Thanks for watching, and hope you have a wonderful time with your son and experience in Japan! Glad to know you've found the content helpful. We enjoy sharing our knowledge of Japan, especially those places that are less known.

Thanks for watching and commenting! This KZbin thing is very new to us, so we appreciate the compliment. Definitely put Japan on your travel bucket list.

Oh! And amazing carp in those canals!!

Thanks! Yes, music makes all the difference! What would our world be like without music? Selecting soundtracks is perhaps the most enjoyable part about editing and creating these videos. Its all new to me, but having fun with it.

What good fortune! Josephine learned while speaking (in Japanese) with a local lady that the town had just restocked the canals a day or two before. Had we been there earlier, we'd have been looking just at water flowing past. That was a fun town to explore. It was kind of a surprise "lets check this out" kind of thing. Hope you can visit there yourself! Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thanks for watching and commenting. This YT stuff is all very new, so we're slowly getting the hang of it. But what we do know is Japan, and we enjoy sharing that knowledge. Up next is Kyoto!

Thanks for the comment! It may seem that way, but the Japanese are some of the most gracious and welcoming people you'll ever meet, going out of their way to help those of us with a "deer in the headlights" look. Language isn't so much a barrier these days with so many tourists, so go ahead and come along for the ride!

Thanks for watching! We're definitely novice video creators, but enjoying the learning process and sharing our knowledge of Japan with the world. Next stop: Kyoto!

Thanks for watching and commenting. This KZbin thing is still very new to us, but we definitely know Japan and love sharing it with the world. Watch for our next video: Kyoto.

Pack your bags and come along! Its a lot easier than you may think! Thanks for watching and commenting. Next week, we visit Kyoto.

This is one instance when it helps to have jet lag. Can't sleep in? Just get up and out! Seriously, it helps to get up and out early or later in the afternoon, but there are still many places even in the middle of the day where one can escape the crowds. Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thank you. There's so much to see and do in Tokyo! No way to see it all, even in a lifetime. That's one reason we keep returning. Thanks for watching!

Thank you! We love discovering the hidden gems. There are a lot more than most realize. Congratulations on your son's upcoming graduation! Tokyo and Japan in general will make for an amazing experience. Next week will be about Kyoto, followed by Nagoya, one of our favorite less visited cities. Thanks for watching!

Thank you! Working hard on them. Trying to get better and better. Appreciate you watching and any ideas for future videos.

Thanks for watching and commenting! Yes, the Japanese love their museums. There are many that are very small showcase unusual subjects. Am working on a video that will include a visit to the Toto museum which chronicles that company's history of the toilet. It was pretty impressive.

Glad to hear it! October is a great time to be there. Check the autumn color reports for the best viewing spots for the leaf changes. The ginko and maple trees are stunning. Another hidden gem in which to relax is the terrace just above the Yaesu Central exit of Tokyo Station. As you come out the doors, look for the outdoor escalators to the right and go up. Most people don't know it exists, but there are sitting areas and a couple of restaurants. Thanks for the feedback.

Glad you did. We are trying to add some fun and an element of language using Josephine's 18 years of living in Japan.

Thanks for watching! Still new to me, so learning as I go. Watch for our Tokyo video that comes out Saturday AM.

Thanks for the question, and glad to share some of our experiences. We've stayed in several and have had good experiences in all. Each host has been very responsive both prior to arrival and during arrival, but that can obviously vary greatly. English communication has been fine. Perhaps the first thing foreign visitors must prepare for is the registration process by which we are required to provide an image and data from our passports. Its a government thing, so don't be upset when asked. The ones in which we've stayed in recent years have all used online services in advance wherein we can upload most of the information. Some have electronic tablets at the location where you sign in upon arrival so that you never meet your host. If you haven't already provided your passport information beforehand, doing the registration at the property can be very tedious and time consuming, especially if you're suffering from jetlag. So that's my primary advice: do as much paperwork ahead of time. We go back and forth between VRBO/Airbnb versus hotels. We like the space of a VRBO, but also the service a hotel provides (assuming staying at a full service hotel and not an inexpensive budget hotel). Honestly, its nice to be able to simply turn in your keys and walk away from the hotel whereas at a VRBO you have to put out the trash, clean the dishes, straightening up, etc. Not only that, but Japan requires you to separate all your trash, and that is a hassle for those of us who are accustomed to tossing most everything into one bin. However, I'll share this one nugget: I'll be doing an upcoming video that includes our private tour of the Waste and Incinerator Plant in Osaka, and I must say after having toured it, I have a greater appreciation for the recycling efforts of the Japanese. Yes, we toured a trash plant! But it was amazing and it looks like something out of Willy Wonka. But back to VRBO's. One thing a lot of VRBO's provide that hotels may or may not is a washer/dryer. We travel very light. For three weeks, we each just take one small roll on, and we do laundry as we go. Having access to laundry at our place is a lifesaver, especially during the summer in Japan when you'll sweat off two pounds a day. Seriously, we will often arrange our plans just so that we have access to laundry (that's going to be another video topic). Parking is another thing to double check. Not an issue if you're going by train and taxi, but if you're renting a car, make sure you can park it at the property or close by. The house in which we stayed in the Sasayama video was in another class altogether. Will be doing a full video on that one, but if there were only one place I could recommend, it would be that one. I meant it when I said in the video that we've never had such an experience. It was a mix of VRBO and hotel/inn. Will be glad to provide contact info if you'd like. But in short, VRBO's are great options. I encourage trying out one or two. We've never had a bad experience, its just a different option, and a nice option at that. Thanks again for watching and asking a great question. This KZbin stuff is all new to us (in case you haven't read our story on our website). Please share our story with others! Appreciate any points of interest you'd like us to cover. We're returning in a few weeks for more material.

Thanks for the comment. Yes, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom while we were there. We were fortunate to see them as normally would have bloomed several weeks earlier.

Thanks for watching! Yes, the canals of Hida Takayama are pretty cool. Just so happens we arrived just two days after they had replenished the fish stock with over 1,000 carp. Couldn't have timed it better!

Thanks for watching and commenting. Still very new to all this, so I appreciate the feedback!

@@UnchartedJapanTravel You are a natural!

Thank you!

Thanks for watching and the kind words! Japan is truly amazing and we are glad to share it with others.

Yes, the Hida Mountains are beautiful around Shirakwawa-go. Next video is Kanazawa on the west coast of Japan. Look for it to come out on Saturday. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for visiting the channel! Japan is the most amazing country and we love sharing our knowledge with others!