The Calm & Chaos of Van Life Japan

The Calm & Chaos of Van Life Japan

[Music] i don’t think I’ve ever been this chilled out guys I know I’m so relaxed Oh my goodness gracious me So the other day we were looking for a private onen And then I I just thought to myself I’ll just quickly check Airbnb And then we found this Airbnb with a private onen So we booked it And then we found a private onen that wasn’t an Airbnb And we went to it as you would have seen last week in last week’s video And then it turns out this Onson Airbnb was not refundable So we had to come to it still But so glad that we did Oh guys we’ve just spent the last 24 hours in an onen like just in and out of it And it does something to your skin I don’t know Like my skin feels different I’m so relaxed My back hurts less I don’t want to leave It It’s been the best experience ever Well we’ve still got our van so we got to go continue our van trip Unfortunately the van we were so pumped and now we’re just like we just want to chill out in on snow But we are very excited to get back on the road We have a lot to explore in this area We’re currently in Nachi and we are right next door to Japan’s tallest waterfall So we’ve got some amazing stuff that we’re going to go see but this Airbnb is just so cool We have obviously our own private onen We have our own private manga library I’ll give you the speed of Kali tour So we’ve got our bedroom there We’ve got our kitchen here We’ve got our toilet in there Of course it’s heated We’ve got our laundry here with a washer and dryer Then you got a mirror here with your sink And of course the main attraction our private onen It’s not the It’s not very aesthetic but I will never forget this place So the very difficult thing with this Airbnb is we’re parked on a main highway and we’re driving a big big RV So you ready megan’s going to direct me out Her worst nightmare She hates doing this Yeah cuz I was getting yelled at No you don’t Go I think so Go go go go go Is there someone coming no I can’t get in Oh god [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] It always feels like such a win when we find somewhere to park this thing Pretty easily All we have to do is buy something from this souvenir store and we get free parking Well paid parking but free Okay we got our souvenir Edible of course Sweet chocolate cake Now we were just going to come chuck it in the car and go but I want to try it It’s like a chocolate mud cake Good Tastes like free parking It’s actually really nice You didn’t tell me about these steps Every time you win down the steps There’s a lady carrying her dog down the steps right now Ready i’ll try and get it on camera Oh my god that’s so funny She’s staring like a baby That is brilliant Yeah Thankfully it’s not just us Literally every single person we passed on these steps is like Look at that There’s our first little shrine We haven’t actually said where we’re going have we oh yeah So we’re at the temple Nachi Nachi something Damn it We’ll put it on the screen there for you But of course it’s beautiful [Music] concrete If anyone was wondering they’re made out of concrete Kumano Nachi Taisha is nestled into the forest near Nachi Falls which is Japan’s tallest waterfall This place is over a thousand years old and blends both Shinto and Buddhist elements We’ve been to a few temples and shrines across Japan now and this one just makes you feel like you’ve stepped into some kind of old fairy tale Guys we’re walking through an 850y old tree right now This is insane Am I even going to fit in here Oh my gosh I don’t fit Oh my goodness I am in a tree right now So what you do guys is you buy a piece of wood on one side of the tree You write a wish on it Then you walk through the tree and when you come out the other side they believe that it comes true We only have 1,000 yen so we couldn’t buy a piece of wood to write a wish on So we’re just walking through the tree And that’s one of the coolest experiences I’ve had guys I’ve seen it but Megan hasn’t yet Oh I saw it I didn’t know you could see it from here Wow Gosh look at the pagoda That’s so pretty guys That is probably one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen That’s so pretty If that doesn’t make you want to come and visit Japan I don’t know why I wonder how old that is We need to Google that The shrine Yeah Where else do you get something like that next to something like that Doesn’t happen in many places That’s so cool The photo Megan just took is unbelievable You’re always gassing me up Hey why it is wasn’t that good what I love about Megan taking photos is she’ll go find somewhere different to where everyone else is taking the photo so that it’s not the same Is that right yeah But also just cuz I’m trying to like not get crowds and crowds of people in the photo as well And then it’s funny people like spot her with a big camera and then before you know it there’s people behind her waiting to take a photo But that that is stunning Jack doesn’t want to hike down there Are you telling everyone on me we have to Behind the scenes the first thing I said was “I’m not walking down there.” But Megan’s convincing me And every time we go “Ah good thing you convinced me We’re going down there [Music] [Music] What were you going to say i can’t believe we’re back here again We have every intention I swear on this trip We are going to branch out Now we’re going to try new food and show you all of this amazing food that Japan obviously has to offer But when you come across $150 sushi not even $150 $110 Australian for a plate of salmon sushi here guys It’s We can’t go past it It’s a no-brainer We can get like 12 plates of sushi for 20 bucks It’s It’s upset [Music] [Music] [Music] Well good morning everyone to the most beautiful breakfast we’ve ever had in our lives I have never seen a river this color before in my entire life It’s incredible And you can hear birds chirping and there seems to be like some whistling going on in the background Someone must be hiking and they’re whistling and it’s echoing through the whole gorge Mhm It’s really nice So calming Cheers Pineapple granola and yogurt guys Wicked breakfast Wa oh my god There’s the biggest bird above us Look at him Where’d he go he’s there Wa He came and checked us out That was huge Now you know he’s going to go there He’s going to tell his bear friends we’re over here with some fresh food His wingspan was like as wide as both of us sitting here He could have just swooped us up if he wanted to That was massive Anyway we don’t really have a plan for today They’ll be coming back Oh jeez that’s actually quite scary Mhm Yeah we don’t have a plan for today but we know where we’re going It’s a very long drive But instead of trying to plan every little detail of today’s road trip we’re just going to stop in anywhere that looks cool and hopefully we find something as cool as this because this is such a good start to the day I sent this to one of our friends a coffee catchup member and he said it looks he’s from Switzerland and he said it looks exactly like Switzerland which was really cool to hear We’ll have to go to Switzerland now guys to compare Also I did some research last night Black bears I found here have frequented the area Is that why we’re driving 3 and 1/2 hours in one day so we’re getting out of here By the way this was surely the most scenic road station we have ever been to ever go to I can’t see if there’s any cars coming Um yes there is cars coming Everyone’s stopping at the vending machines It’s just so normal But to us it’s like there’s a vending machine there Why is there a vending machine here all right Ready good Yep Let’s go And we’re off in an sun Come on Annie Son I can’t get over this That’s crazy Just look at it Do you think it gets old after a little while but there’s this mountain there Well no one else is looking at it They’re just looking at the vending machines [Music] Take a minute to brea right to check it It feels right Okay so we found not much on the way to our destination but we did find it in the blossom and we got a huge pool of some questionable microwavable stuff I will always have a microwave in a camper now They’re the best So to start off we’ve got some normal choices What’s that ham and cheese Ham and cheese microwavable wrap Probably the worst thing you could possibly buy but Oh my gosh I just dripped cheese everywhere Sorry Sorry It’s hanging off my hat I had it cleaned up I swear Yeah Lick my fingers At least we know that’s full of cheese It’s too hot Let’s put that away for a minute Is it good yeah it’s good So Jack got that And then he also got more ham and cheese and egg You have cheese all over your chin I got this cuz I just thought that broth looks really good So I’ll just put that away for another day A chicken and vegetable What do you call these again ongitty On a not bad Not bad Honey lemon chocolate gummies We have such different taste buds I mean I’ll try it but It tastes like I just brushed my teeth now Tastes like cleaning product Cleaning product Don’t have a clue That is really nice What is it i don’t know It smells like crab It’s squid It’s really tender though It’s not like chewy though That’s really nice Yum This here that has no English on it at all Looks like a little bun Is it sweet or savory it’s got like a mochi in it Mount mochi Huh What are the flavors that looks I thought that’s a nut Oh my gosh There’s nut in there A nut Mhm Like a walnut Megan got a ginger waffle Sounds interesting Oh my gosh You can like smell it just from here How much sugar is in that just butter and sugar It’s literally like biting into a stick of butter covered in sugar They’ve even got it right there Just a full stick of butter That’s the winner I think the winner is always every single time tuna mayo You can’t go wrong with it I want more of that Oh we forgot one thing This is like the most interesting thing cuz we were like “What the heck is that?” Big caramel corn Those three words wouldn’t usually go together in our supermarkets That is so bad for you Does it taste good it’s amazing It melts in your mouth That’s next up That tastes so processed Hey but so good That would be so bad for us Hello from the future from our very messy hotel room which I’m not going to give you a tour of for that reason We are here for two nights to hopefully get this video that you’re watching right now edited in time before heading back to Australia But don’t worry there’s still one more episode after this one coming of the Road Trip Japan series which while I’m here I do want to say as well thank you so much for all of the amazing feedback that we’ve gotten of the series so far It’s really really heartwarming and we’re just so happy that you’re enjoying it But I do want to talk about something that has actually been super super helpful throughout this whole trip even now and that is an app called Ubiji who are the paid partner of today’s episode UBI allows you to set up an ESIM for mobile data in over 200 destinations worldwide We’ve used it here in Japan and it has made life so much easier It activated from the moment that we arrived and we’ve had coverage even in the more remote parts of the country What’s really cool is you don’t need Wi-Fi or even data credit left on your phone to top it up which if you’ve used other eims before you know sometimes they just cap out on you without warning and there’s nothing that you can do about it until you get back into Wi-Fi And you can even share your data with someone else or hotspot a laptop to watch a movie way easier than dealing with local SIMs or hunting around for public Wi-Fi So if you’re traveling soon especially somewhere where you’re not sure what the coverage will be like it’s definitely worth downloading the UBG app and you can use our code Jack and Megan for a 10% discount head to the link in the video description below to check it out for yourself Yes guys that is a deal in the middle of a city Oh there’s two There’s two There’s three Oh my gosh So we’ve come to Nadia Park Very well-known place Very touristy I know We said we were going to stay away from the touristy spots but we got to come here I know if you get the chance to see this many deer Like we’re not even in the park yet And they’re everywhere They’re funny business All right They’re known to um buck at you and hit you And also what else do they do bite you Oh they bite you Yeah Oh my god Oh my gosh That’s so intimidating This guy’s getting absolutely mowled by deers That doesn’t look like a fun experience Are you ready okay so game plan We’re not going to do it here We’re going to get it somewhere a little bit more quiet And then you have to hide your biscuits and then just get out one at a time And then you they understand like sign language If you go like this that means I’ve got no biscuits left Leave me alone Yeah So hopefully that works Good gameplay cuz I’m scared Guys guys guys it’s hilarious Oh no What are we in for you never see this on social media No it’s always the very calm like “Oh look at the deer About the deer So peaceful.” Come for me Look there’s one coming straight for us Sorry buddy Are you gonna bow you gonna bow nope Oh so they’ve they know they know what’s going on How are we going to buy these biscuits right now guys as soon as I hand them over the deers go nuts You want me to do it buy it Yeah I’m kind of scared But then I’m going to have to hand it to you and put it in my bag straight away Okay Okay this is chaos guys There’s just a mix of like laughing and yelling with people getting bit getting bitten and then there’s crying This is such a contrast to where we start on the day All right I think you want to grab a biscuit out and we’ll finally feed one No she’s traumatized All right we’ll get further away and find a quiet spot We’ve been tailed guys He’s on to us What are you doing you want a cracker don’t you you are smarter You want a cracker all right You got one Can I try to do the bow there we go Yeah we’ll see if he bows Look he bowed He’s bowing He’s bowing Did he do it Oh good Good one Good boy Girl Girl or boy there you go guys First deer fed That wasn’t that bad Okay Can I do it now it’s the little things Yeah Are you going to bow your backpack’s undone by the way Bow There you go That’s so cool All right let’s go find a bigger one Don’t bite me Go away please Oh look He bowed at you Give him half As soon as the big ones Oh they’re all coming Good boy Oh hello He’s bowing Okay you and they’re all bowing Yeah take it Goodbye Show him your hands Show him your hands Not yet Go away bro The deer is currently crossing the boat guys What an interesting experience eh look there he goes He knows what’s going on He’s been here for a long time He’s all over it You know what I’m loving the most about this whole experience it’s It’s not the deers It’s the unknowing people that go up to the deers with a whole bunch of biscuits and they don’t realize that they’re going to get mauled And it’s it’s actually quite funny to watch Pretty cool The deer are so cute They’re very cute Look look there Someone’s getting chased right now It’s actually chaos Uh-oh Uh-oh Here comes one Here comes Hello Don’t have biscuits mate It’s a camera It’s a camera Sorry buddy A So cute Hello Can I pat you can I just give you a little pat okay never mind Bye-bye Nice meeting you Guys look at the little babies Look at the babies They are cute That was a big lick body Oh your eyes lit up didn’t they oh we’ve been spotted I’m sorry I don’t have biscuits That was a really good bow though This is actually one of my favorite things about Japan The fact that we’re surrounded by screaming tourists basically but then you can still always find little places that just feel really calm And it’s like that in Tokyo Like you can always find somewhere that’s just really really peaceful [Music] So guys we parked our truck here right and this automatically came up by itself We have absolutely no clue how to put it down Megan thinks you might have a problem You can tell that we never travel cities because it’s the first time we’ve ever encountered something like this before So what you’re putting our parking lot number yeah I need uh translate Wait And press the space key Yep So that’s that one Okay 880 880 We don’t have that Oh we got 1,000 yen Only takes coins What’s this then ah that should make this go Oh what happened nope Please go in Oh no Oh no We just got to go spend this We’re going to go find a vending machine Yeah Be right back guys Oh get that What pudding in a can Done It’s okay Yep We’ll get that We just thought we might as well get something interesting for you guys and us and us with our change we’re getting So oh Oh what happened why don’t you want to take our money we come here to spend money Doesn’t like it Come on What try another one Try another what another note I really wanted some pudding Hang on I got There’s another one There’s no pudding in that one I know but we’ve got to get something to get some change don’t we okay Coffee please Then we’ll get the pudding You want coffee that one okay You know what the funny thing is by the time we get back there it’s going to be warm now Oh true So maybe no pudding then We’ll definitely get the pudding Here we go Why is it beeping so much oh my god Oh Are you all right mate what are you meant to do i don’t know Just drink it That looks absolutely disgusting So the fact that it looks like it’s got chunks on the can is kind of intimidating Go Oh it smells good Is it thick mhm Is it nice it’s just like It’s just drinking pudding Spitting It’s like really thick custard Can you see that yeah Can you taste oh my gosh Yeah Luke would love this It’s custard in a can Is that Oh there’s people coming It’s so disgusting but good at the same time Yeah it’s the texture The texture is weird but the taste is good That can’t be good boy Who thinks of this stuff oh my god it went up What it went up Did it go up to Oh no guys Look it’s up to 1,100 now We don’t have that Oh we might have that Have a look We don’t have that I think we we might There’s no way Nine I think we got it We got it All righty We’re about to have so many coffees today Oh Oh no What happened i don’t think it takes 500 Oh your It doesn’t It says right there Have you got 350 no Oh here Yeah I’ll run over and get some more Okay Here 240 Okay Should just come down eh yeah it’s it’s done That was so much more stressful than I thought it was going to be What did you get from the vending machine that’s a wicked camera angle I got just another water Okay Megan’s Oh what megan’s found something guys That’s I was pretty impressed with her research pretty impressed with myself actually She’s very chuffed with herself So we’re going to head there now Wait till you see what it is It’s probably not even that exciting but it’s exciting to van lifers for sure Yeah this pudding is so weird Okay here we go So it’s here See look at giveaway I would say we turn right here Yeah Oh yeah Easy All right Where are you hello friends Hello big RV friends It’s been kind of a learning process to figure out what to Google to find places that we can park So auto campground is a good one Obviously we know the road station or Minoeki but we want somewhere that we can really situate ourselves and not have to move on like a Minoaki And also all of the campgrounds are like far out and we thought while we’re here in Japan we’ve never explored Kyoto properly together And I just think this is probably the last opportunity that we’re going to have So even though we wanted to stay out of the tourist areas we want to experience a bit of Kyoto And this is like right in the middle of the city almost It’s a genius idea So we’ve got this park up and we’ve got it for a full 24 hours We’ve got showers toilets even a washing machine and a dump point We got a dump point where you can throw your dirty dishwashing liquid stuff That’s something that is kind of rare with a lot of campsites as well And obviously there’s no showers at their road stations So very very happy with this spot And I think for a full 24 hours it’s going to cost us about 40 Australian So first of all I had to pay $10 to reserve the site and then we pay with the ticket when we leave But a full 24 hours So it’s not like a weird check in at this time check out at that time I honestly thought that there is no way that we will be able to find somewhere to stay in the city in the RV So pretty stoked There’s another conveyor belt sushi just down the road from where we parked up but we’re forcing ourselves to not have conveyor belt sushi for the fifth day in a row Are you sure you don’t want it no It’s pretty cool We should try something different We’re going to ramen cuz ramen as well Yeah but ramen like you always get a little bit of a different flavor or something happening Whereas sushi’s sushi is sushi that translates to ramen what we’re having for the I don’t know Here’s our dinner guys Look at that photos and all Oh look at that Megan That’s cheap Yum Yum We’ll get some of them Mhm And we’ll get some of that bit of pork Calm down Oh it’s all so cheap I have 100% been putting weight on 1,000% Oh look at all this ramen What is that thank you [Music] All right So this is what we got So it says to do this Wow That’s so cool And then scramble it Wait a little bit And then Yeah Scramble it I guess that’s Wow That’s wicked Now we have have our own fried rocks How cool is that guys we don’t we don’t go out normally Yeah And eat food like this So it’s like just egg and rice Wa That’s going to be hot as hot Yeah it’s steaming so much It’s good Good It’s got a bit chicken in there That’s really nice I think that’s biz Wa Look at that guys Want They give you some spring onion Cool So what did we get oh yeah So we just got um a ramen with all the toppings We got egg pork spring onion more spring onion if we want it there These are like little mushrooms aren’t they i need a fact checker I think some type of mushroom And then it looks like some kimchi Oh look at that guys We ordered medium Imagine if we got large You order in like a bucket My favorite part is the eggs guys Look they’re just always cooked perfectly Oh my goodness gracious [Music] Home sweet Got to take your shoes off Remember guys dinner cost $23 Is that right 23 or 24 24 24 bucks guys And then there was so much food we couldn’t even eat it all We couldn’t eat it all Um but then we we went and got some ice cream as well because my thought was we can get all cozy in the van chuck on some Harry Potter No Oh Megan wants to watch this other thing I want to watch How’s Moving Castle cuz I started reading the manga at the Airbnb and now I want to watch the movie cuz I’ve never seen it Um so this is the I just It’s not just ice cream guys This is genius idea If you eat ice you know what kind of ice I’m talking about not the other one And you eat plain ice I My sister does it my dad does it I do it We just love munching on ice cubes I stumbled across this the other day It’s called ice box right and it’s this weird fruit flavor and it comes like that there Tiny little ice cube And it is the best It’s flavored so it’s better than plain ice And I’m in love with it I always eat ice E Mhm Always I’ll eat if I get a Coke from a restaurant I’ll always just be there eating the ice and I won’t leave till it’s all gone So fun fact of the day I feel like this has just turned into a food review vlog but I got this It’s like the cone is on the outside See you got the ice cream in there They have some such good stuff here guys This was supposed to be a movie snack but then I remembered we need to shower real bad Mhm And then we’re going to get all cozy in bed and watch a movie and we don’t have a freezer so we have to eat our movie snack now We totally forgot Um but regardless we’re loving van life guys I feel like absolutely loving I feel like today has been the best day Yeah it’s like the day that it’s finally clicked for us cuz we were getting a little bit worried We’re like “Oh gosh maybe it’s not really for us It’s not what we expected It is very different to what we expected van life in Japan but I think it’s just taken us the time to get used to it.” Yeah And I I always say it in all our other videos we’ve done talking about van life I always say it takes you a while to get used to it And I think today we wake up and we’re like we both said we slept well last night and then it’s just been a great day Yeah So I feel like this is like this is the start This is the start of the journey now Yeah This is really it You really love me [Music]

We are continuing our RV road trip through the countryside of Japan and even attempt some city van life! Thanks Ubigi for sponsoring today’s travel vlog, head to the link below and use code JACKANDMEGAN for 10% your eSIM! https://rebrand.ly/UbigixJackandMegan

📍 Vlog Locations:
1. 那智温泉 南の湯 – Nachi Manga Onsen (AirBnb)
2. Kumano-Nachi Taisha
3. Nachi Waterfall
4. Hama-Sushi
5. Road Station Dorokyo-kaido Kumanogawa
6. Nara Deer Park
7. RVパーク 京都南 鴨川RVサイト
8. Rāmen Yokozuna

Wakayama, Nara & Kyoto Prefectures, Kansai Region

🚐 Check out Samurai Campers for van hire across Japan:

Home

(We hired ours from Osaka but they also have pickup locations in Tokyo, Hokkaido and Fukuoka)

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#roadtrip #japan #vanlife