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  • - You can eat at a department store,

  • pray at the Meiji Shrine,

  • and then go to a love hotel.

  • - No, let's not talk about it, okay.

  • (energetic exotic music)

  • - Hi, I'm Rie, I was born and raised in Japan.

  • - Hey, I'm Sean, and I'm from New Jersey.

  • But I'm a frequent traveler to Japan.

  • - First city is Tokyo.

  • - For most international travelers,

  • Tokyo is the most easily accessible airport,

  • so I think a lot of people fly into Tokyo.

  • It's the main capital of Japan,

  • and it's where there are the most people.

  • - You can buy anything in Tokyo,

  • from like super cheap stuff to most expensive stuff.

  • My favorite place in Tokyo

  • is a basement of department store.

  • There are a bunch of food,

  • so it's kind of like a fancy food court.

  • Japanese food to, like, international food,

  • and I just love visiting there.

  • - Yeah, Tokyo's the center of a lot of culture and art

  • and architecture, and I think it's one of those cities

  • that most people just know.

  • So, I don't think we have to talk too much about Tokyo,

  • but it's-- - Yeah.

  • - You should just go.

  • - Yeah, just have fun. - Just like that.

  • - Eat, play, love. - Don't need any more.

  • Eat, eat, pray, love. - Eat, play, love. (laughing)

  • - In Tokyo.

  • You can eat at a department store,

  • pray the Meiji Shrine,

  • and then go to a love hotel.

  • - No. (laughing)

  • Let's not talk about it, okay.

  • So, number two, Kyoto.

  • There is a bunch of temple and shrines you can visit,

  • and it's very old-school Japan,

  • like if you think about Japan as a place of samurai

  • or ninja, Kyoto probably fills your fantasy. (laughing)

  • As a location-wise, 'cause there it's like

  • all temples and shrines.

  • - Historically, the capital was in Kyoto,

  • and then it got moved to a place called Edo,

  • and Edo is now known as Tokyo.

  • So, Kyoto is where the historical capital is,

  • which means that's where a lot of the temples were built

  • during the era that that was the center of the country.

  • So, as a result, that means that you have

  • a lot of amazing history in Kyoto,

  • all the way from temples like Kinkakuji,

  • which is the golden pavilion,

  • to Kiyomizu-dera, which is a beautiful temple on a hill.

  • - They have a different kind of food than Tokyo,

  • so it's a little bit more refined?

  • It's like as a Japanese traditional cuisine.

  • I feel like dashi forward, it's a little bit less salty

  • or like strong flavor, it's more like a little bit retained.

  • So I like to eat udon in Kyoto,

  • 'cause dashi and it's, I feel like it tastes better.

  • I have favorite place in Kyoto, like you said--

  • - [Sean] What is your favorite place?

  • - Have you been Fushimi Inari shrine?

  • - [Sean] Yes!

  • - So, Fushimi Inari shrine, when I first visit,

  • it overwhelmed me.

  • There are thousand of red gates along the path,

  • so you are kind of like walking underneath of that gate

  • and it's just like really beautiful.

  • So if you go Kyoto, visit Fushimi Inari shrine.

  • - I decided to stop by Fushimi Inari shrine

  • for a 10-minute walk and didn't realize

  • how long it actually is.

  • And it just kept going and then two hours later,

  • I had climbed a mountain.

  • - (laughs) Yeah.

  • - It's a good thing to check out.

  • - So, number three, Hiroshima,

  • where I was born and raised.

  • Hiroshima is west side from Kyoto and Tokyo.

  • There is an island called Miyajima Island

  • and it's beautiful, especially during springtime

  • and cherry blossom, you can see.

  • But going to Miyajima, you have to take a ferry.

  • It's like whole, though, the experience,

  • it's just like amazing and fun.

  • And I've been recommending it to my friends,

  • like whenever they ask me like

  • where should I visit in Japan,

  • and I recommend going to Hiroshima and Miyajima.

  • All of them so far said Miyajima

  • was one of their most fond memory from their trip to Japan.

  • So, maybe it's gonna be yours.

  • - Miyajima also has deer.

  • So, the thing about the deer.

  • Japanese deer in Miyajima

  • and this other area called Nara, which is near Kyoto.

  • They're a little bit magical,

  • so not are they just heckin' cute,

  • if you walk up to a deer, they'll bow.

  • - [Rie] They bow because they wanna eat.

  • - Oh, they want the food, yes, yes.

  • - Yeah, but also, Hiroshima is famous for okonomiyaki,

  • which is savory pancake.

  • There is two style of okonomiyaki,

  • one is Osaka and one is Hiroshima.

  • I am very passionate about okonomiyaki,

  • this is my soul food.

  • So Hiroshima style is layered,

  • so it's a layer of like crepe and cabbage and noodles.

  • Noodle is the most iconic factor

  • of Hiroshima style okonomiyaki.

  • And then eggs and scallions and sauce,

  • it's so good.

  • So whenever you go to Hiroshima,

  • try any store, try okonomiyaki.

  • - And also, Hiroshima, I think internationally is known

  • as a place where the atomic bomb was dropped

  • in World War II, and so when you visit,

  • you can also visit the dome that was

  • at the ground zero of that detonation

  • and you can also visit the museum,

  • where they talk through what happened

  • and you can learn about that history.

  • And so, it's a bit of a sobering, reflective experience,

  • but it's a really important one for everybody to go through.

  • - Yeah, I think it's one of the most important museum

  • you should visit in the world.

  • So, I highly, highly recommend to go to that museum.

  • So, number four is Naoshima Island,

  • which located in Okayama prefecture.

  • So, Naoshima Island is a art island.

  • Young people didn't wanna stay in Okayama,

  • so they are losing a bunch of young people,

  • so they wanted to bring back young generation

  • and also tourists, and they decided to build museum

  • in this island, so you can go to museum

  • called Chichu Museum where you can see Monet's painting.

  • You can see it under natural light,

  • so there is no lighting,

  • but their floor is also marble white,

  • so it's so beautiful.

  • There is also like bunch of different art installations,

  • so just spending a day in that island, it's fun,

  • and especially if you love art,

  • spending time in Naoshima is so much fun,

  • so I highly, highly recommend.

  • There is another island called Teshima.

  • They have another museum

  • and there a huge concrete art museum,

  • and there is water is coming from the floor

  • and the little water drop is moving toward to the center

  • and it's just so calm, it's, that's it.

  • And it sounds boring, but it's so amazing,

  • and everyone is like spending their time their own way.

  • - So it's a room-- - It's concrete.

  • - Where there's water.

  • - It's like flooring.

  • But it's so calming! (laughs)

  • So some people are just laying down, having a nap,

  • and some people are just watching water drop is moving,

  • that's me. (laughs)

  • It's so much fun, I can spend whole day in that museum.

  • - That's painfully Japanese.

  • (laughing)

  • - The last one is Okinawa.

  • It was such a different culture

  • and it almost has a tropical island feeling.

  • It's super different than Japanese mainland culture,

  • so it's very interesting to visit,

  • even as a Japanese native person.

  • I felt almost like visiting foreign country.

  • - Okinawa was an independent kingdom,

  • and similar to Hawaii, it got colonized by Japan,

  • and is currently where there's a US military base.

  • And so, because of that, it is a very, very separate culture

  • and a very separate feel from the mainland.

  • So it's a good place to go to visit

  • to experience Uchina culture.

  • Uchinanchu are Okinawan people,

  • Uchinaaguchi is the language.

  • And so, Okinawa has like a distinct history

  • that's really, really important to learn,

  • but it's also the site of some beautiful music.

  • There is like an amazing art culture down there,

  • the food is great.

  • - Okinawa consist bunch of different island.

  • There is a island time, right?

  • So, when I was in a tour,

  • we stopped by this little, like, souvenir shop.

  • And there was a lady who owned this shop.

  • She was playing sanshin,

  • which is their traditional instrument.

  • And one of her customers started sing,

  • like playing flute, I think.

  • SO he would start playing flute,

  • and she start singing,

  • so like, I don't know,

  • that's what happen often, like,

  • how many times if you go visit a little shops,

  • people start playing music.

  • It's just different and I had such a great time,

  • so I wanna recommend you guys.

  • - Okinawa has a really awesome musical tradition

  • and art tradition, and so if you go out there,

  • you're gonna find a lot of really unique culture

  • that you're not gonna get anywhere else in the world.

  • Bonus location! (claps)

  • Yakushima, Yakushima's an island to the south.

  • It rains, I think, 70% of the time.

  • So it's all mossy, it's a bunch of mountains,

  • it's really beautiful and green.

  • But this island is most known for a tree.

  • So a lot of people go there to see this old tree

  • because it's estimated to between 2,000 and 7,000 years old.

  • It's called the Jomon Sugi, the Jomon refers to

  • an actual era in Japan.

  • To get to this tree, you have to wake up

  • at three in the morning, get on the mountain by five AM,

  • and then you are hiking for nine hours, round trip.

  • And I highly suggest you do it.

  • So you're gonna walk along like a trail

  • like train tracks that were used to get lumber

  • from the top of the mountain down.

  • And as you're walking, you're gonna encounter monkeys,

  • you're gonna encounter deer,

  • you're gonna encounter frogs.

  • It's like animals all over the place.

  • And as you're walking, it's gonna get,

  • you're gonna end up having to like climb for real,

  • for real, but as you're doing that,

  • it's just gonna be mossy and beautiful

  • and there's gonna be these trees all over the place.

  • And I highly, highly suggest it.

  • And when you get to the tree, you are very tired,

  • and your feet might hurt, but it's totally worth it.

  • So, those are our recommendations,

  • but we're still figuring this out,

  • so if you have a recommendation, put it in the comments,

  • let us known where we should check out next.

  • - Bye! - Bye.

  • (warm soothing music)

- You can eat at a department store,

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