Only in Japan

11/27/2025

Kyoto? Tokyo? Go straight HERE instead ~ the mountain villages of Nagano & Niigata, part of the Japan LONG TRAILS, 30 of them that connect the country. I hiked one of the in this new release which you'll love on this Thanksgiving Weekend. Have a lovely holiday in the US and rest of the wonderful world - Japan is waiting for you! -John ^_^

11/05/2025

Japanese cuisine from ramen to sushi are beloved but it’s the simple onigiri 🍙 rice ball or bowl of rice 🍚 that tops Japanese lists – and the toppings! Tsukudani is one of them, a 400 year old sweet and savory black bean or seafood that is well known to Japanese and unknown to most tourists visiting, but that changes at Tamakiya in Shinbashi, Tokyo that’s been selling it since 1782! They have a Tsukudani Tasting Experience that explores the depths of Japanese cuisine culminating with learning to make the perfect onigiri rice ball, with your favorite tsukudani. ▶︎ RESERVE the Tsukudani Experience at Tamakiya: https://m.wabunka-lux.jp/3Uasqc4 at their store 5 minutes from Shinbashi Station, Tokyo. Sponsored by 株式会社新橋玉木屋 Shinbashi Tamakiya Co., Ltd. Thank you for introducing a new Japanese dish!

08/06/2025

The Nagasaki Bombing Story & Hypocenter Tour video is up on YT, a lot of old 1945 archival footage and witness stories. Hiroshima gets so much attention, I really wanted to focus just on with coming up in 3 days. Leave me a comment on the video ^_^ -John

07/28/2025

Japan's Summer TAIKO DRUM Fest is on Aug 22-24! - Earth Celebration on Sado Island with KODO group - is amazing and I can't believe tickets aren't sold out yet. A Shinkansen & ferry ride away. Heads up for those in Japan looking for local summer festivals. They have a camp ground, tent rentals available - I got an airbnb last year, compact car rental - but shuttle buses are available throughout the fest. Worth it!

05/17/2025

I had the honor to meet with the 9th Governor of Guam 🇬🇺 Lourdes Aflague “Lou” Leon Guerrero this week, talk about the history & beauty of the island, Chamorro culture, food, markets and tourism. Hafa Adai! ٩( ᐛ )و There’s so much to love about Guam, much unknown on the mainland despite being a territory of the 🇺🇸 🦅 🏝️ tourism is down at the moment, the island is quieter than usual so perhaps the best opportunity to hop ✈️ from Tokyo and visit! Hank is not only always hungry, he’s a talented comedian and magician who conquered 🪄 up our meeting, and I hope we can come back to Guam ASAP and help highlight more of the beauty of this stunning island surrounded by ocean that reminded me of the Maldives and people so friendly I felt like we left family behind when returning to Japan. Have you been to Guam? Where should I visit next time? Leo & Kanae said they want to move here 🤣 thank you and much love to our new extended Guam family! 🫶 see you again soon.

04/19/2025

New! Japanese “Snack Bar” Culture is super unique and hard to break into, but I took a tour and learned what makes these places so special - and so endangered of vanishing from Tokyo’s Shimbashi neighborhood! Tokyo's Endangered Alley Bars | Shimbashi Snack Tour ★ ONLY in JAPAN

Tokyo’s nightlife is full of options but this one in Shimbashi is endangered. Other neighborhoods like Shinjuku, Shibuya, Asakusa also have similar issues wi...

04/06/2025

2025 Cherry Blossoms are here in Tokyo! Surprised we got another nice & sunny afternoon before the spring rains and winds come.

04/04/2025

What are the vertical limits of elevators? What's the fastes? Elevators to SPACE? Check out the newest episode out now as I visit Hitachi's Mito Plant where they made the world's fastest elevator in 2019! CAN THEY GO FASTEST?

03/19/2025

Nagasaki: I spent over an hour with Yokoyama-san this morning who lived through the atomic bombing as a child and its aftermath which had a devastation effect on her family. The photos are in 1942 and after in the countryside. Her younger sister suffered as a result of the atomic bomb. Japan is the only country where atomic weapons have been used in war and the survivors group Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization representing survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. For a long time, atomic bomb survivors didn’t talk much about that day and the weeks, months, years after and the work they’re doing is helping to educate a generation now 80 years past that day so history doesn’t repeat. Those remaining are using their voices in a powerful way, and I’m so honored to be out here covering it as best I can for my viewers (many of whom asked me to cover this topic as best I could) in an upcoming ONLY in JAPAN episode. Very - direct accounts that need to be heard before this generation is gone so we can remember 8/9/1945, pass it on to the next whose responsibility it will be to tell this part of the story of

03/16/2025

Traveling to Tokyo & Japan this year - this guide highlighting hotels, food, train travel, day trips (Hakone, Nikko, Kamakura, Mt Fuji and beyond). John Daub & Matt Alt of NHK, author of Pure Invention break down Tokyo travel for first-timers and veterans to Japan with a combined 50 years of experience traveling Japan.

03/04/2025

Have you been to Far West TOKYO? 99% of tourists have not ⛩️ This new release will jet you from Shinjuku to Miyake and Okutama by car for an adventure at a mountaintop shrine stay and see what you are missing!