00:00:01 John Daub: Welcome to Fujiyoshida with Mount Fuji in the background. You can't even see it here because it is so bright. This is one of the most beautiful attractions in the Fuji area, this town in particular. But also, it's one of the most dangerous ones. I'm going to take you to the intersection where a lot of people take Instagram photos. There's now a traffic cop there. This is the famous site here. Let's see if I can get the exposure a little bit better.

00:00:35 John Daub: But you can see this road is full of traffic and it's very dangerous to take the photos here. So let's walk down the street a little bit and I want to show you. I also went up to one of the top bus stop destinations here. Check it out. So Kanae and Leo and I went to Arakurayama Sengen Park right there. And you can see there's the pagoda with Mount Fuji in the background. Leo's actually smiling. And then when I said, look at the camera, he turned around. That's typical.

00:01:08 John Daub: This is also one of the beautiful sites in Japan. And I want to show you where this is in a second here. As we're going to walk down to the most dangerous intersection for tourists. You can't help yourself. It's like a moth attracted to light. You've got to try to get the photo. That's right in the middle of the street. That's so dangerous.

00:01:51 John Daub: I come here maybe once a year. And I'm on the way to a hotel to spend the night with Kanae and Leo who are actually taking an afternoon nap. So I have some advice for you guys. If you are coming here, I want you to help the local economy and spend the night here. And after you spend the night, come here between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. when the light is really good and the sun is rising from that side. It's not so bright so you get amazing views of Mount Fuji.

00:02:22 John Daub: And if you're going to spend the night in Fujiyoshida, there's loads of these little trendy cafes. I guess you can call it trendy because they look kind of hipster cool. There's also some—last time I was here there was this creepy mannequin over there. But a lot of these new businesses have popped up so it's kind of a cool little town to stay in now. But this is the intersection and there's a traffic rent-a-cop guy. And I pity him. I feel so bad for him. I'm going to see him in the orange jacket because he's got to keep everybody safe now.

00:02:53 John Daub: And the town of Fujiyoshida obviously decided they could not not have anybody here because there he is, he's shuffling people back. Keeping people safe. And that's what it's all about. I know the locals of Fujiyoshida actually love tourists. They're so cool about it. See, he's telling people please don't stand in the street. He's keeping people safe. This is new. This wasn't here before. But I'm pretty sure that Fujiyoshida is going to keep people safe.

00:03:27 John Daub: Fujiyoshida is now the city hiring somebody just to keep people safe because you feel like you've got to get the shot. Especially at this intersection. There have been so many close calls. And as I've been here for the last five minutes walking around, I hear horns honking quite a bit for people to get out of the street. You see the cars turn and make a turn up to the main street. And again, you get a really beautiful sight of Mount Fuji. I'm not going to go out in the middle of the road.

00:03:57 John Daub: But if you run out there to get it, you could be hit by a car. Look at this. It's like the car had to stop because somebody was taking a picture. You can't do that, everybody. I know you want to take a picture. Look at this. There's like these crowds of people running out into the street. There's no traffic light there. So these cars are stopping for the pedestrians to take pictures. Which is completely against the law. Like they're waiting. That's so bad.

00:04:35 John Daub: Do you guys want to get Instagram photos? Please. People have been hit by cars in Japan. There's a crosswalk there, but you cannot stop in the middle of the road to take a picture, dude. No, no, no. Stop it. You walk and get out of the way. Unless you come in the morning where there's very little traffic. It's a lot safer. And that's when I came with my friend Joe. But even then, you have to be very careful. The last thing you want to do is end up in a hospital. Or even worse, somebody else ending up in a hospital because they braked real fast and got in an accident from your negligence.

00:05:15 John Daub: Again, this is maybe the most dangerous intersection in Japan because of Instagrammers or photo seekers. Thrill seekers. But see those people with the cameras out there? We're going to go to that spot to take a picture as well. The reason I'm doing this is to show you to be safe here and to plan on being safe. This is where we are right now. This is the Fujiyoshida Honcho Street. It is a Mount Fuji scenic street view. This intersection, this is the spot. It's really nice here. It's just, do it safely.

00:05:52 John Daub: I had to travel quite a bit from Tokyo. It took us about two hours. We stopped off at the Danokizaka service area for some bakery items for Leo and Kanae and some coffee for me. A lot of traffic around the Shinjuku area. And yeah, if you come by train, that's also a choice here. You're going to have some options, but it does take quite a bit of time, about two hours and 30 minutes probably to get to this very spot. But the options are there.

00:06:30 John Daub: Shout out to Champagne Sumo. Thank you very much. All right, let's go to that spot now and get it. And I'll show you a little bit more of this area. I just took that photo 30 minutes ago.

00:07:22 John Daub: It's a tough job. I came here last year and there was no one around during the COVID-19 pandemic. So now it's dangerous.

00:07:33 Passerby: I'm not in Japan. I live in Japan. You're Japanese?

00:07:37 Passerby: Yes. Tokyo?

00:07:39 Passerby: Yes, Tokyo. But I'm going to the K-On! hotel now. Yamanashi.

00:07:46 John Daub: How is it? It's dangerous, right?

00:07:48 Passerby: It's really dangerous.

00:07:49 John Daub: Do you have any advice for everyone?

00:07:51 Passerby: I don't know if it's better in the morning. I don't know. It's better in the morning or in the evening. Because Mt. Fuji is beautiful. Today, you can see Mt. Fuji in the daytime. But you can't see Mt. Fuji in the daytime. It's cloudy.

00:08:06 John Daub: Yes. But is there a traffic jam in the morning?

00:08:12 Passerby: Not really. Not really, but now there's a lot of people.

00:08:16 John Daub: Sorry. Stop now. Yeah. So please, as you said, please don't stop. Don't go in the middle of the street. It's very dangerous.

00:08:26 Passerby: And I mean, a very nice guy here who's doing a really tough job.

00:08:31 John Daub: I know that when the traffic light turns red, this is why. It's now green now. Or blue. But when the traffic light turns red, cars are turning from the right to the left here. And that's what's really dangerous because they can't see you.

00:08:44 Passerby: It's dangerous because they can't see you.

00:08:48 John Daub: Yeah. So that's why, you know, don't stand here. The best place is you can get photos at this corner. So let's continue over here. I'll show you.

00:09:15 John Daub: It's really a full-time job for the guy to tell people not to stand in the middle of the street. But like if you're from this point, you get the shot safely. And that's the name of the game. Be safe about it.

00:09:48 John Daub: But there's a really strong desire. And by the way, this is a really good cafe. You can smell the coffee coming here. They have gourmet roasts or something. I came with a bunch of friends from abroad. And they smelled the coffee and they knew this is the best coffee they had in Japan. It was right across the street if you can believe that.

00:10:21 John Daub: He's doing a great job. So I want to say thank you. Next time if he's still here, I'll bring a gift from the hotel or something. We'll stop by. That's not an easy job. Look at the big trucks coming by. That would hurt if you got hit by a truck. So just be very cautious here. But it is an amazing view, isn't it?

00:10:52 John Daub: What is unique about this is that you got the entire town in front of you. The old Showa era feel to it. But right now, it's just too bright. And you want to come here early in the morning. This is not the best time for the photo. In the morning, the light is coming from the front. So the entire thing is illuminated much better than it is right now.

00:11:20 John Daub: WRX Turbo is in the house. And I say that with this view. So it's pretty cool. So please be safe and grab a cup of coffee from this spot here. All right. I'm going to cross back over here. Ganbatte kudasai (good luck, please do your best). He's the right guy to be doing this job. He's got so much patience. It requires a lot of patience because you're saving people's lives. He's a hero. If I come back this way, if he's there tomorrow, I'll bring a gift from the hotel or something. That's really nice. And I know he's doing it as a job. But I want to say thank you to him.

00:12:16 John Daub: All right. Let me show you the other place here up on the mountain. It was just super crowded. You see all of the people. This is a video. And you can see this is the Arakurayama Sengen Park. And just so many people down over there. Actually, some nice people stopped me. One of them was a cameraman from Hachioji who lives in Tokyo. Maybe he'll help me out in the future. But it was nice to meet up with him and some other people that said hi to me. Maybe it was like dozens of people. I kept on stopping every couple of minutes to say hi or take a picture.

00:12:56 John Daub: I was taking a picture of somebody and they said, wait, I've seen you before. So this is really funny. So I was taking a picture of somebody. And they said, wait, I know you. And then he was taking a picture of his wife. He stopped and then turned and then took a picture of me instead of the Mount Fuji. And I was really kind of embarrassed because everybody else was looking at me like, oh, oh. And then I started getting recognized. And four or five people around there were lining up to take selfies. And I was like, wait, I'm not one of the attraction people. I'm just kind of here with my family to hang out. And then they said, oh, I know Kanae and I know Leo. And that was just such a good feeling because it seems like even in our own home country here, we've got family, all of you that are watching the show. So I want to say thank you to all of you that are watching because you make us feel really special.

00:14:04 John Daub: Check this out. We have a strawberry ice cream vending machine. Sweet summer strawberries grown with mineral water from Mount Fuji. Enjoy a whole frozen large summer strawberry. First release in Japan. Wow. Okay. The price is not right. That is really expensive for frozen strawberries. It's like $11. But I'm not craving strawberries, but that'd be nice to eat there.

00:14:42 John Daub: This is the mystery vending machine. I know the CEO. I'm thinking about doing a collaboration with him. Such a nice guy. I'm going to give him a call. She has it right there. I'm going to take Eric's Surf Six with me or something. That's kind of a neat idea. You can rent these scooters here. You need a driver's license to do it, I believe. They have one that you can take a look, which is pretty cool. There's a battery inside of it. You can scoot around the town, put your smartphone here and pick up.

00:15:12 John Daub: How are you doing? Yeah. This is a photo that I took up at the park. Check it out. You can see the autumn leaves have changed. This could be the postcard. Really, really beautiful. And you see the city of Fujiyoshida down at the bottom of it. Again, it's just way too bright. So you have to come here in the morning, and it's safer as well.

00:15:41 John Daub: Vic Vic is here. Thank you, Vic Vic. Yeah. This is a special spot here. And you can see the proximity to Mount Fuji is really good. There it is in the center. Fujiyoshida. There's Yamanakako and Mount Fuji right on the bottom of your screen. So, yeah, I could submit that to the ShutterObi website. HelloHi821, part of the ShutterObi community on Discord and on YouTube on how to take better photos. I'm a member of that Discord server too. And it's helpful to always learn how to take better photos. It's a good site. ShutterObi.

00:16:36 John Daub: All right. I know that this street is really nice, but I'm going to walk back to the car so we can go and see Leo. And this is Fujiyoshida. It's a trendy, cool, hip town. It's getting there. But what is cooler? All right. I know that like this street is just so stressful and dangerous. This is the secret.

00:17:01 John Daub: This is an old barber shop. Look at the barber pole. And we go about 30 seconds off of that main street, and it's so peaceful. This is Japan. It's even better here. And I don't know why everyone is on that main street. You could take pictures all day long. One street. There's Mount Fuji. I set up the tripod here, and me and my buddy Joe got a photo together right there. With Mount Fuji in the distance. This is low stress, high reward shot. It's just so much better. I don't know why everyone is on that street. So I want to introduce you to Plan B.

00:18:20 John Daub: All right. Let's go see Leo and Kanae. There's some sake barrels here. They probably brew some good sake here. This is a town that has so much potential as an even bigger tourist attraction. Not to make it gaudy, but protect what you have here. Renovate it up a little bit and turn these into like hotels or something. Not hotels. How should I say it? Keep it local. You know, look at this lot. It could be a really nice place to stay or something. Or a cafe. But the amount of trendy—I always say the word trendy. I just mean that as being really cool and new. But the amount of really cool new places coming to Fujiyoshida is really awesome. It's exciting to see that a town in the countryside can turn itself around. And Fujiyoshida, little by little, is getting people to come here, invest in it, and create some really great places.

00:19:36 John Daub: But at its core, Fujiyoshida is this. It's a residential neighborhood. It's just a residential place. And this is one of my favorite little teeny alley streets. I mean, not even an alley. Streets in the area. It just feels like a country. It's a cool throwback. Might as well open a cafe and matcha shop here, right? It's in Rainier. It's not a bad idea. Rondani, are you down for that? Get our Hawaii crew. And mom, we'll get our Australian crew going and make something special out here. Yeah, sometimes you have to stop and smell the flowers. That's enough. It's pretty in this time of year.

00:20:32 John Daub: All right, there's a parking lot right over here. Just on the other side of this river rapids. Let's go there now and get Leo and Kanae. We can climb the steps here.

00:21:11 John Daub: Here's the scene when I'm driving. This is why I like to rent a car. Just driving on the highway. My phone was in a holder on the front windshield. I just had it going. So nice. This is in the morning. This is why it's better to get the shots before 9:30 in the morning.

00:21:48 John Daub: There's Kanae and Leo in our Toyota. I just picked Kanae a flower. Shout out to Ramsey Silent, who was never here. But this one came from nature. So Ramsey Silent always thinking of other people and really appreciate that. Here, Kanae, I got you a flower. Leo's watching. I thought Leo would be driving the car. He wants to stay. Oh my gosh, Leo. I picked this spot in the shade. Pretty smart, huh? Leo, there's Usa-chan. I took this off so you get a better view. I don't know if that's being silly or not, but let me know. That's going to fall in and the Toyota man's going to find it in five years. Leo, I thought you'd be driving the car when I came here.

00:23:00 John Daub: All right, say hi to everybody. Hi, Brandania's here too. Remember, she took care of you on the bus tour. Brandania, say hi. I think he can't actually see you. That's why Rainer's here too. Hi, Rainer. Brandania says hi. Leo, close it. He wanted to close it. I can't close it. He has to be the one to close it. All right, we're going to get in the car and then move on. I hope that this is useful for you.

00:23:37 John Daub: It is such a beautiful spot. This one here, the Arakurayama Sengen Park. I think I'm saying it right. The more you move around, the different angles you have, the more beautiful it can get. But trust me on this. Get there in the morning. In the afternoon, it's just too bright. The clouds come in in the summer. There could be haze and you won't get any view whatsoever. Now that the snow has fallen, it's even more beautiful. But you want to get there before 9:30 in the morning. The crowds start coming around 9. If you can get there between 6:30 and 9, if you're staying in Fujiyoshida, you will be blessed with an empty spot. And so, such a Zen experience where you can sit on those seating areas that they have there. You can sit there, bring a coffee, and just enjoy the sunrise, which will be behind you as it illuminates Mount Fuji. It's so beautiful in the morning. I wish I could take you there. But we got a late start. We didn't leave until 7:30 in the morning, which put us here around 9, 10 o'clock with the service area stop. But the trip here is really worth it.

00:24:44 John Daub: When it's backlit in the late afternoon, according to the rent-a-cop security guy, he told me yeah, you want to come in the morning or you want to come in the evening, like around 3:30. And that's really nice. But between 10:30 and 3:30, it's just too bright. It really is just too bright to be here.

00:25:08 John Daub: If you haven't already, just a shout out. Please do check out some of the other videos that I made on the other channel. I do have a channel where I edit the videos. These two videos, I think, will make a big impact on your trip to Japan, learning about the history. When you know the story behind Japan, it really does make the attractions feel more special. They come to life. And now that you learn—if you learn a little bit more about the samurai culture, and you learn a little bit more about Hiroshima, and from the point of view of someone who survived the bomb and drove the train 72 hours later, it's really going to make the city more special. Because it's like you've met somebody who's been living through the worst of times, and now maybe what could be the best of times for the city of Hiroshima, which is having an economic boom from all the tourists that are coming there.

00:26:03 John Daub: But I'll leave you with this, which is probably too washed out on this street, where there are no tourists, and you get to see the same sights as you do in the city. I think this is more impressive. I'm just saying. What do you guys think? I think this is just as impressive.

00:26:32 John Daub: As we say goodbye to Mt. Fuji for now, and Kanae, Leo, and I will be spending the night at Keonkan, the world's oldest hotel. Thank you very much to Kawano-san, who asked us to come for a visit, and I'm looking forward to seeing him again. He's become a really good friend, and we keep in touch. It's crazy when the 52nd CEO of the world's oldest hotel is one of your friends. It's a good feeling. Alright everybody, thanks for watching. I'll see you again in another live stream. Take care from Mt. Fuji. See you at the world's oldest hotel very soon. Matane (see you later).