Exploring Japan (Part I) – From Nagoya to Nagano. | A Journey of Culture and Scenery.

Ep 348 – Exploring Japan: Starting out in Nagoya before traveling to Nagano and beyond. It’s been over 37 years since I last visited Japan (Sasebo). Castles, ninjas, mountains, and some cool culture. SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss additional episodes of our Japan travel adventure.

We’re RANDY 🧍‍♂️ and TERI 🧍‍♀️… Since 2013, we’ve been enjoying the retired life in the islands of the Western Pacific. From Guam to the Philippines and beyond, we are sharing slices of life from the Tropic Shade™ and the Far East! Beaches, Adventures, Culture, Food, and More!

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So you got choice of fish or chicken what are you getting fish fish all right went with the chicken why does my chicken look like Pork it’s been 37 years since I last visited Japan Terry never has just a few years ago we tried getting her a Japanese Visa in Manila when she was still traveling with with their Philippines passport they caught us an Uber ride at Terminal 3 and we’re heading to the

Japanese Embassy but it proved to be an exercise in futility with mounds of paperwork and just way too many Hoops so we put it off until now now because she holds a US passport and it’s pretty much travel at will pretty much anywhere we first traveled to Manila and

After an overnight layover there we connected with our flight to ngoya United Airlines flies directly to Japan from Guam but the price was much more expensive than taking the two-legged route through Manila while in Manila we managed to kill much of the day at malesia and the

Rest of the day we entertained ourselves at Shaky’s Pizza back in 1979 when I was stationed in Guam I jumped aboard a space available military flight to atsuki Japan it was the first country I’d ever visited outside the United States while I thought Guam was a real eye- opening experience for me Japan

Completely blew my mind it was after all the Far East back in those days I don’t remember seeing any English anywhere especially on the train platforms where my only clue was the color of the train route itself Red Line Green Line yellow line Etc in those days you either read kanji

Or you didn’t have a clue about where you were going or what you were doing once we arrived in Japan I was pleased to see that there was much more English posted on signs and businesses and it made things a little more understandable but now we had an

Advantage our friends who traveled with us spoke Japanese and with the help of a language translator app on my phone things went pretty smoothly y c all right explain that to me what do you call this is called a enu Yar so it’s literal the the literal translation is

To prevent dogs from from coming uh dog proof yeah from I said coming didn’t I sorry but that’s from dogs from peeing on the the side coming too close to the wall upon clearing the airport we picked up our rental car and our first stop was

The Aon mall after 11 years living in the tropics we definitely needed to get outfitted for the cold wither ahead during our stay we meandered through the mall and did some shopping and have some lunch it’s like a Hostess but here the hostesses what is this here oh here’s A I want some good what it water look yeah yeah it’s a water yeah You’re oh my look at look at the bu oh my God you have old SP a room look at this is that amazing how much room they give Them short legs legs the pet store dog and cat displays here were like nothing we had ever seen before there’s so much carrying along with the space provided to allow these animals to live comfortably in captivity until adopted and or in this case sold they’re pretty much everywhere oh here’s an

H&M we later drove around ngoya for a bit and made our way to the historic ngoya Castle it’s one of the country’s most iconic and significant castles known for its imposing architecture and Rich cultural heritage we’re here at the ngoya Castle I think I understand it dates back about

Maybe 4 to 500 years 400 maybe this is the outer moat third or fourth think five there’s five there’s five Moes around those Castle this would be the outer moat let’s figure out where we’re at here think we’re right here and we’ve got to go all the way up up to therea

Castle and we got a ways to go sun is shining I can feel the heat feel the warmth it’s not that bad out this morning it’s about 45 maybe 45° Fahrenheit not too shabby for this tropical guy I bet this is absolutely beautiful in the summer huh yeah yeah the summer Sumo tournament is held here super bonsai Tree Blue Sky originally built in the early 17th century it has undergone various reconstructions due to fires and bombings during World War II the current reconstruction completed in 1959 combines traditional design with modern materials the castle complex includes several structures such as the main keep Towers Gates and surrounding stone walls

Inside the castle there are exhibitions and artifacts that describe Japan’s feudal history going back several hundred years the castle stands as a symbol of resilience and preservation and Architectural splendor After roaming around the castle grounds it was time to find our hotel for the night before heading north to mamut the next morning most hotel lobbies display any amenities that you might need for your stay and it can include anything from coffee and tea to toothbrushes and

Toothpaste and you just take what you need before heading up to your room one hotel we stayed at even had an assortment of ice popsicles for your enjoyment nobody can ever say that you don’t get your money’s worth in a hotel room in Japan better they’ve got everything they’ve got coffee they’ve

Got lotions they’ got everything they got cable charger for your phone they got hair dryer we got television with adult channels it’s a small room but man loaded with amenities it’s got a humidifier you got charging station here headlight with clock and it’s got a massage chair can’t complain about this little room

And the shower is awesome I think for most anyone visiting Japan for the first time probably the most intriguing thing is the Japanese toilet I know that might sound weird but with all the features it sure can be a spoiling Adventure I actually counted about 15 features on one hotel toilet during our

Stay and yes I pushed all the buttons in order to experience one of Japan’s glorious wonders later that afternoon we took to the streets of ngoya and later found ourselves below ground in a subway station we decided to hop a train to see where it would take us and as luck would

Have it it dropped us off in the neighborhood where we found a cool little wine Bo where we fasted on some heavy ordes with a little wine and some craft beers you guys killed two bottles of wine already wow show me the way wow we’ve been here

A while haven’t we then it was back to the hotel where I just had to investigate the hotel’s public bath when in Japan hey D one of the amenities at this hotel was the public bath traditionally public bath houses known as Cento in Japanese have been a traditional part of Japanese

Culture for centuries while their popularity has somewhat declined due to the widespread availability of private baths in private homes they still hold a special place in Japanese Society they also served as social hubs where people could relax and socialize with Neighbors when visiting a Cento there

Are some etiquette rules that need to be followed such as washing thoroughly before entering the communal baths keeping quiet and not bringing towels into the baths with the rise of Home bathing facilities the popularity of sento has declined however in recent years there has been a Resurgence of interest in

Traditional culture leading to efforts to preserve and Revitalize sento some Modern Cento now offer additional amenities such as massages cafes or even art exhibitions to attract customers I just needed a hot bath when I visited there was nobody there so I took full advantage of the hot pool and did some

Relaxing the next morning we would head north to Matsumoto in the Nagano prefecture in the central chubu region of Japan where we would visit the Matsumoto Castle before heading north into the Japanese Alps where we would try our hand of some skiing so make sure you subscribe and hit that notification

Bell so you won’t miss the next installment of our Japan adventure and as always thanks for watching a huge thanks to all our patreons who without your support this channel would not be possible for realtime updates follow us on Instagram Facebook Tik Tok and and always remember never give up on a

Dream and we’ll see you next [Applause] Time