Transcription
Hello, welcome back and welcome to Tokyo, Japan. I've actually been here for about a week already, and I've been moving around this city and I've been having incredible memories and adventures. And I'll share some of those with you in this video as well.
As we are going to step outside of this hotel, and we're going to explore this city for about 7 hours. I think we're going to probably do about 20,000 steps today. I've checked into this beautiful hotel, and it has that incredible view of the Tokyo Tower. But we're not going to head in that direction. We're going to head towards the Imperial Palace, Ginza, we'll go to Shinjuku, we'll go to Shibuya, and maybe we'll check out a few other places.
This is an incredibly big city. It is gargantuan. The moment I landed, actually the moment we were circling to land at Tokyo's airport, and I saw the scale of this city, I immediately knew that I would never be able to do a city like this justice, especially not in one video, not in a thousand videos. But now that I've been here for a week, I feel ready to share it with you. And let's go explore Tokyo together.
[Music]
To get to Ginza, we need to go on the Metro. Just one station, but I'll just show you how easy it is to navigate these machines because when you first arrive, like I did at the airport, it all looks a bit intimidating, doesn't it? But look, English. Purchase a ticket. We're going to Ginza. You just type in G, and there it is. Ginza. 180 Yen. Please input money or a card. Please not to forget to take card.
What's good about the Metro system is the trains are color-coded. So we're on the red line, and the train is painted red. And they have these, uh, amazing screens that even let you know which cart you're in and, uh, where the exits are at the next station. So when you get off, you know exactly where you're going to get out, get out to the main road or whatever. The cost of getting these trains and the taxis have been very, very reasonable, actually. The big, the biggest expenditure that you'll find here in Japan will be accommodation.
Okay, welcome to Ginza. I just remembered you can't cross the street when you want. I just saw this beautiful Rolls-Royce. Take a look at this. I've seen a few Ferraris, Lamborghinis. In fact, just down there is a Bentley as well. So Ginza is a very well-to-do area. It would be as a, there's a G-Wagon right here. This would be the Mayfair, the shopping district of Tokyo. But yes, another thing is you must follow the green code here. You wait for traffic lights. As a blue Ferrari goes past, that's a gorgeous one. Ginza is a bit more pedestrianized. They don't have traffic lights everywhere, but on the main roads, you will, and you must wait for the green man, otherwise you will be, uh, punished by death.
I did stay in Ginza for four nights when I first arrived. I'd heard this place was fashionable, clean, and safe, so I decided to stay here. But to be honest, in my experience, moving around Tokyo for the last week, everywhere seems clean and safe. This is the main high street. It's lined with all of the high-end fashion stores, from Dior, Chanel, Swiss luxury watch brands, and there are shopping malls all along. There's a beautiful Porsche. And I had four really nice nights here. They have incredible bars and restaurants, and they cater to all budgets, guys. It's a lot cheaper than you think, especially with the current state of the Yen, which has gone down quite considerably.
Now, if you're wondering, Patty, why were you here? Why were you in Tokyo for a week and you haven't filmed anything? Because you're usually all about filming content, making travel documentaries, adventure videos. What were you doing here? Well, I was here because my beloved Newcastle United announced that they were going to be doing a pre-season tour, and I've always wanted to come to Japan, and I've always wanted to go support the Toon as much as I can. But living in Thailand, it's quite difficult. So when they announced this pre-season tour, two games in Tokyo, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to come. And so that's what I've been doing.
I've been at two different games. The first game was in the north of Tokyo, and we won, and it rained, and it poured, and we had a fantastic time. The second game was actually last night, and we lost against a much better team in a much more beautiful stadium. And even though we lost, we had to be honest, a lot more fun because the stadium was a lot more centrally located, and there was 50,000 fans, many of which were Newcastle fans, not just from England, but from Thailand, from Singapore, Europe, and of course, a lot of fans from Japan. And this entire pre-season tour has been absolutely legendary. The nights out, the fan events, the kit launch. This kit that I'm wearing, they launched this in Tokyo at a very luxury, uh, event, and I got to go and meet Amobi, one of the legends of the club.
I've wanted to share as much of it as I could, but it just felt wrong. Every time I took my camera out, I just felt like I was robbing myself of a very special, once-in-a-lifetime moment. To be honest, Tokyo has been such an incredible place, so different, so new, so, you know, just a burst on the senses that I really didn't want to rob myself of any of those moments. So for this first week, it's been one of the most special memories in my traveling career so far. And here we are on day seven. I finally feel ready to get the camera out, walk around, and quietly, calmly explain and show you some of the things that I've been up to and what we're seeing.
Look at that Rolls-Royce there. Wow. Gorgeous. This is one of the cool things about Ginza is this railway line that goes right towards Tokyo Main Station, and almost every 10 minutes or so, one of the bullet trains whizzes past as it comes in from further north or further south. I'll be taking a bullet train in a couple of days with my girlfriend. Miss P is flying over tomorrow. She wasn't really interested in a week of drinking beers with the Geordies, watching the football, but she was interested in a little bit of Tokyo. And then we're going to get on the bullet train and head south to the mountains and other cities.
This is the main square here in Ginza, and you can actually feel from almost every building the aircon blowing into this square. So you do get a little bit of a break with the cold air in them. Missed.
[Music]
The Imperial Palace takes up a huge amount of green space in the heart of Tokyo. And a little bit like Chiang Mai in Thailand, there is a stone wall that goes around the entire area with a moat as well. Beautiful trees. And I read online that these stones, they don't use concrete. They meticulously carved and etched them out so that they could fit on top of each other perfectly. No concrete needed. About a kilometer up ahead is the entrance, and then you go in, and it's about a, about a 1.5, 2 kilometer loop through the grounds. You see some of the relics of the old dynasties, the old Emperor's towers, and all the, all the rest of it. It is beautiful, but it's definitely an early morning thing or a late afternoon couple of hours. If you're coming in August, it's definitely not a middle of the daytime type of activity. Even though I am getting my steps, I don't feel like cooking alive, and it isn't really that absolutely draw-droppingly beautiful.
There is way more that I want to share. So what we're going to do is we're going to get back on the Metro, and we're going to head towards Shibuya Crossing, the famous crossing. I've never been there, so that'll be a first for us together. But along the way, I heard there's a beautiful temple that my friends went to visit, and I saw a couple of their photos, and it looks way better than the Imperial Palace. So let's go check that out, and then we'll go to Shibuya. Shibuya Crossing.
[Music]
Together. All right, here we are. This is the entrance to the temple. I think I literally just got out of the subway, turned left, and I think it's free to enter. So that's good, isn't it? Welcome to Jurassic Park.
[Music]
Okay, this is quite new. I've never seen this before. Before you enter, there's this holy water coming out of these bamboo, uh, pipes. And it says, "Please purify yourself by water before going into the main sanctuary." Step one, wash your hands. Okay, dokey. Step two, pour water into both of your hands and then rinse your mouth. And then it says, wash your hands again. And now we can be cleansed of whatever it is. Germs, bad spirits, not quite sure. But now we can go inside. Look at that gorgeous, gorgeous wooden annex. That is stunning. I've never seen anything like that before.
Okay, looks like people are making wishes, writing it on a note, putting it in an envelope. And some people are actually inscribing on these wooden panels and then leaving them out for their messages in Japanese, in English, in all sorts of languages. Good photo opportunity again. Ready? I take a step from this later. Woo. Gorgeous. Like completely spotless. Beautiful carving in the wood, metalwork on the joints. Check out this bloke's GoPro on his head. Very cool. That's the shot right there, buddy. Nailed it.
We're going to go explore Shibuya, the Shibuya Crossing now. Shinjuku is actually within walking distance, but I think that's better to go in the afternoon, early evening time because I stayed there for two days, and it really is a nighttime place. So let's go to the Shibuya Crossing instead. So we'll go back to the Metro, we'll go a few stations along, and we'll cross the famous Shibuya Crossing together because I've not done that yet. So that should be fun.
Here's something that I feel is the most underwhelming, biggest disappointment, uh, thing about coming to Japan. And that is the vending machines. Right? Because we've all seen content on Instagram, on TikTok, on YouTube, living on vending machines for 24 hours, and people going crazy, and everyone's just so obsessed with vending machines. And then you get to Japan, and you realize, okay, you put your coin in, you select what drink you want, it comes out, it's cold. It's a vending machine like anywhere else on planet Earth. I mean, they don't even have. This is your typical vending machine. You've got Coke, Sprite, some kind of grape soda, electrolyte, that's what I've got because I'm sweating a lot. And then you get some iced coffees and lattes in a can. It's not that interesting.
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Okay, welcome to Shibuya. I've never been here before, and it's famous for the Shibuya Crossing, right? And I'm expecting it to be absolutely packed, just like everywhere else in this city. Guys, guess the population of Tokyo. Have a guess. I'll give you a clue. Bangkok is roughly around 15 million. London is roughly around 8 million. What do you think? So I just Googled it on the train. The most recent estimate is 37 million people. 37 million people live here. This must be a famous dog. Seems like there's a statue here. Seems to be a photo opportunity. And I'm photo-bombed by accident. A famous dog. And, um, can you believe it? 37 million. And I feel like, I feel like this is Shibuya Crossing, right, right in front of us? Yes, because I heard that there's a famous Starbucks where people go up and you have a good view. But as I can see, it's absolutely rammed.
So 37 million people. And as I was in the plane looking out the window, we were circling, I felt this enormous sense of dread. How am I going to do this place justice? How am I going to convey to you what it's like here in a video? Okay, here we go. That's a pretty good effort getting a selfie in the middle of the [Music] crossing. I feel like people are just crossing here all day for no reason other than the experience of crossing a street. The people who aren't filming or doing a TikTok, they're the people that I appreciate. And yet here I am, filming. Classic.
All right, we, we, we did it. Yay! We did it. Let's go down here. Looks beautiful. So yeah, basically, in a nutshell, guys, I felt overwhelmed. That's the word I'm looking for. 37 million people, never been here before, first time in Tokyo, first time in Japan, and it really is undescribed. And as I mentioned earlier, I felt like I was on acid or some sort of hallucinogenic drug because everything was just so familiar, yet so alien at the same time. And here's the thing that really threw me as well. People say it's the most futuristic country, but it doesn't really strike me as futuristic in some ways. It's in the future, but in many ways, it's analog. It's 80s, it's 70s. The cars, the design, the architecture. It feels like you're going back in time, but it also feels like you're going forward in time. So you're a time traveler. You're a confused time traveler when you come to Tokyo for the first time. It throws you, spins you around, and it just feels like you need to, God, it's noisy here, isn't it? It feels like you need to be able to tap into a, a fourth dimension that we're not really able to sort of comprehend as humans. Obviously, we live in a third-dimensional space, right? And you're watching this video on a two-dimensional screen. And I thought to myself, I need a fourth dimension here. I need some extra tool that hasn't been invented yet in order to get across the attack on the senses and the feeling of being in Tokyo for the first time. Anyone who's ever taken acid or mushroom shake in Thailand, you'll know that it's indescribable. And when you do try to explain to your friends what you saw, uh, it doesn't make any sense, but it makes complete sense to you.
I'm just admiring this car. These are the taxis. You see how they're in the future, but also in the past? So that car is old, it's classic, but if I was to hail him, these doors would open by themselves. And then inside, it's all technology and plasma screens and iPads, and it's all technology-driven. But so inside, it's the future, but on the outside, just a little old banger. You know what's interesting as well? There seems to be no police. No one's organizing this. Half of it. Like, okay, don't walk into someone.
[Music]
I mean, what we, what have we got [Music] here? I'll quickly cross one more time because everyone. Have a look at this bike and this taxi next to each other. Look how cool that is. What have we got [Music] here? Very Tokyo. Random things happening all around you. I've actually got to cross one more time to get back on the train. We're going to go into Shinjuku now. I'm hungry, and this place is way too noisy. But let's do the, let's do the classic selfie shot. Ready? I feel like such a [Applause] [Laughter] tourist.
Welcome to Dinner Party One. This is Shiro, Shiro, Shiro. Not quite sure. I always get it wrong. It's one of those joints where sushi comes on a conveyor belt. Except in Tokyo, I've been here three times. There's never sushi on the conveyor belt, just the wasabi instead. You order it on the touchscreen, and it's made by hand in the kitchen, and then it turns up on the conveyor belt on top. Normally, in Bangkok, anyway, they go across like this, and you just grab them as and when you want. I'm wondering if I've ordered too many dishes. I've got lots of salmon, a few tuna. Still got a couple more mackerel on the way. Here we go. This one looks good, doesn't it? This is mackerel or some kind of salty fish with some ginger and greens on there. One thing I've not really ate much here in Japan is vegetables. It's all rice and meat. Not complaining, but you can feel that I'm craving like a vegetable curry. Anyway, let's eat. I'm making a mess. I'm making a mess. Oh, here comes my beer. Hello, beautiful. Surasa. Come to Papa.
All right, welcome to Shinjuku. Another very busy, popular area. I did actually stay here for two nights this week because I wanted to move around and I wanted to stay near this very famous place. So in front of me here, Kabukicho Central Road, it's called. It's very famous because of that statue of Godzilla peeking its head over the building there. Down this alley, completely and utterly wild. However, I was a little bit left underwhelmed by Shinjuku, if I'm honest. So I was so glad I only had two nights in this area because other than a really beautiful park, this is kind of a trashy area, guys. This is, um, the only place that you'll find quite a bit of litter. This is obviously, what are we now? Half past six. It's, um, only just starting, but by the end of the night, this place is just trashed. Um, people tend to get beers, get drinks, get snacks, stand outside, drink, because it's a lot cheaper to drink out here than it is in the bars. I've just been to a, a craft bar and had a beer and, uh, 4,000 yen for a beer when it's, I mean, 3,400 yen in, in, in a 7-Eleven or a FamilyMart, right? Anyway, um, it's also the red-light district of Tokyo. So late in the evening, around 9 p.m. onwards, it gets a little bit seedy, and then even later, um, it becomes a bit dodgy, proper dodgy, as we say in Newcastle. So it can feel a little bit, uh, a touch, a touch dangerous, in my opinion. I wouldn't want Miss P walking around this area on her own, let's just say that.
And this building actually is a cinema, and I did actually go to see a movie. I went to go watch the Deadpool Wolverine movie in English, but with Japanese subtitles, and they did beers, and you could have a tray. So I had a big, big pot of popcorn, two big beers, and it was in a tray that you could put on your lap. So it was super convenient, and everybody was having a beer because it was like the 10:00 showing. But then when I came out of the cinema around half past twelve, twelve at night, I realized just kind of how dodgy this, these streets become. There are streets that way, there are streets that way, and obviously I can't show or talk too much about what goes on here, but you can use your imagination. Um, so if this is what you're looking for, this is where you would stay. Um, but for me, it was, it's, it's a bit, it's a bit trashy.
That being said, there is a really, really cool area. There's two cool areas, actually. The first one's this way. I'll take you this way. Down this alleyway is a very interesting place. There is a map, but this is completely and utterly useless because you're going to get lost and confused instantaneously. Basically, and I've come a bit early, and it's a Monday, but basically tiny little streets with loads of little bars. I did come down here, um, the other night, and it was a quite lonely, sad experience, to be honest, because I came on my own and I thought I'd be able to mix, mix and mingle with people, meet people, stuff like that. But basically, every bar has a door and a, and a tiny little bar and a bartender, maybe one, maybe two bartenders, and they typically sell beer, whiskey, or they do karaoke or whatever, as you can see. But it only takes four or five people, and the bar's full. This one's completely empty. I didn't really have anyone to talk to or mingle to, and every bar was full, all completely empty. And just by using my ears, I could hear that the type of conversation that people were having, you know, it's very touristy, you know, like, "Hey, where are you from?" You know, like, just imagine this street packed, packed in the evening time. Still a little bit early. It's not even 7:00 yet.
Okay, dokey. So my evening changed direction, thankfully. I actually bumped into a Newcastle fan. Thank you to Newcastle again for enabling a good night out. And, um, I'm not quite sure which one we ended up going in, but we were here for a good couple of hours. Met some people from America, met some people from Australia. There they are. See you later. Bye-bye. How the [Laughter] Toon. And, um, all of a sudden, it's half past 10, and I did promise to take you somewhere else. Uh, so yeah, even though this is on a Monday night, very cool, very unique, and very Tokyo. Hello.
[Music]
[Laughter]
Okay, dokey. So this part of Tokyo is called this name because I can't quite translate Japanese. But I did want to share this place because it's very unique visually. The smell and the vibe. It is a Monday night, but let's see if it's, uh, as busy as it was the other night. So this entire area of Shinjuku is full of these little alleyways, and they have these gorgeous lanterns. It looks very nice at night, to be honest. And there are a lot of tourists, but look, it's quite empty. The other night when I came here, which was Saturday, obviously, I'm a lot busier. And then, uh, a lot of people will have meats and fish and scallops and vegetables on the grill here. We have a delicious-looking squid. Looks delicious. And, uh, people are squashed in there enjoying their meal. Look at that. Looks incredible, doesn't it? And then they've got the aircon blowing, otherwise just sat on the street here. And look at this. Very, very unique. Some of the restaurants have aircon, and everyone's inside enjoying themselves. Uh, I think I might sit here. Oh, here. Yeah. Is that okay? Okay. Thank you. Hello. Hello. Okay.
[Music]
It's like water after. This is like.