Traveling Japan’s countryside by local trains is very different | Japan by Train 

Hope you all enjoy the relaxing vibes of this one. It's a continuation of my Tokyo by series, but this time getting out of the megacity and into the countryside.

I've heard customer service is very good in Japan but the train driver who slows down for the passengers to admire the cherry blossom is next level.

One of Greg’s best videos. Goes sightseeing? Sights aren’t there to see. Goes to a hotel with food? Fails to get food. Tries an ATM? No cash for you! Visit an onsen? You’ll be lucky mate! Onsen’s off! Shall we get pissed up at the station waiting for a train? Yes! And to make it better, let’s take the unstoppable train in the opposite direction! Woo! Such a great video 😂😂😂

I felt bad for the driver when she asked about the viability of that line, he looked sad when he talked about it. I hope it can continue to operate.

I didn't even realize the video was over an hour long while I was watching it because it was so enjoyable.

Greg -- Awesome video! Not to "yuck" anyone's "yum," but this is such a refreshing counterpoint to the endless "OMG! WE'RE IN SHIBUYA! ANIME! VIDEO GAMES! LOL!" travel videos we usually get about Japan on RU-vid. Akko is a great travel companion (who might be able to put Marion Ravenwood to shame in a drinking contest!). Have been enjoying your channel for years and hopefully for many more!

This video has to be one of my favorites of all time. It's so relatable, and following you through all your struggles and victories makes it feel like I went on the journey with you. Akko is so relatable for being exhausted and wanting food and sake all the time, haha. I'd love to see more vlogs like this in the future!!!

Anko is always game for drinks, she's a fun traveling partner 😂. I didn't expect to watch the whole thing in one sitting. Thank you for bringing us along on your trip!

This video made me smile all the way through! The train driver slowing down the train for the passengers to enjoy the scenery and the taxi driver gifting you food were such nice people. And Ako was so brave for filming in the dark even though she was so scared, she seems like a really fun travel companion. :)

We missed you. This video was such a pleasure to watch. Japan’s countrysides are so dreamy, calm and peaceful. Such beautiful sceneries and intersecting places to visit. As a visitor to Japan, I would definitely visit more places like these. ❤

Train operator: "Oh well, there are nice cherry blossoms, so I wanted to let people see them." HI, my name is "my heart just melted", because practically no one in America has consideration for others like this.

Very cool meeting a Japanese railfan, its a worldwide hobby!

Her laughter is contagious. This was quite fun to watch. I love how real it comes across. The end ride was something I would do. 😂

Niigata is famous for Koi farming. Maybe that's why they have so many ponds near their houses. But commercial breeding is done in the mountains in mud ponds in the summer and in greenhouses in the winter. Most of the Koi in Japan are grown there and therefore most of the best Koi in the world. A visit to a koi farm would also make an interesting video.

Thank you Greg and Akko, taking us for the ride around Japan. I will probably never go to Japan, so it's great to be able to travel vicariously through your videos. I love the interactions with all the friendly people you met on your journey. Thank you! 🚝🚞🚋🚂🚃

THIS IS WHAT I SUBSCRIBE FOR. THANK YOU!

I could have watched another hour of this. So well done.

This is exactly why i love the Japanese countryside.

We traveled around Tohoku last year - overtourism is not a thing up there, but we encountered many of the same hiccups as you😁 (closures, no restaurants, sporadic trains and buses). That said, Japan is so much more than Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, so people really should take the time to venture out of the tourist triangle because it was an amazing trip. This was a great video - the train through the sakura was stunningly beautiful.

I took a slow train from Kyoto to Niigata and I loved the small stations. Thanks for the video, Japan it isn't all about the bullet trains and Tokyo

Kid you not, I was craving for rural japan content exploration content. And voila, bro upload related video. This put a smile on my face.

This documentary (I called it what it is) was fantastic! Trains, automobiles and high drama! Greg your doing such a great job. Akko is also my favorite side (or main?) character; always exhausted, always whining, always unintentionally funny and always ready for biiru or sake. Now can we request that you and Akko continue to trek across Japan and take us along for the ride?

i love your videos. they are so well made, calm, full of details. it is such a different world compared to where i live. and tbh, i am quite jealous. your channel is one out of just 2, i clicked the bell to get notifications. i rewatched so many of your videos just to discover everything there is. even a simple stone pattern catches my attention. i dont mind waiting 3 or 4 month to see something new from your life, when it stays this good. sorry for my english ^^' please keep going. bless you and your family!

Akko is actually adorable 😂 We must protect her at all costs

Loved this video! I lived in Niigata prefecture for three years and appreciate you traveling the one man trains. This was a really beautiful video, and I hope you create more rural Japan travel videos! Seeing the koshikari rice products also brought back happy memories.

I've been working all night... watching this was so relaxing ^^ I want to send my days wandering Japan and the world...

Takes me back to travelling in rural Japan esp when it gets dark!!!! It always feels a bit abandoned. Thank you for making this!

I used to live in Minakuchi in Shiga almost a decade ago, which was as rural as the places you visited in this video. But it was close enough to Osaka/Kyoto/Nagoya that I would be on a local train trundling through rice fields for about an hour before it opened to the hustle and bustle of Kyoto station. A good friend lived in Nagoya, and I would take 3 local trains to go see her on the weekend, passing through Mie on the way there. One of the trains was a tiny one-man train as well, and was so rundown and rickety that I often worried about the bridges holding it up as we passed through the mountains. The interesting thing was that with that journey, I would cross over from JR-WEST to JR-EAST. So even though I was able to tap on with my IC card in Minakuchi and then at Nagoya, the machines would freak out because they didn't recognise where I'd come from, so I'd have to go to the station window to pay in cash. I'm leaving Japan in a few months, so this really brought me back and put a smile on my face. Thank you!

I'm vary glad you slowed down the pace for this one. RU-vid algorithm might not be too happy about it but I sure am.

Rewind, rewind, rewind...I watched it over and over. This was an awesome video and the enjoyment was over the top. I can't wait until my vacation in September.

Loved this video! Such a super fun adventure! You being red faced drunk and annoyed on the train at the end was perfect. lol.

Thank you Greg and Akko for sharing this excellent video with everyone. I grew up coming from a ‘railway family’ (my parents both worked for the railway and my brother still does) so we traveled extensively throughout the UK by rail. I thoroughly enjoyed it, these are the places of Japan that I would love to see more of and it’s great to see the local tourism office utilising the taxi and the drivers local knowledge to run a tour. The best of wishes to you both and your families from England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇨🇦🇯🇵

This is the Japan that I need to see more of. It's so beautiful and peaceful. Like time has stopped.

I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure! You inspired me to explore small regional train lines in Japan next time I visit. Thanks for the awesome video as always, Greg!

I dont usually comment but i wanted to say i really enjoyed this entire video .

My daughter and her boiyfriend are traveling in Japan right now....Such a beautiful country.

I watched the whole thing. Love rural Japan so I absolutely loved the routes through the villages and small towns, getting off at an uber quiet location, zero tourists, untouched nature. All the things I love about Japan that makes me wanna move there.

Great video as always. I was beginning to have withdrawal symptoms. When we retire we intend to explore Japan by slow train for a year. This video greatly vindicates that plan. PS the towel banner we ordered arrived and hangs lovingly in our hall way. Peace.

君たち二人のコンビが大好きです！おかげで両方の視点を理解できるし、時間がない中でも日本のいろいろな場所や経験を知ることができて、とても助かっています。本当にありがとう！💯

Man you really don't know how much I appreciate this video. I even stayed up late to watch the whole video and risk getting up late for work tomorrow 😂 I feel like a lot of content about Japan these days are too focused on popular trends or just over the top reactions so it's very refreshing to see a rather realistic experience that others may be experiencing themselves. It's definitely not my weirdly attachment to watching train commuting content at all 😅. Also I love the fact that Akko was involved in this whole journey. It's entertaining to see the interaction, opinion, bickering or just an additional voice than the usual videos with just you/your narration, Greg. Hope to see more videos like this even though I know it's not easy to produce and not likely be popular with the algorithm. 43:29 that diss though. It got me cracking so hard 😂😂😂 Is it possible to list the sake that you/Akko recommend from this trip? I'm not an avid sake drinker or anything but I do enjoy a good easy to drink sake and it's kind of overwhelming to look up sake and try them out yourself blindly in the states.

My favorite is when you film Akko and she tries to stop you. What a wonderful trip, with surprises!

Seeing small trains slowly go through the countryside is such a beautiful sight to see. It's almost magical in a way.

What a wonderful scenery with all the cherry blossom trees!

I like how Akko seems to be down for anything, fully expect one video to open with "Hello world! Today Akko and I are in a sewer to remove a poo-burg."

I enjoyed seeing what fun you had on your adventure despite some hiccups. It's important to see that things don't always work out exactly as planned but you figured it out. Also, how sweet the taxi man was who helped show you around and made you some onigiri when ramen wasn't available :)

Maybe its because i watched this video late at night while its raining out, but this was just so good. Instilled me with such a sense of calm, especially the first half or so riding the local trains through the rural towns. So beautiful and touching

Answer to what happens when you do not have cash for a ticket on the train: They will usually give you a note to bring to a bigger station and pay there. It is largely trust based, but Japan has an extensive monitoring system, so trying to cheat the system can get you in trouble. Some more information for the curious: It is also possible to get "stuck" in a way that you do not have a ticket outside the IC card areas, and also at a line without payment service, going to stations that checks for tickets, but where you can not buy them. However, even in situations like this, it is absolutely not problematic. You can just buy your ticket afterwards. This has happened to me a couple of times. I sometime needed to pass a ticket gate back and forth to get to the ticket machine, and hence asked the station staff it was okay passing the gate without using my IC card. All of the times they were like "Yeah sure no problem idk", and often did not pay much attention when I tried to show my belated ticket (in a good way). I have extensively tried to learn the peculiarities of the ticket systems, but I think there are many cases where there are no concrete national rules, so cases like this may vary. There are many "edge-cases", for example when you board a "reserved only" ticket with a JR pass, but no reservation. There is no official information of what happens in these situations, and I have experienced very confused train staff as well, but it has always get sorted surprisingly smoothly and cheaply. I am usually over-prepared for the trains and ticket systems, but there are always Japanese locals who have not prepared anything in advance and still manage to pay without trouble at all, so I hope rural train travelers will not worry (but pay attention to the schedule and bring cash!) I have not experienced not having cash when I need to personally, but have asked around and also witness other people on the train getting notes to bring to the stations to pay afterwards.

this might be your best video yet - incredible vibes and views with a perfect dose of personality

This video is your best yet. From the commentary to the explanations. I probably sent it to 5 people so far. More content like this, as rural japan and transport is entertaining

thank you for sharing the countryside of Japan via the smaller trains. WOW...there's so much to see and do in each of the areas...REALLY loving it! looks like so much fun!

I loved how calm this video was and very enjoyable. It's always great to see your vidoes Greg!

What a superb way to spend an hour, watching you two tipsily exploring the Japanese countryside together, Greg indomitable despite minor setbacks (and a master at getting exquisite footage) and Anko occasionally flagging and timorous but never deterred and delightfully buoyed by the local rice products - sugoi!

Thank you and Akka for taking us on such a beautiful journey. We enjoyed watching it very much.❤❤❤❤❤

After watching the local news this morning, this is sooo calm and relaxing. The foot and hand bath is new to me. Thanks for this video!

I love this video! Akko is really helping me with my Japanese listening/comprehensive practice.

Dangit Greg! I’ve missed your stuff so much! Im glad for this post and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this long feature! It makes my resolve to visit Northern Japan stronger!

I thoroughly enjoyed your video. Shinkansen is nice but these trains are such a gem to ride on with slower pace and one can really enjoys the scenery along the way. Everything is so clean and orderly. Beautifully filmed Greg. Thank you for these nice video.

Love these long video productions . These videos are informative and enjoyable. Such a relaxing video to watch . Thank you 👍

Thank you so much for making this video! It was an absolute joy to watch. In addition to being a whole hour (amazing!!) it is so lovely getting to see areas largely outside the foreign tourist trail. Also, it is very comforting that even native Japanese sometimes get things wrong! The way you do subtitles and voice over is also the perfect amount to practice my Japanese listening, but can definitely still follow what is happening. ありがとうございます🎉

Wow another amazing job! Thank you for uploading, Greg!

Absolutely wonderful video, Greg and Akko! Great to watch traveling on local trains and buses. Beautiful countryside views.

I got off a local train in a very small town somewhere in Saitama. Not much was happening. One of the team in the ticket office thought I was looking for another local train and directed me to it. Not having much else to do I took it. The second train ran up into the hills and in some cases almost seemed to be servicing a single home. I got off where I could see a café/restaurant/store sitting on its own. It was a bit cold and snowy so simply ended up spending two hours there, eating and drinking , with a very noisy and animated elderly crowd. 😊😊

I like how you added scary music during the shrine visit

I like this adventure where you tried different kinds of transportation while visiting the countryside. Living in the countryside is very challenging especially when it comes to commuting. Not only that, how little much information we know when most restaurants or shops are not open as always. I hope you promote more of the countryside part of Japan so locals can continue their businesses and provide them more work. Thank you very much for this video.

I LOVED this video! First and foremost, great production quality! But the main thing I loved is the slower pace in comparison to most city videos. Also....your whole experience is really relatable. I myself am German and visited the region of East Frisia in the far north-west of Germany by mself in the end of february only using public transport and walking. Lots of closed shops, dull weather, not much going on. Averaged 20k-27k steps every day. But I loved it, as the people there were really nice and welcoming.

Missed the channel so much! I have been watching your videos since shin and aiko were little kids! I was too kind of but much older than them! I always wished to study and live in japan and this channel helped me know more about daily lifestyle of Japanese people!!❤🎉

Excellent train footage from the drone and everything else.

Absolutely stunning images. Thank you and Akko for this visual treat.

Absolutely wondeful! I hope to comeback in Japan the next year and to travel on the countryside with those wonderful trains!

25:27 = A great shot of the station and cherry blossoms. Its looks surreal.

There's so much more to Japan than those quick travel blogs show us. Kudos to you and hope to visit soon

So happy to see another one of your videos!!!! Thank you!

Always a pleasure to take a journey back to the countryside of Japan. Thank you for the nostalgia trip.

Such a great long form video. Something that other Japan channels are not really doing, love it.

Thank you for this. Hope to see more of these outskirts /lessen known areas. Absolutely love todami line area, it is one of my favorite areas in Tohoku, just stunning!

I love this so much, you’ve really created a fantastic documentary of your trip.

I enjoyed this video immensely, thank you Greg and Akko! Please make more videos like these 😊

Thanks for sharing this journey w us Greg. Breathtaking and truly enjoy your videos!

Whoa ! Fantastic video and I really mean it !!! So peaceful to watch on a sunday evening before going back to work. Keep going and enjoy your stay in Japan Btw, I almost never write a comment or like a video but this one was really worth it

I love love loved the video so so much 🥰🥰🥰 your authentic style and low pace is just amazing ✨🫶🏽

Thank you as always for your great videos! My wife and I recently returned from Japan where we traveled from Tokyo through Osaka and down around Shikoku and the Seto sea (taking a variety trains, ferry's, and even taxis across Shikoku when the almost all the trains were cancelled due to rain). Two things really stood out the most to me in this video 1) we visited 5 years ago and stayed overnight in Echigo-Yuzawa and THOROUGHLY enjoyed the sake tasting machines at the station - made me nostalgic to see it :) 2) it was comforting to see even locals can accidentally get on the wrong train! We inadvertently had a 15 minute visit to Kyushu when we accidentally got on the shinkansen going the wrong way leaving Hiroshima! It also added 2 hours to our travel back to Tokyo. ;)

When it came out I saw this was 1h+ and I was like "ain't nobody got time for that!". But, I watched it in three doses, and it was splendid. Very well done.

Loved this video!🥰 So natural and genuine. And I love that someone is focusing on other travel methods than driving a car. Yes, it's more difficult to get around, but not impossible, and the whole experience is actually creating unique and fun memories. Also sending all the love to Akko, who is amazing 🤗

Tokyo by bike is my one of the favourite video on the internet

Akko is absolutely precious! She looks like she has so much fun traveling around, and is so entertaining to watch, especially when drinking. 🤭 I mean, you are fun too Greg! 😂 Love the video! 😊

I really enjoyed this video, so interesting to watch. Thank you for your hard work creating these videos.

What a fantastic well put video. I felt like I was there. You do such a great job of a catching the joy and headache of traveling. Been a while since we have seen your kids. Your sister in law is awesome! What a trooper man! She deserves all the Sake!

HOLLY This is one of my favourite videos of yours and in general, it's so chill and informative and interesting and scenery I LOVE IT. I was laying in bed kicking my feet up lmfao. Even tho i have never been in Japan, my bucket list contains of obvious touristy stuff, but the top of my list will always be places like these where it's chill and not much people really(countryside in general). I hope you continue exploring and making videos like these because it gives me inspiration and ideas that i would never know of. Also that taxi man is the MVP showing you all those spots and also giving you food!! Ps i have watched like 30 ads from this video alone without skipping any(ok i skipped one because it was 22min.. i just couldn't do that one😭) hoping it would do any help🙏

that's giant Onigiri!! Thanks for filming this. Interesting country side journey

I love how fun but also calm your videos are. Akko is so funny lol

As a brazilian and an italian/japanese descendant who never went to Japan (YET!!!!)...I feel a strong connection to the japanese countryside!! Can't explain it....just feels like home.

My heart was right with Akko-san on those bridges

I'm currently trying to research Japan and how things work there, such as the train systems, which led me to this video. It's such a nice video of the countryside, while at the same time feeling kind of somber at times. Sure, most of the video is happy exploration and all that, but once you start asking the train operator and the taxi driver about the area, the mood kind of dips down as they explain how things aren't what they used to be. The decline of Japan's countryside is very sad, it's got such beautiful countryside and watching it all slowly fall apart is heartbreaking. I was thinking about moving to Japan myself and living in an old house in the Japanese countryside and I really hope I get that chance, especially before things get even worse away from the city..

Wow, I was not expecting a hour long video. ❤❤❤

I've been enjoying your tremendous videos for a long time. This adventure was very beautiful and enjoyable! Love the rural seanery and fun. Glad your sister-in-law joined in!

Greg, you should bring your kids along on one of these trips! It would be cool to see how much they've grown!

What a beautiful love letter to the country side this video is. Thanks for sharing ❤❤

What happened? I've just watched an 1h video like it was 10min! Incredibly cozy content. Cheers from Brazil!

hi Greg! loved your video as always! hope you keep making similar videos in the future!

Talk about a "Train to the End of the World", right? Greg, glad to see a long format video like this one, and it's always pleasure wathing you and Akko visiting new places. I'd be very happy to live in Kaneyama, being the loner I am. A beautiful and tranquile place, indeed. MVP? The gentleman driving the taxi, no doubt about it. Cheers.