The taiko drumming performance looks spectacular. When I went to Japan I booked a taiko drumming class. I was a bit daunted at first when I arrived and realised it was a small local class of maybe 7 or 8 drummers. I was the only foreigner and they spoke very little English but it was a highlight of my trip. They taught me a taiko sequence that I was able to perform and keep up with the rest of the class and everyone there was amazingly friendly and supportive. I had a great time with lots of laughs and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone travelling to Japan. Another thing I did (sorry, I'm on a roll now!) was the Hozugawa river boat ride from Kameoka (near Kyoto). Again I was the only foreigner on the boat and people were very friendly and helped me buy food and amazake from another boat near the end of the trip. That was another incredible experience. Most tourist spots are popular for good reason (not Lawsons though) and it is thrilling to be somewhere really well known or spectacularly beautiful but it's good to have a balance and go to some less well known places. Wherever you go in Japan you won't be disappointed. I went for 4 weeks when I was 60, on my own for most of the trip and loved every second of it.

I love your video and the hole new things you show

I like the video. I am sure anyone will find something to like and buy. I remember try to use crane games and in one i tried 25 times, i failed all the 25 times 😂

i love taiko, i hope i'll see a performance at Tao Hill in Oita prefecture, thank you for the tipp

so many commercial for Chris xD

This was a good video. Tao hill looks stunning.

please learn how to split your videos into chapters. And both times in Takachiho (once alone, once with familiy) I was the only foreign tourist.

Too many tourists??? I'm trying not to laugh. In Catalonia we are 7 million inhabitants. Last year we received 25 million tourists (18 millions foreigners, the rest from other parts of isPain). In 2024 the number of tourists has increased beyond those crazy numbers to the point were even the tourist industry is demanding to put some controls to it. The truth of the matter is that there's not enough water (just choosing a natural resource that we need to live) for that many people. That is "too many tourists". Too many tourists in Japan or the people of Japan not used to seeing foreigners?

I brought my family to a lot of these more less known places because of your channel and that broad guy!

„I much prefer Abroad in Japan“ has got me LMAO every time it appeared on the screen 😂😂👍

Awesome tips here, keep them coming, I love exploring the "hidden" areas of Japan.

And toyama black ramen is my favorite favorite!

Toyama is the best, seriously. I hope it never gets too many tourists though. It wouldn't be the same if it was super crowded.

Japan itself in Tokyo and Osaka is quite overcrowded by native citizens. We did not spot many foreign tourists outside of akihabara, already less in shinjuku and shibuya. The golden route is also quite too overrated compared to nature and other sides of japan. We enjoyed our trip this year but yes you definetively feel as a foreigner in japan ;) But nice that all instagram picutres are just empty and only the influencers are visible.

What are some good places to visit in the Northern prefectures? Chris Broad always talks highly of them, so I'd be interested in visiting them.

Video that will put Chris to shame 😁. Deeper video about some new and unique experiences.

I am living in Tokyo and even here there are lots of places with no tourists at all... I try to avoid tourist areas like Asakusa as much as possible. Sadly its rather hard and very expensive to get to less touristy areas so it makes sense people sticking to the same places that they know are interesting

Love the videos. Keep up the great work, Chris!

Im heading to Kochi in the next few months so will definitely check the market out when I am there. I think JR dropped the ball when they put prices up for everything. If they had doubled or trebled the price between Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka and left elsewhere unchanged it would have encouraged more to see some of the countryside.

Hello brother, your video is very nice. If you do seo, you will like, comment, subscribe. Seo your video.

At this point I'm convinced that Ryotaro is a Japanese State agent most likely he works for Ministry of Tourism 😛

Hi Ryotaro, amazing videos as usual. Think this is the first time I comment since I subbed to your channel back when it started. I found your choices perfect for me, I prefer seeing the smaller and more natural places of a country and that goes double for Japan. I have yet to visit, but my number one place I want to see is Aichi prefecture's nature and visit Nagoya. Your list is perfect, just I think, sadly most people have a mob mentality. Kind of like, they know they won't win the lottery, yet they will still pay money into it. That's kind of similar to most people coming to Japan and just going for the same typical places that everyone else repeats. Don't get me wrong, I am sure Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo are amazing, but for me they are not the only parts of Japan.

This is such a valuable video! Thank you v much Ryotaro!😊

Great video toro, but a map for reference would be helpful! Keep it up, love the vids 😊

The saltiest ramen? That explains a lot 😄

Ryotaro's recommendation for hidden gems are always great. Many years ago I noticed that in Abroad In Japan videos, and I always love the content the most with Ryotaro in them!

I think why English speaking tourists don’t venture out into the other areas even though they are cool and quieter is fear that no one speaks English.

Have you experienced the popular spots in Mid-November? I have 5 days in Tokyo and 6 days in Osaka but many day trips to the surrounding area planned

I'm glad you listed 2 in Kyushu! I went to Japan for the first time in 2019 and am finally going back this October, but I admit I feel bad that it seems to be the year when everyone and their mother are going to Japan. In 2019, Kyoto had a downright terrifying amount of tourists roaming around. This next visit, we're venturing around Kyushu. The first trip, when we were in Kochi and ended up at Hirome Ichiba because a local (who flagged us down after we parked by the castle to visit their 天理教会 and that was a whole other thing 😅) told us that we absolutely *had* to go to Hirome Ichiba for lunch. It is such a cool place! I'd love to explore Kochi more.

Would love to see the drumming with at view! Looks very magical. 😊

It's a marketing and messaging problem. The tourist industry (and government) doesn't do NEARLY enough to encourage/enable going to places other than the Big 3 Golden Route. The messaging could do more to communicate local etiquette, norms, and general good behavior to keep Japan nice. Explain WHY it's nice here and INSPIRE them to keep it that way. And don't do it in the dry and sanitized NHK documentary way. Normies won't watch NHK. An official-looking PSA will not work on foreigners. Most of all, if Japan is advertised like a theme park, expect people to show up looking for one. REAL PEOPLE live and work here. I try to remind people of that when they're blustering about Harajuku, Maid Cafe's, or Geisha. The Tourism marketing could do better to remind people of that subtly.

Why are all these KZbinrs, based in Japan, making fun of Chris Abroad? He is such an affable guy. 🤭😄😉

I spent a month in my mini van driving around Kyushu and Shikoku back in spring, I can highly recommend Kochi for sure. One of the highlights of my trip, although I think Amakusa was my favorite with Kagoshima way up there too. Mie where I live is also absolutely stunning.

Pure numbers says it isn't too much compared to 10+ other countries, so Japan must be bad at dividing tourism to different spots and only feeding from couple known places. And that is also how I feel watching KZbin contents made in Japan too; no matter who goes to Japan, they all go to same places in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka etc. talk about same things, shoot same places. Google says there are over 5000 museums in Japan but I did not see any museum content except from Rare Earth who I remember visited one and told us about roots of Godzilla and some other KZbinrs who talked about poop museuem. So what you are doing here is right thing to do, avoiding crowds and promoting hidden gems but Japan also have to provide with good infrastructure, easy transportation, hotels, living towns for day or night life for such places to pull people out of crowd cities.

I was lucky to visit last year before tourism truly came back to a full swing.

I’d love to see those drummers. I’ve seen some of their KZbin videos and they are amazing! 🤩 I’m taking my first trip to Japan later this year, and am so excited to finally see your beautiful country!

Yes.

Having just spent a year in Japan, I actually went to three of these and missed Kyoto and Osaka entirely. The Ashizuri Cape in Tosashimizu is absolutely spectacular, as is the Muroto Cape on the other Southern tip of Shikoku on the Eastern side. Both very difficult to reach by public transport though, so plan carefully.

Japan has sold itself very well... the problem is the main attraction is how clean and normal it is in comparison to other places... then idiots arrive and you find out why other places aren't so clean lol

well now everyone's going to go there草

I have two favorite places that are kind of less visited, but I fell in love for the quiet, relaxing, country-vibes. One is hard to get by, took me around 16h by train and bus to get to from Imabari... it is in Kochi, named Yusuhara, it is a quiet small friendly and loving city I cannot stress enough it is a place I still dream of returning to. If you can drive, you can avoid the train and bus ride and get a 2h direct drive there, and the main hotel has an electric car recharging station - the long train ride is simply because it is NOT connected to any train lines, and in Kochi, most train lines drive around the seaside, and very few do the needed north-south connection, meaning you have to go around most of the island, before taking a bus ride inland to the city. The second one is directly accessible by Shinkansen, Iwakuni. You can just take a 10min walk from the train station to the main historical/tourist area, near the wooden bridge. Best of luck and some jealousy for those who can visit, I STRONGLY advise both.

If japanese people move away from small places why should tourist go there if only place open is small karaoke bar and lawson? Anyway most fun time i have had was small town in Aomori but i knew people from there.

Hi Ryotaro, I watched your video twice only because it was so good, that I could believe you made it. Cheers...

Ryotaro you do a good job with your videos, keep it up!! (Name is spelled correctly now!!)

Hi Ryotaro, your videos have really improved. I love that thumb nail picture. Great job! Even Chris Broad would approve.

On my next trip I want to head to one of the provincial cities like Akita just to be away from mainstream tourists. And spending a whole day to reach Mount. Fuji just to take a picture. I been to Japan 5 times and never could be bothered. I saw it a few times from the air and one time from the Shinkansen so I am golden.

He sure hate certain British man who like chicken for sure

Algorithm

For tourists going to Japan for the first time is like going to a Rolling Stones concert . . . they just want to say, “I was there!” 😎

I don’t think that I would visit a tourist spot right away if I ever I go to Japan. I want to see where my grandma was born and outside the hospital where my mom was born ( as close to since she was born on a military base). These are cool places to visit Ryotaro. I will put these on my list too.