I've been to Kumano before, I don't know if you guys remember, but if you don't remember here is a little reminder, cool Is actually a really big area.

So this time I've come to the other side of Kumano which is on the Wakayama side in to the city.

So the way I got here is I took a flight from Tokyo took about an hour and 10 minutes and if you take the flight from Tokyo, you've got to sit on the right hand side because you can possibly see Mount Fuji.

We got to see my fuji on the way over and it was so cool.

I've never actually seen mount fuji from the sky, so it was great.

We landed in non key Shirahama Airport and then we took a train to station and then from there we've taken a car, but you can also take lots of busses.

The transport here is really, really good.

So I've actually lived in Tokyo for five years now and when it comes to Tokyo, you know, for a city, for a major city, I think that it's pretty good in general when it comes to recycling and stuff, but there are some issues, you know, with sustainability and plastic and you know, it's a city but it can get a little bit frustrating sometimes.

So I've come to come in for a refresher because I have a really good focus on sustainability and using the nature and the resources in the area to live.

So I'm going to be learning more about that, doing a bunch of different activities and I'm joined today by the wonderful Shiori, she's on the, you're gonna roll away here.

Just forward roll down.

Also a big shout out to Tana Varsity Kumano Tourism Bureau for sponsoring this video.

Thank you so much for bringing me out here, letting me enjoy a little bit of green stuff.

Really appreciate it.

Let's get started.

Shorty, how are you doing today?

Give me an update on the short vibes with that.

Let's get started.

We're going to be doing a bunch of different things today.

I don't even know how we're going to fit it all in one day, but we're going to do our best.

Mhm Yeah.

No.

Okay, we've arrived at the first stop, we're gonna be doing some forestry now when I think of forestry, I think of cutting down trees.

But this guy Nakagawa, since he started his own company to kind of rebuild forest.

If you come to Japan, you're going to see the same trees over and over again and it's these Siggy after World War Two, a lot of the houses were destroyed.

So they used Sugi trees to rebuild the houses and then they re planted a lot of areas that needed trees with Sugi trees and so in Japan, most of the trees are soggy and that's also why everyone has Dengue hay fever and if you come to Japan and move to Japan, you might also develop a fever as well because the body can't really take that much pollen or that much whatever from the same tree.

Well, I'm just taking my jacket off, I'll be right back.

So there's this guy Nakagawa san that started his own company to rebuild the forest, especially in Wakayama.

And instead of rebuilding it with Siggy trees, he's rebuilding it with dung duty, which is acorns with the acorn trees, that animals can eat the acorns and they spread really nicely and also the roots spread out better than Sergey trees.

So it stops landslides.

So he's already got some donkey that are two years old and we're gonna be planting those Right here where there's been some some trees cut down and yeah, in 20 years there's gonna be some trees up there but me and she already planted.

All right, let's go pick out trees.

I did not wear my hiking shoes, but that's OK.

Oh my God.

Oh no, that's really scary.

I'm so bad with this kind of thing, wow!

Yes, I'm so embarrassed.

No.

Yes.

Oh my God, why was that so hard for me?

Let's go give them a little tug.

Did it planted a tree.

Okay, Okay, good, good night.

Okay.

Tree this one's gonna call, what should I call it, thomas, thomas thomas, the tree not thomas the tank engine.

And now there's a tree in, in Kumano called my, his name is Percy.

Percy thomas and Percy, okay, we're going to the next location, which is a woodworking place.

It is owned by a person called amazon.

And they're going to be helping us learn how to make some chopsticks.

An interesting thing about this woodworking place is they use all kinds of wood even if it's not good quality.

Like if it's been eaten by bugs or like if it's a little bit rotten, they can still use the word because they're using all different kinds of wood.

Then it means that there's less waste, which is really cool.

I want to show you guys the shop really quick because it looks so good in the, I love the pumpkin, it's so cheap.

So they have these cutting boards, aren't they nice, such nice quality.

And there are only 1500 yards, $15.

Look at this.

Look at this a place to put your glasses.

Also.

Just some quick examples of the wood that they've been using even though it's not perfect.

It still looks really good.

Like this tissue box holder.

So there's like some little holes in there from worms in the wood but it looks totally fine and I think it gives it a little bit of character.

So there's a bunch of different things that you can make here.

If you do a workshop, there's these trees that you can make, you can also make a lantern, you can also make a fork or a spoon.

But yeah, today we're gonna be making some chopsticks.

Okay, so it comes with a box for the, for the chopsticks and the chopsticks themselves but they're a little chunky right now so we gotta make them nice.

Alright, so I'm basically going to whittle down this stick to be the most beautiful chopstick ever.

I'm gonna do it quickly because we have less time.

Right?

My arms are getting bigger too.

I only do one though.

She really did want to spare.

Run out of time.

So I have to do this really fast.

I have five minutes to finish the chopsticks.

Oh they look so freaking different.

Yeah, my chopsticks, we have to go, I have to go really fast.

I need to get this one or the one over here but this one's so nice.

So cute.

So cute.

This is more expensive.

Okay, this one I am present for you.

Thank you Shorty.

Must be present.

Surely add might add the one chopstick to the pack.

Nice.

Now I have three chopsticks.

Mhm.

We've come to a restaurant called caravan sarai and they specialize in game meat but I'll talk more about it once we're inside but it's so cute.

It's so a shutter, so fancy and modern, the table that we're gonna be eating on.

They actually got from amazon.

So it's the kind of word that's not perfect.

Look at that.

Okay, this place is actually really amazing.

We just looked at this course menu that you can have and there's so many different things.

It's like you get the starter, the entree, the soup, the main and then bread ice cream and then uh coffee or tea for 2000 years For $20, $20.

This used to be a warehouse where they used to make Yoshi but now it's been transformed into this restaurant and celebrate with that.

I've got some juice and soda.

You can also get you here but I'm being careful.

We've got a lot to do today.

I don't want to I don't want to have any alcohol.

So the reason that we're here is we're gonna be trying some game meat.

So here in the area there's a lot of, you know, she, she so wild wars and also dia, unfortunately a lot of animals come down from the forest to eat the vegetables that people are growing because there's not so much food in the forest because all the trees are sugi trees rather than Hungary or acorns or anything that they can eat.

So that's one way that they take care of it here, you can have game meat.

So first off we have some deer, this is some roasted deer that I'm super excited to try and the vegetables themselves look super great.

I'll have juice.

That's so good.

It's so good.

Here we go, okay mm the touch is really good, wow, I was really surprised.

I thought it was gonna be like I guess a bit tougher, but it's really soft.

I thought it was gonna be a bit like in Australia.

Sometimes we have kangaroo, we eat kangaroo but it's a bit tougher.

It's not at all.

It's really good.

Okay next up we have wild boar in red wine stew.

It looks really good.

And they also gave me a little salad.

It's my salad.

Okay thank you.

Whoa.

The flavor is so good but the texture is amazing.

So we've finished the meal and we're having some tea.

But the one thing I'm sad about is I finished my room a juice.

I don't know if we can find it anywhere because they make it themselves.

That's the last time I'll have that image.

Hello guys we're at the next stop which is kind of our final stop.

What we're doing a bunch of different activities here.

We've come to stay at our guest house which is a school.

Well it used to be a school and now it's the cutest little guest house I've ever seen.

Mm Come back.

Where would you usually sit?

Is that where you you are very tall.

What are we learning today?

I can't believe people are this small.

I used to be this small.

Okay so that's where the school is and I'm sleeping right there.

The river is pretty simple but it's very fresh and it's a modern building.

The interesting thing is these beds.

So these, I don't know what they're actually called in japanese but they're tatami beds so it's just like a wooden frame with Tommy and then you roll out your foot on, on top of it and it's simple.

Right?

Is that?

But yeah, let's go pick some mandarins or some mikan and makeup.

Japanese word of the day.

Toronto means taught.

Mm.

Alright, it's time to pick some citrus for the top.

We're gonna make, we're gonna be picking which is a kind of beacon and then we're also picking up on is so cute.

I always love how it's got this little bit at the top.

They say the best looking.

I mean that's a pretty chunky bump right there.

A bump with the chunk.

Yeah, I think you got it strong.

Yes.

Oh yeah.

You need to get the best looking.

What defines a good bump though.

It's so you got it.

Look, I got my gloves matching the deck, a pond, the wrong shoes for this.

She's a struggle street.

This is like a mouse.

Okay.

Time to go back and make the dough.

We're making a tart now.

And usually if you just kind of experience, you get to do the whole thing yourself, but we're busy.

We're busy girls.

So we get to have it pretty much made for us and then we just get to decorate also.

They've been so nice and they've given us um soy milk custard cream and also made these without butter.

So if you come here and you want to do it yourself, but you have some allergies or like you're vegan or something you can just ask and they can substitute everything for you.

Oh that's nice.

Do so we have all these and we just get to decorate it however we want.

So okay.

Oh gosh you guys think it's very so it's gonna so an energy to it.

There's there's a lot going on.

I wonder if we'll be able to taste the different sit tresses.

I tried a little harder with this one, it's better than this one.

This is my like she's Akima.

Oh my gosh.

I didn't know if like me cano citrus was gonna work in the time.

It works really well but I prefer this over than the suffering something refreshing.

And the custom matches very very well.

It's super light and I don't know if that's also like the soy milk in the custard but it's just it's so light.

This would be great in summer.

Two.

Okay after this what's what's the plan?

So you guys either after this or a dinner, it's dinner time for me and she's just going to be us in the dining room.

I think most of the vegetables are from a nearby field that they aren't, there's so many things we're gonna eat.

There's sashimi.

So this is a special fish cake that has burdock root in it which is like a popular to take home in the area and we've got some daikon pickles, we've got some desserts tea, it looks so good, it's so nice having things with so many fresh vegetables and local ingredients tastes excellent.

Okay, I'm gonna sit here and enjoy this and I'll say goodbye to you guys later when I'm back in the room, I'm about to go to sleep.

Let's go to some of this.