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  • So many things to do when you arrive in Japan. So many choices! The only question

  • that remains is...Where do you begin? That was unnecessarily dramatic wasn't it.

  • Might alienate new viewers...Roll that script. Wow! It's easy to arrive in Japan and

  • feel somewhat spoiled for choice on where to start. So it got me thinking

  • about all the different places and things you can do to kick off your trip.

  • And I ended up going on Facebook and Twitter and asking viewers: When you come

  • to Japan, what's the first thing that you want to do? Then after posting it I went

  • off into town for a bit, just you know, for a stroll where I came across the

  • greatest PlayStation game that you've probably never heard of. A game known

  • only as "Let's go bass fishing!" Can you imagine the sheer exhilaration

  • excitement of catching a digital bass? I mean, fuck! Games consoles are practically

  • made for simulations like that. Anyway, afterwards I returned home slightly

  • depressed that I don't own an original PlayStation and thus, can't play "Let's go

  • bass fishing!" To find that hundreds and hundreds of people have responded to my

  • questions, and sharing their stories and experiences, hopes and dreams of things

  • they'd either done or plan to do when arriving in Japan. So today I'm going to

  • share some of them with you and rate them on a scale of 1 to 10 so that

  • you can find some ideas and inspirations for your trip when you come here. And near

  • the end of the video, I'll talk a bit about what I did on my first day five years

  • ago because I don't think I've ever talked about it actually...So um let's err

  • let's dive in! When I went to Japan and checked in at my hostel, the staff member

  • said, "oh I bet you want to sleep now." Instead of sleeping,

  • I rented a bike and just cruised around for hours. Yeah, screw you hostel staff

  • with your pitiful assumptions. Who needs bed time when you can cycle across a

  • bridge? To be fair, cycling is probably the best way to see Japan because pretty

  • much everyone here cycles. The country is very favorable towards cyclists. Unlike

  • the UK where drivers actively run over cyclists

  • for fun. One of the best places to render bike and cycle around in the Tokyo area is

  • the ancient city of Kamakura on the coastline. Whenever I take people there,

  • we grab some bikes in the station and just cycle around the back streets and the

  • temples. But cycling is a great idea and I'll give that an 8 out 10. Go to a

  • 7-eleven and play "onigiri bingo!" A game I made up to try new flavours where I grab

  • a random flavour without looking what it is, and eat it. Well, if its got food in

  • it, it's instantly a good idea. If you don't know what onigiri is, it's

  • basically just a rice ball with different filling in it. All convenience

  • stores have big sections with onigiri, and my personal favorite flavor is tuna

  • mayonnaise but there's all sorts. There're fish eggs, salmon, sour plums: avoid that one.

  • And you can find yourself standing there sometimes for ages, spoiled for choice not

  • knowing which one to go for. So grabbing one randomly isn't a bad idea.

  • So give that a 7 out of 10. Grab some real pudding. I only ate pudding in Japan.

  • Every local pudding here (Singapore) is utter crap. Yeah, real pudding 10 out of 10.

  • Every, again, every convenience store has a dessert section as well where you can

  • find everything from yogurts and cakes to kind of traditional Japanese sweets. I

  • urge you to check it out, if not to eat a dessert, then for research purposes. Sleep.

  • And then climb Mount Fuji with bottles and bottles of Pocari Sweat.

  • Naah, it's way too ambitious for your first day. 3 out of 10. Laugh Out

  • Loud! Sleep? Me and my friend didn't sleep for 4

  • days when we arrived due to excitement! Alice sleep....Ha ha ha. To which Alice

  • replied, "ahahahaha...sleep" You rebels. Absolute bloody rebels. Don't know what

  • they did though. 0 out of 10. Onsen. Definitely. Then I'd go about town and

  • try to make conversation with the locals. Optimistically happy face but

  • also anxiously sweating face. Why not make conversation with the locals in the

  • onsen? After all you'll be sat naked side-by-side in nature's hot tub. It

  • seems like a pretty good place to start and break the ice with the locals. But if

  • you don't have a chance to go to an onsen resort out in the countryside,

  • which i highly do recommend, the next best thing is Onsen World, Ōedo

  • Onsen World in Odaiba, Tokyo. It's an onsen theme park with an Edo era

  • styled street and you can wander around in a colorful yukata, eat and drink in

  • between dipping in the onsen. It's a bit pricey but if you can't get out to the

  • countryside, I highly recommend it. And you have to go to an onsen whilst in

  • Japan. 9 out of 10. Kiss the ground because I will have just survived a long

  • flight with a three-year-old. Then onigiri and a train platform beer. Yeah,

  • nothing says role model like watching your dad down a beer and a rice ball on

  • a station platform. That said, I wouldn't expect anything less from somebody who's

  • nickname is simply "Drinking in Japan." Good thing about Japan of course is it's

  • okay to drink in public. You could walk down the street or train station

  • platform with a beer in hand and you don't have to worry. And when friends come

  • over and visit the first thing we usually do is actually go to the

  • convenience store buy a few drinks and then just wander around the city for a

  • few hours. And it's a great way of checking out the city so yeah can't

  • recommend it enough 9 out 10. My boyfriend and I are going in late September,

  • and he doesn't know that the first thing we're going to do is a Japanese love

  • hotel. Hahahah, sly face. Well, providing he doesn't watch this video, your secret is

  • safe with us. 6 out of 10. Do make sure you get a good love hotel though as it

  • can be the difference between having a bath with a jacuzzi and a bath with a

  • cockroach. And unfortunately, I've experienced both. Who knows if

  • you're especially lucky, you might even get a teddy bear cave, or a questionably

  • small cage. No doubt it'll be giving my boyfriend's Mum a massive overly

  • friendly westerner-style bear hug at the airport. Will be meeting his family for

  • the first time this year in Sapporo. Then going to her Izakaya and EATING

  • EVERYTHING. Brilliant! I'm not sure what will alienate your boyfriend's mum the

  • most. The westerner-style bear hug or the sight of watching her son's girlfriend

  • single-handedly eating everything. But nonetheless, going to an Izakaya is an

  • amazing idea. No matter where you are in Japan, it's an incredible place to soak

  • up the atmosphere, the food, the drink and meet the locals all at once. So Izakaya,

  • going to an Izakaya, 9 out of 10. Try to find the increasingly

  • dwindling arcade machines where you can play Cho Chabudai Gaeshi. Yeah, you

  • can't go wrong with an arcade. You can find them in pretty much every shopping

  • street in Japan. My two favorite games are good old Mario Kart and taiko

  • drumming game where you beat the shit out of the drum in time with the music.

  • Very good stress relief.

  • Unfortunately though, the game Cho Chabudai Gaeshi

  • has become quite rare, it's pretty hard to find it. The expression literally means

  • "To flip one's table." And in the game, you play the role of an angry father having

  • a mental breakdown. As you sit around the dinner table with your family annoying

  • you more more, you hit the table again and again until eventually you lose it, flip

  • the table over, and destroy your family in one fell swoop. And then you get to

  • watch it over and over in slow motion replay. I actually featured it in a

  • video, one of the first videos I've made because I stumbled across this game and

  • I was so in awe of the concept. I've never seen anything like it. So visiting

  • an arcade, 9 out of 10. That Frog Bar. "That Frog Bar." One of the strangest and most

  • disturbing experiences you could probably have in Tokyo.

  • I couldn't imagine doing it on your first day, but it involves a bar and a

  • somewhat peculiar owner who does everything from dressing up like a frog

  • and use puppet teddy bears to deliver drinks. And of course tossing off a

  • newspaper. I'll give it an 8 out of 10. It was pretty memorable thats for sure.

  • Funnily enough, the first thing I did when I arrived in Japan, was actually

  • meet Chris Broad himself in Tokyo during an Odigo event. Meeting me,

  • I'll give that a 1 out 10. Yeah, I always feel sorry for viewers who bump into me in

  • Tokyo or Sendai or wherever because you can actually see their initial excitement

  • quickly turned to an expression of disappointment.

  • My favorite encounter recently was in Shibuya station. I was running to get a

  • train, that's right, running. And the guy that I ran past quickly looked up at me

  • and shouted, "All Right Youtube!" And that is the sort of exciting and thrilling

  • encounter you can get on an almost daily basis if you become a Youtuber. McDonald's!!!

  • McDonald's, why?? Don't you dare say, why? It's so fresh, way different, and all the burgers

  • have egg in it. Happy Face. And to prove his dedication to this plan,

  • he's even attached 4 photos of this groundbreaking revelation. McDonald's

  • Japan does have a few unique menu items like choco fries, god forbid. But for the

  • most part, it's pretty much just your standard McDonald's so I'm going to give

  • it a 4 out of 10. And anyway why go there when you can try something different

  • like Mos Burger or Freshness Burger or Wendy's? Not gonna lie, the first thing I

  • want to do is head out to Shibuya or Shinjuku to look around and be

  • surrounded by the lights. Given that my first night was in Shinjuku, actually,

  • this was the second thing I did. And it didn't disappoint. Having never set foot

  • in Japan before, I would say Shinjuku is the most culture shock inducing spot

  • when you're surrounded by all the light and neon, all the crowds and the noises

  • and the heat of summer, if you come in summer. I do recommend

  • Shinjuku over Shibuya because I think there're more bars and restaurants and

  • things to do and I actually hate Shibuya. I actively avoid it, I do.

  • It's very touristy. I can't stand the crossing, the overrated crossing and yeah,

  • I just don't like it. There's more adventure to be had in Shinjuku for

  • me, and yeah but either way the lights will blow you away.

  • 8 out of 10. Take a selfie near the most symbolically Japanese thing in the area

  • with the caption, "I made it bitches." Well, for a two thousand dollar holiday, I'd

  • say it's pretty much expected so 9 out of 10. Although as someone who's not

  • particularly narcissistic, it's difficult for me to relate to that, you know, it's

  • not something, something that I would ever do. Shut up. Tokyo fish market. Might

  • as well take advantage of that jet lag...So the Tsukiji fish market is the world's

  • largest fish market, and it's an amazing place. As you walk through, it feels a

  • bit like being underwater because you're surrounded by millions of fish and

  • there's water leaking everywhere and yeah, it just feels like you're

  • underwater. However it is closing next year so the clock is ticking.

  • Unfortunately, this year could be the last year you can experience it so I do

  • recommend visiting this year. I'll give it an 8 out of 10. And if you want to see my

  • experience of the tuna auctions when I went last year, you can find a video in

  • the description box below. Drop bags at hotel, eat delicious Katsu at

  • Coco Ichibanya and then buy choco, magazines, and bath salts at the combini

  • to enjoy in the hotel room super deep bath. Now that is the routine of a battle-hardened

  • frequent traveler. You had me at Coco Ichibanya and the bath salts, they were

  • just the icing on the cake. Coco Ichibanya or Coco's curry house

  • came up quite a lot actually on people's answers so it's easy to see why when you

  • actually go there and have a delicious reasonably priced curry. The only reason I

  • don't go there more often is between the curry and the rice and deep fried pork, I

  • become pretty much knocked out afterwards. It's like a horse

  • tranquilizer and I'm done for once, I've had it. But other than that, it's

  • something you have to definitely try when you

  • come here and you can find them pretty much on every street so yeah, Coco

  • Ichibanya, 9 out of 10. The first thing I did (after sleeping off the jet lag) was go

  • walking! No destination in mind, I just explored the city I was staying in, and

  • browsed a few stores along the way. This was the most popular upvoted response on

  • Facebook and I can't find fault with it. 9 out 10. My favorite spot to walk around

  • in the morning is Shinjuku though. If you get up about 6 a.m. you can watch the

  • beautifully peaceful streets suddenly become amongst the busiest streets on

  • the planet because Shinjuku Station is the busiest station in the world. And

  • it's quite epic seeing that change. The first thing we did on July 8, was to walk

  • to our hotel room window with this amazing view, gazing at the incredible

  • city of Tokyo, watching the city go by, pinching ourselves, hoping it's not a

  • dream. See, why stay in a windowless love hotel dungeon when you can stay in a

  • room like that? 8 out 10. Although it can't have been cheap. Judging by the

  • photo, you stayed in Shiodome. You can see Tokyo Tower,

  • Toranomon Hills Tower, and Mount Fuji in the distance there, which is a district

  • with some of the best views in Tokyo. If you're looking for a romantic hotel room

  • though to either impress a partner or take the aforementioned, "I made it

  • bitches!" photo, then Shiodome or Shinjuku, probably your best bet. And they

  • don't come cheap though. Those rooms like that, you're looking about 300~400 dollars a

  • night, which is the cost of about 3 or 4 nights in a love hotel, hmmm.

  • What not to do! Don't go to Tokyo Disney Resort on the day you arrive after a 13

  • hour flight! Yeah, and indeed don't go to Tokyo Disneyland on any day. 2 years

  • ago I spent a small fortune to go there with a friend, and in the space of 8

  • or 9 hours we successfully got on an incredible 3 rides.

  • Took 3 and 1/2 hours to get on Space Mountain! 3 and a 1/2 hours

  • for a 50 second ride. Every minute passed in that queue is a bitter

  • reminder never ever ever to go to Tokyo Disneyland again. Well, it seems a lot of

  • people are certainly way more ambitious than I was on my first day. So the day I

  • arrived, I was on the jet program, the Japan exchange teaching program, and we

  • got put up in a hotel room in Shinjuku for a few days before we had these

  • really fun seminars. On the first day you have your afternoon and evening free

  • so what I did, I walked over to the Tokyo metropolitan tower buildings behind the

  • hotel, and they have some of the best observation decks in the city. They're

  • also free, which is awesome! But I went up there because I really wanted to get

  • a grasp of how big Tokyo was. But I sat up there with an overpriced chocolate cake

  • in the restaurant, and just overlooked this incredible sort of scenery. This

  • never-ending sprawl of buildings. And I just sort of sat there with my chocolate

  • cake thinking, "Yeah, I've done it. I've made it to Tokyo." And

  • then the jetlag hit me and I fell asleep next to the chocolate cake and was

  • rudely awakened 20 minutes later by the staff throwing me out. Then in the evening, I

  • went out with some people into karaoke and that was quite fun as well, but yeah,

  • there you go! Loads of ideas to go with. I hope you found some sort of idea or

  • inspiration within to try in your trip. And do let us know what was your

  • favorite thing, what was your favorite idea. Let us know in the comments section. For

  • now though everyone, many thanks for watching. I'm off now to have a sleep I think.

  • I'm feeling pretty tired and yeah I could really do with some sleep. Ahahahah...Sleep.

So many things to do when you arrive in Japan. So many choices! The only question

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