Unlocking Japan’s essential travel locations from beginner to intermediate, these short video segments introduce Tokyo, Osaka, Earthquake safety tips, and travel pointers. I will be making expanded videos on each segment as well so please let me know in the comments what anyone would like me to elaborate on! I have more than 5 years of experience in Japan as a Student and Camera operator and would love to share it all with you.
So Tokyo 101 why is Japan’s capital so unique Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area in the world and onethird of all of Japan’s population lives in the greater Tokyo area that’s 38 million people if you travel Japan you can do just about anything in Tokyo so here I’ll review
The most popular Tokyo neighborhoods and what they’re famous for to help you choose where to go Shinjuku is famous for its wild nightlife and abundance of shopping Tokyo has the most neon signs of any city in the world you can really see this in Shinjuku kabukicho is nighlife aimed more towards working
Adults and even though it has an infamous reput ation it is full of amazing restaurants as well and pretty safe too in fact Tokyo is actually one of the safest cities in the world I myself have lost my wallet here and had it return to me with all the cash inside
Of it that’s not even a rare story next shabuya is nightlife aimed more towards students and a younger crowd it seems a bit more chaotic but arguably a bit more relaxed it also has an abundance of shopping and food and the most busy intersection in the world called shabuya
Scramble and I’m sure you’ve seen videos of this next akih Habra is Japan’s Center for pop culture anime manga gaming and electronics we find countless Maiden cosplay cafes and bars and city blocks with back-to-back figure stores game centers and Anime merch stores next hadaj Juku is Tokyo’s epicenter of Youth
Fashion alternative Kawaii and Lolita Fashion and trendy if not even pretty experimental cafes and bars next rangi is nightlife that is really popular with Travelers foreigners and is often a little bit more expensive rang also has a ton of art museums for fans of Contemporary Art and rangi Hills has an
Amazing view of the city next Ginza is famous for some of the best sushi in Japan but will often have to make reservations for months in advance for the very best also Ginza has a lot of high-end fashion shopping and honestly all the places I’ve mentioned so far
Have a lot of designer brand stores and high fashion outlets too just not as much as ginso or maybe also rongi next nichome is Tokyo’s largest lgbtq plus community and has an abundance of nlife and many lgbtq plus rights organizations and events and wonderful food next asakusa is famous for its abundance of
Traditional Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples it also has Tokyo’s oldest Temple temp Le and is a beautiful place to walk around next Golden guy is retro nightl very small intimate bars with many themes and is very popular with people that work in media and artists this is honestly just the beginning of
All the countless unique and interesting places you can go in Tokyo and I really only gave such General summaries of each one I will also say however that Tokyo does have a reputation for being a bit cold towards visitors especially compared to other Japanese regions such
As Kai I’ve met a ton of amazing people there but I can understand this so many people from all around Japan migrate to Tokyo to pursue fairly competitive Industries or educations and this could definitely saturate any sense of community with more of a sense of exclusivity which could come across this
Cold I’m only adding this to encourage you to check out other parts of Japan too even though there is so much to do in Tokyo Osaka Japan 101 what makes Tokyo’s more friendly travel alternative so unique Osaka is famous for having the best food in Japan and Osaka people are
Also famous for being kind welcoming warm straightforward and funny which I can verify after living there for over a year Osaka is in the second largest metropolitan area in Japan after Tokyo and while this area only has half the amount of people it is still massive so
Here I’ll review the most popular Osaka neighborhoods and what they’re famous for to help you choose where to go first umeda a polished entertainment in shopping downtown area you’ll find umeda Sky building a skyscraper with a free floating Garden on the top stories with a beautiful view of the city and the he
5 Ferris wheel which is a cool amusement attraction in the center of downtown and the grand front Osaka which is a huge huge huge shopping center next NBA a second entertainment area with a more wild night life and shopping that is more inspired by youth culture and alternative and Hip-hop music while
Umeda was traditionally where the samurai class would hang out Numba was more where the merchant class and commoner class would hang out and The Vibes of casual Indulgence in food and entertainment has carried into this day I believe here there’s also Doon budy probably the most iconic Osaka view
Famous for amazing food that is often advertised by large sculptures outside the establishments making this an incredible photogenic Riverside shopping area next denden town is Osaka’s pop culture Capital where you can go to find anything anime manga or video game related it also sells any kind of
Electronics you would want and has tons of made cafes and cosplay bars next shinsekai a retro entertainment area that has old school arcades and restaurants bars and cafes that have been around for over 50 years if not more there’s also a zoo that you can go
To for under $5 and suen Kaku Tower which has an amazing view and was built in 1912 next if you like nature more minow Osaka is famous for its hiking like to minow waterfalls and also its Mountainside Resorts and its Craft Beer Brewery and to illustrate how friendly I
Think local communities in Osaka can be I once got terribly lost here in the middle of the night when I was a student so I asked a group of people my age for directions home but they said it was too far to walk so instead they called their
Friends with a car and they all gave me a ride home took like 45 minutes that was like 5 years ago and most of them are still my close friends so I really like Mino Osaka next if you like Japanese traditional stuff sue me mioshi TAA is one of the oldest shrines in
Japan dating back 1,800 years ago it’s rare because it was built before Buddhism came to Japan from China so it’s one of the few that has architectures that was not inspired by any outside countries Osaka also has Universal Studios with a Harry Potter land and Super Mario World and of course
Osaka Castle anyway I found Osaka’s sense of community to be a bit more welcoming than Tokyo’s while still maintaining the vibrantly massive amount of big city things to do there are many reasons for this like Tokyo just has many more people moving in and out of it from work and temporarily traveling
There which may detract from a more permanent sense of local community that I often find in Osaka establishments but I guarantee you it’s worth a visit things I wish I knew before I went to Japan first when booking your flight if you arrive in Tokyo there are two
Main airports H and Narita I would go for Hana whenever possible it is far more convenient and takes about 30 minutes to get to the center of Tokyo whereas Narita is much further away from the main city areas and usually takes over an hour to get close to downtown
Like Shinjuku which will also often cause cost more than twice as much two get a transportation card this can help you ride any train or bus it’s this card here and they’re sold at any major train station or airport this is called eoka but different areas have different names
Like pasmo or sua it’s so much easier to just charge money to this car and tap it at the kiosk to enter train stations or buses then to calculate the cost for each ticket you buy most stations only take cash too and I have anxious memories of sorting through unfamiliar
Coins to pay for a bus while people are lined up behind me or friends are waiting on me you can also use these cars at some machines and you can get these cards on your phone to make things twice as easy next there are cheap places to rent bicycles all over Japan
And getting around Japan on a bike is such an amazing way to see the country find new places and save money there’s spots like this in Tokyo where you can rent them with your phone and most midside cities I’ve been to have English accessible daily or weekly bicycle
Rentals usually about $10 a day or about a do an hour next have some kind of coin purse or coin pouch like these many of the most Charming restaurants in Japan will only still accept cash and this may lead to carrying around a lot of change
It’s just a helpful way to carry it all around in one place and something I’ve never had to have in America also Japanese coins hold more value like this would essentially be $1 and this would be about $5 so coins are useful to have next so many Japanese restaurants have
All you can drink options on the menu in Japanese this is called Nomi hodai and I wish I knew to look for this more it’s a great way to save money and usually for about $ 20 to $30 you can have all the drinks you want for about an hour and a
Half so make sure to stay safe and please follow me to learn more things I wish I knew before I went to Japan so earthquakes in Japan 101 Japan has more earthquakes than anywhere in the world on average every year there are 1,500 earthquakes in Japan and almost 20% of
The world’s strongest earthquakes with a magnitude of six or greater occur there as well although most of these are small Tremors that are hard to even feel here’s what the Japanese government recommends you do before and after an earthquake and how to prepare for one if you’re traveling register your trip with
Your country’s Embassy within Japan this will help your country’s Embassy quickly contact you and help you if necessary during the event of a natural disaster this can be done easily online for example ex Le for Americans look up the US Embassy and consulates in Japan homepage next it doesn’t hurt to find
Your local evacuation areas and evacuation shelters in whatever area you’re staying at in Japan this will likely be wide open Parks or nearby middle schools or high schools these can also be found online for every prefecture however if you don’t know where the closest one is most every Japanese citizen has been through
Extensive earthquake drills for their entire lives so it would be a safe bet to follow wherever people around you are going next if you’re in Japan your cell phone should automatically receive any emergency government earthquake warnings or after the earthquake government evacuation notices but if you want to be
Extra safe there are some apps for Android and iOS that will do this for you as well such as UD kudu call so next what should you do during an earthquake first duck down to get a lower center of gravity so you don’t fall over as easily
Cover and protect your head and neck if possible with a jacket or a backpack or a pillow stay away from Windows that could break and shower you with broken glass or anything that could fall over if you’re inside try to stay under a doorway or something really stable if
You’re outside try to be in the most open area possible away from buildings and windows and walls and always try to hold on to something stable if you’re on a train all trains in Japan will automatically stop if there’s an Earthquake warning evacuation instructions on the train might be in
Japanese only and if you don’t understand just follow what everyone else does if you’re in a car it’s advised to stay inside of it and if possible park it away from power lines if you have to evacuate the car please leave the keys in the ignition so that
Rescue workers can move the car if they have to get it out of the way if you’re in a tall building stay away from the windows and just know that Japanese building and construction codes are extremely strict especially when it comes to earthquake safety and tall buildings are actually designed to sway
Back and forth during a large earthquake this is actually safer and makes the buildings less brittle so they don’t break it might be scary but nothing to panic about next all gas lines in Japan are designed to automatically shut off if there’s an earthquake greater than a
5.0 magnitude but if you’re staying in a house it doesn’t hurt to turn off the gas and the electricity after the shaking stops to prevent fires that covers the basics but it never hurts to do more research on these things yourself and I’ve personally lived in
Japan for over 5 years and I’ve never been bothered by earthquakes there have been a couple small ones but everyone seemed to really just go about their day there’s even a small earthquake during her first date that I went on once and they just said it was kind of funny
Timing and even kind of romantic so I hope that the possibility of earthquakes don’t prevent you from visiting such a lovely country but it’s always good to be prepared hey Wes here I hope you found these videos helpful and more to come so let me know in the comments if
There’s anything you’d like me to cover regarding traveling Japan learning the language or the cultural differences or anything at all actually so thank you for watching
2 Comments
I've missed your videos Wes. Great to see you back!
Cant wait for subway tour.