00:00:01 John Daub: So here we are on Nijima Island. Look at the color of that water. This is Nijima blue. I've seen colors like this, but it's just striking every single time. And this is just a three-hour jetfoil trip from Tokyo's Takeshiba Port.

00:00:23 John Daub: Today I learned it's hard to find a signal in some places on Nijima, but we have a good spot here. I kept going around looking for a 4G signal where I could show you the beach. Now this beach—people ask me, where's the best beach in Tokyo? This is Tokyo. I think this would be the best beach. There's hardly anybody here.

00:01:00 John Daub: Exactly. Except them—there's two people down there, and me and you. So where exactly am I? Check this out, I made a map. There's the city of Tokyo, and I'm out here in the Pacific past Oshima, which is another big island. This is the exact spot near the glass art museum. There's stuff to do here, including an onsen I'm going to show you in a second. But look how beautiful this one-point break is. This is just one of about four or five beaches in town.

00:01:37 John Daub: I have the motorbike here, so it's easy to jet around town. If I move Google Earth over, you see Yunohama Roten onsen (free seaside hot spring bath). Tattoos are okay—no sign saying they're not. Some pools are cool, some are hot. You can be up on the top there. It's an amazing place to watch the sunset in the bath. Here's the town I stayed in—a really nice guesthouse. I'll put the info in the description if I remember. There's a beach right there to the left that's safer for kids.

00:02:30 John Daub: No jellyfish out here—they're mostly towards the mainland. But I want to show you Habushiura Beach. Right there on the north—that is so beautiful. I took some video earlier. This is maybe one of the most striking beaches in Japan, if not the world. There's nobody here. The waves are pretty strong—this is a good side for surfing. The tide is out right now; when it's coming in, those waves are pretty big.

00:03:09 John Daub: Yesterday I was going to do drone shots, but it's too close to the airport, so I couldn't fly. Look at the cliffs—not a soul in sight. There's a population here, but it's shrinking like everywhere in Japan. In the off-season, there's no flags for swimming on this side, so swim at your own risk. Seriously, the riptide can be strong. I've seen people surfing here, maybe when the tide is coming in.

00:04:04 John Daub: Yeah, this is the other side of the beach by the airport. The waves crash higher here, so this seems a better surfing spot. We're blasting music from a speaker on that side, which is unusual—they have these loudspeakers. It kind of ruins the sound of the crashing waves to have random music blasting. But I'm not complaining.

00:04:42 John Daub: All right, let me show you this over here because you can see the ferry coming in, which is why I'm here. That right there that looks like an ancient Greek temple is actually the free hot spring bath. It's really nice. There's no signal over there—that's another reason I'm streaming here. But I got you covered; I filmed a little bit there. This is the ferry pier just past there—pretty local, not a lot of people compared to Takeshiba Port in Tokyo.

00:05:31 John Daub: There's a mailbox, information services, a map. I'd call ahead if you're getting a hotel—they'll pick you up from the ferry terminal. Or if you rent a car, bicycle, or motorcycle, the rental shop will pick you up. Here's the bath—you can see it's really nice. That's where you soak; it's calm, no waves. It's elevated about two meters from the sea, so you get a great sunset view. There's a pavilion, a place to drink, my bike. I was shocked it's free—guessing Tokyo paid for it. You can hear the wind; it's part of it.

00:06:24 John Daub: Looks like I found a new surfing spot. There's men's and women's changing rooms with showers. You can go up to the top floor—there's a bath up there too. If you don't want to go full in, there's a foot bath. You walk up barefoot, take off your shoes at the rack. From the top, you have this amazing ocean view.

00:07:14 John Daub: The town itself—so I tried to set up my camera and this car got in the way. Thanks a lot. There's a bakery—this is flipped, but it's a handmade bakery where you can eat breakfast right there. Nice older lady. I bought a sandwich and she rang it up, then dropped it—not in a good way. Felt like a high school cafeteria. I like it. The sandwich is okay. But it's nice to find bakeries here. When Kanae and I came in September off-season, a lot was closed, so ask your accommodation—are there restaurants open?

00:08:42 John Daub: Ken writes a great question: Is there a 7-Eleven? No convenience stores on the island—this is locals-only, which is kind of a good thing. There are local shops with everything you need, plus the bakery. I had an amazing lunch—deep-fried fish with tartar sauce, squid rings, soup, rice, iced coffee. They had sashimi, kaisendon (seafood rice bowl). Very stylish inside—more than you'd expect.

00:10:18 John Daub: Chan asks, what's the water temperature like? Very good. The water is really nice right now, and even in winter it's fairly warm—it's the Pacific. But waves are higher in winter, so be careful. Calmer in summer except typhoons.

00:11:41 John Daub: There's stairs to walk up this little island—I haven't done it yet. Should I? Camera away, we'll make our way over. There are cool Moai statues all over the island—adds Polynesian flavor. Each Tokyo island has its own characteristics, special foods. The famous fish dish here is kusaya (super stinky dried fermented fish)—one of the top five stinkiest foods in the world when grilled, more than natto or funazushi (fermented carp sushi).

00:13:47 John Daub: Alright, walking down to the beach—nobody around. Natto's good—you have to give it a chance with mustard, soy sauce or dashi. Good for your stomach, great on rice. I can't believe there's not a soul here—summer finished last weekend. People argued summer's not over till September, but here in Tokyo countryside, it's empty even if still hot.

00:16:17 John Daub: Kusaya smells worse than natto or durian—durian's a sweet strong smell. There's surströmming (Swedish fermented herring), god-level stinky. Fermented foods are good for your stomach—don't knock it till you try. Kusaya smells like a farm (bokujo no nioi), but great with alcohol and friends. Made here on the island.

00:18:04 John Daub: Over there is another island—the ferry stops there too. This is Nijima, exact spot. A bit remote, but better than crowded beaches hunting parking. This is Tokyo countryside. Ferry port, next beach, Shikinejima down left—the ferry stops there too. You can day-trip and catch the next ferry. Ferry company was hospitable. Guest House Iketa picked me up—they sell kusaya too.

00:20:13 John Daub: You can fly here from Chofu Airport—not Narita or Haneda. Four flights a day, 40 minutes, but unless you live near Chofu, take the jetfoil—2 hours 45 minutes, fun ride, see Mt. Fuji for an hour. Chofu not convenient from central Tokyo. Planes are small props, local airlines—90% come by ferry, cheaper and convenient with Wi-Fi (sometimes).

00:22:36 John Daub: Is there haunted places? Glass museum looks haunted. Another onsen up the road, but signal dies. Okunoshima is Rabbit Island—frequent ferries, don't miss the last one.

00:23:25 John Daub: Can you scream? Nah. Rabbit coffee? That's kopi luwak from Bali—civet cat eats beans. I shot Rabbit Island—rabbits culled due to food shortage, population rebounding, but sad episode.

00:24:42 John Daub: All right everybody, thanks for watching—wanted to share my day. Another volcanic island in distance—Miyakejima not far. In '98 eruption, evacuees became refugees in Tokyo, big lifestyle change for kids. Miyakejima has 3-4 traffic lights—important for island kids.

00:26:13 John Daub: Sweet Potato says eat rice bowl on me—thanks, heading there now, will Instagram it. Ferry at 3:50pm jetfoil. Best reason to come: 50cc scooter on empty roads, beautiful seaside, no traffic compared to Tokyo.

00:27:42 John Daub: Mostly local guesthouses, some ryokan. Other side needs car—long scary tunnel to Wakago, can't bike or walk—like Spirited Away to another world.

00:28:30 John Daub: All right, everybody, thanks so much for watching. Time for lunch, finish the episode, pack up, helmet on. Good ride today—give bike back at three. Mata ne. Thanks, everybody. Torchon Arapako. Mata ne.