didn't pass the test")
- Discussion of proper roasting technique and balanced acidic flavor
- Owner featured on NHK Cool Japan, has been roasting for decades as a hobby
**Blue Bottle Coffee (47:22 - 50:02)**
- Views the original Blue Bottle Japan warehouse location
- Acknowledges Blue Bottle put Kiyosumi Shirakawa on the map
- Maintains that Arise Coffee is superior in quality
- Thanks Patreon supporters with postcard details
**Fukagawa Shopping Street (50:02 - 01:18:23)**
- Walking the tree-lined shopping street near Kiyosumi Garden
- Discovers Coffee and Honey artisanal cafe
- Mentions area Buddhist temples (temple symbol is over 1,000 years old)
- Notes it's a Saturday summer afternoon with virtually no crowds
- Discusses Fukagawa Meishi regional dish and Karepan curry donut origin
**Return to Start & Conclusion (01:18:23 - 01:23:57)**
- Returns to bicycle at original starting point near Tiny Paradise
- Reflects on the neighborhood's character, friendliness, and food
- Personal moment about taking son Leo to the emergency room earlier that day
- Philosophical closing about different perspectives of Japan
## Japan Travel Tips
**How to Get There:**
- Take the **Hanzomon Line** (purple) from Shibuya to Kiyosumi Shirakawa Station (approximately 18 minutes)
- Alternatively, take the **Oedo Line** (Toei) from Roppongi or Yoyogi
- John lives nearby and cycles to the area in about 7-10 minutes
**Best Time to Visit:**
- Summer weekends are ideal—the neighborhood remains quiet and uncrowded even on Saturday afternoons
- The area is at its liveliest around 5pm when evening establishments begin to fill
**What to Eat/Order:**
- **Fukagawa Meishi** (深川めし) - the regional specialty: clams cooked in a pot, very famous on TV
- **Karepan** (カレーパン) - curry donuts, invented at a shop about 150 meters away
- Hand-dripped coffee at Arise Coffee (Dominican beans recommended)
- Truffle baguette sandwich from the bakery near En Vadrouille
- Kakigori and specialty crepes at En Vadrouille
**What to Look For:**
- Small, hidden cafes down narrow alleys—this is the neighborhood's character
- Wind chimes in summer along the shopping street
- Traditional establishments like old barbershops and Showa-era cafes
- Temple ceremonies and festivals (festival banners visible in the streets)
- Residential life: laundry hanging, neighbors in doorways, local postman on route
**Costs:**
- Coffee: 500-700 yen typical for cafe drinks
- Fukagawa Meishi: affordable local dish
- Truffle items: 100 yen per gram for truffle (sandwich approximately 1,500 yen)
- Crepes at En Vadrouille: about 1,500 yen ($11 USD)
**Tips for Foreigners:**
- Use the Google Maps link provided in video descriptions to navigate the non-grid streets
- Don't be afraid to get lost—it's part of the experience and locals are friendly
- Bring a business card when asking to film at small establishments
- The exchange rate makes everything relatively affordable
- English may be limited at small local spots, but pointing and smiling works
- This is a residential area—observe quiet hours and don't be loud
## Japanese Language & Culture Notes
**Key Vocabulary:**
- **Shotengai** (商店街) - shopping street or arcade, the covered streets in this area have character going back generations
- **Fukagawa Meishi** (深川めし) - regional specialty of Kiyosumi/Fukagawa area, clams cooked in a pot with rice
- **Karepan** (カレーパン) - curry bread/donut, born in this neighborhood
- **Wagashi** (和菓子) - traditional Japanese sweets
- **Kakigori** (かき氷) - shaved ice dessert, popular in summer
- **Sento** (銭湯) - public bath
- **Onsen Tamago** (温泉卵) - hot spring egg, soft-cooked egg served on rice
- **Unagi** (鰻) - freshwater eel, grilled and served over rice
- **Yakitori** (焼き鳥) - grilled chicken skewers
- **Truffle** (トリュフ) - luxury ingredient increasingly found in Japanese cafes
- **Junin Toiro** (十人十色) - "ten people, ten colors" meaning different strokes for different folks
**Cultural Observations:**
- **Non-grid street layout**: Unlike central Tokyo, this neighborhood has winding streets, making navigation challenging but adding to its charm
- **Residential coexistence**: Cafes and businesses coexist with private homes—people hang laundry, children play, life happens naturally
- **Small business entrepreneurship**: Many entrepreneurs buy houses and put businesses on the first floor, creating unique local spots
- **Temple respect**: Buddhist temples have been here over 1,000 years; locals pay for blessings (even on Ferraris) for spiritual protection
- **Japanese work culture**: The owner of Arise Coffee began roasting as a hobby over a decade ago and now has a shop; passion projects turning into businesses
- **Festival culture**: Colorful banners for local festivals (Oiran Dochu in Monzen Nakacho) decorate the streets
- **Postman route**: The daily postman passing through is described as "a slice of Japanese life"
- **Bicycle culture**: Parking a bicycle anywhere without tickets—this level of trust defines the neighborhood
**Historical Context:**
- Kiyosumi Park was established in the Edo period (17th-18th century)
- Fukagawa is an old Edo-era region of Tokyo
- The area's temples predate modern history by over 1,000 years
- Blue Bottle Coffee Japan opened here as the first location, introducing the neighborhood to a wider audience
**Etiquette Notes:**
- Don't walk and eat in Japan—John momentarily breaks this rule but acknowledges it's not typical
- Business card exchange (meishi) is customary when asking permission to film
- Quiet respect for residential neighbors is expected
## Food & Drink Guide
**Iced Coffee from Tiny Paradise**
- *Location*: Starting point of the walk
- *Price*: Not specified
- *Notes*: John starts here with iced coffee. Tiny Paradise has a 4.7 rating, the highest in the area. Started during the pandemic as a trailer. The barista writes the cafe name on cups in real-time.
**Truffle Baguette Sandwich**
- *Location*: Bakery near En Vadrouille
- *Price*: Approximately 1,500 yen (about $10-11 USD)
- *Notes*: Blowtorched sandwich topped with hand-grated real truffle (100 yen per gram). Contains bacon/prosciutto and cheese. John declares "The diet restarts tomorrow" and calls it incredible, with salty, cheesy, creamy flavors and slight toast.
**Dominican Hand-Drip Coffee from Arise Coffee**
- *Location*: Corner location on the main intersection
- *Price*: Not specified
- *Notes*: John's favorite of the day. The owner hand-drips Dominican coffee and was featured on NHK Cool Japan. The first cup "didn't pass the test" so the owner made another. Perfectly roasted with rounded, acidic flavor. John calls it the best coffee of the year.
**Kakigori, Craft Cola, and Crepes from En Vadrouille**
- *Location*: Near the unagi restaurant
- *Price*: Crepes approximately 1,500 yen
- *Notes*: En Vadrouille features kakigori (shaved ice), craft cola, craft ginger ale (which John has never tried), and specialty crepes. Beautiful presentation and popular spot.
**Beef Hayashi Rice at Cafe Tanton**
- *Location*: Along the walk route
- *Price*: 1,000 yen
- *Notes*: Affordable Western-Japanese fusion menu including onsen tamago on rice, yakitori, curry doria, and pancakes.
**Fukagawa Meishi**
- *Location*: Kiyosumi Meishi specialty shop along the shopping street
- *Price*: Not specified
- *Notes*: Regional specialty of the Fukagawa area. Clams cooked together with rice in a pot. Very famous on Japanese TV. Can be purchased to go and eaten in Kiyosumi Garden.
**Craft Honey Lemonade**
- *Location*: Shop on the shopping street
- *Price*: Not specified
- *Notes*: Specialty craft lemonade with unusual lemon varieties. Outdoor seating available.
**Karepan (Curry Donuts)**
- *Location*: Original shop location about 150 meters away from the main walk route
- *Notes*: The birthplace of Karepan curry donuts. Always has a line—get there early.
**Unagi (Eel) Tempura**
- *Location*: Restaurant next to En Vadrouille
- *Notes*: Chef grills unagi on-site. Popular around 5pm. Counter seating available. John plans to return in the evening.
## People
**John Daub**
The host and sole voice throughout this livestream. An American who has lived in Japan for over 30 years, John is warm, curious, and genuinely enthusiastic about discovering local Tokyo. His conversational style draws viewers into his exploration. He navigates the neighborhood with his bicycle, gets lost multiple times, interacts with business owners (offering his business card in true Japanese fashion), and shares both lighthearted moments and personal reflections. His love for the neighborhood is evident as he declares it one of his favorites and hints at returning for a main channel episode with friend Peter von Gomm.
**Kanae Daub**
John's Japanese wife. While not heard speaking in this video, she is referenced in the closing as the reason John cut the livestream short—she had taken their son Leo to the emergency room earlier that day due to a fever. John credits her quick thinking as the right call. She appears to have been John's companion during part of the walk ("Thanks for bringing us here").
**Leo**
John's son, mentioned at the end of the video. He had a fever and was shaking, requiring a trip to the emergency room with Kanae. He's doing better now. This personal detail adds human context to the livestream.
**Peter von Gomm**
John's friend and fellow American living in Japan, known for being a "coffee fex" (coffee expert). John mentions Peter would love Arise Coffee and plans to revisit the location with him for a future main channel episode.
**Arise Coffee Owner**
A local roaster who has been hobbyist roasting for decades and now has a shop at this corner location. He was recently featured on NHK's Cool Japan show. John gave him his business card in exchange for permission to film. The owner has traveled to Guatemala and speaks some English. He was particular about his hand-dripped coffee, remaking John's cup when the first didn't meet his standards.
**Local Shop Owners and Residents**
Various unnamed individuals encountered throughout the walk: the Tiny Paradise barista who writes names on cups, bakery staff who torch the truffle sandwich, the Ferrari owner receiving a blessing, monks performing ceremonies, laundry-hanging neighbors, and the postman on his route. These interactions define the neighborhood's character.
## Key Takeaways
**Kiyosumi Shirakawa is Tokyo's hidden coffee town** - A quiet residential neighborhood on the Oedo or Hanzomon Lines that has become an artisanal coffee destination with numerous highly-rated cafes packed into a small area.
**Local businesses trump chains** - While Blue Bottle Coffee Japan opened here as the first major chain, John argues strongly for supporting local spots like Arise Coffee and Tiny Paradise over brand-name establishments.
**Getting lost is part of the experience** - The neighborhood's non-grid, winding streets make navigation challenging, but this is intentional—part of discovering hidden gems down alleys and narrow passages.
**It's uncrowded even on summer weekends** - A remarkable observation: Saturday afternoon in summer with virtually no crowds, offering a peaceful alternative to tourist-heavy areas like Shibuya and Harajuku.
**The area has deep historical roots** - With Edo-era parks, 1,000-year-old temples, and traditional establishments coexisting with modern cafes, the neighborhood represents authentic Tokyo.
**It's a "10-minute" neighborhood for locals** - For those who live nearby, this is everyday life—postmen on routes, neighbors in doorways, laundry hanging, children playing—a genuine residential experience.
**Food and coffee culture here is excellent** - From regional Fukagawa Meishi to specialty truffle items to hand-dripped Dominican coffee, the quality and variety are outstanding.
**This is "apple not chocolate" Tokyo** - John contrasts the marketed, popular destinations (like chocolate bars) with this authentic, healthy "apple" of a neighborhood that nobody promotes but everyone should discover.
## Notable Quotes
[00:00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0) **John Daub:** "If you're in Tokyo and you just want to... you get a little bit tired of going from crowd to crowd. This is so perfect."
[00:03:57](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=237s) **John Daub:** "Look at that. That's the postman going. That's just... that's a slice of Japanese life right there."
[00:09:59](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=598s) **John Daub:** "I really want to take you to places in Tokyo that are not popular... with foreign tourists. So you just don't know so much about Kiyosumi Shirakawa. Unless some dude takes you there. I be that dude."
[00:25:59](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=1559s) **John Daub:** "If you want to buy the truffle, it's 100 yen for 1 gram. Is the price that they list it. 100 yen for 1 gram? Like, what? That's crazy."
[00:36:27](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=2187s) **John Daub:** "Any Seinfeld fans here when Kramer had his deli slicer and you could slice it like microscopic thin. That's how thin that they did the truffle here."
[00:43:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=2581s) **John Daub:** "This is a place where people live so people are more relaxed and you get to know Tokyo better out here than you would in those other places. And this is just a stone's throw away from Ginza really."
[00:48:28](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=2907s) **John Daub:** "Blue Bottle, I'm really sorry. Blue Bottle, it's nice that you're here. But Arise is so much more superior."
[01:08:41](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=4120s) **John Daub:** "This is a weekend. All right? I want you to wrap your head around this. This is a weekend. This is Saturday in the summer and there's like nobody here."
[01:11:58](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=4318s) **John Daub:** "I don't know why everybody wants to stay in Shibuya. What's the big deal? I... I don't know. Nothing against Shibuya, but everything against everything for this place."
[01:21:52](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=4912s) **John Daub:** "Your image might be Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku. My image of Tokyo in particular this summer are the sound of wind chimes, right? And quiet and... just quietness. That's... that's Tokyo to me."
[01:23:25](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVbXxfRWmq0&t=5004s) **John Daub:** "Junin Toyo, which is a good expression. There's like 10 colors forever, 10 people like different strokes for different folks. Japan's got something for everybody, really."
## Related Topics
- **Neighborhood exploration videos** - This connects to John's ongoing theme of discovering local Tokyo beyond tourist areas
- **Coffee culture content** - Follows the tradition of exploring Japan's specialty coffee scene
- **Fukagawa/Koto ward features** - Regional deep-dive into this specific part of Tokyo
- **Blue Bottle Coffee Japan** - The first location and how it influenced the neighborhood
- **Livestream format** - Authentic, unscripted exploration with viewer interaction
- **Residential Tokyo** - Contrasting everyday Tokyo life with tourist hotspots
- **Japanese food regional specialties** - Fukagawa Meishi and local cuisine
- **Artisanal/small business support** - John's theme of supporting local over chains
## Search Tags
#only-in-japan-go #tokyo #kiyosumi-shirakawa #fukagawa #tokyo-coffee #coffee-culture #artisanal-cafes #tokyo-off-the-beaten-path #tokyo-neighborhoods #local-tokyo #residential-tokyo #blue-bottle-japan #hand-dripped-coffee #fukagawa-meishi #japanese-coffee #tokyo-summer #shotengai #oedo-line #hanzomon-line #shibuya-alternative #tokyo-hidden-gems #deep-tokyo #japanese-livestream #onlyinjapango #john-daub #japan-travel #tokyo-cafes #japanese-food #tokyo-walking
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Full Transcript
00:00:00 John Daub: The alley, right. Look at this alley and then look at the street here. There's like it's nobody here on a Saturday afternoon. And if you're in Tokyo and you just want to... you get a little bit tired of going from crowd to crowd. This is so perfect. It's on the Oedo line.
00:00:31 John Daub: Kiyosumi Shirakawa. While we're waiting for... for this to open up, let me show you. This is exactly where we are in the city. There's Kiyosumi park on the left side, which is also worth a visit. It's an old Edo era park that was established back in the... I think it was the 18th century, 17th century. WRX Turbo was in the house.
00:01:08 John Daub: Thank you for this coffee. Coming up. Let's go 3D down here. We're going to pan around a little bit. You can see the sky tree is just a little bit over... maybe it's about five or six stops from here. Very close. If you pan down, there's... there's really not much of an attraction.
00:01:39 John Daub: If you look at it, it doesn't look like there's a lot of attraction, but really it's all in these alleys and small streets. These small businesses, cafes, restaurants, they've really come in here and established themselves. And I'll show you another map that I made in a second.
00:02:11 John Daub: Wow. It's just like this small little trailer in the middle of the... Yeah, a little bit. Sugar. Started during the Corona era. Oh, it smells so good. Like coffee smells so good. Oh, wow. They've got cookies for $2 and 50 cents. And down here you can see they've got some original goods down here.
00:02:44 John Daub: So that's kind of neat that they... they're a lot of the smaller cafes too, have... are selling some things that bring... Oh yes, wow, yay. All right, so this is coffee. This is called Tiny Paradise, isn't it? Yes, Tiny Paradise. So you can... I'm starting from here because we're going to be ending at Blue Bottle, which is at the end of the street.
00:03:23 John Daub: It's about a mile away. I put a map link in the description so you can go and check this out. And I think that after you see this neighborhood after the pandemic, you're going to want to come and visit here. If not, you know what? I think if you could find a hotel, a hotel in this... you are in good shape.
00:03:57 John Daub: Look at that. That's the postman going. That's just... that's a slice of Japanese life right there. Tor Toro Poco is here. This is wonderfully charming. Thanks for bringing us here. You're very welcome. I asked her before, do you mind if I live stream? And she's like really cool about it.
00:04:30 John Daub: Everybody's chill here and they really want business to happen. This is really hard to find. I came out of this, out of that alley right there. It's not really easy. So again, that's why I think it's good to... I'm somebody who likes to support the local businesses and this is the best way to do it.
00:05:03 John Daub: And this is really good coffee. Oh, they put, they put the name on there. Tiny Paradise on there. It's... they wrote it in real time. All right, we're back on this street here. What we're gonna do is to go straight and I want to take you... I have to finish this coffee really fast.
00:05:35 John Daub: I'm gonna take you to... there's a little shop here with wind chimes. Hear the wind chimes at the end of the street. I'm gonna take you straight down here. There's another shop called City Coffee that sells some pretty good looking ice cream coffee which I think I might get.
00:06:06 John Daub: I'm not sure. Just depends because Johnny's on a diet. Look at, look at this place. Looks like a jungle. Look at this. This is absolutely fantastic. I think this is the vibe that you get when you walk around this area. It's very famous, you know. I see something. We're gonna walk around the block.
00:06:39 John Daub: I see something up here. You see it? Hold on. Let's stay wide. Like there's some lights here. This walk's gonna be about a mile, but it could take up to about 30 minutes for... because the pace at which I go slow. Oh, I don't even think this coffee shop is on the map. Look at it.
00:07:10 John Daub: Look at this. This is so inviting. It's a bench here where you can sit. And this coffee shop, look at how cute this is. It's open from 11 to 7pm every day. And you can see the specials here. This looks like an old school... you can see me in the window too. This is like an old school coffee shop, but it's got a new vibe to it.
00:07:47 John Daub: Let's take a look at the menu here. So the menu has waffles, it looks like, and there's some pasta and some pizza on the menu and some different drinks. Prices are all like about 500 to 700 yen for stuff that's... that's really good. Let's walk around this block. Everything's been redeveloped, which is incredible.
00:08:22 John Daub: Like all clean and new looking. I could see myself living here as a result. Look at this. Here's a bar. Alber... Albera's Alta. Oh, that's so fantastic. There's an old, old, old school barber shop right there. See the barber pole spinning? You know, it's... Yeah. Metatron CH writes in here.
00:08:55 John Daub: Showa Coffee Shop with Reiwa vibe. Yes, that's so true. Oh, look at this. Mat City. This is the festival that takes place in this area as well. You have some really nice pictures of it going back... This is the Showa 5... Like, oh, this is before World War II. And then you have more recently.
00:09:27 John Daub: Looks like the Oiran Dochu in Asakusa. But that's... I guess this is the festival in Monzen Nakacho. But yeah, like, I... I really want to take you to places in Tokyo that are not popular... This is... it's popular with domestic tourists in particular Tokyoites. People like me who live here.
00:09:59 John Daub: But this area is not popular with... with... and I mean this like foreign for foreign tourists. So you just don't know so much about Kiyosumi Shirakawa. Unless some dude takes you there. I be that dude. Wonder what... Why the external mic wasn't working. If the wind is too much, just let me know and I will re...
00:10:34 John Daub: Engage the external microphone. I will walk into the next one. The City Station. City Coffee Shop. But these places are so darn small. Unless you actually know them, it's easy to miss them. Which is why I have this on a map. Check this out. Look at all of the coffee shops in this one area.
00:11:06 John Daub: Hold on a second. Boom. That is a lot of coffee. I'm... No, don't zoom in on my... Yeah. All right. That's a lot of coffee shops. And a lot of them are highly rated. You can see Tiny Paradise has a 4.7 rating. That's the highest rated place on Google Maps. That's where we started.
00:11:37 John Daub: All right. I think this is it. I think this is it. Well, let me get rid of this map here. So we're in... Okay. Guinea. So this City Coffee should be here. Oh, crud. Imagine if I got lost. The thing is, I don't think you're gonna hit... hit by a car in this area. Is anyone...
00:12:08 John Daub: Hey, Satrio. Johnny. Do you guys have the map link open? I don't... I can't look at it. I need your help. Is this the right direction? This has to be... I mean, this is... I live here, but I... I don't... Okay, maybe it's here. This is how close things are. So it's like a five minute walk.
00:12:40 John Daub: What's this? Look at this cafe. Oh, this looks so good. This one is called Cafe Tanton. Look at this cute little homemade sign. It can... It looks like some... Looks like... Oh, look at that. Beef hayashi rice. That's 1,000 yen. That's really affordable. See here, Beef Hayashi rice.
00:13:11 John Daub: There's onsen tamago with on rice. There's a yaki cheese and curry doria. So there's some good stuff on this menu. And then of course, they've got pancakes. Did I... Maybe I didn't go far enough. It's such a residential area. Everything looks the same to me. But I'm... Sometimes you just have to ask people.
00:13:45 John Daub: That's what we got to do. Beautiful, active, stylish, powerful. I'm already lost. Okay. I thought I had this worked out. You know what's... Because I took that detour. Maybe it's... All right. You know what? I think I gotta go this way. Yeah. Jim, help me. Find me. Jim. The map.
00:14:16 John Daub: The Google map link is in the description. I need help. You guys in the chat have to point me in the right direction. I'm doing my best here. I'm guessing maybe this way. I showed you that last Cafe Tanton. That was right where I was. But I'm guessing because I took a detour and I walked around the block, I probably missed it because of that.
00:14:55 John Daub: So possibly it's at this traffic light. Bottom line, we're on an adventure. We're in it till the end. And the end means my demise. So we don't want that to happen. So please help me. Jacob. It's not that easy. It has nothing to do with sense of direction. And this is not a grid pattern.
00:15:27 John Daub: You... I'm disoriented already. I thought I had this from the start. I can't even find my bicycle to get back. Is this it? No. Oh, it's kind of neat looking. Found the sky tree. All right. It says turn right. Look at that blue house. This is Fuku... Fukagawa 6. I see blue and white.
00:15:58 John Daub: Okay, I'm going back the way I came. This doesn't seem like the right way. I need a second phone. For crying out loud. I had this. Now I lost it. I, I, I think I know where to go. Know your other right. So you're saying I'm wrong. Maybe I was supposed to just go straight.
00:16:29 John Daub: All right. Let's go to Blue Bottle then. I know where that is. Make a right in Albuquerque. What? I thought I would be able to at least smell the place. Bottom line, I've got an iced coffee here, so I'll stay cool. It is pretty warm here in Tokyo. I'm gonna put this...
00:16:59 John Daub: I'm gonna put the coffee in my pocket. What could go wrong with that? Okay, let's go. I could just get into a taxi, right? And then... but the thing is, the tight... I don't know. The taxi drivers sometimes don't know where they're going either. I'm gonna get into the block and make a right.
00:17:31 John Daub: Found a trash truck. That stinks. I wanted to go to that City Coffee place, but now I'm lost. I should have printed out a map. All right. Speaking of maps, I have another one here. Is it this one? Yeah, this one. This is where we are. Just to give you a point of view, this Kiyosumi park is on the left side there.
00:18:07 John Daub: And... and I'm lost in this neighborhood. Do you see why I'm lost? Because the roads, there's no grid. It's just... it's all winding. It's very easy to get this discombobulated. Is that a word? I'm down there somewhere now. I'm taking a right. I'm taking a right. I see some...
00:18:37 John Daub: I see some people walking, some tourists. So I'm guessing it's in this direction. Andy's taxes. You're... you're spot on. I'm gonna need to get another coffee soon because this iced coffee is done. And I have to... you, this is really good. It was... it had a really strong...
00:19:07 John Daub: I don't know, because it's iced coffee. It's not as strong as if it was hot coffee, but it's got really good acidic, like balanced acidic taste. And that bitterness of coffee. How scenic. The alleys are a lot of residential. This is a residential neighborhood. So maybe that's why it's not a tourist attraction per se.
00:19:43 John Daub: It's a residential neighborhood with a lot of really nice cafes that if you lived here, you'd be living in like, paradise. Jennifer French Coffee Fund I'll be there just in two weeks. I know. This is so exciting. Look at the character of the streets. I love this place.
00:20:13 John Daub: I'm glad I live here. Like, like 10, 15 minute bicycle ride. Closer to 10 than 15. If I go fast, I could probably get here in seven minutes with all this coffee. I probably will. Okay, here's a cemetery. I remember seeing one of a lot of these cemeteries before. Here's the end of the street.
00:20:46 John Daub: Look at this bento shop. It's closed. Now, but this is... or maybe it's... it's just newly opened. This is quite... it's quite nice. All right, I'm gonna go up and then take a left. I... I can't be that far away. And my coffee's done. All right, everybody take a look. This is...
00:21:16 John Daub: This shop is called Copies. It's a gallery. And here's En Vadrouille. Oh, okay, I know where I am now. Let's go take a look at this enpedat. I... I just have to go back to this main street and then make a left. Let's go take a quick look and see what they've got offering here.
00:21:47 John Daub: Next to it is an unagi and tempura restaurant. Restaurant. Wow, that's very cool. Look at inside. Oh, they have like this really amazing looking kakigori and then craft cola and craft ginger ale. I never had craft ginger ale. Lemonade looks good. And then they have these crepes that look really good.
00:22:20 John Daub: It's about, I don't know, $11 for that crepe. It's pretty good. This is called En Vadrouille. So I'm not... I'm not fully lost. Look at this unagi restaurant. He... he'll be grilling the unagi right here. So you can see him grilling it probably around 5pm this place is popping.
00:22:50 John Daub: I bet this is such a great place to stay. This counter service there. Oh my gosh. I gotta come back here in the evening. There's also a craft... craft beer place where you could sit outside. Dragonfly, I think it's what's called or something like that. Look at this. Truffle bread.
00:23:22 John Daub: Now I know where I am. You have no idea how good this smells. Now I got a sweet pastry smell. Should I get something? Should I get something? I'm on a diet for your coffee. Fun Art Chong. I guess I have to get something. Okay, let's do this. I am a regret. Bacon egg.
00:23:52 John Daub: It... Oh, wow. So they're making it over there. Look at the way they've lined it up there. That's pretty incredible. They just a lineup of bread and you can pick what you want. Sam... It... She's like doing grated truffles on there. That's why it was so expensive. I have to be honest.
00:24:23 John Daub: That was like $10 for that. But like when you see them grading a truffle, that was a real truffle. That's so cool. All right, let me run away and then eat this on the corner. Because that's what people do, right? I'm gonna eat this. Did you see that? What? The way they lined up the bread on the counter.
00:24:57 John Daub: Like it was jewelry, and it was... it's like jewelry, man. All right, let's go this direction. I... I got to... I have to sit down and eat this. Okay. Where can I put this? Where can I put the camera to get a good... I'm kind of... I'm kind of searching it now. Get Daniel writes in here.
00:25:29 John Daub: I thought it was cheese. I didn't know what it was at first, and then I looked... If you want to buy the truffle, it's 100 yen for 1 gram. Is the price that they list it. 100 yen for 1 gram? Like, what? That's crazy. So I think they put like, 2.2 grams on there or something.
00:25:59 John Daub: Right? They're real. It's really thin truffle. Really? This place rocks. All right, check this out here. This is, like... looks like it's something because there's a bench here. It looks like somebody's garden... All right, let's keep on going to the end of the street. There's supposed to be parks and stuff here, right?
00:26:35 John Daub: We'll find some... we'll find some place. The sandwich is hot. They had a blowtorch. They were blowtorched. This smokes our chunk. Thank you for the... That's real, kind of. Now this... this truly is a special meal. I didn't think it was gonna be... I think we're just going into a bakery.
00:27:06 John Daub: But it ended up being like some kind of... This is the number one item on the menu. The other one was sold out, so I'm glad that my eyes... Hold on a second. I think I went too far. I think I went too far. There's the park. So this way... There's no right way... Can't remember.
00:27:37 John Daub: This looks like a temple. The temperature is currently warm, not humid. Comfortable. I smell the bread. It smells so good. Oh, my God. I can't... Someone's got to tell me which direction I'm going. Part of the experience is getting lost. All right. You want to get lost when you're in Tokyo, but maybe not in a live stream.
00:28:13 John Daub: The map that I gave you to track me is already null and void. I'm completely... and that... completely lost, but I'm lost. You know what they're doing? They're blessing... He's blessing that... He's blessing the Ferrari. Do you hear that? I don't know if you saw that. It's not an exorcism.
00:28:44 John Daub: He's blessing the Ferrari and protecting it from accident. You have to pay. I think it's like, it's... it is... Isn't cheap. Maybe it's like, like 20, 30,000 yen and like a couple hundred dollars, but it's a small price to pay for spiritual insurance, basically. That's awesome.
00:29:15 John Daub: That's why you get lost here. It's funny though, because the Ferrari is like half... half out of the temple. Do you see it right there? There's the... the back of the Ferrari. He's blessing the Ferrari. Rock on. Now he can drive down the streets and drift and know that the spirits are on...
00:29:47 John Daub: His side. Compared to the price of a Ferrari, that's pretty cheap. All right, let's... sorry. Let's find a place to sit down. As we're... as we're walking around, we're going to discover all sorts of things. Oh... Oh, this is it. Oh, this is it. I wanted to show you guys this place.
00:30:18 John Daub: Do you see the beakers and stuff in there? This is like what they've done is they kind of made coffee into a science. This is a coffee shop. I think it's closed now, but they've... they've taken it here. The lady's putting out her laundry and she saw my reaction and she's got this big, big smile on her face.
00:30:53 John Daub: I love it. I love it. So this coffee shop, it... I... I remember looking at... at the description on Google Maps. But they... they do it in a way it's very... looks like almost a scientific... And apparently it enhances the flavor of the coffee because they do it in a way that enhances the flavor of the coffee.
00:31:27 John Daub: But check this out over here. By getting lost. This is like... Yeah, the Walter White of coffee. Walter White Coffee Lab. Basically. Here's another place. There's people outside. Look at the vibe of this. Looks like almost a warehouse. It's got a really... Look at the... Even upstairs on the second floor looks like the original window.
00:32:04 John Daub: Right? Almost like they're... That's a really cool design to them. It's hard because maybe the back lighting. Let's go take a quick look see at the menu here. But I wonder what so... Oh, it's closed. It's currently closed. We can go take a quick look. See here. This is... Oh, yeah, this is on the map.
00:32:37 John Daub: This is on my map. This is the end of the map. And here's a... here's the menu here. Oh, man. A cold beer sounds good. Cafe latte coffee. And the cafe is packed. There's people waiting outside. This, this coffee... this cafe is... is quite famous actually, for the... in the area.
00:33:08 John Daub: It's got... On the second floor, there's another place here. That's it. Is it all the same place here? I guess it's all... that. The cafe is on the first floor and the second floor. I think it's a bar. I'm not sure it's a design... It's a design studio and writes in here. Kutsu, which is shoes.
00:33:40 John Daub: So could be like a shoe shop. All right, so now I know where I am at this light. I'm gonna make a right and I'm at the blue bottle. But first I... I can put my tripod here. But first I wanted to eat this. I wanted to eat this sandwich. So let's do that really quickly. Well, it's...
00:34:11 John Daub: While it's still warm. This bag is like... this bag is a solid bag. I bet you this costs like a dollar just for the bag. I better save it. Oh, my gosh. It smells... so... Thanks guys for buying me lunch here. You saw them grade the truffle. So I'm going to... I'm going to... For those that are joining us right now, you can take a look at what it looks like outside in the light.
00:34:53 John Daub: Look at this. It's just like this blowtorched sandwich with truffle grated on top of it. Oh, my gosh. You have no idea the smell because you are watching it on the other side. But it is an absolute mouth watering bakery item. Let's, let's, let's try it here. Oh, mama.
00:35:23 John Daub: Look at the cheese in there. Oh, my gosh. There's like some kind of bacon. I don't know. Salami bacon. I don't, I don't know what it is. It's so good. Oh, my God. The diet restarts tomorrow. This is almost like a, like a salami pepperoni or something. Yeah, a prosciutto.
00:35:53 John Daub: Wow. I ate all the truffles in one bite. That was incredible. There's one truffle left right here. That was a thinly sliced piece of truffle. A microgram, but it had flavor. Remember when Kramer... Yeah. Any Seinfeld fans here when Kramer had his deli slicer and you could slice it like microscopic thin.
00:36:27 John Daub: That's how thin that they... they did the truffle here. This is paradise. All right, let's get on the move here. I don't... I don't mind. I'm just gonna walk and eat. I don't... Oh, wow. Oh, man. There's always going to be one... one or two people like you shouldn't walk and eat in Japan, you shouldn't talk with your mouth full.
00:37:04 John Daub: Don't be a party killer. Come on. Don't be that neighbor who tries to destroy the party. The glass lab. Look at this. Not harming anybody. Look at this cafe here. It's half closed, but it looks like you can go in there and sit. There's a, there's tables and chairs inside there.
00:37:35 John Daub: A wine bar. It's a wine bar. It opens later in the day. There's a truffle bakery in Monzen Nakacho. But I asked them, is there any relation to it? And they said no. Oh my gosh, guys, if you come, you gotta have that what I just ate. It's so darn good. God, it's so good.
00:38:05 John Daub: Do you ever eat something that's so good you just want to run around, you lose control? So I feel like right now it's salty, cheesy, creamy, toasted slightly, but not where it's hard, but you have a little bit of that toast taste to it. Truffle... I don't, I didn't bite for the truffle, but that's just like the icing on a cake.
00:38:43 John Daub: All right, before I take it to the blue bottle, I want to show you this better cap. I just, I... I just couldn't find the City place here again. We're trying to support local, local places. And this is Arise. Let me see if I get some, some more money left. Oh, I do. Thanks guys for the super chats.
00:39:16 John Daub: We're gonna put this all, put this all to good use and, and support our, our neighbors here. Let's see here. See what we can... Pop. Wow. Whoa. So he's been roasting for, for decades here is, is like a hobby, but now has a shop here and this is great. 10 years been... has been here and it's all like hand dripped coffee.
00:39:52 John Daub: This is Arise in Kiyosumi Shirakawa. Awesome. America. She must... This is special. He was so the owner is, is kind of famous because this is a coffee shop that's right on the corner. This is the... Did I say Dominican... Dominican coffee? Yeah. Oh... Oh, wow. Wow. That has so much flavor.
00:40:24 John Daub: It's got this, this rounded, acidic flavor to... Hasn't been roasted too much. This is what I like. It's perfectly roasted. So when you over roast it, over roast the beans and you have too much of the roasting... But I'm no coffee expert. I just appreciate it. But I'm learning a little bit of it.
00:40:57 John Daub: This is so good. Oh, man. Just... Here's my view. I'm just gonna pan around here while I drink and talk. It's... it's just a really nice intersection. It's just a slice of Tokyo right here. Yeah. Dominican coffee this is. And the first one that he put word, it didn't pass the...
00:41:27 John Daub: The test. So he ended up hand dripping me another one which is... That's an expert. That's like the next level. This is... this is... this is such a find, right? This is if... if you... You could go all the way around. I know my friend Peter... Everybody knows Peter here. He's a coffee, a fex...
00:41:59 John Daub: I think this is the kind of place that he would love. In fact, I think I'm going to see if... if I can invite him here and then maybe we'll redo this walk again. But maybe for a main channel episode. It's just fascinating. But what makes... makes this really special are the people.
00:42:30 John Daub: And I think you're getting... If you've been watching this since the beginning 52 minutes ago, that seems alive of the Lost for a while. You get to talk with the people when you're out here. And it's different than when you go out to Shibuya, Harajuku, all these other places.
00:43:01 John Daub: This is a place where people live so people are more relaxed and you get to know Tokyo better out here than you would in those other places. And this is just a stone's throw away from Ginza really. You can get from Kurama is also a really good neighborhood to get to know.
00:43:32 John Daub: But if you... if you could stay around Kiyoshi Mishirakawa, I highly recommend. Oh, this is a great place. This coffee's out of sight. Oh my gosh. Tiny Paradise is also good. But I think... I think this is... this takes the cake, man. This is a great place to end. But I'm going to take you to the...
00:44:05 John Daub: To the Blue Bottle, which is kind of put it on the map a little bit. But before Blue Bottle there was... there was this. And this is awesome. There's another cafe just down the street here. And let's say goodbye and we'll move on. Move on down the thing. Yeah, this is a cafe Arise.
00:44:36 John Daub: And he was on Cool Japan on NHK just a couple of... a couple of weeks ago. Okay, we got a green light here. Let's walk out towards... I gave him my business card which is typical in Japan when you... Excuse me. When you ask for permission to film, it's really polite to have a business card so they know who you are.
00:45:11 John Daub: And usually if you do that, you have they'll give you access at small places like this. This is so good. You know what? Blue Bottle... I'm really sorry. Blue Bottle. It's nice that you're here. But Arise is so much more superior. I think it has to do with... I don't know...
00:45:41 John Daub: I've had Blue Bottle before. It's right here on the left... on the right side. Do you see it? This warehouse? This is the first Blue Bottle in Japan. It made some waves and it came in here. This isn't a place where you find a Starbucks. There's no chains here. And this is the, the, you know, the first chain that came in here.
00:46:18 John Daub: They took over an old warehouse and turned it into this. So I'm going to show you... This place is packed. There's like people sitting outside. Oh wow, look at this. It's a beautiful cafe. It's all glass in here. And let me go across the street. This is a... freaking people out with a camera.
00:46:50 John Daub: Be careful when you cross the street too because this is a trafficked place. Yeah, this is Blue Bottle. They have, I don't know, a lot of locations now in Tokyo but this one is just special because it's... it's not just the first one. It is like a massive warehouse looking place.
00:47:22 John Daub: High ceilings. I think there's a second floor inside there, really clean. They're letting... They don't... There's a... a concierge at the front door that lets people in and out and I'm not going to ask them to film. I'm not... I'm not here today. I'm... Today is all about supporting local businesses and we want to do that.
00:47:57 John Daub: And look, I'm going to be honest with you now. This coffee I got from Arise just next door is better than what you would get in there. And everyone's going here because they do... Building a brand has value. But I'm gonna pan out to the right and look at this. That blue...
00:48:28 John Daub: The blue roof right there is where I got this coffee. It's just right across the street and you have the Tokyo sky tree in the distance. That corner is Arise where I got this coffee. So just, just make the walk about 50 meters. It's like 30 seconds and get the coffee there.
00:48:58 John Daub: This video was not sponsored by Blue Bottle. Apparently this was totally sponsored by Patreon. Thanks a lot guys. I want to say shout out to my Patreon supporters. I really appreciate you. This is the card from this month. I'm gonna do a Q&A and talk with this week.
00:49:29 John Daub: There's a picture of me and Scotty from the episode. Is that in focus there? There's a picture of me and Scotty with the owner. And... well, that's two... And there's the postcard. I put a nice stamp on it, and I sent it from Tokyo Station or places that are relevant. Sometimes I'll take it to Osaka.
00:50:02 John Daub: For me, it's important to send it and to have a really good stamp and send it from a location that has a postmark that'll say, like, Akihabara on it. If the postcard says Shinjuku, I try to send it from Shinjuku. So little details make it make a big difference to me.
00:50:32 John Daub: And that's how I sort of edit the videos as well. The details are important. So you get a nice postcard, and if it gets butchered up, just let me know and I'll try to send out a new one. Wow, that was so good. Oh, my gosh, I feel spoiled rotten. That sandwich and then this coffee.
00:51:04 John Daub: Guys, look, I'm... Is that Diana? Is that Diana? Hey, thank you for that. Yeah, you got it. All right, let's go see... let's see what I can find. I'm gonna go on for another few minutes here, but I'll take some questions as we walk around this area of Tokyo, which is one of my favorite...
00:51:36 John Daub: We really are off of the beaten path here. And this is what's... what makes this trip so perfect. Yeah, there's the sky tree in the distance, and then there's the Arise coffee shop, which was one of my final destinations. It was definitely one of the stops on this... This is the best coffee that I've had this year.
00:52:11 John Daub: He made it twice. Look at that. He made it twice. All right. There are other cafes in this area, and I think it's worth walking. I put a link in the description of this video with a map that shows you some of them that I tried to walk to. But I was completely lost for 10 minutes of this live stream, probably more.
00:52:46 John Daub: So when you're lost, I don't know how good this live stream is gonna be, but it's a special... it's a special area of Tokyo. It really is. And when you put in... when you put in the park, do you see down the street straight ahead? That's Kiyosumi Park. It really is a beautiful place.
00:53:18 John Daub: You know what? Actually, I get a lot... It's a... it's about a kilometer to get to my bicycle, but I'm gonna take you in the opposite direction to end this live stream, because everyone's been so nice with the super chats here. Let's go and see what we can find. Shopping...
00:53:48 John Daub: There is a place, there are some places to go shopping here. There's a shopping street that's really, really cute. But if I take you out, if I take you out there, I think you're gonna really appreciate this neighborhood even more if I showed this to you. So please thank Diana for, for the, the bonus.
00:54:22 John Daub: Bonus extension here. As we walk around, the inside of that shop is so awesome. I, I, I get a feeling that the owner probably speaks a little bit of English too. So... But I think it's self explanatory. He has the name of the shops there. If he's, if he's working with NHK Cool Japan show.
00:54:54 John Daub: And he said there was an Italian reporter that came in. I'm pretty sure he speaks a little bit of English in particular because he travels so much. He... he's been to Guatemala. So I was talking to him about, I was talking to him about my trip to Guatemala. In the year 2003, I spent a couple of months in Antigua learning Spanish at a school.
00:55:32 John Daub: It was $80 a month for one on one. Four hours a day, one on one lessons with a Spanish teacher. And they were pretty good lessons, I'm guessing. Okay. I thought I saw something. I'm guessing like if, if I went, if I go back to South America in about a week or two, my Spanish might come back.
00:56:05 John Daub: I haven't used it in so long. It's a completely unused muscle memory, I think. But while I was in Antigua, I wanted to have Guatemalan coffee because I said, this is Guatemala. How could you not have Guatemalan coffee? Everywhere I went, it's Nescafe. Even in the supermarkets, it's Nescafe.
00:56:38 John Daub: You can't find Guatemalan coffee because they export it, because there's value in that. The only place that had it was McDonald's in Antigua. And they had avocado burgers too. That was the only place I could find avocados. Maybe it's changed, but that was 20 years ago.
00:57:08 John Daub: 2003. Susumu, that shop. I was on my map as well. Oh, man. So good. I can help you with Spanish. Thank you, Garrett. Thank you. Yeah. Well, this is only in Japan. Go... Have to change it to only in Spanish. Go. A good portion of the world does speak Spanish more than they do speak Japanese.
00:57:41 John Daub: So there's some, there's something... I love the signs. You'll see these really colorful signs for the festivals that are going on. I believe this is down in... This is in Monzen Nakacho. That's not that far away from here. You can walk to Monzen Nakacho in about 10 minutes.
00:58:11 John Daub: Monzen Nakacho station. That in itself is... is certainly worth a visit. I shouldn't say... I don't speak Spanish. I spoke Spanish. I just haven't used it in... And I literally haven't used it in 20 years. I learned... I spent... I traveled all through Central America. I came in from...
00:58:42 John Daub: I could talk about that trip a little bit. Where's that street that I wanted to take you? Wow, look at this. I almost walk right by it. It's a little trailer. And we gotta go see now. All right. It's green. We have to just... just take a quick look. Wow, look at this. This is great.
00:59:14 John Daub: So that's what I'm talking about. It's really cute. It's a bakery, but you can get drinks here. That's nice. I like that. I think it's this way. There's a ramen shop across the street that... This has always had a line. I'm pretty sure it's a ramen shop. You see it across the street?
00:59:45 John Daub: Maybe it's not. I don't know. There's also a ramen shop here that's always packed. Look at this. This is what I'm talking about. Like all of these really little stylish cafes. This one's just called Tay T e... I... Maybe I went the Rock. Maybe I should have gone the other way.
01:00:16 John Daub: There's a... Another little bar on the... on the right side of it. Right there. Here's another restaurant. So much character, this town. Look at that. You see the residences on the second floor. People have their laundry out. Like, this is a good view. On the other side of this is Kiyosumi Garden.
01:00:49 John Daub: So it's a super scenic place, isn't it? You feel the vibe. I made a mistake in the direction, so I gotta go back the way I came. But... Yeah, I made a mistake. So we're gonna go back the way I came. That's okay. You guys have any questions here? For those that are joining us, I can show you where I...
01:01:23 John Daub: Where I am now. You know where I am. I'm right up off of the side of the park here. So you can see the park coming into view on the bottom of the screen. And we were... I was in here in this area of the city. And it's so nice to walk around here. Within here are tons of little cafes, shops, locally owned businesses that are serving some really unique foods, drinks, lot of coffee, artisanal stuff, I guess you could say.
01:02:10 John Daub: Is it a little pricey? Maybe a little bit. But with the exchange rate you don't have too much of an excuse. And one of the ideas of this live stream is channel is that I want to take you on locations and show you places that people typically don't go to. To encourage you to see a different side of Tokyo.
01:02:44 John Daub: Because go quickly. Everybody is going to the same places right now and it's exhausting to see. I... I avoid Shibuya and... and Harajuku. You all know that. If you ask me where's your favorite place? It is not those. Those are just neighborhoods in Tokyo that are... tourists...
01:03:14 John Daub: That would be a tourist trap. Harajuku is a tourist trap. Now I could say that this is not... Yeah, there's some, some... There's a ramen shop across the street that's quite popular. And the first... Hey, you guys know Karepan? This is a curry donuts. The first... I did a live stream here during the pandemic.
01:03:48 John Daub: But if you just go straight about 150 meters on the left side, that's where Khan Curry Curry pond curry donuts were born at that shop. They're the first shop to serve them decades ago. And there's always a line you get there early. Right there. That is pretty awesome.
01:04:19 John Daub: There's even a... a cento right there. Public bath. All right, let's move. Let's go down the shopping street. I believe this is... It's right before the Kiyosumi Shirakawa station which is on the Hanzamon line. The purple one which takes you to Shibuya. So you can get the Shibuya to here in about 18 minutes.
01:04:53 John Daub: I think it is something like that. Or you can take the Oedo line which is from Roppongi. Actually from... from Yoyogi Roppongi all the way around to here. It's pretty convenient. A good place to stay for your hotel chill neighborhood. Look at this. It's the... Basically this is the Fukagawa region of Tokyo.
01:05:27 John Daub: Fukagawa is an old Edo era region of the city. And I guess it kind of is still part of the Fukagawa deep river region. Here's the shopping street that I was talking about telling you about. It's really nice, tree lined. And here's an old shop with pinwheels. It's got a lot of character.
01:05:59 John Daub: Looks like it was... It was made in the Edo period. But what surprised me me when I came by bicycle here about an hour and a half ago are the amount of cafes left and right. Like this place right here. Look at it. It's so small. Coffee and honey is what it's called. Coffee and honey is what it's called.
01:06:33 John Daub: And... and it's so small. But it looks like a... like an artisanal crafts coffee shop. And that's what makes this kind of like experimental stuff. And you'll find like little shops here. This one's called May 9th... Happy... It looks like England. In there's a map I can show you.
01:07:04 John Daub: There's the Kiyosumi Garden within which in itself is worth a trip. And then we're walking down the Fukagawa Shiryokan Dori Shoten Gai Shoten guy. But it's not covered because it's all... It's old school. And you can see around here there's many Buddhist temples. This symbol means temple.
01:07:36 John Daub: And that... this symbol goes back a thousand years or more. So anyone who has thoughts about more modern history you can dispel that because that was here first and it's the wrong direction. Anyways. I know what you guys are thinking to Poco. This is one of the best live streams really.
01:08:08 John Daub: I just walked into a tree for you. Did you see that? I do apologize. I wanted the external mic to be working but just didn't. So you can see the... The politicians are always campaigning here. And you can walk down this, this road. It's so comfortable in this summer. It's covered, no crowds.
01:08:41 John Daub: This is a weekend. All right? I want you to wrap your head around this. This is a weekend. This is Saturday in the summer and there's like nobody here. So if you're coming to Tokyo and you have and... and you get your fill of crowds just, just get off of that beaten path.
01:09:11 John Daub: Listen to me. Come out here. It's cooler. It's literally cooler. Look at... Here's another old school cafe. This is a like a Reiwa... Some who... I forget... Forget who said it about an hour ago but this is like a Showa era cafe, Reiwa style, right? And you can get here. This is Fukagawa is famous for its like little Asadi clams.
01:09:47 John Daub: And you can get Fukagawa Meishi which is... They put those clams in there. Very famous on TV here. So the re... This area of Tokyo is famous for that type of... of Meishi fried rice I guess you could say. Or is it... Is it all just cooked together? Chris, BB's writes in here.
01:10:18 John Daub: I will check out the Airbnb there. You would be a smart man to do such a thing. Like, I don't know why everybody wants to stay in Shibuya. What's the big deal? I... I don't know. Nothing against Shibuya, but everything against everything for this place. If you're staying in Tokyo for a month, this is where you'd want to stay.
01:10:54 John Daub: If you're staying for like three days, maybe... I get it. Michael Sasano wants me to walk into a tree as well. That's weird. I've never heard of this brand. Boa. All right. There you go. I hope this was... I hope this was a fun live stream for you. I again, I'll try to look for some more places like this.
01:11:28 John Daub: Everybody knows if you're looking for hip, cool, laid back places a lot of people go to, like Kichijoji, they go out to that other side. Nakano Tako, Tamagawa. Guys, that's really expensive. This area... This is real... That's really already on the beaten path. This is not.
01:11:58 John Daub: This is awesome. I have to be honest with you. I'm surprised how much fun this... This place. Just walking around. Look at that. I don't remember seeing this. This is Fukagawa Meishi. That's what I was telling you about. The shop specializes in it. Kamasho. It's cooked in this pot.
01:12:30 John Daub: Not this one, but inside... They have it in Japanese. Fukagawa Meishi. That's what you should order when you come here. That's the... that's the food of this region. It's very good. You can get it to... you can get it to go as well. Eat it in the park. Maybe as a... Whoa, look at this honey.
01:13:02 John Daub: Wow. Craft honey. They have like the strangest lemon ever. You can sit outside and eat and drink craft lemonade or craft honey. What? That's awesome. Smells so good. And then here's a wagashi shop in here... That... That looks old school. So much character. This is what you're looking for when you come here.
01:13:36 John Daub: You're looking for this. You're not looking for Shibuya. You're really looking for this. I know you're looking for this because everyone asking me where you... Where's the best place to go now you know this. This... After this... This puts it like number one on my list of places that people should go that have no idea.
01:14:11 John Daub: I'm just gonna check out this shop because the building in itself looks like it's pretty modern looking. But here's... Here's what a lot of entrepreneurs have been doing. They'll buy a house and then they'll put a business on the first floor. Oh, we went... We walked past here.
01:14:42 John Daub: This is the Albero Alto. Now it's open, so that's why I couldn't tell. And looks like they're just moving in. So this place just opened. Interesting. That's the other cafe in an alley. Hidden in an alley. Perfect. That's the way it's supposed to be. There's... I've seen some vending machines.
01:15:15 John Daub: What is this? That is so awesome. It looks like two lemons for eyes. That couldn't have been more perfect. Like this homemade... Ultraman. Hawk soon. Were you really scared? Ultraman Mummy. That was funny. Look at that. There's more shops here. Okay, there's my bicycle right there.
01:15:47 John Daub: So I made it. I made it all the way back to my bicycle. All right, you know what? I think I know this neighborhood pretty good now. Oh, this is a tofu shop. They're making tofu here. It's... Oh, man. All right. We did everything except for the... Hold on. It sounds so relaxing.
01:16:17 John Daub: Sometimes you just want to live in a moment. Just live in the moment for a second longer. The great thing is that you can park anywhere and no one's gonna ticket your bicycle. I could park just about anywhere. There you go. Nobody disturbs the bicycle here. So if you...
01:16:48 John Daub: So we... We're ending where we started. What? We're ending where we started. Like, the ice from that iced coffee has made this... It's not iced coffee anymore, but that's where we started. Tiny Paradise. That blue building right there just in this alley. That was a good start to this episode.
01:17:20 John Daub: All right, you know what? I'm gonna see... see if I can do, like, a main channel episode or something with this neighborhood because it's just too awesome to pass up. This is a really amazing place. Friendly, delicious character. Quiet, uncrowded, unknown. But it is known.
01:17:50 John Daub: We all know about this, but nobody ever comes here because it... It's like the difference between... It's the difference between, like, an apple and a bar of chocolate. Chocolate... You know, they... They market themselves. Shout out to Mr. Beast. He's really good at marketing his chocolate stuff.
01:18:23 John Daub: But maybe you should sell an apple or something, because nobody promotes that stuff. And if you have a choice between an apple and a chocolate bar, 9 out of 10 people probably pick that chocolate bar. This is not a chocolate bar. This is an apple. This is healthy. Maybe not that sandwich I ate, but for the mind...
01:18:58 John Daub: Shibuya is like a mind melt. This is a mind... What's the opposite of melt? Reconstruction. Reconstitution. I like it. I like it a lot. I'll be back here. I'll be back here. It's only like 10 minutes away, so I'll be back here more often. Let's say if you like it, hit that, like, button.
01:19:30 John Daub: And don't forget to subscribe. I will take you to another location really soon. You know, yesterday, yesterday, last night, Leo, we had to take him to the emergency room. He has a... He had a bit of a fever and was shaking. So we did... I didn't get a lot of sleep. And I was going to talk about how the yen has become a lot stronger, but that requires a little bit more research.
01:20:13 John Daub: So I'll probably do that live stream tomorrow or on Monday morning. But Leo's doing fine now, and we just... I'm noticing that you can't take any chances. I'm like, he's gonna be okay, he's gonna be okay. He'll be okay. But Kanai's reaction is to take him to the emergency room.
01:20:44 John Daub: And that's probably the smart thing to do if we're not sure what's happening. And he's shaking and he's got a fever, so he's doing better now. But it was just kind of scary and we didn't get a lot of sleep. But this, this really one of the reasons why I took a second there is because all the stress that I might have had just melted away.
01:21:22 John Daub: When you hear the wind chimes and quiet... And this is... This to me, this is Japan. This is Tokyo. To me. Your image might be Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku. My image of Tokyo in particular this summer are the sound of wind chimes, right? And quiet and... and just quietness.
01:21:52 John Daub: That... That's... That's Tokyo to me. Different... Different perspectives. Japan should be a peaceful country. But it's look, it's got... It's... We say Junin Toyo, which is a good expression. There's like 10 colors forever, 10 people like different strokes for different folks.
01:22:22 John Daub: Japan's got something for everybody, really nowadays. It maybe didn't 25 years ago when I came, but it's really evolved into... Into that. And they've done a much better job of promoting themselves and finding things that people like and attracting people to come here.
01:22:52 John Daub: And just this natural Japan is not enough of a pull for a lot of people. But if you do come to Japan, I think that that's one of the things that you should embrace because there is a really strong connection to nature with Japan. You might not see it in Tokyo. You might not even see it in...
01:23:25 John Daub: In Kyoto these days because it is too touristy. But you'll see it in the neighborhoods. You'll see it in... In the countryside. You'll see it in places like this, and surprisingly, in central Tokyo. So I'll see you in Mons... I'll see you here in Kiyosumi... Kiyosumi Shirakawa again sometimes.
01:23:57 John Daub: And then another live stream really soon. Bye, everybody.