Subtitles section Play video
-
[GREG] Hello, world! Where are the kids, you ask?
-
Well, they're at school. It's a snow day, but not enough of it is falling to prevent them from going.
-
So Aiko watched my rough draft of this video, and she said it needed some voice-over. O-kay, then, let's do this.
-
Here's the story: We live in Tokyo, which only gets snow a few days a year,
-
so when I woke up to snow on February 2nd, I packed up my gear and headed out.
-
You only get so many chances to catch the white fluffiness sent from the heavens
-
This is actually the second time it has snowed in Tokyo this season.
-
The first time was the biggest snowfall in four years.
-
Instead of filming though, we all went outside to play
-
because (besides my family) what I miss most about Canada is the snow.
-
Which is odd, because Japan is a snowy country.
-
In fact, the snowiest major city in the world is the Japanese city of Aomori.
-
But we don't live there. We live in Tokyo, and a fun place to see the snowfall is Asakusa.
-
So I've brought you all here with me.
-
Now Sensō-ji is a giant tourist trap. It really is, but it's a very scenic one, and on this day
-
I especially noticed that everyone was having a cheerful time delighting in this rare opportunity.
-
You might have noticed that there are school kids ALL over the place. What's up with that?
-
No, they're not skipping out. Rather, they come here on cultural excursions.
-
The Japanese culture of taking group photos is huge, and what better place to take them?
-
I've said this in a previous video, but hey! For you first-time viewers,
-
people are washing the incense smoke over their bodies as it is believed to have healing power.
-
Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Are those geisha?
-
Nah. They're just girls renting kimonos, which is easy to do in this area.
-
What's also easy to do is to find some good grab-and-go food.
-
Street vendors over here is actually new to me. Perhaps I just don't visit at the right times,
-
but usually vendors are located in permanent shops in the Nakamise, the main shopping street.
-
Something you must have noticed is all the umbrellas. Is it for the snow?
-
Nope. A very special tradition at Sensō-ji is to purify your spirit under the gate waterfalls.
-
Of course It's a bit inconvenient to get all wet while performing the ceremony, so the use of umbrellas is quite popular.
-
Okay, okay. I've made that all up. Kids, It's all a lie.
-
What is true, though, is that Tokyoites love to break out the umbrellas anytime precipitation falls from the sky.
-
And just as sudden as the snow came, it started to turn into rain.
-
It wasn't going to stick around long enough for the kids to play in it after school.
-
Who are these guys? I have no clue!
-
But I'm sure one of you knowledgeable viewers will let me know all about it in the comments
-
Thanks for watching! See you next time. Bye!
-
What's a snow day like where you're from?