I Tried Walking Across Tokyo in a Day ⛩️

it's nine o'clock in the morning we're in asakusa the most busiest place in Tokyo and we're about to begin a 20 kilometer walk across the world's biggest city let's go how much of Tokyo can you see in a single day on foot we're about to find out over 37 million people call the greater Tokyo area home it's an overwhelming Mega City packed with unique districts hidden streets and mouth-watering theme today our 20 kilometer Journey will take us the length of the Ginza line that starts East in the traditional District of asaksa and runs all the way to Shibuya in the west side of the city amidst the chaos of the world's busiest Crossing along the way we'll encounter the bustling amioko Market in Bueno get lost in a video game store in Akihabara and grab a drink in the gritty neon Alleyways of shimbashi hopefully by the end of this video you'll get to know your way around the city and discover what makes Tokyo such an exciting and rewarding place to explore I love walking across toky but I don't want to do it alone it's a bit lonely isn't it I wanted to bring a friend I wanted to bring a bodyguard and most importantly of all I needed someone to carry my bags it's my third best American friends Pete Premier too how you doing this backpack is heavy and I won't even get something clear here you're telling me that you took Connor to Hokkaido Joey to the beautiful island of Okinawa and I get to be your pack mule as we walk 500 kilometers across rainy Tokyo you're so much more than just a Pack meal yeah yeah you're a stylish pac-manuel look at that hat thanks crap all right a saxo is undeniably Tokyo's biggest tourist hot spot and it's not hard to see why it's the Charming side streets filled with traditional architecture leading up to the imposing sensorji Temple the oldest Temple in all of Tokyo dating back to the 7th Century some call the neighborhood a tourist trap but despite the crowds you're never far away from a quiet corner where you can pause for a moment and admire the sheer beauty of the temple and the neighboring five-story Pagoda towering overhead and honestly to experience that moment alone I think asakusa is definitely worth a visit this this is USA and uh it's probably the busiest place in Tokyo right now on a Saturday don't know why we've come here our Journeys start with a single step and we chose the busiest the busiest step so you know people often say the videos are scripted right yeah this one's not scripted and you're gonna you're gonna see that very quickly there's no plan today we know where we're starting we know where we finish that's it we don't know what happens in between I find it hard to believe that anyone would think that what we do is scripted because I can barely string together a sentence that's very true well here we go this is the most famous streak that I can remember leading up to like the biggest temple in Japan I don't know if it's actually like the biggest size but since soji on New Year's forget about it five six hour wait send soji dude on that bird I'm so sorry he nearly killed a bird that would have been the worst possible opening to the video twin or gray our impending Expedition we battle our way through the crowds to the giant urns spewing out incense smoke in front of the temple to wish ourselves some much needed Good Fortune for the road ahead before your long walk Pete you've got to breathe in the smoke that's sensation reminds me of my dad's old apartment oh God from our long journey today I feel good so now we're baptized in the fires of Saint soldier who came there get the journey underway and more importantly get some food okay I haven't had any breakfast yet Look Who's Back Pete your friend oh it's my good friend the hotter stop killing the birds we're in a queue right now for what's called Taiwan big Fried Chicken of course I was gonna stop to get it zero surprise well he's pretty [ __ ] big as well it's massive and there's a hundred people eating it around this area look at the queue alone for big Fried Chicken well you took a bite you know chickens are not usually shaped like he's back for more sorry I feel like is this his friend or what did I do it's like having five or six family Mark Fried Chicken stuck together it's very good but maybe a bit too big when you order a big Fried Chicken you get a big Fried Chicken in the designated Fried Chicken eating zone so because I feel guilty dragging Pete around Tokyo for the rest of the day with his appendix recently removed very true I thought I want to give you a little reward as a thank you so every District we go to in Tokyo I'm gonna give you 2 000 Yen about twenty dollars and you can buy whatever you want are you serious present for your friend a present for yourself food drink trinkets you name it whatever you want okay so anything I want anything you want every place we go to yeah power overwhelmed 2000 Yen well you've got a camera in the backpack if you do buy something oh Keane just spend his 2 000 Yen pocket money Pete leaves us down nakamus history the crowded 250 meter long approach to the sensorji temple and it soon becomes clear when it comes to spending the money Pete might need a helpful nudge in the right direction you know to buy the correct things see I'm not going to tell you how to spend your money but there's a strawberry on a stick there are you suggesting that yeah if you decide it's your money ah I think I've decided I want a strawberry on a stick now oh isn't it actually still got a thousand yen left yeah well it's only nice of me too I suppose share with you my glorious benefactor all right well to the first of my many presents Kanpai oh go ahead enjoy something's caught my eye might I interest you in a floaty beer keychain no we'll be having real beer later we don't need a keychain then my second choice we can put that on the bag oh it's like uh when I get to see the beer later I can make those guys so I feel like oh yeah well we leave asakusa 2000 impora and I'm not entirely sure it was money well spent but for a more in-depth video exploring asakusa over two days including what to eat and where to stay be sure to check out my previous visit with ryotaro linked below now being in Japan is all well and good but what happens when you go to a hotel room to get over the jet lag and you can't access all your website services or even Netflix in the way you would back home and that's where today's sponsor expressvpn comes in expressvpn is an app that lets you change your online location loads of websites and streaming services actually have different content libraries for every country Netflix in Turkey for example has all of the Lord of the Rings films in Germany they have my favorite movie Goodfellas and here in Japan they have the best anime selection by far including weekly episodes of One Piece it's as simple as opening up expressvpn changing your location to Japan tapping the button refreshing and now you have instant access to 24 seasons of One Piece yes but it's not all about fun expressvpn protects your online security as well by encrypting your traffic if you ever use public Wi-Fi while traveling around as I do anyone can connect to the same Wi-Fi network and potentially steal your information account logins passwords and that is why I always have expressvpn on when I'm traveling it's just not worth taking those risks protect yourself online and have fun on Netflix go to expressvpn.com forward slasher panel check it out in the description box below find out how you can get three months free now back to our long walk across Tokyo our next stop is oweno the gateway to Tokyo where the fastest train from Narita Airport the KC Skyliner for many Travelers ueno is the first Port of cool when arriving in Tokyo home to an abundance of hotels and the Beautiful Labyrinth that is ueno Park the Pinnacle of the neighborhood is the busy Market Street that runs beneath the tracks of the yemenotail welcome to amioko Market you'll never find a more wretched Hive of scum and villainy I say that because it's the American Marketplace my kind of people let's go let's go what is going on a wretched Hive of scum and Melanie while Yoko means Market the AME and amayoko is said to be a reference to the years after the second world war when the streets became a bustling black market for American Products others claim Amir is a reference to the candy stores that traditionally a popular feature of the market given AME is the Japanese word for candy either way today as you make your way through the crowds you can find everything from fish and spices to clothing and cosmetics there are Bargains to be found on each and every corner it's completely overwhelming but thank God Pete has me around to help him choose how to spend his 2000 Yen correctly all right Pete I don't want to tell you how to spend your money I know a bar that does whiskey on the street on the street whiskey right here right now yeah I guess my heart's telling me I could really go for a whiskey on the street if you know a place I've got 2 000 yen [Applause] what the heck is that that my friend is a mega highball for a Mega Man I'm bigger than my head that is the second thing it's not as if you're walking across Tokyo today yeah well it's my 2000 Yen and you won't shame me on how I spend it right [Music] money was spent on a journey well-earned that doesn't make any sense they're not scripted it's incredible without any degree of manipulation once again Peter spent 2 000 Yen his own money and something that I wanted not only a delicious plum wine but also some very juicy delicious Yakitori thigh skewers it's chicken thigh that's great all of this for almost exactly a little bit under 2 000 Yen enjoy my generosity although you are paying for this oh good morning yeah it's my money you're one of your rules one thing I'll say about amioko is well asakus is very sort of touristy and all the shops feel a bit artificial as though they're catering to tourists here it actually cater to real just everyday life normal people so the shops have an authenticity to them a grittiness to them that isn't polished that isn't for Taurus and that is why I think I like this place the most so we're gonna give it our thumbs up thumbs down system three two one absolutely all right easy easy up and before we carry on to Pete's favorite spot Akihabara oh just down the road got one little treat here one little place okay actually just over here right the hustle and bustle of the market holds a little secret I only found out recently come check this out okay so above the main shopping street right the craziest my busiest place in Japan on a Saturday there's a little Temple a little Shrine up here hidden and it's really quite quaint and peaceful until Pete gets there wow this is awesome I had no I've been on I'm Yoko like many many times I never seen this place before [Music] this is the innoshishi it's the boar that's actually the year I was born 1983. let's go who's with okay no one um I know but this is the last of the cycle of all the different animals and this one if you touch it it gives you like strength power and good fortune if you touch me you get debt Misfortune and disappointment I don't know if this is true but I heard it from a Japanese friend uh when you throw a coin in that has a hole in the middle whether it's 5 unit 50 supposed to be better fortune and since that's my animal hoping that worked out so when you come to a shrine in Japan you can leave your wishes on a bit of wood and hang out and some people have written like a whole essay about how they would really want like a PhD and someone's just written I wish a happy life with my significant other just the sort of level of death people go into but it's nice we would write one more we've got to move on to Akihabara electric town [Music] so edueno and Akia bar are actually pretty close but there's like nothing in the middle it's just like these really grimy boring sort of office streets of nothingness so I like this you like it this is actually one of my favorite parts of living in Tokyo why because in America right you must drive everywhere unless you live in like New York or Santa Monica right so like just the fact that I can go from like the busiest part of ueno and then walk to Akihabara another favorite spot fair enough it's great full of whiskey and strawberries we're now four hours into our journey across Tokyo arriving in Akihabara electric town the colorful capital of Japanese pop culture and as a self-professional taku Pete feels right at home as we make our way downtown it's got everything you need no games game centers Burgers Ramen done also made cafes if you're into that I know you are but I'm not I am not tempted to go in I think I'm tempted to apply who wouldn't want to spend a paid a pancake with me the rest is a maid I feel like I've got an opportunity here so guys we're not together we're a little bit behind schedule five kilometers in some people are slacking a little bit are you kidding me you're carrying their weight I'm carrying your pick up the pace a little bit more Pete but you do have 2 000 Yen and I know a great little taco restaurant oh really good because I don't give a [ __ ] because listen we're in Akihabara I'm buying some video game Goods we got your strawberries and we got your stupid [ __ ] this is on me I want my stuff what do you want then I want some lame ass toy from King of Fighters you don't even know what that is but I'm getting it and it's for me we are going to Super potato the most famous Retro Game Store in Japan and I'm going to buy something for me video games all right something Charming about seeing all these old adverts from when I was a kid it's awesome the sweet potato is like one of the coolest retro game stores in Tokyo it's pricey because the condition of the stuff is pretty damn good actually but you gotta pay big but oh yeah 2000 Yen what can you get Pete maybe I can get a tiny slime keychain I'm a little I I got bulgy but I'm looking for something something memorable something that I feel like something a bit more iconic than a boring keychain can't we could do better we could do better I found the perfect gift there's only one problem not for sale Mario underwear not for sale well I hate him because when I play Pokemon everyone says that we look the same and I King hate it I see a resemblance I hate you I hate all of you that'll do you look like you've stolen it well I got the receipt don't worry about it paid in full we pay in full that's right so we're here in atihabara at the iconic Crossing and the Sega building is gone gone absolute disgrace replaced by gigo geigo [ __ ] the gaming Oasis get in the gaming Oasis I'm sorry I'm sorry it sucks to see such an iconic building go it does it does it's strange how like you care that much about like a brand logo but seeing Sega there it's there's a nostalgic connection to like the 80s the 90s when Japan was leading the technological front and now it's geigo Geiger guy go Tokyo often feels like several cities wrapped into one not just because of its endless scale but the jarring transition between neighborhoods if asakusa Parks back to the Edo era Japan and Buenos amayoko Market maintains a gritty post-war era revive the area surrounding Tokyo Station feels like modern day Tokyo full of Monolithic skyscrapers dominated by corporate Japan given it's just several blocks away from the colorful chaos of Akihabara as the quiet streets fill almost sterile and characterless in comparison but the area is dominated by Tokyo Station the busiest station in all of Japan by train traffic with 4 000 trains arriving and departing daily and 5 000 commuters passing through it every single day attack bullet trains Bound for Osaka and Hokkaido leave here every hour making the disorientating interior filmora kin to an airport at times can't believe we made it all the way to take a station all the way from our saxa I can't feel my back it was walking thank God I've got that backpack on I'll finish me off odds are there if you're coming to Tokyo you will pass through take a station at some point and it is chaos like Beyond Compare inside it and every time I come to Tokyo from Sendai I come here so if you ever run into me in Tokyo odds I'd probably be somewhere around here my only criticism is and I've said this in a previous video Japanese modern architecture is a little bit unoriginal you mean look at Tokyo station there's like six or seven skyscrapers surrounding it towering over it they're all very Bland unoriginal and uninspiring it's a bit of a shame and it's really hard trying to talk seriously when I've got Mr [ __ ] mime staring at me over the camera I'm sorry oh my God I love the way as today goes on you're just getting drowned in more and more objects yeah it's it's kind of unsettling I think my favorite was the Mega highball actually my favorite it's all downhill from there favorite thing actually right there Tokyo Station built over a hundred years ago and I bet you thought I didn't know that did you well surprise I was a Japanese history minor in college what else can you tell us about Japanese history well I can tell you that took about a million bricks to build this thing and it was that rare time where they were really influenced by the Western culture so I think the architecture especially is I don't know what it is but it obviously reminds me of the west but it has that Japanese aesthetic to it I really love this this station and also it's our Midway Point that's it Midway no we're not done come on well we're now seven hours into our journey and as the Winter Sun starts to set early and billboard lights begin to flicker on across the city we find ourselves heading into shimbashi a business district dominated by high-rise towers and once home to my favorite building in all of Tokyo tragically recently dismantled forever bugger so we made it to shimashi but there's a hole in my heart left where the Knack again capsule Tower was just one year ago I was stood here in front of one of my favorite buildings in Tokyo in Japan and now it's gone and in fact the last video I did with Pete was us coming here to watch it being demolished like capsule by capsule now it's gone and soon there'll be just a bland generic boring building there I don't want to kind of shimmashi ever again just bitter memories I think I know where I want to spend my money about the good times you good oh yeah let's go this way if you're into photography shimashi is such a good like nighttime spot I used to come here a lot to do photos with friends and there's so many like so much chaos there's the Train's running there's the tall buildings that sort of it's a really intense place and uh yeah nighttime photography perfect it sounds such easy to say this I hate to admit it but like what I like about living in Tokyo and what I like about living in Japan is that every station has its own kind of identity ah it sounds so dumb but you'll always find something new when you're going to a station for the first time in shimbashi I never been to before other than like yeah maybe like a business some meeting or lunch but never at night it's pretty sick I'm enjoying it give it all the offices in shimmashi the Alleyways in between are a hive of activity in the evenings after work salary men stuff their faces and drown their sorrows and after spotting some empty seats nestled within Pete and I joined them for a well-earned meal what better way to celebrate the demise of nakagin tower than to ruin our diet with some fried potatoes Caesar salad fried chicken and of course the lemon sour yeah common drink in Japan you got the apple sour Kanpai what do you think about the sour drinks again it's pretty cool we're down the most cyberpunk looking Alleyway I've seen in Japan I've never eaten anywhere around this area it's so bustling even though it's like December it's pretty cold outside it's a really good atmosphere really good vibe I don't know about you but I feel destroyed we're walking it's five o'clock now and we've been walking since nine so eight hours of walking you guys might be thinking well it doesn't look like you brought that much on camera but all the walking in between we haven't really filmed it that much because it's pretty boring right it's just us walking along doing nothing it's been tough we've probably got three or four hours left ahead of us all the way to Shibuya but after the Caesar salad and french fries they'll be ready to go and re-energize now she's a salad and french fries the traditional cuisine of Japan a fine meal indeed so we finish up and trade the neon lit streets of shimmashi for this strikingly lit Tokyo Tower in neighboring Shiba Park Pop Quiz viewers which Tower is the best Tokyo Skytree or we go on Eiffel good job Tokyo Towers the number one best lighting best construction and honestly it's badass when you see it in person you don't agree with me take it up with Mr mime JK Tower one of the few buildings in Tokyo looks better at night than it does during the day look at that what a beauty I can't believe we made it here we've come all the way here from asakusa and we've still got like 10 kilometers to go oh it's like that while we're here at Tokyo Town yo dude look at that yeah you get the twitch streamer yeah we got the other game oh man of the of the 20 plus people we've run into so far I've recognized this and stuff that was the best place that was my favorite because the guy setting up a shot by ducking down you had like I was on the floor trying to get a shot of Tokyo Tower's reflection and one of the guys went to Pete sorry do you know Chris Broad and he was like where's Chris Brown he was like he's right here bro he's like what do you mean right here he's literally on the floor and then the two guys you know it hey what's up that was a good [ __ ] got more surprises dude I'm watching videos for eight yeah now you're in the video yes friends well that was ridiculous well I'm talking about getting spoiled we got spider game yep it's cool though like now that obviously foreign tourists are back things are livened up a bit in Tokyo and Tokyo feels like it's connected to the world once again right really yeah for the last two years it's just been disconnected and it's not been fun so to meet folks around the world has been really awesome Tokyo's back in business that's crazy so guys somehow we've made it to ripongi When The Nightlife capitals of Japan and the grittiest place in Tokyo perhaps it gets a bad rap and rightly so in some respects there's lots of nightclubs and Hostess clubs here it's a very popular place in foreigners as well often if you're a foreigner living in Tokyo you'll be coming here for something even though I made a video talking about Roppongi and Shibuya being kind of a dangerous hot spot for tourists getting scammed it is a good place it's a good place for a night out and there's all sorts of things to eat drink do it's not that bad after all but what's Pete gonna do with this 2000 Yen how is he gonna spend it is he going to spend it in a very seedy fashion probably he's pee CD how dare you I'm gonna take my 2 000 Yen and I'm gonna spend it at Don Quixote the greatest store in all of Japan because it's got everything food Electronics clothing you name it they've got it it's my turn what an extendable bare hand you don't want one yes look at that that is the hand of a bear at what point does someone think yes I want an extendable bear I would argue never but there's eight missing somebody's [ __ ] bought them I kind of like the squeeze gorilla more for disappointment stress three colors [Music] questionable buying decisions made Pete grabs his purchases as I start to regret giving him 2 000 Yen what is he doing oh dude listen it's all about love and peace here in rapongi my man stressed squeeze on my little gorilla sack look at that mission accomplished squeeze for the stress that you've caused me a weird sake flavored KitKat big surprise heard these are good and the real treasure my extendable bear claw and I still saved 500 yen let's go satisfied with his donkey hole to his side quest we head to rapunzi Hills the Glamorous Tower with sweeping views over Tokyo but not before we passed a rather intriguingly branded Casino the blow Roppongi dragon and it's got written here Elton blow Casino do you know how to blow Pete I know how to blow a lot of money at a casino but I don't exactly that's that's a really weird image it's like how to lose Casino honestly some interesting branding choices as we stand in the street pondering how to blow Casino we bump into another viewer icky who's enamored by Pete's dodgy purchases oh dear and uh what do you think of uh peach stuff that he's bought here wait I can't lie I gotta go with I gotta go with a Mr mime I am loving that jacket oh absolutely loving that jacket don't don't feel his jacket either it's my choice I told you that boss jacket is found this at a vintage store what have you done feel good there you go handshake on that one thank you very much absolutely that's great thank you thank you very much it was a pleasure I feel great this is the best trip ever [Music] it's insane seeing the Tokyo Tower in the distance it gives you some idea of just How Far We've walked and that was not even the starting point it's in the distance over there right yeah I love that this building is covered in fog do you see that that's the tallest building in Tokyo that's awesome you're awesome no you're awesome how is the stretch gorilla so we're on the home straight now Shibu is about two or three kilometers Straight Ahead down that road pretty knackered I'd like to think with all the walking we've done all the exercise we've probably burned a lot of calories but when you think of the [ __ ] show that has been what we've eaten along the way from Big Fried Chicken to strawberries covered in Sugar on a stick to my most recent purchase the KitKat socket my favorite kitkats in the world have you ever had these Pete I've never even seen those these are just kitkats flavored like sake and I had an addiction to these like when they came out three or four years ago all right so wait these are sake flavored kitkats they have any alcohol in them like you know the whiskey chocolate you know what I think they actually had like point zero one percent alcohol and like kids couldn't buy them as a result wow that's what I remember when they came out if you look here it says alcohol content point zero four percent wow and therefore kids can't buy them I wanna take a bite for science I will try one of these kid cats foreign people go [ __ ] crazy because I don't snap them in half what you're supposed to do it is kind of monstrous yeah but like look at the size of it this is monstrous you can't split this properly it just looks a bit stupid oh this looks like a horror film the way it's all it here's chocolate [Music] wow that's really good yeah let the addiction begin KitKat Revelations out of the way and our legs battered from walking we nevertheless continue our last stretch of the journey onwards to Shibuya Crossing it's the strangest segment of our entire trip there's both Roppongi and Shibuya are incredibly bustling at night and yet somehow the stretch in between is eerily devoid of signs of Life save for the endless concrete overpasses [Music] foreign [Music] yes there we go yeah Shibuya scramble one of the busiest intersections on planet Earth and the ending of our journey what's up my friends yes got some interesting statistics number one okay we travel 25 kilometers oh my God number two we did 30 000 steps easy and number three we burn off a measly 1500 calories which doesn't even cover the big fried chicken and kitkats we ate what on the way today so well that sucks yeah well it was fun and I hadn't I hadn't moved that much in my entire life so thank you for bringing me well done and well done to all our little characters thank you to everybody who said hello to us some of those who are featured in the video thank you Icky although I wasn't happy about it keep propping up his ego with his jacket what have you done ecky I loved it it was good fun well it's been really fun like I highly recommend walking across Tokyo don't do the whole thing the bit between Rapunzel you don't need to do that but the rest was a lot of fun one more thing to do right yeah I think it's my turn I got all these toys all these 2 000 yens I'll buy you a drink so very good indeed let's go Cheers Cheers but it is phenomenally clean right that sort of stereotype of Japan being clean there's nothing really going on well I the moment I say that of course there's like a piece of indescriptions okay ignore everything I just said very clean it never stops being intense I think when you come here you feel a mixture of emotions you [Music] this video is done let's finish this

Channel: Abroad in Japan

Views: 2,100,158

Keywords: japan, tokyo, asakusa, japan travel, abroad in japan, trash taste

Id: DdSuBlT8Iyo

Length: 31min 21sec (1881 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 29 2023