Japan Opened to Commodore Perry’s 1854 “Black Ship” in Shimoda | Perry Road to Ryosenji

[@northbynorth414]

Love episodes like this with the included historical context. Just over a week from now will be landing at Haneda before heading north on the Shinkansen to Hakodate, the other location you just explained was opened to American ships in addition to Shimoda. Thanks to our learning from the Only in Japan livestreams we will be staying at the Only in Japan featured Onsen Hotel (Hotel Villa Fontaine Grand Haneda Airport) there in Haneda Airport followed by LaVista Hakodate Bay Hotel with one of the best breakfast buffets in Japan per your having tried it out for us when you and Kanai stayed there. Thanks again for all the valuable information provided. Dale in Alaska

[@Ellen-z8p]

What an amazing view! Thanks for taking us with you, John!

[@GilAsakawa]

Hi John, Nice to learn about Shimoda's role in the opening of Japan to the US. As a kid my family lived for a year in Iwakuni and I attended 2nd grade at the Matthew C. Perry Elementary School on the US Marine Corps Air Base. Perry's presence is still strong throughout Japan. Also thanks for the Sakura (and ume) updates. I can't believe it's been almost a year since Erin and I were in Tokyo and Takayama and enjoyed a really long Sakura season from the end of March to the beginning of April....

[@MaShcode]

We were there just last year! The history and sites are skewed a bit toward toward pushing the “friendship” narrative. More like painful arm twisting combined with the threat of force. Thank you for pointing out this fact. Did you try the fresh Kinme at the nearby fishing port? Cheap and tasty. Ito was the bomb.

[@crystalting3384]

Hi John, thanks for the video. Love it and watched it twice! For the reasons being: 1. I like this kind of history, 2. The weather is so lovely, 3. It’s a beautiful place! 4. I’ve been to there before but at night, so I had no idea how it looks in day time 😂 it’s a lovely little place! And I took the same train 😊

[@DgM70]

Thanks Awesome informative video! What a great idea get out of the city! Beautiful little town!

[@mogutan]

Oh man! I had those Lonely Planet books when I traveled abroad along with language books. Don't miss carrying all those book while traveling and we have it better now it's all through the smartphone.

[@Gazumi-inOZ]

🇦🇺 Visited & stayed 5 nights in Shimoda 2019 ... great 'city E-Bike' riding & near the bike hire hub birds were into the Olive trees, so we picked and ate the best Olives ever ! .. Good surfing beaches down there ... Great spot to see Namako walls (white plaster lattices over black background tiles) ... we ate our lunch on the cute table near the bridge at the end of the video !! ... Loved the Dogashima coastal area on the opposite side of the peninsula too, explored it by hire car 👍 Such a great area, even do-able as a day-trip from Tokyo that's often overlooked.

[@onlyinjapanGO]

I would love to stay here a lot longer. Pleasantly close but feels so far from Tokyo! Love it. The history is strong and the people are so nice, trading ports are usually pretty open.

[@jarihult]

Beautiful town ,great sceneries and cool History Lesson how great is that😎Everything looked great ,that cannon and all the buildings ,it couldn’t be better than that🙂Thank you for this enjoyable and relaxing stream John🙂👍!!!

[@kevinjenner9502]

A prime example of US “Gunboat Diplomacy”.

[@Ralesk]

What a lovely town! Great weather too, perfect for walking around. There's a town called Kushimoto in the west, there they are super proud of their contact with Turkish ships. That place also happens to be the southernmost point of Honshu. Maybe some story material for the next time you're in Wakayama prefecture? :D

[@dylano7242]

You're the only Japan content creator still posting! Are others, like abroad in Japan, toyko lens, not because of the latest earthquake??

[@rossanajhon3945]

Beautiful place. ❤

[@007007gf]

I stayed 2 nights in Shimida many years ago. Unfortunately, they did not promote Perry that much and it was a disappointment. I'm glad that things have changed. The seafood was delicious.

[@yogimew]

Shimoda is in Shizuoka Prefecture.

[@onlyinjapanGO]

You’re right, the border is near Atami. Izu Peninsula always throws me off with this. Treaty was signed in Kanagawa. Back then, not sure what the prefectures / territories were 🤔

[@yogimew]

@@onlyinjapanGOThere was the Izu prefecture. Over time, the peninsula went to Shizuoka and the outlying islands had gone under Tokyo admin.

[@yogimew]

Shizuoka is such a long prefecture. The fact that Hamamatsu and Shimoda belong to the same prefecture blows by mind.

[@bomrapaz07]

i love the videos you make wen you go out side Tokyo

[@johnlopez9626]

Have fun in the small town John I like learning new places this place was interesting so much history there is and I think the coffee shop was neat

[@rztrzt]

America was the agressor here, all those treaties were signed under duress, the Americans threathened Japan with war if they did not open the country to them. Flame away...

[@trixunix5411]

It's special(and very American) this kind of friendship! When one "friend" "press his demands" on the other "friend", backed by 9 battleships. Wonder what would've happened if Japan waived the privilege(?) to be besties with the US... I guess we all know the answer.

[@Traveljet14]

How sad to see the cherry trees have bloomed and are practically over. We are arriving on 2nd Mar to the Izu peninsula and thought we would drop by at Kawazu. We did visit the place when the sakura was in full bloom many years ago and thought we would revisit it. But I guess seeing the trees is not for this year.- at least we have our nice ryokan on a hill to look forward to. Great natural hotsprings and kaiseki meals. Yum!

[@onlyinjapanGO]

It’s a Kawazu variety. There are so many! This one is over. Somei Yoshino start in 2-3 weeks so it’s not yet begun :)

[@Traveljet14]

@@onlyinjapanGO We just arrived in Yokohama and will be in Izu 2-9 Mar so we will miss the coming one too. Thanks for your videos. Keep up the great work 😁

[@user-ib5mx8ro4k]

Someone said you and Peter had beef

[@MartianAmbassador69]

Only beef between them is the one flapping in the wind as they ride on the same motorcycle

[@user-ib5mx8ro4k]

@@MartianAmbassador69what?

[@axios101]

Nice place! Do You know some nice hotels/ryokans with onsen (better if also private ones) in the vicinity? it is in Izu peninsula... it should be filled to the brim with natural onsens...😉

[@kimmickal]

This is EXCELLENT, as always! How do you NOT run out of stories to tell about Japan, since Japan is considered a small country in the area?!

[@REVIEWSONTHERUN]

Look like a cool place. ✌️

[@NateCochrane]

Thanks for the ASMR walking tour of the region. Have often wondered what it’s like. It’s difficult for (non-Americans) to see the “Black Ships of Evil Mien” as anything other than the most prominent - and performatively heavy-handed - of the West’s attempts at the time to crack open 日本 for capitalist exploitation at the end of the barrel of a gun.

[@onlyinjapanGO]

I’m not sure if Japan could have stay closed much longer anyway - but the movement to end feudalism before the 20th century might have been a good thing … with the Meiji Restoration. With the shogun sick and no real leaders in 1854, Perry’s timing was good.

[@Yamato-tp2kf]

In 1854, Perry came with 9 ships and asked again to open to trade, at the time Tokugawa shogunate refused, and Perry had the approval from his superiors to use the so-called "Gunboat diplomacy", that was if they refused to comply, you bombard a city, and it was exactly what he did, I don't remember (I need to confirm) which city he bombarded but it was effective and the Shogunate was forced to open to commerce

[@karenmetcalf8765]

Great video. I’ve been following your videos for a while now as I have a trip planned for the end of May/June. This was a surprise finding a video on Commodore Perry. I live just inside the Ohio line and go to Presque Isle in Erie, PA frequently. There is a huge monument there of Commodore Perry where he won a battle there in the War of 1812. BTW where are you from in the US if you don’t mind me asking. I hear a tinge of a Canadian accent in some of your words and am just curious if you were from a border state with Canada.

[@elizabethsaid6141]

@@onlyinjapanGO to add Nate’s comment it’s not just non Americans who see commodore Perry as an evil man who was only interested in exploiting Japan Americans have that view as well. His visit is seen as a source of shame for most of us, it’s only when we here that Japanese people view it in a positive light that we change our minds. And this extends to our pre war relationship as hole Americans would say that we were never allies until the end of ww2 the Japanese would say that we were allies most of the time and it was only during the 1930s that our relationship was stained. So my question is how do you think we can resolve our different interpretations of history and come up with a common understanding of our pre war relationship?

[@DiRECs]

"open the country. stop having it be closed"

[@wiwingmargahayu6831]

zamzam water

[@merrynpreston9446]

We went on the black ship train which was commemorative of mr Perry super cool train.

[@merrynpreston9446]

In Atami

[@Michel02160]

A sad day for Japan. The colonial US way to act...always.

[@MartianAmbassador69]

Yeah, because being the catalyst for Japanese modernization worked out so poorly for them 🙄

[@monologos_]

1853 not 1854 at lest get the fact straight when making a video about a subject.