G&K In Japan - Day 9: Let Us Showa This Museum

Graham and Kathleen wander further around Takayama, visiting the Showa museum, and seeing more local sights.
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[@fulfooter]

I come back to watch these every once and a while cause the mix of the music and present mood will put me to sleep when I have insomnia or help me be not stressed/anxious. I've gotten through the series at least 5 entire times.

[@NiceFoilHat]

13:16 When Graham says he has an idea I instantly pictured him trying to force a suitcase close with the edge of a FamilyMart sign sticking out.

[@TedPark]

I love that the cold open is followed by opening cold.

[@kristianfischer9814]

"This pagoda burned down, but was rebuilt, then burned down, fell over AND sank into the swamp. Then it was rebuilt and was pulled down by bears. This new one has been here for 225 years and we're cautiously optimistic that it won't be destroyed any time soon. Though I HAVE seen some beavers eyeing it suspiciously".

[@arturoreyes2119]

something something huge tracts of land

[@WilhelmScreamer]

Now I must know the idea Graham had at the end

[@driftwolf]

Having spent a lot of time in Japan, travelled all over the southern parts of the country, and my spouse and in-laws all being Japanese, I'm really enjoying this series. Thanks for making it!

[@Dakobra_]

This series has been great, and also strangely therapeutic.

[@spaceguy978]

The constellation you asked about was Ursa Major, Graham. The long tail might not look right on a bear, but myth says she, and her son Ursa Minor, were flung into the heavens by Zeus, who spun them over his head by their, at the time, short tails.

[@ideamissing]

I've been watching LRR videos since you first debuted on The Escapist years ago and have loved the CommodoreHustle series, the CrapShots videos, the Friday Night Magic saga, but seeing this little travel log where you guys are not in character and are just enjoying the journey, it's a different experience and I am enjoying seeing what you guys saw. Thank you for posting these.

[@MaraK_dialmformara]

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[@Mantzy_AUS]

We knew we were running around a lot on our travels so took 4-5 pairs of clothes each. Specifically bought front opening backpacks with daypack attachments (Osprey Waypoint - male and female versions) as it made it easier then suitcases when carting our stuff everywhere. Worked well with running through stations and getting around quickly. We did Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Himeji, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Takayama, Shirakawa-go and Kanazawa over 16 days so a fair few stops and needed the ease of movement. Only wore a damp t-shirt once. Top Tip: take a bungee cord so you can easily create a makeshift washing line. Also take a 2-4 way extension lead and only one plug adapter to save weight..

[@DragongodZenos]

GRAHAM! TELL US YOUR IDEA!

[@loadingreadyrun]

+DragongodZenos Next week :)

[@uchitoru666]

+loadingreadyrun The suspense!

[@EionBlue]

It's killing me!!

[@slidetrombone]

the intrigue!

[@kristianfischer9814]

Graham's a showman. He knows you have to use cliffhangers once in a while.

[@jensensev9416]

I know I'm a bit late and all with this, but that Showa museum reminded me a lot of a different museum. If you are ever in the Netherlands, there is a city here called Hoorn, it has a Museum of the 20th century. This museum has a progression of basically the whole technological innovations that happened during the 20th century, from Bakelite products to plastic and all that. It is massively interesting. So if you ever decide to go and visit The Netherlands, a definite recommendation.

[@erikny1205]

I love these videos, and they are giving me ideas for next time I go to Japan.

[@mikebaugus1408]

Hope there are more of these!

[@Rikadyn]

Kurama-dera was rebuilt regularly because it kept catching fire til 1950s when someone decided it best to build it out of concrete. This is atop a mountain.

[@Abundant_Sandwich]

Idea is... Move to Japan? This ep was short and sweet, but I gotta say the way you put them together makes them incredibly interesting and highly relaxing so I'm elated whenever you post a new one. Keep up the good work!

[@SeraphimKnight]

Watching these every week is making me miss japan so bad... Hopefully the dealio I'm planning goes through I can go living there next year onwards. Probably going back for a couple of days in october too.

[@Samavanzi]

I'm fairly sure Graham's idea is along the lines somehow transporting the entirety of Japan to Canada.

[@inanimatecarbon]

The constellation is Ursa Major. You can see the Big Dipper in the tail and hind quarters. All of the constellations appear to be IAU recognized constellations, i.e. Greek origin. You can also see Leo the lion towards the center, and Gemini the twins to the left. There are two more constellations at the extreme left and right, but I would need to see that more clearly to id them because these illustrations are somewhat stylized. My guess would be Orion the hunter to the far left and Bootes to the far right. Everything is reverse from in the sky because it's a projector.

[@MaraK_dialmformara]

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[@HD_Dabnado]

4:38 that's called "Candy Candy". From what I know, it's a really old anime about a princess and a guy and the guy got hit by a car, and thus has amnesia. I don't really know, but if you look up the song "Eterna Soledad" you can find an animated version. It's a really good song.

[@LiamAnthony_]

"This gives me an idea" Next week opens with a building on fire "I never said it was a good idea"

[@ericsheogorath9978]

I am going to be so sad when this series ends.

[@PlebNC]

That manga is informative. Particularly about the functional benefits of slurping noodles.

[@davidmackenzie22]

As a fellow size 14, 6'4" Canadian, I feel your pain when I travel to Japan, started just packing slippers in my bag. easier, fewer giggles from my co-workers.

[@mage127]

That lady next to Mazinger Z is Candice "Candy" White Audley from Candy Candy. She is a 70's shojo anime and manga icon. 70's shojo is the era in which shojo had the brutal death of beloved characters in a way that would make George R. R. Martin blush.

[@macheya2619]

Hey Graham, when you're inside a ryoken or hostel or something, is it required to use the slippers they provide?

[@saiyajedi]

I stayed at this very same temple in January of 2009. It was cooooold, but I didn't want to leave the space heater on all night for fear of asphyxiating myself. I got to go to that burger place, though.

[@saiyajedi]

I wish I'd known about that Showa museum when I was there. The ’50s and ’60s are one of my favorite time periods in Japanese history. The country finally finishes rebuilding, and then it's on to bigger and better things, like bullet trains, gadgets, and pop culture. Oh, that pop culture. The irony does not escape me that kids born after the war have an especially nostalgic view of these "simpler times" largely because the times were "simple" out of postwar necessity. Still better than the more complicated times that immediately preceded them.

[@Dougao06]

Did you go there around what time? Summer? I was thinking of going around October, do you think it would be too cold?

[@malcairadravensblood6471]

When a man gets that look and says those words... "I have an idea." Trouble is almost asuraedly to follow.

[@LotofNothing]

GRAHAM! Idea for LRLive, following the bit about the spaghetti. Have a group of you guys review different microwave meals? Eh?

[@kappaross6124]

Before Pokemon Go: "What have you been doing?" "Walking around, now we're sitting on this bench." After Pokemon Go: "What have you been doing?" "I hatched three eggs, caught an abra, fought a couple gyms, and now we're sitting on this bench waiting for that pokestop to recharge."

[@mxg75]

The thing is, with roaming charges, playing Pokemon Go while traveling internationally can be expensive. Plan ahead, and train responsibly.

[@FictionFactoryGames]

It's so strange, Showa era stuff makes me feel oddly melancholy and happy. I think I mentally link it to the sad showa era song from Kill Bill.

[@kristianfischer9814]

Can you imagine being a Japanese person alive in 1941? Seeing your country and the way of life you were used to destroyed by 1945, and then come back in a form that was completely unrecognizable. Culture shock, much?

[@embyrr922]

What the lrrEFF was that thing in the stinger?

[@ProfessM]

Wait why is Kuuga in a Showa museum store? He was the end of Showa and the start of the Heisei era for Kamen Rider! This bugs me so much!

[@L4PointLinguist]

Graham has an idea, so robo-clown deflates? Also, was your ryokan by chance a school in some past era?

[@boihedidit2410]

Dank.

[@sanityismadness]

I said it before and I'll say it again: I want to live in that ryokan.

[@ig7157]

Gram, Food prices are cheap in US and expensive in Canada because of trade agreements and US exporting into Canada. Our (the US) government has a policy of stabilizing its food prices at an low values through various trade deals. At least this is how is was done in the 80s and 90s.

[@BlackThomas]

Shoutout to the random lady at the beginning.

[@MichaelMoore99]

Fish-eye lens? Where's the rap video with a couple of friends? ;-)

[@voltair42]

A+ bench, would sit again.

[@MorgothBauglyr]

that stinger might haunt me for a while...

[@falconJB]

Food must be super expensive in Canada is you think food is cheap in a US Trader Joe's.

[@DragongodZenos]

4 liters of milk can run like 6-7 bucks in the major cities.

[@amshermansen]

That's perfectly sensible though.

[@prehemencie1]

Milk is definitely cheap in the US thanks to the subsidies. It is probably not an item you should be using as the main example.

[@falconJB]

DragongodZenos Shit, in the city I live a gallon of milk is $1.69.

[@CaptianAwesome]

Less subsidies and more, in Canada milk production is fixed so supply is artificially low.

[@TheCrosshare]

Wonder what the idea was... ...or if graham remembers what it was and is now going "Oh!!"

[@berndb3141]

That oil seems fancy fot a microwave dish.

[@JoanneG110]

constellation is ursa major aka big dipper or the great bear

[@amunra13]

Thank you. I was about to post the same.

[@loadingreadyrun]

I know what the Big Dipper (and Ursa Major) are... this one looked different. Upon closer inspection, that's exactly what it is.

[@amunra13]

+loadingreadyrun I agree. The tail seemed too short.

[@AkinokazeHaruichiban]

Probably a Tanuki

[@odantherevrend]

Another note: constellations are 88 scientifically defined areas of the sky. More than likely when you're talking about specific stars making a picture, you're actually talking about an asterism, like the Big Dipper inside the constellation of Ursa Major.

[@iisazelx9340]

ngl I'm just imagining how many eggs would've been hatched with all of the walking you guys did

[@Kamora_40k]

Where is the new Feed Dump Episode? :D

[@MaraK_dialmformara]

At Con Bravo, probably.

[@nickbutler4095]

I'd probably break a few laws for a kitchen like that.

[@bustedsim]

OMG CIFFHANGER!

[@TheBobbytables]

squeezy marge........ive been doing it wrong my whole life.

[@jonasobrist]

Best kept secret in Japan (for god knows what reason), food is really really cheap. I now think that 20 USD for dinner (with drinks) is expensive because I've lived here too long...

[@benjamincoyle5316]

Well we know he didn't bring back a year's worth of convenience store food.

[@_silverword]

ayyyyyyyy grahm knows what kamen rider is

[@Agrus_Kadeen]

This Video length is Leet.

[@InspireTheNight]

I love you

[@ClandinShadow]

grahaam, you should have said "don't look now but there's a giant RAPTOR behind you"

[@TimChuma]

Almost everything made of wood was burned in Japan towards the end of WWII

[@acey195]

I really love this series, but some scenes have soo much fish-eye, it makes me dizzy :P

[@Moondoox_]

Just goes to show, it only takes two nuclear weapons and a foreign invasion for a good ol' post-war economic miracle.

[@maxpower2480]

So you used "and we have this kitchen" as a pro argument for making instant noodles... -.-

[@robertminnix6040]

Trader Joe's cheap...hah...food's pretty expensive in the US, at least to eat good quality stuff that isn't 50 cent noodles or other manufactured food

[@DavidLeeKersey]

Well it's not like it's Whole Food's expensive.

[@flinx]

Yeah. I mean Walmart food is cheap I hear. I buy some stuff at Trader Joes, but I mostly shop at Safeway and buy things on sale that week.

[@MrThaddeusRex]

walmart food is cheap, especially their 'quality foods' brand, but that's mainly because you can't survive off of eating it

[@joechill7492]

why do Canadians talk about America so much