Our FIRST TIME in Japan 🇯🇵 TOKYO Is Full of Surprises! transcript

we finally made it to one of our top bucket list countries Japan we'll be spending a month here exploring different regions of Japan and learning about the food culture and people here and of course we're starting our series in the busy and vibrant city of Tokyo [Music] so we are starting our day here at the lucky cat temple it's called Gotokuji Temple it's one of the lesser known temples in Tokyo because it's a bit further away from like the main hub of the city we did go to the very busy very popular Sensoji Temple yesterday just to experience the vibe and it was it was packed but it was pretty amazing it's one of the oldest temples in Tokyo dates back to like 645 but that was a very different vibe from this place it's so quiet here there's not a lot of people let's go explore and see what's inside [Music] these are so pretty look at them I think we need to write one as well these are people's wishes that they put on the back of the card that they leave at this Temple and hopefully it comes true from the blessings of all the lucky cats I see the cats there's so many they're all here oh my God look at the sizes from humongous all the way to tiny tiny so cute we think the cats are left here by people who come to make a wish and then they buy one of these cats and then they leave them here so the wish will come true sometimes you see them with the right hand up and then sometimes you see them with the left hand up but all of the ones here are the same right hand oh what's the difference I'm not sure actually these are called maneki-neko in Japanese maneki means bringing in luck bringing in money and neko is cat so they bring the cats from home or can you buy them here you can buy it here because initially when I walked in here and saw all these cats I was like oh are these cats for sale they're put so nicely so organized here I think we're gonna have to find one ourselves and leave a little cat here yeah look at how tiny these guys are I thought this one was small but look at look at that pinky size I'm surprised it can even withstand the wind yeah am I allowed to pick them up no no no you shouldn't pick them up there are two of them hiding here doesn't it gives you a happy feeling seeing all the cats yeah we both are cat lovers so coming here makes me super happy so the legend goes but in the 17th century there was a Lord that is part of the Li Clan and he was hiding from my thunderstorm just outside this Temple here when he saw a cat sitting there well the cat invited him into the temple and afterwards he dedicated this Temple to his family Clan and because the cat brought him luck he thought that this cat must be very lucky so worshipers started coming to the temple and leaving these little cat figurines in hopes that they also have luck brought to them I think that's such an interesting story how one cat changed the life of one person and probably the lives of many I think we found them the shop I think you can buy the cat from here I'm not sure you see the tiny one the pinky sized one is 500 yen for about four dollars that's quite expensive and the big one is seven thousand that's sixty dollars they're all sold out they only have the little one in the pocket and even these ones are sold out that's a bit disappointing I was so ready to buy the 1000 yen one which is like the third size that's too bad but there is something we can do to still like bring in luck yeah to bring in luck I can see it over there [Music] what did you wish for I just wish that um during the next month while we're exploring Japan that you know all the cat energies of Japan is going to keep us safe keep us healthy and we can explore this beautiful country so where are we going next we are heading back on the train to go to the busier part of Tokyo uh near Shibuya area and it's been pretty easy to get around I think Tokyo it's confusing at times because there are so many stops and so many different lines but the instructions are all there you just have to really pay attention that you are going to the correct stop and there are people at the stations that help you when you are stuck like we were stuck trying to transfer to another line but someone was able to help us real quick before coming to Japan we took some time to learn some useful phrases in Japanese because speaking the language is going to come in handy when we start visiting some places that are off the beaten path we've been using the online language learning platform italki who is also the sponsor of today's video what's unique about italki is that you can take customizable one-on-one language lessons with certified native speaking teachers at any time anywhere and they have more than 150 languages for you to choose from so find the right teacher for you you can search by lesson category where the teacher is from or even use the search bar to narrow down your results the best thing about italki is that you can pay per lesson there's no subscriptions no commitments and lessons are priced from only five dollars I took lessons with Azusa sensei who is a professional teacher here in Tokyo she not only taught me some everyday phrases that I wanted to learn but she also gave me a list of foods I have to try while in Japan so start your language learning journey now by clicking the link below in our description and don't forget to use our promo code FN05 to get an extra five dollar credit on your first lesson this discount is only available for the first 50 users now let's get back to exploring more of Tokyo one thing I noticed about Japan is that there are signages everywhere a lot of them are advertisements and also instructions instruction for you to behave in public area like do not run do not rush to the train do not walk up the escalators do not cross your legs yeah everything is so organized so tidy I think that's why you don't hear people like yelling at each other because everyone kind of knows and sees what they're supposed to do so the whole of Japan feels so so quiet in terms of people speaking Yeah so we're back in the city now and we're gonna look for a place to have lunch Note said he's already found one though so what's the place you found I found a place that has a very good review it's called already Oreryu Shio Ramen Daikanyama branch [Laughter] sounds like a franchise yeah I think it's a franchise it has 4.2 Stars see this one is good because I have been browsing and a lot of places are under four stars reviews because Japanese people are quite conservative in their rating I think yeah and one interesting thing is that if you go on the main Google Map page there's a Ramen tab right on there because Ramen is such a big part of the culture yeah in Japan no the one with the red sign right here oh that looks so good this one right here oh it says please buy ticket buy ticket where inside I guess I haven't been to a ticket ramen bar before I want that one okay I think I'm gonna go for this one creamy salt soup because it's their number one bestseller creamy salt wow that looks amazing this one is so much bigger this is for you thank you this is perfect yeah it's usually for like the business men who wear white shirts but yeah your shirt is is white and it's brand new so mine is the Miso Ramen it's so full it's so bold so tasty that does look so good that almost looks like a curry it's so thick I can't I can't I can't help it I just need to try the broth it's good right it almost tastes like peanuts so creamy it's like peanut butter that's really good okay it's my turn right I finally can eat mine oh in Japan before you eat you have the same what does it mean I think it means like thank you for the food or no no it means like I'm starting to eat now [Music] so I just mixed mine together now but it has pork and has bamboo shoots has spinach and egg and my broth is different though this is the creamy creamy salt broth is it as good as mine I think it's better I don't know how it can be better but I think it's better let me uh slurp my noodles first you have to slurp louder I don't even slurp usually but coming here and hearing everyone slurping I'm like trying my best to slurp it's hard but I don't want the chef to think that I don't like his food so I'm gonna try my best to slurp because creamy salt broth is like another level it's so delicious never had anything like this [Music] look at that nice and clean still new that was so delicious we're going for a nap well we have to walk 16 minutes to one of the most famous spots in all of Tokyo is it Shibuya Shibuya Crossing it's quite nice to pay first and then eat because then when you leave you just go and plus in Japan you don't tip like it's rude if you leave a tip they're gonna chase after you and give you your money back I love that I love that culture coming from Canada where we like have to tip a lot we should get the umbrella started raining so hard let's get one of the clear ones perfect you ready [Music] wow oh it's windy much better oh no almost just broke the umbrella after five seconds wow yeah the storm is coming yeah out of nowhere just now but I noticed a lot of people have clear umbrellas I think it's so that it's easy for you to see other people so you don't run into them because everything in Japan is done to be considerate of others isn't it yeah it makes sense make total sense we are um starting to enter the busy part of uh Tokyo where there's signage everywhere lots of shopping malls lots of uh just LED screens everywhere yeah this is pretty exciting because we've only been spending time just in the outskirts this morning of course as soon as you purchase an umbrella the rain stops like the rain just suddenly stops and you can even see the sky is opening up there yeah the lucky cat but anyways we're now at Shibuya Crossing which is one of the most iconic places in Tokyo it seems that the best place to watch this is actually at that Starbucks coffee over there you see everyone just like glued to the window we'll make our way up there we'll cross and just enjoy the atmosphere and then let's go up and see what it looks like from up top oh look they are crossing now oh wow look at the amount of people it's such like a happy environment because people are just used to others taking photos in this area you know what I think all the tourists here make multiple cross just to get the photo just to get that one perfect photo but we're gonna do that too right we're gonna go that way now yeah again I have never been so happy crossin the roads and like everyone's camera is out crossing the road this is so much fun we should go the other way now okay next time next round [Music] I love Japan me too I'm so glad we finally decided to come here we have been putting it off because we thought Japan was so expensive yeah but I feel like coming here when you look at like food choices and shopping you have choices it doesnt have to be expensive but I think one thing that of course is expensive is accommodation well like hotels yeah especially coming back from Canada Japan is so much cheaper yeah yeah I would say so especially for food options and I always love going to a new country because everything excites me that's a Giant Poo I do have a mission today though coming to Shibuya I need to buy a birthday present for my six-year-old nephew who loves Pokemon I believe there is a Pokemon Center just up there in one of the malls let's go check it out [Music] oh wow there's a live Pokemon in there so sick gotta catch them all so crazy how expensive these are wow these are 1650. that's not bad I was never really into Pokemon I was a bit too old but then now it's like such a trendy thing with with um our nephews let's see what's this um I need a dragon one this one this one is a dragon that's a bird or is it a chicken it's a half dragon half chicken oh this one this one is a dragon three-headed dragon that's the one you're looking for that's what my sister said what's his name Pokemon Scarlet I don't what what I don't know Scarlet and Violet I found it this is the 5500 Yen one yeah this is an expensive one your nephew has a expensive taste but I am a cheap aunt that's an expensive one what do I do is there a smaller one I find it so crazy the anime and cartoon culture here in Japan and there are actually people buying them and not just like Pokemon the across from us is Nintendo yeah which even has more people because people love like Mario Kart and all of those games I think Japan is a perfect place for you if you enjoy like shopping for quirky things or if you like games and you like you know anime and it'll be heaven for you no matter if you're an adult or a kid okay we we screwed up we actually have another nephew your brother's son that is obsessed with Pokemon and I just texted him my brother and he said NJ likes Mewtwo you know what Mewtwo is no this guy I can't take that with me it's way too big let's go find a Mewtwo yeah a smaller one are they the same are they yes they are the same let's see yeah that's MewFour now oh two and two yeah wow you should become a comedian mission accomplished he's gonna be so happy I actually quite enjoy it I know I'm actually scared to go into the Nintendo shop because that looks very fun too let's just walk past it okay we had a wonderful day exploring Tokyo I'm excited for the rest of the series we'll be exploring more parts of Japan so make sure to subscribe and as always have a wonderful day we will see you in the next one bye