12 Things NO-ONE Tells You About Japan | Feat.  

Well guys, we're currently a week into the epic Cyclethon to Tokyo. Thanks to everyone who's watched along and helped us raise an incredible $390,000 so far! Connor and I filmed this episode just before setting off - hence the not so ideal backdrop, haha. Ideally this would've been a discussion for the Abroad in Japan studio! Still hope you enjoy our chat and thanks again to Sakuraco for sponsoring the episode. 🍡Grab your own box of tasty mouthwatering Japanese treats over at team.sakura.co/abroadinjapan-SC2403

I actually experienced a situation similar to the one in number 2. I remember being at a train station in Tokyo trying to get to that island with the Gundam statue that is sadly being removed and I had trouble because I accidently left my Japanese money back at my hotel and the station wouldn't accept cards for tickets. Some Japanese salaryman who didn't even work at the station, all done up in a suit and tie, saw that I was in a pickle and in broken English asked if I needed help. When I explained to him the situation he told me to follow him to a nearby store that had an ATM and showed me how to use it (it didn't have an English option, I think). He gave me more of his time then I would ever expect a complete stranger to. He took like 10 minutes out of his probably busy day to help some idiot gaijin like me and I'll always appreciate that.

One thing that many foreign residents of Japan don't know is Furusato Nouzei, or hometown tax. You can donate your income or residential tax to a regional area, rather than the area in which you actually reside. And then, these regional areas will provide “gifts” as a show of thanks. You can choose which areas you want to donate your taxes to based on what "gifts" you can get in return. We use our tax money to get high quality fruit and unagi, but there are lots of things you can get. You can actually get something in return for your tax money.

I had a similar situation like Connor, when I asked our airbnb host for help with a ticket for a rave, after he offered guidance and help after we arrived. He immediately went ahead and called the service hotline of the event host for me and eventually figured out how to print the tickets. Then this absolute giga chad RAN TO A 7/11 to print the tickets for us!!! I didn't even know that he was doing all that, until he came back... Luckily I brought a bunch of candy from Germany in advance, so I could thank him at least with a gift. Will never forget how much he did for us that day and how kind he was!

#2 has been true for decades. When my dad was in high school his family was stationed in the Philippines at one of the US military bases there. This happened in like the late 70’s. His sports team took a trip to Japan. At some point, he ends up getting separated from his teammates in a station on the way to an important destination, but gets on a train alone anyway. After what seems like forever, he starts to get nervous, thinking he should have arrived at his destination by now. Well, as he’s sitting there sweating, starting to panic, the middle aged salaryman sitting next to him taps him on the shoulder and says, “You lost.” My dad confirms that he is, in fact, lost, and shows him on a map where he’s supposed to go. The man chortles and says, “Two hour, other way.” This man not only got off at the next station with my dad, but also rode the train back with him to make sure he got where he needed to go. It’s one of my favorite stories he tells.

As some comments already stated, I can vouch for point 2. 2 weeks ago I was in Osaka with family and we were at the JR Osaka station and we were looking at the station board and our phones. A sweet old lady asked us in broken English (was still good though) if we were lost and it turns out our destination was via underground, not rail. I thought that was the end of it but no, she insisted we follow her. What we didn't know was that the underground station was a good 15 min walk away via a maze like underground mall. I felt guilty as we followed her but she was so insistant on helping us. Really appreciated her help.

Oh God, the second one. I was once lost in Osaka in Namba station (or trying to get to it, I forget). Some woman tried to help me, out of her own will, I didn't ask. Time was of the essence, because I had a concert to get to in like half an hour. The woman run around the endless underground passages with me and when she was unsure how to proceed she then got ANOTHER person to help us. So some salary man, her and myself spent like 10 minutes in search of my thing. I was mortified. But in the end I made it in time so I was so thankfull for their help.

This video really highlighted how different aspects of living and being in Japan can be equally intriguing yet challenging. The part about point cards really resonated with me. I totally understand the struggle with disposing of large items in Japan too.

I have experienced number 2 a few times when i went to Japan. I was lost in the middle of the street trying to look for my airbnb at 12am because I arrived Tokyo late at night, a kind lady who seems to be just off work came to me and asked if I need help. At that time I wasn’t able to speak Japanese so I showed her the map, she took the map and asked me to stay on the spot, while she go around the neighbourhood looking for it, and came back to bring me to the doorstep of the apartment. Really grateful for what she did ❤

One thing I noticed in my limited time there: Keep your suica card loaded! It's hyper convenient to be able to travel with or buy stuff from konbini.

Four years in Japan taught me to stay until the credits were done in the cinema - took it with me back home to Denmark and now I’m the weird one getting side-eyed by the staff…. I actually never had issues with not having a hanko. Everyone was very accommodating and let me sign instead. Maybe that’s the joy of the Tokyo suburbs? My #1 issue when I moved to Japan was that I needed a phone to open a bank account and I needed a bank account to open a phone…. Fun times…

Keep David on Chris, he did a great job putting this video together! Love the editing

Happy you're posting regularly again with fresh new content! Happy cycling!

Was a fun watch & I continue to enjoy your edits. That ending XD

Love a Japanese point card! When I was in japan there was a Mr Doughnut right next to where i parked my bike at the train station who were giving away ceramic plates, dishes, mugs etc for every 20 (i think) doughnuts purchased. I ate a lot of doughnuts over 6 weeks and went home with 3 dishes as souvenirs

Connor talking about getting up and leaving the cinema during the credits and people following him got me laughing for an hour! Well done, Connor!

28:30 HOLY MOLEY!!!! When they waved goodbye the lightning stuck in the background :O !!!!!

This was a really good video, much enjoyed. This format is cool rather than the usual abroad in japan podcast. What would be super cool is while doing all this riding and general adventures you did random podcasts with people not always Pete.

Loved the energy in this video 📹

Number 2 is spot on! When I was visting Kyoto me and my friends were out for karaoke, but I was drunk and tired and wanted to go home early, so I decided to make my way home on my own. I didnt have maps or anything on my phone, so I asked a random guy getting on his moped for the way to the hotel. He offered to give me a ride, which I gladly accepted. We zoomed through the neon-lit traffic at night, and he let me off at a totally different hotel. Turns out two hotels in the city had the same name. So now Im drunk and lost in a completely unknown part of the city, but I didnt have the heart to tell the guy who just took a huge detour to help me that he had the wrong hotel, so I thanked him, waited for him to drive off, then tried to find my way home again. Cool experience though!

As a person that naps a lot, I’m glad Japan are ok with napping because I wouldn’t be able to cope on those long shifts without a nap

I started a sakura co subscription back in december because of your channel! I'm loving it :)

Happy you're posting regularly again with fresh new content!

With regards to saying English words in a katakana accent: I have a similar experience talking with Spanish-speaking friends living here in the UK; when I'm speaking Spanish with them I end up pronouncing English words like roads and place names etc with a heavy Spanish accent because: A) It's way more natural than awkwardly breaking out of the Spanish pronunciation into English for one word and then straight back to Spanish. B) They do it too in conversation. C) Often if I pronounce it 'correctly', there's a much higher chance of them finding it harder to understand what I said.

My God what timeline are we living in where Chris has posted 3 videos in nearly the span of a week AND at the same time is doing a 14 day long Cyclethon!!!

Really good energy in this video !!

Great job on the cyclethon so far guys!

Chris and Connor Fans eating good since last week even until up to next week. Love this duo so much

Mansion is actually apartmentbuilding made with concrete. While Apato is steel or wood frame apartmentbuilding. A nugget I gleaned from the channel friend Tokyo Portfolio, in interview at Unpacking Japan.

Been a while since I watched abroad in Japan content I see Chris has been working out 🎉

I've had a very rough week, and I can't tell you how much I need to laugh as hard as I did at the end of this video. Thank you so much for making something that was both informative and joyous. I truly appreciate it.

Yeah, someone at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo experienced the Stockholm Grand Hotel "smorgasbord" [smörgåsbord] in Sweden in the early 1950's. And liked it enough to want to import it to Japan. But then there was that name. The name however is genuinely Swedish, not Danish, while in the UK it is for some reason generally assumed "smorgasbord" is Danish. To be fair, the concept of a "smorgas" is a shared Nordic one. Originally it referred to a piece of bread onto which one spread lumps of butter - and these lumps were referred to as "smorgas", literally "butter geese", because when churning the cream these lumps would start rising to the surface of the cream, and float around there looking a bit like geese swimming on the surface. Then in modern Swedish "smorgas" has come to just generally designate "sandwich". (The Danish and Norwegian word for "sandwich" like that is "smørrebød", "butter-bread", so "smorgas/smörgås" is distinctly Swedish.) The concept of "a table of butter geese [sandwiches]" is a Swedish idea of what a buffet should be like. (The Danes are masters of the savory sandwich otoh.) And that is old, 16th c. or more, when inviting people to a feast, given the problems with travel an communication RSVPs tended to be an inexact art, so invitations tended to say something like "between Wednesday this and Thursday next week". Good hosting otoh required the host to be able to immediately offer these guests that tended to drop in over the week something to eat - and the solution was the original cold-buffet "smorgasbord" - bread, butter, some cold pickled herring, lingonberries etc.

My word, I can't believe you're able to post so frequently whilst biking. It is truly a feat capable of only the most affable.

Just finished reading your book, it was excellent! I really hope you're planning on writing another

Similar to point number 2, in a train station I asked a woman if she knew where the bus station was. Not only did she walk me over to the bus station, she got on the bus with me! I was so perplexed, as I felt fairly certain she had no plans to take the bus, and I kept saying "daijoubu, arigatou" but she stayed on the bus for two stops and got off. (And spend 200 yen)

Excellent video! Thanks!

Regarding Connors question if Swedes were Vikings: In my Swedish town we have runestones literallg all over the place, famous viking-king graves just outside town and everytime we construct a road they have to stop for weeks because they stumble upon viking stuff. So it is safe to say that vikings lived here.

All the videos and clips from this week have been great mate. Can't wait to visit Japan this year.

no.11 is so true. I went to Japan in 2009 and I remember watching your video about the architecture and when you said that the train station at Harajuku had been upgraded. I was devasted. It was so beautiful before and really showed Japan's charm and now nobody can see it anymore.

Nice one Lads!! Some very good points in this one. When i stayed there i went out of my way to get a Hanko stamp.

3 Abroad in Japan videos in quick succession we are eating good

i didn't really expect the architecture to come up, but it made me think... id be really interested to see you do a video on the famous Japanese architect, Tadao Ando. i think you've already seen one of his designs, with that Buddha statue thats set down inside a hill.

That's part of the reason why I love how my grandparents live in the 'countryside'. I always get to the see the un-industrialized buildings :') Tokyo & Osaka have some nice areas but there's nothing like driving through the twists and twirls of the Japanese countryside, through all of the mountain tunnels and mountain sides (Nagano for example) where you see rice fields more often.

I lived in Japan before the gas attack in Tokyo. Bins/trash cans were a common sight then. They sometimes had some fun English on them: "Push dust in." 😅

4:30 as a Silesian, I finally see some connection with Japan! Though to be precise, we use arbajt to refer to any job (not just part time) and also to refer to a work uniform/clothing

You guys together are hilarious. Love it!

I will be going to Japan next month and this video is very helpful. Thanks

As a person that works on movies doing vfx, we are extremely appreciative of those people that stay for the end credits. Many times we will be under paid for what we do and so the only shining light we get (not always anymore) is our name in the credits. I understand that the credits keep getting longer and harder to sit through, so that makes it even more amazing when people will spend their time watching them.

9:38 hey, just smash up the stool and tie string around it or if it’s metal you can find disposal centers to bring it to (not ideal but better than doing soudaigomi)

As a person who signs 100+ documents per day with my full name, the stamp sounds absolutely amazing.

I guess everybody who has been in Japan has experienced the number 2( no pun intended) and certainly they are so kind and helpful that I feel in love with the japanese, so kind people. Respect to them and their traditions.

28:04 and the lord said "let the children leave the cinema" 😂

Great job on the Cyclethon Chris! Thanks for the uploads mid-journey :)

27:55 "wait you can do that?"

Relating to the last point, about the credits. There's a korean drama I watched about a woman who translates films, and when she goes to see her work she stays right until the end to see her name which is the final credited name. After that I started letting the credits roll, it just seems nice to appreciate the language skills that have allowed you to watch this foreign media. I guess that extends further here towards everyone that worked on the production, but same kinda thing.

Glad to see you are posting regularly again Chris! Best of fun on your bike trip!

Your videos is such a treat especially with CdawgVA its makes even better. I been watching your videos for 5 years. Stay safe with your cycle.❤

i love vids with both of you another great video best wishes

These were very interesting points. I'm American and usually sit through the credits and feel awkward while everyone gets up. I like seeing the credits man.

Super expensive fruits are a thing in Japan but you can still buy normal fruits at the local supermarket like in any other country, though perhaps still a tad pricier than what you're used to. Those $50+ fruits are only really for special occasions or gifts.

Love seeing you two together, so fun.

Educational and useful as usual 🤓

Wow, that was a treat! Didn’t expect a video from Chris until the end of the cyclathone 😊 happy cycling 🚴‍♂️ and completing the endeavor on time!

Paperwork and asking for help go hand in hand sometimes and have to be the two worst. Trash separation sucks. The perfume one is probably what most tourists, myself included Aren't aware of

Its actually kind of nice watching it slowly turn to night during the course of this video.

The credits at the end got me, made me laugh. Good on ya 😂

I concur. Cdawg's retail interaction is an important activity!!

Nice timing with the lightning at the very end. Excellent art direction!

27:48 Connor stood up and parted the Red Seats in the theater.

9:01 literally the exact same in germany minus the stickers

Luv it when you collab with Connor. Looking forward to your next Wacky Weekend.

Great video, as always! The Dune mention made me so happy! It's so epic to see my favorite story being talked about by my favorite Japan youtube channel!

almost 400k raised! Goood work guys

Congrats on 3 Million subscribers by the way!

Always good to see Sea Dog VA

This type of video is always good for a laugh. Brilliant work with the fundraising. Good luck for the rest of ride.

Love watching your videos, Mr.Broad. I have watched them for years and even listen to the podcast sometimes. Keep up the good work !

Currently on my 2nd trip - agree about the messy/functional cityscapes! Pylons everywhere, wires and electricity capacitors over every street (none of that in the UK), and quirky individual looking messy functional but always detached houses. Haven't seen terraced or semi-detached at all I guess they don't exist here....annoyed I missed that Eye of Sauron as I've just got back from Fukuoka I could have made a pit stop. Next time!

I was about to say that I would love to know more about Shimonoseki ... and then you started to describe the architecture and that probably explains why I haven't seen a video about it before.

Nice editing, David!

I just wanna take a sec to say that daaaaaaaamn Chris, you are looking great! Your health journey is really showing in your latest videos! As someone also trying to be a bit healthier and fit, thanks for giving me some motivation. Keep it up!

Baikingu is going to be my go-to Japan fact next time it comes up in conversation. Fantastic.

Love this video and all of these things were definitely something I experienced while living in Japan even 6 years ago. One other thing you guys didn't talk about in this video about but is not widely talked about is how common it is that cheating happens but many Japanese don't consider it cheating cause it's physical and not emotional. It's such a strange mindset to me as an American but it was definitely one of those things that was known but not talked about while in Japan. Also not sure if you caught it but you have a typo in your final transition. It says Final Curitain instead of Final Curtain.

Incredible chemistry, they are so fun together

Thank you for video, quite relaxing and calming for my torn soul. Greetings from Ukraine.

Chris looking good, damn! Shoulder genes really out here. Keep it up bro!

Great thinks to keep at the back of my mind When I go some day too.

12 things they don't tell you about cdawgva

There's never too much CDawgVA!

That leaving the cinema bit kind of reminds me of the whole leave work late culture in Japan. Its not like they don't want to leave, but they just dont want to be the FIRST to leave.

whoever's doing the editing is on point

5:35 when I got lost in Shibuya and was trying to find a store, some random salaryman speaking fluent English decided to come along and basically GUIDE ME there. But yeah, they do love to guide people out of obligation, not just "oh yeah it's thatta way", but the entire thing.

the end credits was the cherry on top

Very funny and interesting video guys!

14:16 "Show the bag, Connor." had me laughing far too much

It feels funny that I'm watching your video while literally in japan rn.... As first time visit, live conversationa always surprises me since it feels different from what I learned (prob bcs I'm just a noob)

I’m dying from the sound effects used for the broken trampoline part why was that so funny 😂

Totally on point. Usually no one admits it.

Absolutely relate to 2. It was a big help to be fair but when I first arrived in Japan (COVID times so stressful time at the airport). I had 2 big suitcases and funnily enough, I’m English and didn’t know the word for lift was the wasei eigo version of elevator in Japanese so I tried to ask the train staff for help, didn’t know what the word was. I ended up saying it’s okay and giving up. Some guy saw me struggle to carry 2 suitcases down the stairs, not only did he help my carry one of the cases, he walked me all the way to my hotel and spoke to reception for me to help me check in too. I felt so embarrassed accepting the help and I kept trying to say that he had already helped enough and I’d be okay on my own now but he insisted. If someone did that in England, I’d honestly feel like I was in danger because strangers just aren’t that polite but because it was in Japan, I knew he was just being genuine.

When me and a friend visited japan, I had a very nr 2 situation. We were looking for a certain store chain, so we thought, hey lets enter 1 of these stores nearby and ask for directions, like point us in the right way. The dude inside, decide to just go with us, for I think 10min walk, to show us where the store we were looking for is, while his co-worker managed the storefront alone. Also it was raining outside. Was a surreal experience and we felt so bad and did our best to thank him, but wow, that memory is burned into my brain about being careful when asking for help, but also try my best to always be respectful and kind while in Japan.