00:00:02 John Daub: We will soon be able to stop by the Kyoto Station. The doors on the left side will open. Please watch your step when you follow the train. Thank you.

00:00:13 John Daub: What a beautiful sight out the window of the Shinkansen as we pull into Kyoto Station. There's Kyoto Tower just coming into view, so we're getting off the Shinkansen in about 30 seconds. We're coming all the way from Tokyo, about 2 hours and 15 minutes, and there's the platform.

00:01:43 John Daub: We are here in Kyoto. Now that's an entrance. How you doing everybody? Welcome. I've taken the Shinkansen here. I'm going to be in this area for the next couple of days, two nights, three days, filming at the Koka Ninja Village.

00:02:00 John Daub: Don't ask me. It's a role-playing experience which I think is going to be pretty cool. I have never done anything like this before. So I'm looking forward to it. Here is the front of the Shinkansen as this one is going to be rolling on, going over to Shin-Osaka, which is the next station, about 15 minutes away.

00:02:19 John Daub: The route to get here is not too bad. You can see here, 2 hours and 15 minutes on the Nozomi train from Tokyo. It hugs the coast for most of it, then from Nagoya goes inland and you can go through some tunnels here. Really beautiful view of Mount Fuji, which I'll show you in about 30 seconds as this bird flies away. It's actually, technically more like an ostrich.

00:02:43 John Daub: It runs pretty fast. Man, that's like the dream job to be the driver of the Shinkansen. In this stealth-looking cockpit. Wow. If you understand what I'm saying, do the windshield wipers one time. It's not going to happen. Alright, let's watch this ostrich pull away. Oh, here comes another one. There's so many of them. Bye bye.

00:03:20 John Daub: Bye bye driver. Bye bye passengers in car number one. That's where I just was. Did I forget anything on the car? No. Sometimes when I'm streaming, I think, where's my phone? Oh, I'm using it right now to stream.

00:03:34 John Daub: So, in this episode, I'm going to be taking you through Kyoto Station for the next 10 minutes or so before I have to meet some really nice people. They're going to be taking me to the Ninja Village to do ninja stuff, which is actually a live stream, which you can get a reminder for on this channel right now. Do I have that here ready? No. Oh my gosh, I didn't put the thumbnail for it. Well, this is the one I have right now. It's actually going to be a night attack. I don't understand exactly what I'm supposed to be doing, but apparently we as a group of ninja attack and save a general. Anyways, I'm going to be streaming it live, so you're going to be there with me if you stay up for it. Alright, let's get out of here.

00:04:29 John Daub: Wow, they had announcements. Wow. They're telling people to keep away in English. So, there are about 7 trains in 15 minutes that seem to leave Tokyo Station from 7:30 to 8, somewhere between there. I got on the 7:51 train, there was a 7:48 train, and there was a 7:54 train, and that train that's coming in right now is a train that was about 3 minutes after the one that I got on, which is so weird. They just had 7:50. So many trains leaving Tokyo coming towards Shin-Osaka to try to accommodate all of the people that have been taking the Shinkansen. In particular, a lot of foreign tourists, although you cannot ride this particular Shinkansen, this is the Nozomi, but not every tourist has a Japan Rail Pass [?]. Probably for the best.

00:05:41 John Daub: Alright, let's go down. See that white on the bottom is the Shinkansen platform on the right side, and the left side is the main station. In between are the local train lines that are not covered, and we're going around it. There's Kyoto Tower. That's the main exit and entrance where the buses and taxis all are, and where you're going to the attractions. Unless you're going to Fushimi Inari, which is the 10,000 torii gates, then you want to go on the other side. So the Shinkansen exit is a little bit closer.

00:06:10 John Daub: This station was built before the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, and is now one of the centerpieces of Kyoto. And now we're inside of the station here, so you can check out what it looks like. There's a lot of gifts and gift shops. Not so much, you know, I always think you can get an ekiben (station bento) here. Actually, this one right here, right before you get onto the platform. Let's take a quick look and see what's inside the station before we actually go outside of it. So we do have ekiben here. That's a lot of them. That unagi bento looks good there. You can get drinks.

00:07:17 John Daub: So how much is a ticket from Tokyo to Kyoto, you might be asking? Well, I might be telling. Here's the ticket before I exit here. It's from Tokyo to Kyoto, 13,320 yen. It's 8,360 yen for the ticket, and then the express charge is 4,960. I expect this price to go up. Look, they've done a good job. They've done a good job with this, although it hasn't changed for a very long time.

00:08:18 John Daub: It's green tea advertisement right there. That's the one I think, is that the one from Coca-Cola? No, Suntory, they write it at the top. That's a good one. They change it though, so the bottle and the type of tea. There's an omiyage (souvenir) shop over there. And this is a very interesting looking Starbucks. Here's another gift shop, which has more of a, I guess you could say, a Kyoto feel to it. Dark wood. And this Starbucks looks like it has a lot of stuff. It has a little Kyoto touch to it. Inside the station.

00:09:00 John Daub: You know, I'm not, I don't admit to being a fan of Starbucks, but you have to say that they do a pretty good job of like, the aesthetics of the station. Of making a Starbucks inside of the station look like it's from Kyoto. It's a pretty good job. I actually would like a coffee right now, but I don't have time. Because we have you watching and joining me. A lot of matcha. And I'm going to go to the Hachijo West side. There's a queue to exit. Wow. What if I go this way? I can't believe there's so many people. Ah, my ticket's gone. I guess I can believe there's so many people, which is one of the reasons why I always avoid Kyoto. I'm kind of looking forward to getting out of here now.

00:10:04 John Daub: Alright, so the first thing we're going to do is to take you through the Hachijo West side exit and going through the central entrance. Alright. So let's go around here. Hachijo is where I'll be meeting. This is where I'll be catching a bus to go to the other side. But this side of the Kyoto station is not very busy. But over the last couple of years, they've really built a lot of hotels on this side. And I'll be staying at a hotel on this side tonight. Arthur Vandeley is here! How you doing? I'll be staying at a hotel on this side tonight that I got on booking.com because I couldn't find it on another one. I can't even see the hotel. It's supposed to be right around here. So this is the hotel row. Again, it's changed so much over the last couple of years.

00:10:59 John Daub: There's the Shinkansen that just went by Kyoto station. That's the Shinkansen platform above on this side. So now let's get out of this side and move over to the other side to the central entrance where you get a picture of the Kyoto Tower and all of the...

00:11:22 John Daub: Wait, can we go in through there down? I think we can. Let's see if we can go in the southwest pedestrian deck. Boy, it's been a while. Now I remember the Shinkansen platform is on the right side. Wow, it's been such a long time. In order to come out from the Shinkansen to the local train side, you actually need to go through the local train side. So when you buy your ticket at Tokyo, make sure you can buy a continuing on ticket, but you can just exit in Kyoto station. Wow, look at all the people. I'm not waiting for an escalator. They're waiting for an escalator? Or are they standing on the left and... This is the territory where you're not quite sure. There's a lot of confusion because in Osaka you stand on the right side and walk up the left. And in Tokyo you walk up the left and stand on the right. Did I say that right? Wait, no left. Well, Kyoto is like this buffer zone, so it can get a little bit confusing as you walk through. And we're going to come out on the left. And I'm going to show you this gargantuan entranceway, which is Kyoto. You really do feel it.

00:12:52 John Daub: A lot of omiyage shops here. I can smell baked chocolate. Coffee. The Halloween exhibit over there to the left. Here's the local train entrance. Right there. 7-Eleven. You get a drink before you get on the train. Or after you get off the train. That kid's got a Dr. Yellow Shinkansen bag. Very awesome. And we're just about out. This is where I'll be meeting at the tourist center. I'll be meeting my ride to go to the Ninja Village. Oh! I can smell someone's perfume. Somebody really was very liberal with their cologne. Foreigners. You know what I smell like? I smell like soap. I always complain about that. I'm not going to do that. Not today. Alright. If you want to wear cologne, you can wear cologne here.

00:14:20 John Daub: Oh! Hello! Hey look! That's me! You found me! Yes! Where are you from?

00:14:29 Fan (Holland): Holland.

00:14:29 John Daub: Alright! How did you know I was here?

00:14:32 Fan (Holland): Just by the video?

00:14:33 John Daub: Yes. Did you know I was coming here?

00:14:35 Fan (Holland): Yeah. No idea.

00:14:36 John Daub: Wow! We are shipping bread crust and ice. And you saw me go live here? Oh my gosh! Well here, I got a card for you.

00:14:45 Fan (Holland): Yeah. Wait for that five years.

00:14:47 John Daub: Really? Well these are five years old then. Yeah. Thank you. Nice. Here you go.

00:14:57 Fan (Holland): Oh, thank you. Yeah.

00:14:59 John Daub: Alright. I see the videos. Great. I'm going off to the Ninja Village. Yes. Don't ask me why. Alright. See you guys. Bye bye.

00:15:08 Fan (Holland): Have a good day.

00:15:11 John Daub: That's funny. Alright. Now I'm going to take you through, because time is running short. Take you through the gargantuan structure which is Kyoto Station and one of the great wonders of Japan. Modern wonders. They did such an amazing job when they built this one. They really did. I'm going to take you now. This is on the second floor looking down at the main local train entrance. And you can get into the Shinkansen too this way. But it is bustling here. It really is. It gets even crazier I think on the weekends. But you can see there's a lot of people going somewhere or arriving. I see Joss is here and Diana. You guys have been here before. But if you look at the structure, I'm just going to pan up and super wide here. It really is a marvel. And you know, there's Kyoto Tower right there which is not so much a marvel. But you can actually go up these escalators and it will take you. It feels like you're going up a mountain. And I've done it before in a live stream. But if you do come to Kyoto Station, you have about 15 minutes. Just explore around here and get lost because it really is a place where you can get lost.

00:16:38 John Daub: Oh, hello. Are you watching too?

00:16:42 Fan (Christelle): I watch your channel a lot.

00:16:43 John Daub: Oh, okay. Oh my gosh. No, somebody found me because they're watching live. I'm like, oh, what are you watching?

00:16:49 Fan (Christelle): You.

00:16:49 John Daub: I was like, oh, no. I'm the biggest fan. Here you guys go. Christelle. Nice to meet you. It's so nice to see you in person.

00:16:56 Fans (Australia, New Zealand): We love your channel. It's, yeah. Where are you guys from? Australia, New Zealand. Australia, New Zealand. Okay. We live in Australia and we've been watching you for years.

00:17:03 John Daub: Wow. Yeah. After the pandemic couldn't come. So it's been a long time.

00:17:09 Fans (Australia, New Zealand): Exactly. Last time I was here was 2019. Last time we were here was 2017. 2017. Wow. Has it changed?

00:17:15 John Daub: In some ways, but also not really. Like it still feels different. Yeah. It feels different to me because I was here. I was here where there was nobody here. I remember doing a live stream and I had to wear a mask and I was walking around here and it was a ghost town and now look at it. It's still kind of unbelievable.

00:17:34 Fans (Australia, New Zealand): Yeah. Yeah. We're about to head out to [Kashimi and Nari? Fushimi Inari?] for the day and I'm a little concerned about how busy that's going to be.

00:17:37 John Daub: A little bit late if you get there at 5 a.m. It's over 24 hours, right? Yeah. Oh, we were planning to go back at night. Don't worry. Ah, okay. Watch out for the cats. There's some really- Cats. We like cats. Okay, good. Then because for me, they're like stalking me. You can hear them meowing outside of the gate tunnel. Oh dear. I dare not step outside of there because not knowing. Yeah. It feels kind of ... Well, you're by yourself, but there's two of you, so. I'll tell you one time a lady was feeding them cheese.

00:18:07 Fans (Australia, New Zealand): Feeding them cheese? Yeah. Mmm. That's why you can hear the tooting and the ... I don't know if the use of that's supposed to be ... I don't know. Maybe. Probably not. Probably not. It's meant to be a lactose intolerant. Could be. Well, it is Japan.

00:18:19 John Daub: I won't speak anymore about that. What are you live streaming about today? Today I'm going to Koka Ninja Village to get out of here and then going to be showing more Shiga Prefecture. So I stay here tonight and then I stay in Otsu, which is an alternative to Kyoto, which is a third of the price, but only six to seven minutes down the train line.

00:18:40 Fans (Australia, New Zealand): We'll keep that in mind for next time we come there. Really? Oh, well, that means I succeeded a little bit.

00:18:45 John Daub: I'm glad to see you guys. Nice to meet you. Thanks for saying hi. Have a great day.

00:18:49 Fans (Australia, New Zealand): You too. Enjoy. Thanks.

00:18:53 John Daub: That's really cool. Oh, okay. Let me take you downstairs real quickly because I do have to meet people. Okay. I don't want to miss my ride to the Ninja Village. How am I supposed to find the Ninja people? Aren't they supposed to be stealth? It's really great though because people have been waiting to come to Japan for years and years and now they're finally here. And it's really awesome that people are coming to say hi. Of course, in Kyoto Station it's easy for people to find you. There's a lot of people here. When I go to Asakusa as well, I usually will bump into a lot of people and that's such a good... It's a warm feeling, you know? And they're the guests. I live here. So, that's really nice.

00:19:49 John Daub: All right. Let me show you the exterior of Kyoto Station. You have Kyoto Tower right there. Is it worth going into? I made a live stream on that about four years ago. Answer? That's sort of where you get an idea. You can get a pretty good view of the city going up that escalator mountain that I showed you earlier. And then here we are. I had tons of gift shops. Bring your wallet. You can get tons of matcha confections to take back home. All sorts of things. Here's old Kyoto. I like the fact that they kind of highlight their history. But of course, Kyoto Station did not look like this back in the olden days. When I first came here way, way, way back, actually, this has always been here. They finished this before the Nagano Olympics and I got here in 98 too. But I remember seeing old pictures of Kyoto Station and it absolutely is stunning what they've done with it. Even 25 years later, it's as old as me about. So thank you, Kyoto Station, for being here as long as I have. There it is in kanji right there. Kyoto. Two syllables. Kyo-to.

00:21:16 John Daub: All right. Have a good day, everybody. I hope that this was informative. The buses are out here. The taxi stand. Everything that you need to get out and around. You can get train passes inside there for day passes, I believe, maybe. Or perhaps they've gotten rid of it. But the line to get on those buses are ridiculous. Hey, Satrio. Tokyo Tower versus Kyoto Tower. Yeah, that's easy. Tokyo Tower all the way. The buses to get around are quite busy. There's usually guys now that will have a sign to tell you where the end of the line is. That's just so people don't cut in. This is the one going to Kiyomizu, I think. And if you can't find the bus, there's a bus table here, which will get you to the right one. The subways don't really connect here very well. The buses are the way to go. Or just get a taxi or rent a bike and leave your luggage here. A reason maybe you want to get your hotel at Kyoto Station. Just a little bit of advice because, again, I'm not a master of Kyoto like my friend Kevin Riley is. But I have lived here for 25 years and know just a little bit about Kyoto. And I know that Kyoto is a great place to get a taxi or rent a bike. So, I'm going to go check out the station. Alright, everybody. Thanks for watching. I'll see you. Bye from Kyoto Station.

00:22:33 John Daub: I'm in Kyoto. Why? I don't come here that often. But when I do, I have some fun. Bye, everybody.