JAPAN as you haven’t yet seen (Gunma Ep 3)

Japan is known for the mega metropolis and high tech, but as you venture inland, you discover a country full of traditions and amazing scenery. On our last day visiting Gunma, we discover the most active volcano on Japan’s main island of Honshu, a reinterpretation of a very popular dish that broke barriers sold at train stations, and one of the most popular luck charms in the nation.

Thanks to Visit Gunma for sponsoring this series.
Learn more about Gunma: https://www.visit-gunma.jp/en/?utm_medium=paid&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=r5_yt_campaign&utm_content=sns_colunm_kusatsu
@visitgunma321

► Previous video (Kusatsu): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJUhhAbQH2A
► Watch the full series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX-Ilm98xvk&list=PLUt18OGs5Ho5dk-gywEj56bzwq3FSM6Bb&index=1

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Gunma, Japan: Vlog 03 (Agatsuma & Takasaki)
00:00 What to expect of our last day in Gunma, Japan
00:43 Good-bye to Kusatsu in traditional clothing
01:32 Traditional Japanese breakfast
03:02 Seeing an active volcano
07:34 A surprising roadside stop
10:15 The most unique temple you’ll ever see
11:48 This is how you create your own luck charm
13:31 Trip back to Tokyo
14:19 Why is it worth visiting Japan now?

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► WHO AM I?

I am a Brazilian-American journalist living in Florida. After traveling the world working with sports, news, and events for over 15 years, I realized that what I really love is the travel part of it all. So I exchanged life in the newsrooms and stadiums for the daily challenge of being an independent content producer. I created this channel to share the beauties of the world… stuff that, for so long, I only kept to myself. Also to help people planning similar trips and to inspire more people to venture out and enjoy life!

P.S.: The funny guy who appears in the vlogs is my husband, Gordon. He is Canadian-American, and he’s actually camera-shy. That’s why he’s behind the camera most of the time 😉

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NEW VIDEO ►►► https://goo.gl/rhM6Pw

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This is one of the largest volcanoes in Japan and one of the most active on the main island. I don’t think we’ve ever seen an active volcano. – Never. – Active. Hello [in Japanese] from Gunma, Japan. Gunma is the retreat destination of Japan. It’s located about an hour away from Tokyo,

And it’s known for the onsen resorts and an abundance of outdoor activities. We’ve already discovered three lovely areas. Check out the previous videos. In this vlog, you’re going to see other two. We partnered with Visit Gunma to show you around. This is the third and last video of the series.

– Which one is theirs and which one is yours? – I think it’s obvious, no? Our final hours in Kusatsu, the number one onsen resort town in Japan. We got up early to enjoy the Yubatake with no tourists. Isn’t it cool that you can just walk outdoors like this?

A lot of people do it. With the colder temperatures early morning, the steam is very intense. This is the hot mineral water that feeds every onsen in town. Today is our last day in Gunma, Japan, and for the first time, we’re not going to an onsen. There’s so much to do here,

That we’re planning to have a few more unique experiences you can only find in this region. But first, our goodbye to Naraya Hotel with breakfast. – Good morning! [in Japanese] – Good morning! [in Japanese] I apreciate (the meal) [in Japanese] The meals were certainly among the highlight of this trip.

Every time is different, and it’s great for foreigners who would love to try a little bit more Japanese food, but don’t know how to order. Here’s a set menu. Perfect. Exactly our case. Look at Gordon, already an expert in preparing his rice. – It’s a set menu, and they bring a variety

Of hot and cold dishes… Sweet, sour, tangy. – So good, huh? – Very. – It’s very interesting that a lot of the Japanese dining experience you actually prepare yourself. They bring the ingredients, and you prepare. So you need to know what to do. Luckily, we have a lovely lady here.

She teaches us exactly how to eat. Mix this with this, and then this, and there you go. – This is salmon. – The salmon here? – Yes – Ok. This mixed with what? – Natto – Ahhhhh! That’s why things are working. Thank you very much! [in Japanese]

You did such a lovely job with us. Thank you for teaching us how to eat. [speaking Japanese] – Thank you very much [in Japanese] – Thank you very much [in Japanese] Thank you very much [in Japanese] Bye [in Japanese] The first stop of the day is a place called Onioshidashi

In the Agatsuma district of Gunma. The view from the road is already very impressive. – This is Mount Asama [in Japanese] – Wow, I don’t think we’ve ever seen an active volcano. – Never active. [laughs] This is Mount Asama. – 2,568 meters high

However, the position where the two of you are standing is 1,300 m. The mountain next to Mt. Asama is Mt. Kurofu Kurofu What you should take a close look at is the chin. – Ahhh, yes! A face! Yes! – Sleeping Buddha. – Ahhh! – Buddha – It’s a sleeping Buddha.

– 25,000 years ago it was one mountain It was said that it was about 4,000 meters high. – Was it an eruption? Yes, that’s right. Translating, Onioshidashi means “demons throwing”, which is what people thought was happening when the volcano erupted many years ago. This is the name of the lava flow

Of the most active volcano on Japan’s main island, Honshu. – There was an eruption 73 years ago. – That’s recent. – Yeah! – The surface of this lava stone that you will be walking on from now on was created by an eruption 240 years ago – Oh, yeah! – Do you know him?

– Yeah, of course, yeah! – The two points are the same, right? – Look at that! Right here. Right on the cover. And here. Oh. This gate is to honor all the people who died in the last eruption 73 years ago. From here, you can see Kusatsu Onsen

Right over here where we came from. It’s about 20 kilometers away. This is a safe place here for evacuation in case of an eruption. Look at this moss. How interesting. It’s luminescent. This water is flowing under this lava The water is very delicious and you can drink it too.

– It’s spilt with fluoride – Wow! – It’s like the opposite of Kusatsu – Exactly, yeah! – After Kusatsu we have to drink this water – Yeah! [laughs] [bell] You can make a wish here. This temple here was built to replace the one destroyed by the eruption, also as a homage to the dead, in hopes that something like that never happens again. And from up here, you also have an amazing view. We absolutely love Japan, and now that we’re getting to explore and discover more of Gunma, also falling in love with this region. And to express our love, actually we came dressed accordingly today. – A little Japanese. – Right? A little Japanese.

– What are you doing? – I’m showing my love for Japan. Japan National Team. It was actually a gift from a good friend from Japan. And here, Gordon, what does it say? – Drink sake. – If you don’t speak Japanese, what does it mean, Gordon? – Gunma. – No, Kusatsu Onsen. – Kusatsu.

– You don’t speak Japanese either. – No, I don’t. [music] Look at the size of these apples. The apples are typical of Gunma. Oh, look at these apple slices here. That is so different. I’m taking this. I got you something. You saw how important the water is here, right? – Yeah.

– So this beer should be really fresh. – Yeah. Oh! [He tries to to say thanks in Japanese] [Laughter] [He tries again] [Renata says the right way] By now, I hope you had learned. On the way to our next destination, here’s a view of Mount Asama from a different angle.

We’re now driving towards Takasaki, the largest city in Gunma Prefecture. But almost exactly halfway through, there’s a roadside stop that is a must for anyone on this route. – I believe this was like an original stop along the railway, that you would pick up lunch. But look at this food.

– The variety… It became a destination, right? – Look! – Yeah, people are taking pictures here inside the shop. – Yeah. This is Oginoya Yokokawa, the birthplace of a very popular dish in Japan called touge no kamameshi. This is the specialty here, and then you can add noodles or not.

So I’ll go with this one here. – Why that one? – Because I like udon. That is lovely. I love Japan. The ticket for my food. – Yes [in Japanese] Thank you very much [in Japanese] – Thank you very much [in Japanese] Look at the size. – That’s huge.

– It is, isn’t it? – How much? Right there! Oh, my goodness. Look at how lovely. Oh, my goodness. How much! – So you got udon noodles on top? – Yes. [Laughter] There’s so much. And it looks so beautiful. – Egg, some peas, mushroom. – Mm-hmm. Mmm, that’s good. Chicken.

– So we got all this on top of rice. Very good, very good. This is not only good, but there’s a really interesting history behind. Traditionally Japanese buy bento boxes, right? To eat on the trains… and they’re normally cold. So this family had an interesting idea. Let’s prepare something warm, you know?

So they created this ceramic bowl with this heavy, heavy lid, and this preserves the heat. It keeps the food warm. Brilliant. This was in 1957. It worked so well! Huge success! Today you can also try it here. You don’t even need to be traveling by train,

And you can take this beautiful pot back home. Mmm, fantastic combination of flavors here. I just tasted something sweet, for example. – What flavor? – I have no idea. – Apricot. – Apricot, that’s right. That was apricot. I have a cheat sheet here. Chameshi, which is rice, chicken, burdock root, shiitake mushroom,

Bamboo shoot, wow, quail egg, chestnut, apricot, green peas, and red ginger. This is how good it was. Our empty pots here to try to prepare kamameshi at home. Kamameshi is the soul food of Gunma. Ta-da! Cheers to kamameshi! You strike the bell twice.

The first one, praying for peace for you and your family. The second one, peace in the world. I guess what we need right now. [ringing the bell] Here is the most unique Japanese temple I’ve ever seen. Let me introduce you to Daruma. Let me explain you here about Daruma. I got some information.

Daruma Daishi is considered the first patriarch of Zen in China. Very important figure in Buddhism. Now, Japanese people have a very interesting tradition. When they buy the Daruma, it comes without the eyes. They paint the left eye, making a wish, and when the wish comes true, they paint the right one.

All these Darumas here were returned from people who had their wishes come true. See? They all have both eyes. Wow, so you can draw everything. I thought it’d be just the eye. Oh my God, I’m not that talented. Which one is more traditional here? – The red. – The red, okay.

So I’ll paint a red one. – Takasaki Daruma are symbols of good luck. If you make a sincere wish while you paint, the Daruma will help it to come true. – Somehow I’m going to transform this into this, and everything here has a meaning, all representing good luck in Japan.

The design on his face is inspired by two animals. – The crane part is this part. This is the turtle’s head, and then the turtle’s back. – Cranes and turtles are seen as long-lived animals in Japan. – There’s a guide here. Let’s see if I can follow it. [music] – Such concentration.

– I’m focused, huh? Which one is theirs, and which one is yours? – I think it’s obvious, no? But this is mine. – The question is, are you fortunate? – Of course I am. And now I continue with the Japanese messages. My first attempt ever to write Japanese.

It is much harder here than here. This is a message to bring good luck. I wrote two things, my wishes. Here’s for big dream come true, and here, good health, no disaster. Or at least I tried. And the left eye is recommended that you paint at home, making your wish.

Eventually I’ll bring this one back here too. We’ll return to Tokyo from a different train station. This is Takasaki Station. One stop closer compared to where we arrived. Look at the first thing I found for sale at the train station. The trip back was even faster.

In 50 minutes, we were at Tokyo Station. One of the main comments we got in our first Shinkansen video is that, as we didn’t get the ticket back after riding the Shinkansen, that we could ask for it. This time coming back, not only the machine gave it back to us,

But we discovered we can also use it here in Tokyo in certain lines. Keep an eye on that when you’re coming back from Gunma. Now, if after watching this series, you’re still not sure if it’s a good idea to come to Japan, let me give you another reason.

The exchange rate is extremely favorable if you’re from North America or Europe. In my first two trips here, 1 dollar was equivalent to about 100 yen. Now it’s equivalent to 150 yen. Your money is worth 50% more. I miss the onsen. Aww, me too!