The Most UNDER-RATED City To See In Japan

0:00 – A City With Two Secrets
2:39 – Atmosphere at Gora Kadan
5:13 – Life Changing Relaxation at the Onsen
7:24 – Traditional Japanese Eating
12:27 – Hunting Mt. Fuji

Hey everyone!

Seeing Mt. Fuji was one of the highlights, not just of the trip, but of my entire life. Hakone is definitely not the only place to catch some incredible views of her majesty. If you want a good list of places to get some iconic views of this epic mountain, check out the link below:

https://www.japan.travel/en/fuji-guide/views-of-fuji/

I also have two other channels!

One of them is for documentary, commentary and reactions:
@gatezvlog

The other channel is for business and finance stuff:
@gatezenterprise

God bless everyone!

when you visit Japan for the first time there are a few cities that get most of the attention Kyoto Osaka Fukuoka of course Tokyo but out on the countryside there’s a city no no not even a city rather a town named hakone which you’ve probably never heard of but which also houses two hidden gems for the country first is this amazing roken and quite possibly the most relaxing Hotel you’ll ever stay at Gora kadan second is the Crown Jewel of the country Mount Fuji [Music] herself if you want to experience real authentic Japanese culture participating in every aspect of it from your wardrobe to your surroundings to your Cuisine then nothing beats staying at what some claim to be the oldest style of hotel in the world the Japanese ends otherwise known as rans and if you want to get a glimpse at the Majesty of one of the Earth’s most stunning Vistas there’s not much that can compare to the diamond Mount Fuji join us while we take you on a Zen Adventure through our lens in the worldclass accommodations of gor kadan and stay with us as we visit and see Japan’s largest mountain for the first time ever in person [Music] [Music] [Music] uh that means please subscribe in Japanese sorry if I butchered that deep in the Japanese Countryside about an hour’s train ride away from Tokyo’s Mega city is a hotel nestled in within the overgrowth of a hillside upon arrival we were given a small gift one of many that we’ received throughout the state a chestnut Mochi the arrival gift begins to reveal the underlying concept behind the roken that this location is a showcase for Japanese culture specifically old Japanese culture maintained and spared through places like gorak kadan and practiced as though their Traditions have been left untouched by the modern urbanism of the outside world Japanese culture as I experienced it seems to revolve around peace and z men Oneness with nature and a respect for one’s surroundings that’s long been lost to these entitled times part of respecting your surroundings is respecting the culture and the requests that it makes of you like changing out of your Dragon Ball Z sweater and Dawning garbs more in line with 8th Century Japan I have to say the change of outfit does change your mind a bit as you buy in more to the quietness around you growing up in a generation filled with noise nothing but noise noise in every corner every second from the moment we wake until the moment we sleep opting for noise the iPhone generation would do well to heed the warning implied by places like this that a world without quietness and tradition loses itself and that luxury is not always about fancy rooms 500 ft above sea level overlooking some Concrete Jungle Sometimes luxur can be found on the ground floor connecting with the very trees that we’re so quick to avoid you’ve been able to see very clearly that the rooms here are quite Barren of Technology save for the lights and a very small TV that’s begging to be ignored the charm of the place Believe It or Not comes from the sliding doors the beds on the floor the lack of chairs next to your table as you prepare your coffee or tea it is an invitation to only live with what you absolutely need and I’m telling you there is an abundance of wisdom in that now that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing to do here by the way far from it let’s head to one of the main selling points of our stay here before arriving at our final spot we passed a couple of other amenities of note throughout the hotel like the gift shop the fitness center and the pool all lovely but the peace there is resistance was definitely the [Music] Onsen for the uninitiated an Onsen is a naturally occurring hot spring providing geothermal water rich in minerals that people can visit and relax in these onsens exist all over Japan and are normally surrounded by a roken like this one or some other type of lodging to stay close by it’s very common for for these wash buckets and shower heads to be provided so that you can rinse thoroughly before entering and After exiting the spring water this emphasis on hygiene is evident throughout the Japanese culture as they keep themselves and their surroundings constantly clean the Onsen is no different in gorak kadan they’ve done a wonderful job of incorporating the surrounding nature of the hot spring into a structure that fits the atmosphere perfectly a close by sauna uses the steam generated from the hot spring to provide an otherworldly heat therapy while the surrounding natural environment is nice enough to Simply sit down and enjoy for a while everything here seems so perfectly manicured and curated to give you that zen-like experience some might even call it a spiritual Retreat to be in a place like this I imagine it’s in moments like these when the silence and Solitude of the earth shine through that people really discover who they are maybe that’s a bit much but it’s what I felt that by itself more than justifies the price of Entry here as night time settled in I tracked back to our room where a new experience was awaiting us [Music] one of the great joys of staying at gorak kadan is experiencing their menu of authentic Japanese Cuisine rather than sit at a traditional restaurant the food is brought directly to our rooms where we can sit comfortably on the floor and feel what it would have been like to dine in Imperial Japan according to our host no dinner can truly begin until we cheers so after being served plum wine and some very vibrant sake we were ready to receive our food growing up in America I can safely say that our culture was devoid of most of the foods that were served to us here and sadly that’s not a good thing Japan replaces the overprocessed junk of the American pallet with Whole Foods primarily centered around seafood and local vegetables the plates are very austere while still feeling unique and creative a very curious balance to strike with such seemingly simple dishes the feast itself was made up of nine courses total and listing them all here briefly it was an appetizer or derv soup Sashimi grilled dish simmered dish small dish rice dish and dessert we We Must Have Spent A good 2 hours just sitting down and eating making us feel like the emperor’s special guest back in the 1800s of course Michelle and I weren’t entirely used to some of the Bolder Japanese flavors but that didn’t stop us from trying everything presented to us it was a delight to experience the care and craft that went into passing every single plate our way and while the foods were different and excellent they still weren’t the best part of our dinner for us the service from our wonderful hosts brought this meal from special to Unforgettable you see our host was a connoisseur of tradition and as such he would always bow twice prior to entering our room now since Michelle and I aren’t royalty I’d be lying if I told you that it didn’t feel strange or awkward but it was also incredibly endearing the hotel staff treated a couple of American foreigners as though they were family a fact that I’ll always hold close to my heart and Beyond simply bowing our host graciously served us all of our food and explained every dish in depth even telling us how to eat certain things by the end of the meal he felt more like a brother than a host having left a lasting impression on both of us [Music] [Music] happy smile very yeah here aert big size yes really big have you ever had one no oh that is not what I was expecting this is like [Music] jell and so with dinner being a rousing success we closed out our night in bed to rest up for the last adventure in this city [Music] [Applause] [Music] we did get to enjoy one final meal at gorak kadan which was breakfast the following morning the breakfast here centered around a freshly caught fish grilled to Perfection and served with a smorgas board of Japanese fixings no eggs no bacon no pancakes no ham no hash browns just healthy fuel for the day imagine that our host Kai was very sweet to us knowing that we’d be departing soon Kai even gave Mishi a little going away present which was super nice super nice I wanted to hug him but I don’t know if that’s appropriate to do yeah so we just bowed but I really wanted to hug him he’s so sweet and so with that we were were driven from gorad Don to the local cable car station in a private car commissioned by the hotel which was much [Music] appreciated the journey up the mountain close to hakone was peaceful and punctuated by moments with pretty incredible views Pit Stop got to make a transfer over to a gondola [Music] but I’d say that the fun really began when we got onto the gondola and started trekking up the final stretch of mountain where we eventually made it to an opening and the reveal of Mount Fuji I told you it was right over this hill the whole cable car just kind of like erupted because we can see Mount Fuji and that is an impressive freaking Mountain that is an incredible Mountain the town at the end of the road was nestled between a volcanic field sping sulfur and a small Forest this sulfur field was active enough that being outside had a faintly unpleasant scent that intensified as you got closer but the smell dissipates as you walk towards the commercial center which for some reason has a wild obsession with these black eggs here’s Hello Kitty in a black egg and here’s the actual black EG itself which is sold and promoted everywhere here but the volcanic fields and black eggs are just a footnote the real reason to come here is to have a clear unobstructed view of the tallest mountain in the country Mount Fuji sometimes in life you get to these like Mama I made it moments having Mount Fuji in the background that’s one of those moments at 12,300 FT high this dormant volcano Juds so far out of the earth that it’s clearly visible all the way from the coal town of pone 40 Mi away it’s a unique Mountain because of how absolutely it Towers over the nearby mountains making it unmistakable it’s no wonder that the Japanese have chosen this as the ubiquitous symbol of their nation and that was our adventure through the small unknown town of hakone if you enjoyed this video give this video a like so I can make even more of them and a subscribe to the channel would absolutely make my day I mean I’m not a very big Channel this would be awesome I will catch you all on the flip side peace oh [Music]