The Kindness of Strangers in Kyoto! |

[@TheIronArmenianakaGIHaigs]

I really enjoyed your Hiroshima video, it felt like a good quality production that you would see on the BBC :D

[@rasmusborgkvisthansen1265]

Yes, I agree 100%

[@dianeechlin6416]

I was in Tokyo station recently, trying to figure out where I needed to go to catch the Shinkansen to Kyoto. I stood with my ticket in my hand, probably looking confounded and trying to get my bearings when a tiny ancient little woman approached me and said, “I speak English, I can help you!” I showed her my ticket and she proceeded to bend my ear for 30 minutes in broken English about her travels to the US, her time in LA, and her visit to Arches National park. Finally, she patted my arm and told me I was in the right place, but I was very early and my train hadn’t come up on the display yet. At that moment I fell in love with Japan. Can’t wait to go back!

[@Mwoods2272]

True, it sucks when people come and bother you, when all you want is to be left in peace.

[@dianeechlin6416]

@@Mwoods2272 on the contrary, she was delightful!

[@ubernewb3005]

chalk up another story of awesome older ladies in japan.. on my first trip to japan, i happened to visit osaka castle on a typical cold and rainy day. coming from seattle myself, i was perfectly comfortable in just my jacket and wool cap. as i was exploring the grounds, some sweet older lady rushed over and insisted i take a small hand towel to dry myself off a bit. not wanting to offend, i accepted it and thanked her profusely. luckily, i happened to run into her and her husband in the gift shop and was able to present them with a small statue of the castle as a thank you gift. we ended up chatting for a little bit with the help of google translate and their limited english. it ended up being one of my fondest memories of the trip, and i still have the hand towel in my travel sling.

[@djstevie69]

The family family thing is the Rock's arch nemesis Vin Diesel more than the Rock :D I also got handed an umbrella in the back streets of Tokyo when it was raining, when I tried, in my broken Japanese, to understand what she was saying the eventually pointed to a round holder that had 4 or 5 of the same umbrella's in it, then across the street at another bar that also had a similar holder then she smiled and went back inside her bar.

[@Zumama2]

Yay my Suica conspiracy email was answered! Thank you guys! Looking forward to go back to Japan in August

[@kasparsaleksejevs]

Just got back from a trip to Japan and I don't think IC card question is fully resolved yet. Got me a Pasmo Passport (IC card for tourists valid for 28 days, analog to Suica) just after landing at Narita, but according to their website it is being discontinued as of August 2024 (found out just before the trip). While waiting in a long line to get one I noticed JR booth nearby and there were no mentions regarding Suica, also their website says that the only place that sells tourist Suica is in Haneda airport (could be wrong). So something is clearly going on. I hope it gets resolved soon as IC cards are super convenient for tourists like me.

[@cman8995]

I think it's just that the production of the card isn't catching up with how much it's getting printed from the machines, those cards must be getting printed out like toilet paper everyday considering the amount of tourists coming in to Japan.

[@millennialchicken]

Well, that's sorted my evening plans, Chris and Pete bantering about Japan

[@loisr1560]

I was in tokyo with my daughter10 years ago. We had been to harajuki and my daughter was dressed in the popular harajuki dress and bows etc. A local girl and her parents in the big park nearby started smiling and saying hello to my daughter. So i politely asked to take a photo of the girl i her kimono, which she agreed to. Manners and kindness go a long way.

[@chrisbhim7583]

At 4.40 Chris mentions the rock and then says vin diesel’s catch phrase from fast and serious hahahaha think he got them mixed up

[@KORTOKtheSTRONG]

"ohana means family" -the rock

[@Katybug-mh1ss]

I am in Texas and as I am watching this, we are under flood warnings in the Dallas area!

[@Harminder1]

According to Google Chris is right the Suica is short for Super Urban Intelligent Card. It also stands for "Suisui ikeru IC card.

[@austynharris1884]

Hey chris been here since the first cycle love the vids keep it up!

[@XSpImmaLion]

I saw just a few days ago a story about people poking holes in that Kyoto fabric wall just the size of the smartphone camera lens to take the photo anyways.... And this is what really symbolizes the current social media/ influencer Zeitgeist the most for me. It's not just the fact that you have a flash mob of people trying to take photos of the same thing all at once to brag about in their social media bubbles. It's the sheer aggressive egotistical self centered narcissism of it all. It's like, you can't take a clue that you are not welcomed there after an entire wall has been erected in place, I think Kyoto should just select the nastiest deers and just set them lose there, let them bite some of these people. Honestly though, someone should get in contact with the neighborhood association there to share better strategies. A wall made of fabric not only isn't super effective, it also must've cost a ton for them and is likely also an ugly solution for locals. Modifying the Lawson sign into something horrible could help, but if it's about stopping the photos.... I have some ideas with humidifiers or smoke machines and strong led lights that would likely ruin the photo people are trying to take there. xD Not even sorry. It's not the case for this situation, but night shots with flash, my recommendation is tape with the same material that street signs have - highly reflective tape. If you use that in conjunction with strong led lights it might be enough for day photos too... mess up with that automatic white balance system.

[@SatanSupimpa]

I think Chris should fuse his wish to make a short movie with his experience with the Abroad in Japan videos and make a mockumentary about some japanese hidden mystery, too outlandish even for the "Japan is a weird place" standarts.

[@ChadsThrillAdventures]

So the newest news about that Wall at the Fuji Lawson is that people have put holes into the screen that they are putting their cameras through to get the shot

[@Weare138.]

Heading back to Japan in Feb, this will be our third visit and heading to Hokkaido. We're going to be heading over to Shiretoko for a random and probably very cold trip 🙂

[@alerocillo]

Yo Chis and Pete, loving these videos. I'm planning a trip with some friends to Japan next March and will be my first tile travling somewhere else in the world. We are trying to stay a whole month there but we are kinda worried about the bad apple tourists that are making it worse for everyone else. Do you guys think it will calm down in a couple months or get worse? Have a good one.

[@nicholausbuthmann1421]

Chris & Pete's "Thinning Out" The BAD Tourists by tricking them into a hole is actually from a Classic Akira Kurasawa Movie.

[@abh4316]

Min 13. My Qatari friend took the film of that Caren who chased the geisha. The Japanese lady said that’s rude stop that it’s disrespectful. We have the film in hight quality.

[@vwongwt]

They perhaps should have considered building the screen on top of the Lawsons as well which will less likely be vandalized.

[@myamericandream8152]

Pete, having lived in both Japan and Houston, Texas, there is literally no comparison between the weather in the two places. Texas is a never ending shit show of extreme weather

[@RavBunneh]

Suica card is on my iphone and I've never been to Japan.

[@CaptainKeeez]

From what I've read, the digital suica isn't available on android phones. It's quite unfortunate as someone who is going to Japan in a few weeks but isn't a fan of apple :(

[@kuro4294]

My first time in Japan I started my trip in Sapporo. I’ll die before I let anything happen to my kitaca card love my flying squirrel 😤

[@awesomeadamfrom2099]

Awesome job Chris with podcast drop a like

[@Yoshinator54]

4:43 correct me if I’m wrong but I think the guy who says “It’s about family” is Vin Diesel, not The Rock.

[@timothyfolkins4651]

You think the SUICA card acronym is weird, the old idol group SMAP actually stood for Sports, Music, Assemble People. Japan is full of weird made-up English acronyms.

[@auberginebear]

Feels like that Lawson could make money by selling postcards of the view people want (which I’d buy tbh), and perhaps there were vendors selling pictures of geisha and maiko in Kyoto might help curb tourist from harassing those women.

[@lyndylou752]

The incredible number of rude tourists in Japan at the moment has stopped me from going back to Japan, it is too embarrassing to be a foreigner at this point in time.

[@MsSmartmonkeee]

Love hearing you guys complain about rain.... I live in Hawai'i and it rains so hard sometimes, you have to slow the car down to crawl and if your walking,you run for a store so you don't drown. Rule of thumb when it rains: DON'T LOOK UP! You might drown lol The downspouts here are the size of buckets with pipes that have a diameter of 6 inches!! It can rain here for weeks straight.

[@jjphillips7308]

Am I the only one who hears Natsuki say "Go fax yourself!" when the fax machine comes up each episode?

[@KyleWongCO]

Would you recommend living (temporarily) in Osaka or Kyoto?

[@Its_Dave_Just_Dave]

They have already ripped holes in the black screen so pictures could be taken.

[@ce_rouse]

I think Chris mixed up The Rock and Vin Diesel. Vin Diesel always delivers the "it's all about family" line. Also they hate each other. 😅

[@japanlover21]

I managed to get a shot of Lawsons and Mt Fuji when I went in April but I was respectful, not in the way, not on the road and I also brought things from that Lawson, it wasnt a planned photo though more of a why not Im already here buying food waiting for the bus 😅.. Its a shame they have to do that but I get why

[@TeflonBilly426]

Has anyone mentioned the amazing new invention to handle litter? A garbage can, conveniently located just outside the door of a retail location.

[@hereforyoongi]

I do in fact know how Japanese drains cope with “biblical amounts of rain.” Thanks to Peter Barakan, BEGIN Japanology rain episode. Wet weekend here - time for a rewatch. I’m not sure why his videos are both interesting and sort of asmr like. Plus old school feels.

[@pookhahare]

Wow new shirt

[@dezzdinn]

@chris and Pete if you guys want to enjoy an interesting day with both 90 degree and a downpour of rain that can turn the streets into rivers the kids play in visit the Midwest of the US sometime

[@mfaizsyahmi]

Inb4 Japan enacts Sakoku 2: Electric Boogaloo

[@lauriey6089]

Ofc they are kind, they do not suffer persecution but are the persecutors.

[@TheToneBender]

Lol. Kind of ironic that it got a copyright strike, because all the top comments were about the song and you even replied to someone "money well spent" Guess it wasn't.

[@uuu12343]

Japan - specifically the older generation - needs to understand this, in 2024, they need the tourism lest they die out Their economy needs tourism which fucking sucks when tourists dont know basic respect WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT???

[@SplatterInker]

No one neeeeeeds tourism. It often obscures the fact that a lot of that money doesn't end up in the hands of locals. Sure you can struggle economically without tourism, but it's a choice. You can invest in other revenue generating industries. It doesn't have to be tourism. And if you wanna go for it, you don't have to make it easy for it to turn into exploitation. But that would be hard work. And we all know what politicans are like. Also... tourism wasn't much cop during the pandemic

[@DoktorDevious]

How come people always rate Blade Runner 2049, the original is so good no need for 2049. The acting, the direction, the lighting, the writing and the aesthetic , maybe a perfect movie? 2049, colour graded to death, meh acting, meh script bad CGI, don't get it. You do really good production and get great shots Chris so it's extra confusing. Throw away line at the start of the podcast I know, sorry for the rant. Keep up the awesome work.

[@seebastian5834]

What I find funny about the video of the "geisha" being harassed by Karen for a photo is that that is very likely NOT a geisha at all, but just some Korean tourist in cosplay or something. Still a trashy thing to do even to a fellow tourist. I found that even as a basement-dwelling weeb, the Korean tourist girls in Kimonos in Kyoto were still quite happy to pose for me when I asked first.

[@Crossingt]

If a penguin swims smoothly through the water, why does the ICOCA have a platypus? Same reason?

[@RadenWA]

People complaining about late stage capitalism and the overcommercialization of everything, then got baffled when rural people who just wanted peace didn’t want to commercialize tf out of their neighborhood

[@leastselfawarepotassium]

Does Chris think The Rock and Vin Diesel are the same person?

[@cpemberton77028]

Poor vin diesel getting confused for the rock

[@miguerys9503]

Maybe Abroad in Japan can come up with a title that will ceritfy turists to be well behaved and respectful, issue some identification, so they can get views of approval upon entering an establishment or tourist spot, instead of getting the side eye. They will be known as... the Broad Audience.

[@lisah336]

It's weird that people take pictures of iconic places, unless it's to show their friends "I'm here". Even that is a bit lame.

[@lynda.grace.14]

It's a shame that the Council handling the Lawson at the foot of Mt. Fuji debacle didn't have the imagination to cordon off the area and hire extra police to admit cars of only local residents. Why not designate an area for buses & pay-parking some distance away? Then make tourists walk and queue properly to get their shots. If managed properly, local businesses could benefit from their presence and collect some of their coin. I say this as the resident of a city where massive cruise ships dock and thousands of tourists flood the downtown streets. A bit of a headache but one that brings in a good deal of revenue to local shops, restaurants and pubs.

[@dacracking5768]

i used to say why bother when it came to photos tons of times. And i visited Italy and i took some. And when you go over the images, years after you where there, the memories start flooding back. Its actually insane. That being said, that is a crappy photo and i dont get why people want that crappy photo, when you can get better ones from other areas.

[@JordanBallaMusic]

the welcome suicas are the ones you need if youre only there for like 2 weeks

[@towada1066]

Not even Kyoto people like Kyoto people,... if you live outside the old Heian borders of the city, you are looked down on ....

[@MilanDavidovic-rj7sd]

alternate title: Big (Hole) in Japan

[@KORTOKtheSTRONG]

giga citybrain card

[@Gnarloo]

The rudest Japanese people I’ve ever encountered have been in Kyoto and Harajuku

[@colinmathie2710]

I understand why they banned tourists in a certain part of Kyoto walking down the pathway where the Geisha live and work, but this Mt Fuji story makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, sure some tourists are idiots, but don't stop them from taking pics of the most famous mountain in the world. If the authorities are that bothered, start issuing fines or come up with a better idea than putting up bloody mesh, that's see through btw, so its not making one blind bit of difference imo.

[@fattiger6957]

Can Chris just not grow hair on his cheeks? I've only ever seen him with this Spaniard moustache and goatee look.

[@def_not_dan]

Ok, I just had to google this picture of a shop and a mountain. Why do people want it? It's a dystopian and soulless looking picture. What do they want it for? Is it some kind of anime reference or something?

[@Felice_Enellen]

Chris, you realize a lot of the english-language tourists are there _because_ of you, right?

[@Nobe_Oddy]

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT "The Rock is always saying 'my family! it's all about family" ???? that's VIN DIESEL and the Fast & Furious garba... err... uhh... movies.... yea, the 'movies'

[@draconic367]

Instead of hiding the view they should be trying to monetize it.

[@Thekowaikaiju]

"Im never going back to wrestling." Okaaay, Dave. Sure.

[@SplatterInker]

Haven't we already discussed the Fuji tourist things? This is the second time now I got dejavu from this podcast. I don't feel like we needed to discuss this anymore myself but ok...

[@lordbarron3352]

Abroad in Japodcast ep 272 [3:10]: "Hello its Chris Broad I live in Japan, this Pete, he likes Japan. This week, [describes entire event]. Pete, what happened?" "Em- eurm, stuff umm, em-em-em uhhh happened" "Great, we have a question from Alice from Swaziland, 'is japan good?'. Yes. We have a story from Durk from Old Zealand, 'cylinder stuck in tube in Japan!' Well isn't that crazy. See you all next week to do it all again."

[@toyota420xp]

The Chinese sewer system and all their cities don't deal with the water they flood all the time

[@Bloodworia]

Missing British cuisine is like missing the Flu.

[@sanpedro1337]

Oh dear i wonder how many birds have fell fowl to that giant net? 🧲🐥