Oh my God, what the hell is that?

So today we're in Akita Prefecture in North Japan home to the tastiest chicken in the entire country, it's cutest dogs and of course the most horrifying creatures.

But if you think that's unpleasant, wait until you see, but we're traveling with today.

Oh my God, me, Yeah, 3.5 hours north of Tokyo by Shinkansen.

Akita literally meaning autumn Fields is Japan's sixth largest prefecture, but with a population of just one million, it's mountains, lakes and luscious fields remain amongst the least densely populated in the entire country secluded on the northwest coast along the sea of Japan.

Akita has a strong sense of identity and so rather unique if not terrifying traditions and today we've come to see what we can do here in just 24 hours from eating the juiciest yakitori chicken in all of Japan and enjoying a dip in a hot spring to meeting the universally beloved Akita dogs.

But our first stop is the organ peninsula home to the utterly horrific nama hunger demons so about to go into this beautiful traditional straw house and meet these terrifying nametag Godlike creatures can't be much more terrifying than E.

T.

I'll reiterate.

Yeah, yeah the terrifying, the words post traumatic stress disorders spring to mind the Yamaha gear, Godlike creatures that roamed the mountains and are welcomed into the homes of locals each year, during the New Year's holidays.

Once inside they checked to see the harvest has gone well for the year and intimidate the Children to work harder than school, A bit like santa's naughty or nice list, but far more traumatizing because they literally carry knives and when I say they enter your home, I mean grown men put on a massive costume and burst into your front door.

The situation that probably wouldn't work out so well in other countries we are, we watched the video of the ceremony, I scream a minute ago and uh on New Year's Day, they all burst in the house and start like taking the kids away and the kids are screaming, the kids are crying for their life and they're like just dragging them around the room.

Uh yeah, I wonder how many kids get pTSd off of this year, an incredible amount of detail, you gotta admit, some of axes, some of swords, some of sticks, no shotguns, like many primitive weaponry.

Mhm.

The real question is, who would you rather go on a date with him or him leave a comment below, but we all know the answer.

The scariest ones are always the ones that don't have a weapon, but he's got like butchering knives, this one's just like a horse, look at this, no weapon, just a horse.

I think the scariest thing though isn't the appearance just the noise they make when they come in they go, I think you kind of think of the image of Japan, it's always cute and cuddly things, isn't it, and then you see this and this is very much the antithesis all of that, but I love it.

It's a great way to get kids to do their homework and stop messing around, threaten them, threaten their lives.

Still don't be deterred by the thuggish and frightening nama hockey gods.

Akita has a reputation for having the most beautiful women in all of Japan referred to as a key to budget.

Unfortunately though there is no acute vision today, it's just reiterate in a hot spring.

Oh dear.

The people of Organ Peninsula River, the nametags so much, they've even stuck them inside the local hot springs giving what's meant to be a typically relaxing experience, an ominous sense of dread.

Then again, maybe that's just reiterate.

Yes, it definitely is.

Okay.

You got to, Japan has just been ruined by one man.

Okay.

Oh, so on center, typically supposed to be relaxing affair, but only do we have a horrible creature next to us.

We've also got the number hug, it.

Never heard it looks like it's going to rip our bloody heads off, look at it.

What is that?

And also I've got the hot water spluttering in my face coming straight out of the ground being pumped up.

It's not overly well actually, but the water is really nice.

It's full of minerals and because we're outdoors, you got a nice sort of summer, cool breeze coming in weirdly, Ryutaro has lost his voice.

It's a strange moment.

I don't know what it represents, but his voice is going ice time started to sound like an old greek clash, insult the viewers of Greece From the Hot Springs of North Japan.

It's a typical afternoon with rotary house water great.

It's nice.

Akita Akita Hot Springs are usually famous for being extremely hot like 50°C. So it's actually quite bearable apart from the spray in the face, but with where's Rachel Whoo Step is having a bath with batman bloody yeah, yeah.

Leaving the on scene behind elderly greek batman and I head further inland to meet the only animal more famous cinecitta than another hugging universally beloved Akita dog is a great source of pride for the people of Akita.

So much so they built the only museum in the world dedicated to japanese dogs.

Up until 1931.

Akita dogs were known as order to dogs due to the breed's origins in the city of all dotted with D.

N.

A very similar to that of a wolf.

The dogs were often used to hunt bears out in the wilderness of North Africa with a reputation for being remarkably loyal.

The most famous Akita dog is of course hatchback or a dog that's been forever immortalized at Shibuya crossing Hatch core famously waited every day for 10 years outside Shibuya station waiting for his deceased owner to return until he himself Passed away in 1935.

His loyalty to his own.

It became the stuff of legend in Japan and was even referenced to one of my favorite episodes of future armor.

Go watch it and have some tissues ready.

Really bloody set look is Nippon dan Ji, literally, Japanese guy.

Japanese guy.

That's his me the natural name.

So big.

It's so big that I think that we can be with a small, but like a dog, but it's not, they look like Shiva by huge like a male dog.

Normally it goes like around 40 kg.

It's a pretty big, I just love dogs.

You got a dog.

Yeah, she, she had a black dog never had a dog.

What do you want one?

One day.

It's just a little bit difficult when you live in an apartment in Japan.

Yeah, don't already do.

So I'm also a dog is inevitable.

For inevitable.

Yeah.

For channels inevitable, inevitable.

He is inevitable.

But that's not the word also.

Mhm.

While corbin might be home to Japan's most famous beef and al Maury is home to the most prized tuna.

Akita is home to the nation's most delicious and sought after chicken called Meiji Dori And given with just around the corner from the restaurant best known for serving the chicken and grilled Yakitori skewers.

My full stomach is also inevitable.

So this is the restaurant Yakitori restaurant, but not only the simple story.

This is one of the best chicken that we ever have been.

I generally and I'm just standing here.

I just can smell the amazing, amazing yakitori uh smell.

Let's check it out.

Mhm.

Yeah.

So it's beautiful, freshly grilled skewers of chicken.

I've just been brought up to us.

They smell incredible.

I love the way they're slowly grilled over the charcoal grill releases that sort of juiciness, slowly cooked.

What we waiting for.

Let's dive in.

No story first about story, you'd already chicken.

You know what you do?

All right, okay.

What does United already literally mean that?

Right, so, um first of all, you need to know that there's a chicken cordon.

Right.

Hey, nice area.

Yeah, tori is like chicken.

So he and I chicken.

Hey digitally, is he nice area.

Local chicken G.

Right, so there are two different, but this is the origin because you cannot eat because that national monument definitely in a nutshell, honeydew chicken, which was known for its great taste and enjoyed by powerful lords throughout the 17th and 19th centuries was designated a national treasure in 1942 and as such was never ever eaten again.

However, unsurprisingly the people still wanted to eat chicken and after cross breeding a hen, I Dori chicken with a Rhode island red, a new plumper breed was created and bred locally here in Akita called United order to qualify as energy Dori.

The chicken must be bred in a free range environment and are only ready for consumption at least 75 days from hatching due to the strict agricultural conditions, only 1% of chickens in japan meet the requirement and because the chickens are raised in a colder environment, their skin is thicker than other breeds in the fat is said to be sweeter.

Fantastic.

That's the story.

Listen to me so good.

It's so juicy.

Let me just perfectly seasoned, perfectly salted.

It's called Nicky map.

It's one of the most popular.

Yeah.

Chicken leek chicken, leek chicken.

What's the significance of the leak?

Why is it that?

Well, it's been said that he helps the digestion.

Alright, yeah, like only eating chicken, like sometimes like you know, you might have like master or something but I didn't leak and that just helps it.

It's quite a nice sort of refreshing thing to go with the Sultan's.

You just ate chicken there.

But I like it.

I've got a big mouth running throughout The.

Yakitori is my favorite japanese cuisine.

I just love the simplicity of it.

It's just an elegance to it.

Like it's singular, such a simple dish.

But if I was tasked to do it, I would screw it up at every turn.

Like the best Yakitori places they do it very gently over charcoal grill, the special charcoal don't do a lot of time that burns very slowly over a long period of time, so it releases the heat very gently cooking it through.

Yeah, so it doesn't have that sort of toughness to it when you cook it really quick, it's really tender but it's still crispy, beautiful jewels of fat on top as well.

And I was just so damn good.

Such a, such a simple dish done so well and seasoned to perfection.

What I'll get into a difference between ordinary chicken and dirty chicken.

How to tell us a bit more gamey games.

Does he does, he does, he's about to back a little bit.

There's nothing better than a long night sitting with friends going to Yakitori restaurant and getting wave after wave of Yakitori over some beers.

So we've got our main dishes in anywhere.

You done and we have a real sure is now going to explain what they are like.

All right.

So anyway, everyone knows we done right.

Yeah.

So you don, is mostly popular in the west.

It's like Osaka and Fukuoka and all these places and part, there was one place in the east Japan, that's what the ultimate weapon is very popular, which is here in our guitar in an area they call it.

I think what's so special is like kind of flat, flat, flat, but it's kind of a lot thinner.

Uh, compared to the west.

Yeah, they kind of translucent.

Yes.

Is just try it.

I like it because it's not as kind of filling a regular.

Um, I had this quite a few times whenever I pass through a quota.

We doused it in this dashi soy sauce, fish stock and it tastes fantastic.

But the dish, I'm most excited about, one of my favorite dishes is that, you know, literally mother and child dish.

Uh, it's my mother and child in the one ball.

Yes.

That sounds absolutely terrible.

That's really wrong.

But it is basically chicken and egg.

Right?

Chicken.

Chicken, egg.

Yes.

You've got the rice, you have the chicken, the chicken is then sort of mixed up with egg.

Yeah.

Soya sauce marinated chicken in a kind of sweet kind of teriyaki.

Typically eat it with a spin.

It's the easiest way to eat it.

And again they use chicken.

Yeah.

So let's see how it goes.

So with one mouthful we get the chicken, the egg, Mother and child.

So graphic.

And of course the right, the drinking salty, the sauce is sweet and the chicken is very juicy as well.

It's a very satisfying dish.

Like I often, this is probably one of my favorite dishes um, in japan actually.

And it gets even better when they put some spice.

Very nice spice.

Yeah.

So the mother becomes like a spice, Mother spice girl.

Uh, don't quite have to respond to that.

Well guys, that was our well wind tour of Akita Prefecture.

I'm sure we'll be back to, there's so much to see and do here.

Right.

But what was your highlight of our trip.

Mr, back to dog.

Just really your voice has come back by the way.

It took me a whole day though.

It's very bizarre.

Was actually dog.

Yeah.

And of course as we saw the dog, the Akita dog, it's inevitable for me.

You my highlight, Your highlight I think has to be the number hug, so brutal, unpleasant, violent.

It's beautiful.

I love it noise they make is utterly horrifying.

And at the same time, you know, it's educational, it's educational, traumatizing Children.

As long as there's educational value, it's fine.

But as always guys, many thanks for joining us on our trip.