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  • Good morning guys! Guess where I am today?

  • I'm super excited because I'm back in Fukushima prefecture.

  • It's my third time here.

  • I really really enjoyed my first two trips here,

  • so I was super excited when Koriyama City invited me to come back and explore the place,

  • so I'm here at Koriyama eki.

  • You can see the station behind me here.

  • I took the shinkansen from Tokyo this morning.

  • It was just over an hour ride. It wasn't long at all.

  • I got here super quickly, and I'm super excited to explore the city. We're going to a couple cool places

  • I'm gonna be staying at a really nice hotel tonight,

  • and I can't wait to show you guys around, so let's go!

  • So actually the first spot I want to show you is right here at the station.

  • They have a really cool looking building behind me here

  • This is called the "big eye," and it's actually a planetarium,

  • and it's in the Guinness Book of World Records because apparently

  • it is the highest planetarium in the world

  • Koriyama is actually well known as a very musical city.

  • Several famous Japanese musicians originated here,

  • probably the most famous being the J-pop band Green.

  • Maybe you guys have heard of them,

  • but when I arrived here in the Shinkansen, the train station song

  • was actually green's most popular song.

  • I thought that was so cool.

  • If you come outside in front of the station here, you will see this green door,

  • and on the ground you'll see the footprints of all the members of Green.

  • And the members actually went to university here,

  • and that's where they started their band,

  • so the door is supposed to be like the start of your success.

  • You walk through it thinking about your goals for the future, and when you exit,

  • that's supposed to be like the start of your journey.

  • All right guys, let's head to the hotel.

  • I'm super excited to see it because I saw it online -

  • it looks pretty awesome!

  • I can't wait to show it to you guys.

  • We only traveled like 16 minutes and all of a sudden -

  • Look at the snow! What!

  • I was not expecting that. It feels quite warm today.

  • It's gorgeous!

  • So this is Bandaiatami eki,

  • and we're heading to the hotel, but first

  • I heard there's an ashiyu at the station so I want to check that out.

  • I've only been to one ashiyu before, maybe two,

  • but I was always wearing tights, so, I couldn't do it.

  • Today I don't have tights on, so let's go do some ashiyu.

  • Check it out!

  • It looks so warm!

  • There's steam coming off of the water. Okay, let's try it guys.

  • This is so pretty with the snow in the background.

  • Ooo, it's so hot.

  • This one's like a nice, warm temperature,

  • but this area's freaking hot. This is like a hot tub,

  • or one of those like, intense onsen where you can barely get in the water.

  • This is just perfect.

  • This is so nice!

  • I could stay here all afternoon. Like bring my laptop do some editing.

  • This is so relaxing.

  • From the hot spring area you can see

  • Marumori hatsudensho,

  • or, "Marumori power plant,"

  • which was constructed in 1921,

  • and has become a modernized heritage building.

  • I just arrived at the hotel!

  • So, the name of the place I'm staying is

  • Hana no Yu.

  • Wow, it's really big!

  • I can't believe how gorgeous this city is.

  • It's so pretty with the snow everywhere! The view is just so pretty, guys.

  • So this hotel actually has 30 baths that you can go in,

  • and the website just looked amazing, so I cannot wait to check them out.

  • We're gonna go inside now and see what kind of baths they have.

  • So I'm just inside the changing room area right now

  • So what you do is you take off all your clothes here -

  • gotta be naked when you go in the onsen.

  • I'll be wearing a towel today, just for filming purposes,

  • but when you actually come here and enter the onsen,

  • gotta be naked.

  • The air's pretty chilly, so sitting out here

  • in this nice, warm bath,

  • looking at the snowy garden, is just perfect.

  • Ok, I need to show you guys something really cool-

  • If you're anything like me,

  • and you don't feel 100% comfortable being naked in front of a bunch of strangers,

  • and you find it hard to relax, it's okay.

  • They have something for you here. They have this little

  • hidden onsen area, where you

  • can hide away from everybody in your own little private nook,

  • and not worry too much.

  • They have an interesting bath behind me here,

  • It's called "tachi panashi (?) yu,"

  • and that means you stay standing up, you don't sit down.

  • And it says you have to be 140 centimeters tall.

  • Luckily, I make that mark, so let's go in.

  • It's so deep!

  • I've never been in an onsen that's this deep.

  • It feels so strange.

  • Usually when you sit down it comes up to about this level.

  • Okay, I'm up on the tenth floor now,

  • and they actually have an onsen that has a beautiful view from up here.

  • So we're just gonna go in there and check that one out.

  • I'm not gonna go inside, but let's go film it.

  • There's another set of baths over on the other side here.

  • Oh cool!

  • Wow!

  • Oh this is so neat!

  • Check out these baths, they have little benches in them.

  • And if getting in the bath with other people is just

  • totally not your thing, you're not into it,

  • they also have these private rooms

  • that you can rent out all by yourself if you like, or with a partner,

  • or with a couple of your friends - whatever you like

  • Alright, so I'm just about to have lunch,

  • and they prepared this amazing meal.

  • It's huge.

  • There's a little bit of everything,

  • and they have my favorite, the yuba and -

  • let me show it to you guys -

  • the yuba and konyaku sashimi.

  • I always look forward to this one when I stay at youkan and hotel.

  • They always prepare it, and it's so delicious.

  • After an amazing lunch

  • I went on a little tour of the area around the hotel,

  • and we discovered this giant skating rink.

  • I've never seen such a large skating rink.

  • It was pretty amazing.

  • By the time we got back to the hotel,

  • it was time for dinner, an I got to borrow

  • this cute little yukata to wear for the rest of the evening.

  • And then I went downstairs to the dining area for

  • a huuuge buffet dinner.

  • There was so much stuff to choose from.

  • It was all made from fresh, local veggies,

  • and I really really enjoyed it.

  • Just getting back to my room now. We just finished dinner

  • It was so delicious. The vegetables were so fresh,

  • and crisp, and

  • it was yummy.

  • So, tomorrow we need to wake up at 4:00 a.m.,

  • because, there's this really beautiful lake nearby,

  • and apparently if you go there before the sun rises,

  • you can see lots of swans, and it looks very beautiful.

  • But, they're not there all the time,

  • so I can't promise that we'll be able to see the swans,

  • but if we go before the sun rises, that's our best chance,

  • so we're gonna wake up at 4:00 a.m.

  • I think we're gonna leave the hotel just after 5:00,

  • take a little drive over to the lake, and see if we can find some swans.

  • So, I'm gonna give you guys a quick tour of my room,

  • show you what it looks like,

  • and then I'm gonna go to sleep right away. Super early.

  • So you walk in here and take your shoes off.

  • To the left we have the washroom,

  • and over here, they have a completely separate room,

  • for doing like your makeup in the morning, brushing your teeth.

  • There's a little fridge right here with some drinks that you can purchase.

  • Now for the bedroom!

  • So this is a "washitsu."

  • Japanese-style room.

  • So I'll be sleeping on a futon.

  • They have some extra futon in the closet here.

  • So if you're like me, and you like a really big, comfy bed,

  • you can use all your futon, if you like,

  • and just make like a giant bed for yourself,

  • so, I might build that later.

  • Nice full-length mirror. You can check your outfit in the morning.

  • And,

  • over here is my favorite part!

  • I love washitsu because they always come

  • with this cute little Japanese tea set,

  • and then they always give you some kind of

  • traditional sweets to eat with your tea.

  • It's dark now,

  • but in the daytime, I had a very beautiful view out the window

  • of the snowy hills.

  • So nice.

  • Unfortunately can't really see much right now,

  • but I promise you it's beautiful.

  • There's a closet here to put your clothes

  • And that's about it.

  • It's very spacious. The futon is super comfy!

  • I can't wait to go to sleep.

  • They also have luxury rooms with massage chairs,

  • and your own personal, outdoor bath.

  • And you can also get western style rooms with beds, if that's what you prefer.

  • Ok I'm gonna say good night here,

  • and I will see you guys bright and early tomorrow morning.

  • Good night!

Good morning guys! Guess where I am today?

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