00:00:00 John Daub: Hello everybody, welcome to Tokyo Station. Right now the Shinkansen, the Nozomi, that will be bound for Hiroshima is on its way in. We're going to greet it and then I'm going to talk a little bit about the time to avoid. Right now this is not the best time to be in Japan, but sort of is. How you doing everybody? This is Golden Week. We're waiting for the train to come in here, but Golden Week officially is April 29th to May 6th, but since tomorrow is a Saturday, it really starts on the 27th, which is going to be an insane time.

00:00:36 John Daub: Oh, that's a thing of beauty when you see this train coming into the station like this. It's not very crowded right now. This is maybe the day before. I've lived here for 26 years this year, and it is the time of the year in Japan where you try to avoid. So I wanted to give you a great understanding of what this holiday actually is. They've put together Showa Day, Constitutional Memorial Day, Greenery Day, and Children's Day all in a line to make this amazing week where people can take off. This has been going on since post-World War II, so this is a holiday that Japanese have been planning for decades. It's not a secret that this is the time where everybody is traveling.

00:01:38 John Daub: Because this is such a busy time and Obon is such a busy time and the prices go up, they've also made Silver Week in September to try to take the steam out of this particular holiday and the Obon summer holiday. I don't know if it works so much, but it's really a difficult time to be traveling. Also of note, as people are going to be getting onto this train, it's not so crowded right now. There are signs in the station saying that right now, between April 26th starting right now, so Golden Week for JR has officially started, to May 6th, all Nozomi, which are these super expresses that you can't use the JR Rail Pass on, are reserved seats. You can't just hop on a train for non-reserved seats right now on those Nozomi trains. The Hikari probably still has that, but it's a good idea at this time always to have a seat reservation, even if you have a JR Rail Pass, because it will be standing room sometimes for hours, and it is very uncomfortable.

00:03:01 John Daub: You can see people got on really fast, so it's not too crowded right now. This is live people boarding the Shinkansen going towards Hiroshima on the other side as well. Here's a kiosk where you can get some goodies when you get onto the train. Good morning, Laura. Good morning, Kamen Rider. Good morning, guys. So right now the yen is at a ridiculous level. This was yesterday. I think it's about the same, 155.7. If Japan intervenes in the currency market, it's going to be on a Friday afternoon when all the markets close, so that it has the greatest impact. I kind of expect them to do it because they said this is the mark where they would intervene. What is it going to do? I'm not sure, but the yen might go down on Friday. They do that because the market closes and because the news cycle sort of slows down and it will go the least undetected, which is what they did last time they did this in 2022. But in this sense, it is a really good time to visit Japan.

00:04:08 John Daub: Look at the trends here. I mean, just look at that number. Yesterday I did a live stream on this, and it still makes me feel really, really good about it. You can see the news. The news is covering this. This is last year. You can see everybody at the airport, Haneda Airport, gets really crowded at this time of year. This year is going to be even more crowded than usual. You can see here's some video from last year. This is Haneda as well. This is big news in Japan to see the flow of people, millions and millions going from place to place. They interview people, asking them where they're going, how has it been for them so far. I was looking at the peak of the Shinkansen. This is where there was no signal. This is a train right before this. You can see there are a lot of people getting on the Shinkansen train right now. This is just 20 minutes ago. So as the trains come in, you see the platform gets quite crowded.

00:05:09 John Daub: Right now we're in a kind of a middle zone, which is good for the signal. But absolutely, this is going to be an issue if you are in Japan right now. Usually there's nobody here getting tickets. And I saw that there were about a dozen people getting tickets from the ticket vending machines, which was a little shocking. And this is outside the ticket turnstiles. Not too crowded today, which is the best day to probably be on the run. Here's the entrance into the station right now. JR staff is ready. So any kind of a hitch, the staff is there because if somebody has a problem with their ticket, they can get the ticket and help you so that it doesn't cause a line behind them. The level of service that JR presents is just amazing.

00:05:49 John Daub: So if we're being close, I have all these videos queued up here. This is boarding the train just about 15 minutes ago. You can see a lot of people are getting on. There's nothing unusual about that. But how orderly Japan is, this is the thing that I really love about living here. Everybody lines up for the first train. There's another line for the train after this. So there's no chaos when it comes to lining up. For the flow of traffic, crowd control, no other country does it better than here in Japan. So I'm waiting for this train to take off. But as I tell you a little bit about this holiday, you can watch this train take off.

00:06:33 John Daub: So I want to tell you a little bit more about the Golden Week holiday and the other holidays to probably avoid here in Japan. Shogatsu (New Year's), is a little bit quieter. That's not a bad time to visit because everything shuts down. The streets are empty on New Year's Day. They're all at the temples and shrines. It is maybe the most peaceful time to see the city of Tokyo on January 1st. Yeah, I also like to travel on January 1st as well because I know that a lot of people are already on the move or already at home at that time. But everybody during Golden Week, which is the second big holiday of the year, April 29th to May 6th, everybody is leaving because the weather has never been nicer. It was always before the summer heat, longer days, spring weather.

00:07:25 John Daub: It's a great time to go up to Tohoku because the cherry blossoms are still blooming up there. Sapporo, Hakodate has the cherry blossoms blooming over Golden Week as well. As this train constantly leaves, the next one comes. It is like clockwork. There are more trains leaving and departing at this time than any other because they want to accommodate all those crowds. On the Hikari and the Nozomi to Kyushu Shinkansen, there is standing room only. So if you want to get on the train, you can sit in between the cars or you have to stand in the aisles. And it is very uncomfortable, in particular between Nagoya and Shin-Yokohama. The Nozomi and the express trains don't stop so you'll be standing for like a little bit over an hour. It's quite uncomfortable. But you're getting from A to B so you're able to make that trip in.

00:08:21 John Daub: Japan made these holidays after World War II, just to reiterate. Showa Day starts it, which is on the 29th. I think that's a Monday this year. And the rest of the days, I don't think a lot of Japanese would even know what they are. Golden Week now. And Silver Week is in September. That's a day that maybe you might want to avoid. But all in all though, I think that this year is going to be the worst of the worst because that era is over, the last four years of not being able to travel. Everyone wants to travel. Everyone can go maskless now. And tourism numbers are higher than they have been ever. In April, there were three million tourists in Japan. Three million. I think when I first came here, that was the total for the entire year.

00:09:23 John Daub: Japan was not a popular destination to visit, I guess, over the last 25 years. It has changed for the better. Now everybody wants to come and visit here. And I'm so happy for that. Thank you. And I'm glad that if you do find me, I will give you a You Found Me card. Yeah, everything goes up in price. And if you are traveling between, I would say as a foreign tourist visiting Japan, make sure you make hotel arrangements in advance. Three months in advance. That's what Japanese do. They plan this out based on their work schedule. So all of the popular places at this time are booked despite the price. And supply and demand means that they can raise the price three to four times what the usual rate is at this week. This is another reason to avoid. It's not just the crowds. Prices go up significantly. And it's uncomfortable. Especially at Kyoto, Kanazawa, Osaka, Dotonbori. All of the places in Tokyo. Tokyo gets a little bit quieter because every Tokyoite wants to get the heck out of here. Including me. But I'm not going anywhere this year. I'm going to be here.

00:10:17 John Daub: Okay, the Shinkansen. Alright, this Shinkansen is on the way out. So we get a chance to see the train go. You know, this train is only about 50% full. Check it out. Look, there's some empty seats here. But it's all reserved. So this could be at Shinagawa and Shin-Yokohama. So despite the seats being empty, they could be filled at some of the other stations. Again, all of the seats at this time are reserved on Nozomi trains. Oh, that's so cool. I've been here for so many years, it's still really cool to see. This is the only place with a signal, by the way. So that's why I'm not walking around too much.

00:11:43 John Daub: Another thing to notice, if you are getting food or bentos (boxed meals), they sell out a lot earlier, like around 1:30, 2 o'clock, the bento service is done. Bentos are usually like a lunch thing. You don't get them for dinner, so if you're looking for an ekiben (station bento) at the station, get it before 2 p.m. or get the bento outside at like a 7-Eleven. They might still have some. Sometimes they bring bentos in in the afternoon, but they sell out so fast during Golden Week, and the bento companies are not making as many as they are because even the staff wants to have a holiday. So just something to keep in mind if you want an ekiben. I've noticed that the good ones sell out very early. The ekiben start around 5 a.m., which is crazy. Get your train bento, which is one of the wonderful things about eating on the Shinkansen. Again, the peak time from April 29th to May 6th. May 7th, all of a sudden, it gets super quiet. Everybody just goes back to work.

00:12:41 John Daub: So far, pretty orderly. The next trains are coming in. And then the Nozomi platform, you can see right there. Just a couple of minutes. Are there any questions regarding Golden Week? I've done the livestream before. I wanted to give you a taste, and just to remind you that that season is right now. So in Tokyo, you're not going to see as many Japanese around. Locals get the heck out of here. And I don't know if a lot of people in local areas want to come to the city, but they do, usually for shopping or day trips in the area. But Tokyo sites before the tourism boom of 2014 used to be pretty quiet around here. But now because of inbound tourism, Golden Week is just busy everywhere. So the economy is strong. The state of the economy is strong.

00:13:30 John Daub: Alright, the next train is coming in now. Train bentos are overrated. Don't be sad if you miss them. Well then you're going to be hungry on the train. If you didn't eat, Saya, then you're going to be hungry on the train. The best one is a Tokyo Station bento. And it's about 1800 yen. It's a little bit expensive. But it's quite good. But you're right, it might be a little bit overrated, Saya. You can get a sandwich at any time. They have two kinds. Like finger sandwiches. This one has like a ketchup rice with an omelette on top of there. And then they have a chicken nanban onigiri. That looks really good. So they do have choices. And you can get beers on the platform as well. The price is about the same as everywhere else. That's another good thing to have a drink and ride the Shinkansen. But if you can't get an ekiben, which might be overrated, you can just get a sandwich as well or some snacks. It's kind of neat that way. It's part of Japanese culture.

00:14:40 John Daub: You can also get really good view of the Shinkansens rolling by at Tokyo Station at the Yaesu Midtown, which is the new shopping mall across there. Onigiri are not bad. You got that right, Saya. I'd be happy with anything at Golden Week if I'm hungry. I'm not too picky. And the fruit sandwiches are pretty good, Eugeo. Oh, by the way, the ekiben store is over here. So you can see the ekiben store where that station is down there. They're usually about $10 to $12. The unagi bento is one of my favorites and the Tokyo Station bento, which has area stores have all contributed some of their specialties to make a super bento, which I think is really cool. The train is coming in right now on this side this time.

00:15:38 John Daub: I don't see any more questions here. One more note about getting a coffee at Tokyo Station. The best thing to do is to get a coffee at the Shinkansen coffee machine. They have a brand new vending machine that gives out coffee and the different coffee blends are named after the different Shinkansens. There's a Dr. Yellow coffee. There's a Tokaido Shinkansen coffee. It's pretty cool. I've had about two or three of them. I can't remember which one. I think the Dr. Yellow is the most memorable just because it's Dr. Yellow. And no, it's not yellow. At this time of year, the green cars are also quite booked. The airports, the airlines are all quite booked. The price is always expensive on the airlines. You can get some deals sometimes. But I think the best thing to do, three months in advance minimum for this time of year, and you're just going to get whatever's left over. In fact, if you are coming to Japan at any time of year right now, except for maybe February, you're going to want to book well in advance. If it's Ginzan Onsen, for example, you're going to want to do it six months in advance because that's when they start the reservation process.

00:16:56 John Daub: Kamen Rider writes in here, just informing you that Kyoto is currently packed with students and tourists. Too bad I'll be working the whole time. Thank you for that note. You can go on Instagram. Just do hashtag Kyoto and you can see the pictures and just do recent and see how crowded it is. And that's how I kind of do a check if there's no live camera there. Here's the JR staff, the JR staff that cleans the train in super blazing speed. They'll close the train for about two or three minutes. They turn the seats all around so you're pointing in the right direction. They change the headrests and they do a wipe down and take any trash. And you can get on a clean train and the turnaround is really fast, as you saw, because we did an entire turnaround on the platform for that Hiroshima train about five minutes ago.

00:17:48 John Daub: Yeah, Peso says our Discord server also has a list of camera live streams. Thank you, Peso, for reminding me on that. So we're waiting for this one Shinkansen to come in. By the way, just a couple of notes here. Joe in the Bronx, thanks for signing up to the postcard club again. We didn't see Joe for about five years, and welcome back, buddy. This is going out from Tokyo Station. I put a Tokyo Olympics stamp on there for you. And Raymond, I'm resending January's postcard to you from here. This is the third time I'm sending it, but we're going to get that to you, Raymond, and you have a food stamp on there. So thanks for being patient. I know that sometimes the postcards don't make it. All you got to do is contact me, and I will send you another one. Got a little insurance there. Postcard insurance.

00:18:46 John Daub: All right, here he comes. Raymond, I got my fingers and toes crossed, buddy. No worries, I got your back. This is the N700, N700 Supreme, which I don't know what that means. Alright, I'm looking at this, and the trains are mostly half empty, so there's not a lot of people leaving to come to Tokyo. So you can see, again, this is the day before the official start. This will probably start to really hit tonight when people get off of work and families make a sprint or dash to try to avoid the crowds. As the passengers leave, they're going to be in the train. They're going to just depart. Usually they'll have a trash bag so you can take your trash and just throw it from the staff that's holding it. So we're starting to see a lot of people. Welcome to Tokyo, everybody. There's a lot of people getting on and off the train here. This one's going to Hakata. This is the line of the Tokaido Shinkansen. And as you can see, it says here, reserve seats only, and there are the stops there. I like it they did this in English. It wasn't always like that, which made me have to learn all those places in kanji.

00:21:20 John Daub: And there you go. It's good to learn the Japanese characters more. Hey, Yunjin, thank you. You can join the postcard club on Patreon. Peso and Discord, the bot, will pick you up. Write the link in there, right? Thanks for the interest. This is an ekiben. And you can get them inside this shop here. Oh, this is the Tokyo one, I think. Is it? This one is so good. Oh, no, this is the Nihonbashi ekiben. It's just kind of fun there. Thank you, Nightbot. There's the link if you want to join the postcard club. I send it out the day I get the notification. So in here you can get ekiben and sandwiches. So there's still a good amount left here. Well, they have the self-heating ones. I saw the self-heating ones. You can't go wrong with the katsu sando, last one. And then they have a bunch of sandwiches here. No fruit sandwiches.

00:23:19 John Daub: So, that's it for Golden Week. I'll see you at another livestream tomorrow. If you have any questions about Golden Week, leave them in the comments below. I will be monitoring that. It's 156 yen to the dollar. 155 going up. This is a great time to change money if you can. If you have questions on that, leave it on the stream yesterday or join our Discord server. We'll be talking about it. I'll see you at another livestream tomorrow. This is exciting. The end, the start of Golden Week and the end of the cherry blossom season is here. Matane.