00:00:01 John Daub: Greetings everybody, how you doing? Welcome to the wonderful Tokyo Bayside. Not that far away from the city, the center of the city is just in that direction right there. You can get to Ginza in about 10 minutes or so. But this is an area of Tokyo not a lot of people stay in or actually know that it exists other than the teamLab (interactive art museum), which is one of the attractions. It is a bright, sunny, hot day, so I've got my glasses and hat on. But that hotel right over my shoulder, right there in this direction, that is the Hotel La Vista. It's one of my favorite hotels in Japan in Hakodate up in Hokkaido, but they actually have one here in Tokyo. There's also a JAL City Hotel and a couple of others in this area. And this might be the perfect place for you to stay when you come here to Tokyo. Now, I want to talk about the median prices, some of the other neighborhoods that you could stay in and break down this and take some of your questions about staying in the city of Tokyo for your vacation, the month, when you should come, when you shouldn't come, places to avoid, things like this. I'm happy to take your questions in this live stream. But yeah, today I'm here. Let me move this out and just show you around really quickly and talk about this neighborhood called Toyosu.

00:01:30 John Daub: Now, this Toyosu has always been over there. All right. It kind of stopped where that shopping mall is, and it's within walking distance. You have that shopping mall underneath the bridge called LaLaport (shopping mall). LaLaport has got just about everything inside of there. There's even a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant, which is weird because I didn't even know they existed until I came to Japan. But there's a lot of options in there as well as a Daiso (100 yen shop) and a lot of things for you to shop at. One of the great things about this Toyosu area is this. This brick runway is extremely wide and it runs all around this manmade island, which was built a long time ago, but it wasn't finished until right before the 2020, 2021 Tokyo Olympics. And since then, and the fact that there's the Olympic Village right there, actually across the river here, Tokyo Bay starts out there. So this would be kind of a part of the Sumida River that branches around this island, which is the Kachidoki Tsukishima Tsukuda area in Tokyo. I'm going to show you a map of this in a second. But this walkway goes all the way around so you can rent bicycles. There's no cars, no traffic lights. If you like running and exercising, this is really great. You have the La Vista Hotel right there. You have the JAL City Hotel right up there. You have an outdoor eatery right here that overlooks. It's a wonderful place for a sunset so you can eat outside. They have a craft beer here as well. And there's people barbecuing. There's a place where you can barbecue with your family underneath tarps to keep out of the sun if you want or the rain if it does come in the afternoon showers. So you can have a nice lunch here. So this is a really relaxed place that Tokyoites, including myself, like to come here and have a barbecue. You can't have a barbecue in my neighborhood. You can't have open fires in the city of Tokyo. But you can come out here and rent a spot and they'll clean up for you and make it really convenient for you, which is nice. The city also has barbecue spots on the tip. And they have this weird attraction where they have a crane that'll pick you up and you can drink lifted up by a crane in this bar. They invited me on Instagram to go take it out. But it's not my cup of tea and they wouldn't allow me to bring my wife with me. So I said, well, I'm sorry, I can't do it. But I heard that they had some issues. I'm not sure. On windy days, you can't do that. A little scary, perhaps, but it's kind of a neat concept.

00:04:00 John Daub: So let's talk about the hotels in this area. Now that I've broken it down, it's connected by. Well, I should tell you about the transportation. You can rent a bicycle and just ride across there and go straight into Ginza. All right. It's about. And then enter the. It's Tsukiji market. But Tsukiji market moved about. I don't know. It seems like 10 years ago now. It was a while ago and they had all of this stuff move across this way. It's straight up this road right here to the Toyosu Market (new fish market), which is where the tuna auction is. That's where all the activity is now. These days, Tsukiji market just kind of a skeleton of what it used to be known for tourism and tourist trap street food. But Toyosu is a lot more authentic than Tsukiji these days, which is weird. Right. So I think that this is actually a place that can be a really good hub for your trip in Japan, for your trip in Tokyo anyways, or a place where you can kind of unwind. Maybe a great place for the end of your trip as well, where you can relax a little bit. You can do walks along here. The air is just better out here on the bay than it is.

00:05:30 John Daub: Let's take a look at some of the prices here. Just so you know, I'm going to sum this up. The median price and this is for September, which is somewhat off season here. It averages at about $175 a night for a hotel room where this brings in all the luxury stuff as well as all the budget stuff. So realistically, the estimated median rate is about 22,000 yen per night. And that seems a little bit high. But this is Tokyo, right? You'd probably get something similar like this. It's definitely more expensive in New York City. It's definitely more expensive in London. Let's put that in perspective. But the Japanese yen is weaker. So you get kind of a discount on nice rooms. Oh, don't get me wrong. There are budget options, a lot of them capsule hotels or business hotels. You can probably find a capsule or a guest house for about between 4,000 and 6,000 yen, which is about $30 a night. So it just depends how much you want to rough it or how much space you don't need. There's First Cabin, which are now going for like 6,000 to 7,000. So you can get a cabin for about 7,000 to 10,000 yen a night, depending on when you do it. And that's like, I don't know, $50 to $75 a night. But you have a lot less space. But it's kind of a cool concept that's sort of only in Japan in a way. So that might be the way to go, especially if you're a solo traveler. But if you've got a family, I would say like this, La Vista Hotel should definitely be on your radar.

00:07:00 John Daub: Let's look over this and I want to talk about the top five neighborhoods with the most expensive and the cheapest accommodations here. So I made from the Google Maps here kind of broke down all the prices of the hotels in this area. You could see it looks very close to the median, which is about 22,000 to 25,000 yen a night. The ones right here, there's a La Vista and the JAL City. Let's look at the La Vista first, since I'm saying it's pretty. You can get this for a lot less, maybe 18,000 yen a night, depending on when you want to book it. But it's got all the amenities inside of there. This is like a four-star hotel. This is the La Vista in Hakodate is always in the top three for the best hotel breakfast in Japan. It is always in the top three. It's usually ranked two. Sometimes it's number one. I haven't seen it number three, actually, it's because you get all-you-can-eat. Look at that down there. All you could eat seafood. You can make your own kaisendon (seafood rice bowl), which in itself could be like $30 depending on where you go to eat it. You could make it for breakfast in Japan, which is a very healthy way to start.

00:08:30 John Daub: Now, the hotel JAL, which is Japan Airlines has a hotel here. Very comfortable looking, very cheap. I think my assistant stayed here when she was doing the filming the cherry auction that was taking place in Toyosu. I think we got it for 17,000 yen a night, which is really affordable and very comfortable stay. But I think the La Vista might be a better deal if you can get it at the same price. I would say La Vista because it's right on the bay in Tokyo. The JAL is a little bit inland in a little bit, but it might be closer to the train station. So there's advantages and disadvantages. But you can see the median price being around $150 a night. I guess you can have more people in there. I don't know if they'll charge more for that. But if it's a double room, it's a double room. That's the price you're paying. This one is in Odaiba, which is right nearby. This is a little bit cheaper. It's roughly about the same amount of price, but it's the disadvantage of this one is it's a little bit further away from the station. But if you rent a car, it offers easy access to get onto the highway. I don't know. I believe there's one nearby there. And this is the Far East Hotel, but it looks very comfortable there. And you're within walking distance of Odaiba. The Hotel Villefontaine. This was comparably the same price, maybe a little bit cheaper, but all new stuff because they made this area for the 2020 Olympics. So you're getting in. Everything is really new except for the stuff in Odaiba itself. There's a Hotel Trustee, which is a little bit cheaper. The Tokyo Bay Ariake Washington Hotel, which is older that this hotel served a big site, which is the convention area. So the hotel is cheaper because it is a little bit older, but it's still a pretty comfortable place. The thing with staying out here is that you get more space for the price. So per square foot or square meter, you're getting a lot more. So if you've got a family, central Tokyo hotels are very tight out here. You get more space for the money. So even though the prices might be the same, you're getting more space. So look at how big the rooms are.

00:11:00 John Daub: This is the Hilton in Odaiba. This is about a 10-minute bicycle ride away. This is one of the older hotels, but it's a very good resort kind of a hotel. They've got pools and restaurants. This is where all the TV stations stayed in there during the Olympics because it's got one of the best night views of all of Tokyo. And the Nikko next to it, if you get a higher room, you're going to have the same views as the Hilton because it goes above the Hilton. Again, very comfortable. A little bit older because this was built in the early '90s. It was built well before the Tokyo Olympics, but they're also more luxurious inside. You're going to get that four- to five-star hotel service in there. This area, very nice. And it's a little bit separated from the rest of the city, but it's mainly because it also doesn't have the most convenient public transportation. You have to take the monorail in order to get around the Rinkai Line and Yurikamome Line (waterfront monorail). So that's a little bit pricier, but gets you to Shimbashi or to Shinkiba, which is the gateway to this is a very convenient to Tokyo Disneyland.

00:12:30 John Daub: Now, this is Hotel Livemax in Toyosu, right next to the station. It's 10,000 yen a night. You probably a little bit cheaper. It's a typical business hotel, so you're going to get a smaller room. But this is good for solo traveler. And I think it's very comfortable enough. And it's on the Yurakucho subway line, which is extremely convenient to get around the city. But you're out here in Toyosu right next to the shopping mall. So you have a more suburban Tokyo. So you can get a feel to this area, which I kind of like. This is also where the first 7-Eleven is in Japan. It opened up in 1974 here in Toyosu. So there's a you can go in and have breakfast at the 7-Eleven, the original one. Not that there's anything special about it except for that milestone. So that's the area right there. You can see the prices are pretty good. I think in general, you're going to get a really good deal. 10,000 yen is not bad at all.

00:14:00 John Daub: Saya writes in here. I think it's a pretty good deal. You're going to have a hard time finding that price for the same amount of space inside there. Even the APA hotels are now going for like 12,000 to 15,000 yen because of supply and demand. Another great area is Hachobori and Shintomicho. And there are a few APA hotels inside of there. It's a little bit closer to Tokyo Station. Probably better if you want to stay really connected into the subway system. But if you've got a family and you're at the end of your trip or at the beginning of it, you're going to have to pay for a jet lag. This is a great place to come and it's a lot more relaxed. And you might see me running because I often will run around here because I live in this Chuo Ward, which is part of my backyard. This would be my front yard, I guess you could say. This is a really wonderful place to consider for your hotel. I think that this guide might have given you a new option. But staying inside of the Yamanote Line (loop line), the prices are pretty good. The prices are certainly going to be higher.

00:15:30 John Daub: Let's look at the more expensive neighborhoods in the city of Tokyo. Break this down for you so you have an idea. Shibuya, where we were yesterday, that is certainly the most expensive. Well, it's certainly one of the most expensive places. It's mostly because of demand. I don't think the rooms are particularly wonderful there. It's a lot older. But they've started to build newer hotels or renovate the older ones there. So you might be getting what you pay for. But you're paying specifically for the location. If you go to Shibuya, it's the loudest. It's the most vibrant. It's the most, maybe besides Shinjuku, it's pretty crazy in Shibuya. But the prices are high because the land prices are high. And I don't think there's that many hotels in Shibuya around the station there. Minato Ward, which is the luxury area of Tokyo, at least historically it was. Roppongi, Azabu, Akasaka. This is very central. There are some good deals in Akasaka. But in this area, typically, you're going to find lots of good hotels. This is the first area where the luxury hotels were. You'll see the Ritz-Carlton in Roppongi, one of the older Ritz-Carltons. But it's also a luxury hotel. And there's a lot of luxury chains around there. So you're going to see prices high. And it's dead center. It's pretty center in the city of Tokyo. I don't know how convenient it is though. Unless you're a diplomat or something.

00:17:00 John Daub: Ginza, which is in my backyard there on the other side, is also famous for the upscale places. But as I said, Shintomicho and Hachobori are two places with some budget options that are about 10-minute walk to Ginza. So you could probably 10-15 minute walk to Higashi-Ginza to Ginza. So you could probably get a pretty good deal there. So it'd be something to consider. Ginza is very convenient because it's on the Ginza Line, which takes you between Shibuya and Asakusa. It's just stay on that line. Very convenient. And the Yurakucho Line goes through there. And then you have the Hibiya Line. All the lines go through Ginza. Which makes it a very good crossroads. And the Yamanote Line (loop line) at Yurakucho is just a 5-minute walk from Ginza. So it's very convenient to get on the Yamanote. Roppongi is the same as Minato Ward. And Shinjuku, a lot of luxury hotels. I would say that Tokyo Station is also on this list. Maybe it should be number 2. The backside, the Marunouchi side is all luxury hotels. You're going to be paying about $300 a night over there. But you get what you pay for. These are right next to the Imperial Palace. You're sleeping near the Emperor. So you're going to get what you pay for on that side of the neighborhood.

00:18:30 John Daub: Now let's look at the other side before I take some of your questions here. I'm going to just break this down quickly. Nakano is, if you're a single traveler, this is an amazing place. The hotels are older though. But you're going to be in a cheaper, vibrant, pretty cool, stereotypical Tokyo neighborhood. So it's got a little bit of that old-school Tokyo. But it's got, I don't know, some modern stuff to it as well. And it's very convenient to get on the train to get on the Chuo Line between Shinjuku and Mitaka if you want to go to the Ghibli Museum or out to Tachikawa. It's a pretty convenient place. A lot of students in this area as well. And for the anime and manga fans, you have Mandarake at the Nakano Broadway as well as the Tower Records ice cream cone building. So Nakano is a pretty good place to stay. Ueno is very cheap because it's older. I think it's a very convenient place. But it's because the airport express train stopped there. There's a lot of hubs. It's a good rail hub. The Shinkansen stops there going up north. But the downside to it is that it's a little bit older. And that's why the price is reflected in that. So you get more like 1980s type of hotels. But it's also a lot more of the capsule hotels are in Ueno as well as these like shared guest houses because the property is a little bit cheaper up there. It's a little bit more run down. But hey, that might be a good place to stay. It might be a good thing because Ameyoko Market is right near there as well. So you get a lot of nightlife options. But it's certainly a budget-friendly place.

00:20:30 John Daub: Asakusa, believe it or not, is on this area. And you can find really good budget options there. Kuramae is the backpacker area, the Brooklyn of Tokyo they call it. You'll find a lot of backpackers walking through there looking for accommodations at 5,000 yen or under. A lot of them went out of business during the age when nobody came to this area, came to Tokyo because they couldn't. But they're starting to come back, except they're coming back newer and more expensive. So it's harder to find budget options than you did in the past. Akihabara is a place where they understand how the market is. Between Asakusabashi and Akihabara, Asakusabashi is an older area of Tokyo. They're right next to each other, connected by the Sobu Line. And you can walk from Asakusabashi to Akihabara in 15 minutes. Between there, closer to Asakusabashi, a lot of budget options. We're talking like capsule hotels, things 5,000 yen or below perhaps. But I would still say the median is going to be $150 a night for a decent hotel. And unless you book early, you're not going to have your choice of hotels. In peak times, Japanese will book their hotel 6 months in advance. And I'm talking about autumn, which means that if you don't have a hotel for October or the beginning of November, you're probably not going to get your first choice. Because people are booking right now. In particular Ginza Onsen (hot spring) [?] for winter, you probably want to look at booking it now for December. Because it's so crazy popular. But yeah, that's a little rundown of the entire situation in Tokyo. I'm going to take some of your questions here for a couple of minutes. I started the livestream early because it looked like it could be possibly raining. And I had to come to Toyosu because there's a lot of gacha (capsule toy machines) and money-changing stuff.

00:23:00 John Daub: So I went to the bank yesterday to get some 100 yen coins. And they wanted about 700 yen as a fee to change 3,000 yen to 100 yen coins. And I said, wait, I can just go to a money changer and get these for free, right? And they said, yes. And I said, so why would you charge a fee on just changing money? In particular, I'm at this bank. Wouldn't you do it as just a free service? We have a fee for everything. She didn't say that. But, they got a fee for everything. So, I've come here to the game center. So I'm going to get 3,000 yen so I can pay for the toilets on Mount Fuji. Something that you probably want to think about. I'll take some of your questions. And Saya, it's great to see you here. Carrie as well. I might redo another vending machine episode. I've got another angle on it. So that's going to be coming in 2026.

00:24:00 John Daub: Do you know of any YouTubers that provide information for wheelchair accessible options while visiting Tokyo? Judd writes in here. I'm not really sure. I try to look at that. I know that in around 2017 when they were preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, a lot of places started to put in elevators. Stations that didn't have elevators and ramps really did a good job of doing that. The newer hotels are a lot more accessible. The La Vista has ramps. You can see one right there. Hold on. It's kind of hard to see. You see this platform here? It ramps all the way down. So. This whole walkway has ramps. Not just for bicycles, but for wheelchairs. So it's very accessible. You could literally take a wheelchair, go up and across this bridge. And the pathway for this bridge is extremely wide. So I don't know. You might not want an electric wheelchair because it'd be pretty hard to go up that slope. But you get some good exercise. I don't know of anybody who's talking about accessibility. But I try to bring it up or mention it. It's a good question. But a lot of the newer hotels are a lot more accessible. In particular because we had the Paralympics come in here. And a lot of them wanted the business, which is smart. So they made sure that they can accommodate everybody. And it's been a really good change. In particular, inside the shopping mall, there's a lot more ramps to get around. You can wheel around this entire area very well. And then I think they built it with that in mind, which is great. A lot of the changes in the city of Tokyo have made it a lot more accessible. And made it a lot easier to get around. But there's still, in particular, older areas like Ueno, it's going to be a lot more difficult to get around. And neighborhoods that are tighter, where there's not a lot of space. But out here, there's so much space, they certainly take advantage of it. So this would be one of my areas that I would recommend. Thanks for the question.

00:27:00 John Daub: Yeah, Japan's done a really good job. And I think having the Paralympics here, as well as they had, I forget what it's called. The Olympics for the blind was here. I think it was recently or it's taking place. I saw a sign for it. I was going to inquire about it, but then I stopped seeing the posters. That took place recently. And every time they have one of these big events, they make really good modifications to the city to make sure it's more accessible. Tokyo is one of the great places where you will see these yellow markers on the road. These are for the visually impaired that can walk around the city safely because nobody pulls them up. They're well maintained going all around the city. It tells you where to stop. It tells you where to walk. It tells you where intersections are. And then there's always somebody around to help you out. But they also have the crosswalks in Tokyo, the chirping sounds, which allow people with visual impairments to know when to walk east and west and when to walk north and south. So that is helpful. When the signal changes to a certain chirp or certain jingle, you know which side has a green light. So the audio cues. And the feel is tactile pavement is what it's called. It's something that Japan has always excelled at. They've had it around for years. Deaf Olympics happening in November. Thank you, Saya, for that.

00:29:00 John Daub: I'm so fascinated. When my friend Nick, who is in a wheelchair, he introduced wheelchair basketball to me. And we went out and watched a game. Holy crap. They are hardcore. There is more hitting than in regular basketball. And more action than in regular basketball. And I think the refs let people get away with this. This is like full out brawl sometimes. But you've got to have some skill, man, to dribble and shoot from a wheelchair. And they make up, they design it differently. But we went out and we watched a contest out nearby the Olympic Stadium. He invited me to go. I was having a blast at this thing. So sometimes, I mean, they don't get a lot of attention. But they're certainly in these. The events, the wheelchair events or the other events, they're amazing to watch and how competitive that they are. So I think I saw water polo with visually impaired, people who couldn't see well. I don't know if they were blind or not fully blind, but they used sound in order to play the game. And it was really fascinating where the ball was emitting a sound. I think I'd seen this on TV recently. I was watching it for a while. Fascinating. And I think it's really interesting by how they do this and make these games, which are even more, they can be more interesting than the normal sport because you've added another element into it. Demolition Derby Basketball. That would be pretty cool. Wheelchair rugby as well.

00:31:00 John Daub: I have a, one of my friends, I haven't talked to him forever. He's CEO of a company that makes balls in Japan. He took over the business for his father when he passed away. And he's. I helped him a couple of times with speeches to write them in English when I was an English teacher. He also was, his company was also modifying and making designs for better wheelchairs for the sports. And I think they did a pretty good job with it. And I think it was in collaboration. They also make the rubber, the earthquake-proof rubber for a lot of these bridges underneath there. You'll see some rubber that allows the bridges to give industrial type of rubber. His company makes that kind of stuff too. It's crazy. I have a lot of interesting friends. I've been here for a long time.

00:32:00 John Daub: What do you think of Narita City? Worth a day trip? Heading home? Yeah, you know, Narita is worth it. I think it's worth staying in Narita the first night if you're coming from New York because the jet lag is going to be bad. There's no reason to come into the city and pay that price. Maybe be a little bit more comfortable. I like staying at Tokyo Disneyland, not because the prices are pretty fair at that Sheraton because you're getting a room that's massive. So some of the things that I like about it. Sometimes coming in and doing Tokyo Disneyland when you got the jet lag is not a bad idea. Eating the breakfast early and then going to the park, spending a day and then you get over, get over the jet lag by entertaining yourself. The hotel rooms at Tokyo Disneyland are huge. They're very good cost performance.

00:33:30 John Daub: Some great questions. Did you survive the quake? Yeah, apparently people were telling me it's the whole month of July, but it had nothing really to do. Yesterday's live stream when I was. Do I have any more images? I don't have any more images of that. Yesterday's live stream where I was walking around the city with a helmet. Some people were triggered by the helmet. You are, this is an insult. They said, look, I think this prophecy is also a great opportunity to help tourists understand that earthquake preparedness and understanding that they happen here is very important. So I wore a helmet, something as a prop, but I keep all three of our helmets are by the front door. I'm going to put them on my back door with an earthquake bag that's prepared to, if we need to, in a moment's notice, run out to the park or something. But we are prepared for this because that's what most Tokyoites are and having the helmet is a reminder of that. But yesterday's live stream, I think was a good way. People were upset. Oh, the prophecy wasn't July 5th. Well, the media is reporting that as that, and that's more people know it as July 5th than whatever the mangaka (comic artist) actually said. And that mangaka is a really good thing. And when mangaka walked back her comments saying that, oh, it might not happen, well, because you were seeing the massive impact that this prediction was having on the entire country of Japan and the revenue that it was bringing with tourism, I'm not making, in a way, I am making light of a prophecy. Because even if it's the whole month of July, who the heck knows, but earthquakes happen here all the time, and it's called a coincidence. And, you know, a part of me wants to believe in it, but another part of me says that a lot of damage can happen from somebody's dream. And if an earthquake didn't happen in July, and let's say it happens next year, does the city sue that person? I think you can't, I don't think they made, I think you really have to take a prophecy with a grain of salt, but people are going to believe what they believe. I think Tokyo is extremely well set up for any kind of an earthquake, even a catastrophic one. The infrastructure has all been redone over the last seven years as the Olympics were here, and they're working at it. And every building behind me is brand new in this area in particular. Every building is built within the last 10 years, including the Olympic Village right there. So it's weathered to take like a Fukushima level earthquake. That video got a very fast 200,000 views.

00:37:00 John Daub: So the water is getting so hot that the fish are jumping out. Let's see if we can see one jump. Tell me if you see them. They're jumping a lot because they're not happy down there, I think. The water doesn't smell anymore. I think they've gotten rid of a lot of the plastic.

00:38:00 John Daub: Post office opens on the 10th. I'll be the first customer and then I'm gonna see if I can. There's a LaLaport shopping mall. I'll film it and then there's a QR code on the back of the postcard you can see the postcards being sent so there's some extra value to the postcard club. Now I'm putting these QR codes on most of the months where I have a secret message to you from the postcard so kind of a fun thing here. Came by bicycle. All right not a lot of questions about hotels here I was able to catch on Saya let me know your address change when you do get it I have your box sitting in an air-conditioned room I should put in the refrigerator here when I leave to Fuji to be honest with you.

00:39:00 John Daub: And he suggests the places to visit near Tokyo rates in Junhao Tan um not really nothing new than anything else that you can't get by Google searching it day trips to Hakone to Nikko are really good to Kamakura going up to Ibaraki in the summer Daigo has a really nice festival and they have matcha and green tea grown up there in the countryside of Ibaraki that's but that's pretty close maybe about two hour drive north it's fun to drive a rent a car but make sure you have the right international driver's permit and get that book on Amazon you can get it in your country on I forget what it's called driver safety it's by the Japan Automobile Federation they wrote a book to help you drive better in Japan because there's an increase of accidents in Japan with more foreign tourists driving it's good to understand the rules in the laws just yesterday we saw some people on those battery-powered scooters very dangerously making a wrong turn at Ikebukuro I'm surprised they did not get hit. So understanding the rules of the road, very important before you rent a car. Just rent a car outside of Tokyo, take a train a little bit to get the car perhaps so you don't have to drive out of here because that could be the most stressful part. But if you rented the car from Odaiba or Toyosu, it's very easy to get onto the highway. Once you're on the highway, the navigation systems, Google Maps or whatever is in the car, which is bilingual now, will be able to get you around. Odaiba will get you onto Wangan Dori (bay coastal road), which is the highway system and then it's very easy to get on the turn offs to get onto Tohoku or down to Nagoya and the Tomei Expressway.

00:41:00 John Daub: Is Ikebukuro a good place to stay with family and kids? It's not bad. There are better places. I don't think Ikebukuro is a great place for family. If you've got families and kids, a place like this is a lot better where you can run around. Odaiba is nearby. There are a lot of things. There's the poop museum in Odaiba. I don't recommend it. Maybe if you're curious. But there's a lot more stuff for kids out here and more space. If you go into the center of Tokyo, it depends how old your kids are. If you go into the center of Tokyo, the rooms are smaller. Ikebukuro, what do you guys think? Leave it in the comments below.

00:42:00 John Daub: I have one last request. This is an extremely important one. Very important one. And I have tomorrow to make a decision. I need your input on this. I have a green backpack for Mt. Fuji. It's a Shimoda X40. It's a really good backpack. I got it specifically for the Mt. Fuji thing, but I'm going to be using it a lot. So this will be my travel backpack. It's lighter, more compact. It's very comfortable. But I've got that green. It's a little bit more compact. It's a backpack. But I found I need to get a jacket for Fuji. So I bought the red one. But I look like an elf because there's a green backpack and a red jacket. You look like a Christmas tree. And then there's the other jacket, which is more of a gray-blue, which looks good with the green backpack. I'm not much into fashion, although I'm mindful because I'm on camera. But safety is the red one. But on Mt. Fuji, you really don't have to worry too much about the color. And standing out on that kind of trail. So I'm really divided. That one on the left looks like a color I would wear more often. And the red one just for hiking. But I'm a little bit lost. What color? It's a green backpack. It's like army green with a red rain jacket. You look like a Christmas tree. I feel like Santa Claus. This is Mt. Fuji. Yeah. I bought the red one. But I'm considering. It's actually not orange. It's red. Joyride's in red. Yeah. It's red. I'm not sure. A lot of people say orange is back. Yeah. It looks a little orange, but it's more or less red. It does stick out.

00:44:00 John Daub: Go orange. Safety first. Red can come in handy in case of emergency. What emergency? An eruption? I'm going to blend in with the lava. It's red and green. I want you to keep that in mind. Red and army green. It looks a little weird. Go for the gray. My heart says gray, but my brain says red. Yeah. The red one is a bit ugly. It's not really orange. I don't want to be lava, Peso. The red one reminds me of your hitchhiking days. I know. It does have that feel. It's definitely going to stick out, but it doesn't look as cool with the backpack. I got to be honest with you. You look kind of weird. But I don't know. The feedback, leave it in the comments if you want.

00:45:00 John Daub: We have one last question really quickly. I'll get to. I got to get out of here. I'm boiling. I don't want to become one with the lava. I'm going to go to the bathroom. Here we go. Oh, it's not working. There we go. I had yellow dirt. It just um puts my holes in mine. I can't write. Benipack Yomiuri [