Why Travelling Japan for 14 Days on $1,000 is Now Possible! |

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• Why Japan’s Train Enth...
Feat @AbroadinJapan
00:00 Japan is cheaper than ever!
05:06 The Morgan Freeman of Japan
11:06 Name change
16:59 999 Onagiri
19:47 Wacky Experiences?
24:16 UK Japanese Restaurants
26:55 Moving permanently?
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[@87CHIP]

I got married to a foreigner, so I spent the first few years with my former family name. My husband naturalized to Japanese, so we had to have the same family name. Because it was really weird for him to have a Japanese name, I changed mine to his. (good that his family name wasn't too long) I liked my former name because it matched my first name perfectly! I had to go through tones of paper work and phone calls to change all my ID's and stuff. I still use my former name at work and for when I take reservations, cuz that's way easier than using real name. :D

[@LastofAvari]

Yeah, changing name due to marriage is archaic.

[@fattiger6957]

Watching these travelling in Japan videos made me realize how expensive everything here in Canada is. Currently Yen to Canadian dollar is almost exactly 100Y to 1CND so the conversion is pretty easy. In Ontario (the most populated province) there is currently a housing and cost of living crisis so food and housing costs have skyrocketed in the last several years.

[@AldricSaint]

A friend of mine lives in Toronto and has to apartment jump every 6-12 months just so they aren't paying extortionate rent rates, but from what I've been seeing, that's looking to be a NA thing these days

[@HowlWorks]

The Big Mac in Canada is like $6.45 as well! Double the price of Japan and it just makes me so sad. It hurts being a Canadian right now.

[@viralmedia]

COMING TO JAPAN FOR 21 DAYS IN MAY!!! I've only recently discovered your Abroad In Japan channel. And what would of been a Tokyo only visit. You've inspired me to hit spots from Amori down to Hiroshima with a bunch of stop at spots you've featured in your videos. I've been to japan back in 2004 and fell for all the trappings of a first timer. Thanks for giving me a incredible resource to experience the real Japan! Me and my son are gonna pull this off on the thinnest of budgets so heres hoping we get to the end with a few yen to spare!!! THANKS CHRIS!!!!

[@viralmedia]

AND if I by some miracle spot you! Fried Chicken from Family Mart on me (requires selfie to redeem)

[@OneOlive1]

I've been listening to the podcast for a while. I really appreciate Pete. Pete is very talented!

[@ctg4818]

Chris is officially Japan's tourism minister

[@shpeen8835]

He's definitely responsible for a good % of the uptick

[@abyssus9304]

Dave & Pete sure do a great show!

[@Jasperience]

I'm pretty glad I figured out a way to use my name in my channel (Jasper + Experience)

[@TheToneBender]

I don't think Japan will change the double nationality thing, because Canada used to have that and doesn't anymore. I used to be able to get Canadian citizenship on top of my normal one, but now if I want it, I have to drop my normal one. But of course, if I do get the canadian one and want my old one back, I can just get that again. Which just seems like a lot of paperwork. Just give me both.

[@sheppertonstudios8253]

Pete is 100% correct : I always swing by Lawson on the way back from the bar and buy way too much shite, and there's always an onigiri in the fridge in the morning along with something weird like dried squid or cod that I thought I'd be brave and try but just ended up eating Hokkaido Milk Roll instead

[@The_NomadNinja]

A word of advice to anyone who is considering going to Japan... GO! GO NOW! The exchange rate is incredibly favorable right now, especially from the US Dollar $. It is like everything is discounted 30% off (accommodations, food, trains, etc.)

[@gravitydivide2576]

As a chef who deals with admin and management with head chefs and executive chefs. Him giving away 1k of anything is a death sentence. I hope he gave a very good discount to at least make up for the margin cost even without profit, but let me tell you one thing. I feel like this is a an amazing publicity stunt. I have no way to follow up on that particular location, also because I'm lazy, I work too much as is, but I have no doubt that he multiplied sales that day and triggered a mental state for people to consider the place in future. It's actually super smart. Even if it was true, that manager chose super well. Maybe corporate aren't happy, but I'm sure the sales shut them up hahaha

[@jameslawrence9865]

For the one looking for cheeky things during the honeymoon, near Kanazawa in Toyama, the castle experience can be had with dressing as a soldier and having yourself saluted with the staff in part of a role playing (including horses). That was 2019, but I missed out due to leaving the next day.

[@BubbleTea033]

Maybe in the next few episodes, could you take a few minutes to talk about the downsides of the yen being so shit? I've heard stories of stores pricing their own Japanese clientele out of the market in favor of raising prices because tourists are just so lucrative and shop with so much money. Obviously I'm not blaming the tourists, if anything, the shop owners shouldn't be doing this. But, if the yen is so weak, and there are a never ending supply of tourists in Tokyo, what keeps things affordable for Japanese people?

[@HansCent]

... and as soon as I book a ticket, hotel tickets go up! ... and it'll probably be worth it regardless !!

[@patsouthwood1397]

A friend of mine is exceptionally proud of his Porsche, every time I see it, he gets cross because I hoot with laughter at the registration plate. - It's 100 Yen.

[@Yohann26]

I agree with the message : bus drivers in Japan speaks a lot, and really softly. the reason is probably to avoid waking up the sleeping people, while still providing many information like "starting the engine", "turning to the left" etc... to avoid old people falling off or something ?

[@TravelJennie]

I worked with several male coworkers in Kuji, Iwate who took their wife's last name because she was an only child or the family only had girls. I thought that was pretty cool. As for different last names for kids, I disagree with the "inconvenience" Pete mentioned. I was never married to my daughter's father and she has both our last names and interchanges between the two depending on her mood that day 🙂 (she's 11, so that changes often). Never been an issue traveling internationally or domestically on planes. It helps that she looks like each of us. The bigger issue with traveling with kids is when airlines hassle and accuse parents of child trafficking because the kids look different, especially if their parents are of different ethnicities.

[@LargeHadronAnusCollider]

booked my flights in December pumped for my October adventure over 30 years in the making.

[@heidiluegisland8326]

Oh my god, I think I had last April in Kyoto the same bus driver!!!! I remember, I sat in the bus and melted because of his soothing voice😂. So I'm glad somebody noticed this too! 😅

[@predgington]

I would recommend trying Kibou restaurants. Our son, who has spent over a year in Japan (so far) said food was very authentic, if, unsurprisingly, more expensive.

[@thomasedwards6641]

I got on the wrong bus in Kyoto as well, I was thinking the bus was like the trains and always on time and just went on the one when it arrived at the right time without checking and ended up in a quite part where I had to get another bus to return me to my starting point as it was night and not many buses.

[@DrewLeybourn]

Kokoro genuinely slaps. The sweet chilli chicken is great.

[@garylyon2022]

Finally got a copy of your book the guy at Waterstones says it keeps selling out I got one of the last 2 copies in the store

[@FriedEggandChips]

I got mine a couple of weeks ago and the cashier said they'd heard so much about the book. I rambled for about 5 minutes to convince them to read it for themselves.

[@dominicclarkgolf4924]

Well done Pete on the car! Followed the updates with interest. Also thanks so much for sharing my Onsen story last week. 😂 I am back in Japan again this week. Went to a the fab Thermae Yu today in Shinjuku. Heaven☺️👍🛀

[@Jomon1976]

My wife and I went to Hokkaido in September for a couple weeks and I couldn't believe how inexpensive it was. The last time I went to Japan was in 2008 (volunteered for an archaeological dig in Aomori and was there almost the whole summer) and it was much more expensive. Now is a great time to go. We even stayed at a ryokan in Jozankei and spent less than we thought it would be.

[@kyumei_]

had good laughs this episode again, love the podcast guys!

[@Somni-Majen]

Literally sat in the airport returning home from 2 weeks in Japan while writing this. Everything was so cheap, it was awesome. A part of me felt bad for taking advantage of their recession though lol

[@millennialchicken]

We've got a similar sentiment here in Yorkshire when it comes to food waste: "Waste not, shall not"

[@rupertmiller9690]

Currently doing what I can to get my 30-something-year-old son on a plane to Hokkaido. He needs to see it for himself.

[@gsfsb693]

As a 30-year-old who just got back from Hokkaido, I absolutely agree that he does. Best of luck!

[@ImariQi]

Respect 🫡

[@auroraflash]

By the age of 30 he should know he’ll not be able to do this at any age.

[@Chris-ut6eq]

One-way or with return ticket? ;-p

[@stefficousins7270]

I'm 33 and will happily take the offer 😂

[@shpeen8835]

Flights to Japan much more expensive than last year from Toronto but the cost of hotels and meals still cheap enough I can upgrade hotels a bit this year. I'm taking more expensive direct flights however, could be cheaper with layovers. Worth the extra $ for me, less travel , less chance of losing luggage. Missing the JR pass but flights are cheaper than JR. CAD is worthless as well but if anything, it's 10 % less in CAD x Yen

[@Barrysushi569]

I’ve been travelling to japan over 20yrs on the Ozzie dollar. welcome to my world, at least yr on the US dollar /pound and still way ahead of me😢

[@nicktankard1244]

Japan did introduce a digital nomad visa just recently. But it's much worse than most other countries. It's only for 6 months, which is nothing because you need to find long-term accommodation and get settled. 1 year should be the minimum for these things, but preferably long-term as long as you have work and pay taxes.

[@jasonsmith6106]

Also if you do enter via some sort of visa like this be mindful of the taxation treatment you could be subject to. Short term 6mnth visa approvals will subject you to then work elsewhere (ex Japan) for 6 mnths in any given calendar year and would run you the risk of being dual taxed under some countries 186 day tax ruling. Be mindful to check out taxation considerations not just visa requirements for anything less than 12mnths otherwise you could end up with a nasty tax liability, complex paperwork or both.

[@nicktankard1244]

@@jasonsmith6106 yes that’s probably the reason why they limited it to 6 months. They don’t want to deal with the tax residence implications. But it’s not the end of the world. I’d gladly pay taxes and hire an accountant for the opportunity to live in the country long term

[@sirBrouwer]

@@nicktankard1244 maybe look in to it if you could become the (one man) company in Japan. so in effect you would sponsor your own visa. Before you do that do ask if that is possible when visiting the Japanese ambassy or a consulate in your country. It might work.

[@revramen]

Literally watching this in Japan after getting cheap plane tickets and now taking massive advantage of the Swiss Franc to Yen exchange rate. Things are like a third to a fifth the price here compared to at home 😂

[@moltendaniel]

My friend and i are coming to japan in 13 days for 17 nights. Strange number i know but we wanted 2 weeks and it wound up being a lot cheaper to go for longer so you can bet we are taking advantage of that. Hotels and flights total came to £1635 each all together. So excited for this and if i happen to run in to chris i am going to give him a hug and thank him so much because if it wasnt for him we probably wouldnt have bit the bullet and decided to finally go to our dream destination

[@kimropp3696]

I am currently planning my next trip to Japan, and I'm glad that things are so affordable right now. The airfare from the U.S. has doubled since my 2018 trip, and I'll need those savings to even it out a bit.

[@Crossingt]

We are very lucky in Perth WA and have good Japanese places to eat. In my suburb there is a place, Omuya, that our Japanese friend says is as good as in Japan . Only a five minute walk from my desk at RPH is a reasonably priced and delicious small shop, Aruhi, that does bentos, bowels and fried food all made fresh everyday. The beef roll (Australian style) at 10am is great as it so fresh and still has warm. 10 minutes from my desk is Godzilla Kare which is the best katsu curry. For lunch these places are cheaper than Maccas. My real guilty pleasure is a small shop called the Quokka Arms ( bit odd as as it a Japanese/ Brazilian place). For $9.50 I get a freshly made katsu sando and a bowel of hot chips. Fat and salt overload so its only a very occasional thing but it is so good

[@janusmcgee8909]

The announcer impersonations are the funniest thing you’ve ever done on this podcast 🤣🤣🤣

[@badcat725]

Congratulations pete ❤❤

[@SparklingWineSocialist]

I think I know which bus driver Matt and Elly had! I had the pleasure of riding on his bus in Kyoto as well and he had such a silky voice 😂

[@hsbdarkit]

If you please try Shokudo in my local town, I had a friend who worked there and said the main chef trained in Japan and if its not high quality it will be rejected at delivery in If you do please do a video

[@uss_04]

Always wondered if Chris name was May or Way would it be called Away in Japan.

[@James-hy8zs]

Do the announcements on trains in Japan tell you which side to leave the train from? Found this super handy on the S-Bahn in Berlin ,,Aufstieg Links''

[@timothyfolkins4651]

They do, but usually only in Japanese, except for Narita express and shinkasen, in which case they will announce in English as well. Just listen for migi (right) and hidari (left) and you will probably figure it out.

[@Unsubscribbled]

Chris, I really like your voice! :D

[@blapblapblapblap]

Yeah I spent maybe 900 CAD (around 660 USD) for 10 days in Japan, it's insane! I think avoiding conbini saved me a lot of money.

[@JapanMediaTour]

On my way over in the fall! Hopefully it stays cheap

[@Toddis]

What do you mean? JAPan #1! Let's go Japan 🗾

[@ShazniAG]

Current airfare and accommodation prices kind of negate the savings of traveling in Japan unless you head out of the bigger cities.

[@FoxDie77777]

What about rural japan? Is it worth visiting? Is more expensive/cheaper?

[@Hentastic01]

I only get a cool voice when I'm sick, the rest of the time it sounds like im 12, at least in my head it does 😅

[@romroger]

there is a muscle girl bar in Tokyo which seems interesting

[@andreapassante5653]

IT stuff may be in high demand, but they pay peanuts. I looked, I properly looked, but I'd have to take a paycut of 50% for a position equivalent to my current one to work in Japan, and that's also considering jobs that don't offer sponsorship, as my wife is Japanese and I could get a spouse visa.

[@dayla8634]

I've been married for almost 10 years now in Japan. My wife kept her name. No issues.

[@y416]

Are you both Japanese? I thought the law applies to Japanese couples, but not couples of mixed nationality.

[@kevinwebb82]

We all know Chris' real name is Barry Chopsticks.

[@machinegunn3559]

#fax machine Hey chris and Pete. Love the podcast and love watching abroad in japan. We are visiting Japan for the first time this coming May and will be spending a day in Sendai. Wondering if there is a must see, must do, or must eat in town and you would recommend since you lived there for so long. Thanks guys love the podcast!

[@Stephen-up3sd]

Chris has done a number of excellent videos featuring Sendai - the only problem is that Ryotaro frequently appears!😂

[@Queltamas]

My dad has 30+ years of IT experience from France and Canada and wants to move to Japan but he lacks some education requirements so he can't apply anywhere despite being easily more overqualified than anyone else.

[@Toddis]

Pistol Pete was an old school basketball player

[@MadsMcKay]

Didn't know that was actually Chris's last name. I worked at a magic shop with a guy who's last name was Wonder, I was CONVINCED he changed it for his career but swears he did not.

[@Mage_Nichlas_]

I really hope that it can stay weak next year because I can't go this year. I'm waiting on my job to call me back.

[@LastofAvari]

15:42 Good old Abe Road :)

[@auroraflash]

NON-STOP SOUTH 🎉

[@p1ural391]

There is the travel cost and then there are the souvenirs and impulse buy costs. 😂

[@Redpantslol]

I always get personalized license plates, but they're more personal than "braggy" or obnoxious. Except in Japan... the US has letters but in Japan it's just numbers. So, my personalized plate in Japan is just "15" haha

[@teliyanus]

The YT Versions seems to be fine, but the audio on Spotify has been miserable for the last couple of episode, constant background noise/static whenever Chris is talking.

[@ultimaterex]

The youtube version has the same static humm when chris talks, it's just less pronounced for some reason

[@Peanutsubatta]

Just a critical thinker and also for those that hate overtourism ; Sometimes I wondered why KZbinrs in Japan promoted Kyoto,Tokyo and rural Japan so blatantly, that it is always because of the KZbinrs that go or live there that Japan comes to overtourism. Again, there is this reflection that they do not like that there are so many tourists but even the quiet places are getting further promotions so that there is no quiet place in Japan (even the most beautiful towns with nature). I know that this is how they gain more viewers and their income but taking it down a knotch would really help overturn the Situation. Just stop making more of those videos like '' if you don't like crowded places check out Shirakawago ! '' 🤦‍♀ now there are tons of people walking with those Selfie Sticks in hand and you just can't take in the beautifull scenery. I Hope it will calm down soon really😂

[@NicoleT-d7k]

I am coming in April and I have to say the hotels aren’t cheap. I was really hoping for cheaper accommodations. With a family, a capsule hotel won’t work.

[@lyndylou752]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉MOT obtained 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@flavorhostage]

I thought Mudan was in Japan on the digital nomad visa.

[@InsoIence]

I think he called it something like '1 year tourist working visa', however I'm not sure about the details.

[@bleach852789]

Lets be real, we're only here for car updates

[@lyndylou752]

Future news flash “Man left by wife during honeymoon after he tries to shock her in Japan, needless to say he was the one in shock “😂😂😂🤪🤪

[@NOC-H]

#faxmachine. Hello Chris and Pete. This one’s for Chris. My name is H, I’m coming to Japan for a 1 day stay (scheduled extended layover on a separate trip). Can you suggest a d@mend fine okonomiyaki AND ramen place I can easily get to in Tokyo. Preferable around akibahara. But I care more about awesomeness. Thanks. H.

[@the_one_gio]

Really hoping the Nomad visa goes through and they increase it to a year. I'd love to live in Japan but it will take several years for my Japanese to get to a level where I can be proficient enough to get a job.

[@Bloodworia]

Gonna be a week in England soon, damn this shit is expensive in comparison to Japan. The accomodations are all pretty shit. Even considering it takes above 1k euros these days to even travel to Japan it still feels bad traveling the UK

[@a1chemi]

I recommend Mr. Hedgy.

[@tamikash]

It's difficult for women having to go through changing all our documents to our spouses name. In some western countries, women can add the spouses name but it's so much work when we get divorced to go and change it again.

[@jflabeets1]

My wife has a dual name on our koseki and her Japanese passport. What are you talking about?

[@y416]

I’m a foreigner, so both my wife and I were able to keep our names, but my wife chose to add my family name to her family name in her passport (it shows up in parenthesis). Problem is, we’ve had problems with border control in multiple countries because the agents don’t know why this additional name in parenthesis doesn’t match their computers. Caused some moments of worry while the agents deliberated, but we’ve always made it through after some delay😅

[@saltycross]

💜💜💜

[@asifazam4512]

I would avoid Japanese food in England. I went to Wagamama's in Derby city. In the big shopping Centre I think it was called Intu or Westfield. Anyways the rice tasted like shit and it was really overpriced. So, the next day I went to KFC and the food was much better.

[@MJ-zx3ct]

I just spent 32 days watching all your videos back to back and have one question if you could please answer: are you youtuber?

[@charlottelanvin7095]

what's an emautee?

[@iamsheunicorn00]

MOT, stands for Ministry of Transport. The MOT certificate confirms that a vehicle meets the minimum acceptable environmental and road safety standards.

[@mrmoonlight9829]

Fairly solid kiwi accent hahah

[@georgebenta3435]

Is the $1000 just for 1 person?

[@TheClintonio]

Kanada-ya, Machi-ya and Ippudo were my go to Japanese restaraunts in London for dinner, with Wasabi for lunch. Itsu is vile "healthy" food nonsense.

[@TheClintonio]

Oh be quiet Pete, maid cafes are funny once or twice.

[@jessicaluchesi]

YAY FOR CAR MOT!!!! ( or whatever, as a Brazilian, I don't have the f*c#ing idea what that is or why... in Brazil you just say your car is an old collector car and you get a special license plate and you have limited running around but it is understood as driving your car for fun and 01 collector's car won't impact carbon or anything at all ... on the line of... getting gasoline collectors cars will just get more expensive as petrol runs out and it is gonna be a collectors item anyway )....

[@jessicaluchesi]

Comment on cheap Japan.... I did go to Japan doing my math following Chris and went US$500 over budget for a 30 (not 14) day trip... which would mean... maybe 200 overbudget for 14 days? Not doing math for math... but just one helpful comment useful for those on a budget only Nick did... supermarket food is your friend, supermarket bento is your friend. IF you and nowhere close to a supermarket and close to Combini... yes, Combini.... but if you have a supermarket close: The supermarket combini is gonna be cheaper and tastier 8 times out of 10. Yes, I did HAVE to test that. Anyway, all the best for everyone, store for unantecipated events such as paying for a bus out of your plan or needing an extra Shinkansen ticket... and just enjoy. Love, Jessica from Brazil

[@davinci1681]

First ☺️

[@chadwick7176]

ILL BOOK A TRIP IF I CAN MEET YOU CHRIS. YOUR THE ONLY FAMOUS PERSON I WANNA MEER

[@wayale94080]

In the U.S., that term is definitely a slur.

[@auroraflash]

Siuuuu

[@InsoIence]

Pete, your take on maid cafes vs wildlife cafes is rather odd. I always wonder why Brits care so much about a facade, rather than what something is. Animals can't consent, humans can and clearly do in these places. Keeping birds of prey in a building is not life. Whether you care or not, you can take the piss at what I just said, I don't mind. Just please don't spread these harmful stereotypes (about regular, consenting, adult workers in cafes) and encourage (albeit maybe not on purpose) people to enable business, that profits off of limiting living beings' freedom, for human entertainment. *These are not domesticated animals.* This is quite disappointing.

[@MrFfrenchh]

Lies.... the yen may be weak, but does that matter when prices all go up? The bullet train prices are all up. Costs have gotten high as well. Poor local japanese pay hasn't gone up, but the cost of living has risen.

[@Thekowaikaiju]

Enough with the damned car! Haha And jsyk I cannot stand CDawg's voice. Comes off super pretentious.

[@system3008]

Is it me or does pete seem to find everything offensive/even for others these days?

[@Stephen-up3sd]

It’s been a long term thing!