This is a double-barrelled comment. 1. I'm LOVING this vlog, and I really appreciate you sharing your vacation with us. 2. I would watch an entire series of just "Graham makes jokes about Japanese signage."
I'm sure Norbert, with their incredible capacity to follow humans and be cute as heck, is now Top Manager of Deer Biscuit Affairs back at the park--Good on you Norbert, you make us proud!
This is just so fun to watch. Its got this personal "hey come on this trip with us" feel to it, thank you for sharing this trip with us. I've been hoping to see more of this since the first one was upload days ago. I could spend and want to spend watching you travel Japan. Makes me want to travel!
When I was in Nara park we were shown around by one of the deer-handleres, and she told us they had to cut the deer's antlers every winter because if they didn't they would grow big enough to knock people out when the deer bowed for biscuits. My favorite thing in Nara was the huge Buddha and the pillar with the hole the size of the Buddha's nostrils, where you were challenged to crawl trough to obtain eternal happiness or something. I was dragged trough by my friends, so I guess the lesson is that happiness requires friendship or something like that.
Funny thing is that most mattresses you will find at hotels and lodgings not specifically targeted at tourist are hard as all hell. Most people sleep on futons so yeah. Also the suplexing a deer thing is probably a reference to the anime Nichijou. It's worth a watch.
I assume the big Canadian flag emblem on the backpack strap was to make sure people didn't think you were Americans. As an American, I totally understand.
Glad you both had a good time in Nara. Your ryokan looked great but if you ever have the opportunity check out the Nara Hotel. Not only an impressive building but because it was made years ago it has unique bright red fire pickaxes in nearly every corridor.
Is the store itself temporary, though? Like, one of those mysterious fantasy shops that turns up one day and it seems like it was always there, but then next day it's gone again?
i'm going to japan in 3 weeks and my itinerary is surprisingly quite similar to yours! first few days in osaka, doing day trips to kyoto, then osaka to takayama for two nights then tokyo for the last few days.
"Full ham", Graham? I do believe you meant "full lamb" :P Loving these travel videos. Doubly glad that you and Kathleen seem to have had an amazing trip. Can't wait to see more!
The deer are accustomed to nipping at peoples' pockets, hoping to fish the biscuits out. This is why they're so pushy, though I don't quite think they understand the concept of pockets that well... I am also reminded of Bill and Tedd Whenever I pass by a Circle K.
Same phrase book FTW. Didn't use it once as everyone spoke enough English for us to get by it seemed. We got some great photos of Nara deer. Did you bow back at them? You had the same thought that they seemed like cardboard too huh...my exact comment to the missus! It's funny how much you look for areas away from school groups. We didn't go into Todaiji as we had our backpacks on still and it was really hot and full of kids plus we'd just come from Kyoto so had had our fill of temples by that point. Kinda regret not going in but only so much you can do. Kofukuji, the 5 story pagoda, was really impressive though, especially for its age. If anybody has ever read/watched the manga/anime/movie Gantz then visit Nara and you'll recognise some statues.
I knew Nara would be mentioned the moment I saw that deer in the first video! Big surprise that the Naruto character Shikamaru has the family name of Nara and Shika means "deer." As far as I can tell, the "shika senbei" you guys were feeding the deer are just rice crackers.
Yeah, I love walking around urban areas in Japan, seeing ridiculous Engrishy shop names, and making snarky remarks to myself. The one in the stinger is just awesome.
+Martin Drkoš Basically everywhere we went looked at us and thought, "Ah yes, gaijin" and spoke English or handed us the English menu. Not actually EVERYWHERE, but you don't need to talk to the 7-11 clerk.
You know how sometimes you go from not knowing a thing could exist to wanting it way too much? Now I kinda want this series to end with a "Ways to Japan." Some of those deer shots would make an amazing Sam Raimi.
... I never knew I could love a place that I've never been to before, and only after, what 30 minutes? But I suspect it's super hot and or humid there,and that is not good for my nervous system. :(
+bustedsim The humidity is the most surprising aspect, it's like walking through soup. As someone who doesn't handle heat well, the whole trip was totally worth it, but maybe try the autumn?
Best time to visit Japan is spring or autumn. I am working in a country with regularly 50+ celsius temperatures, though, so I am looking forward to the relative coolness of the Japanese summer.
the deer was not messager from Budda, it was messager from Kami (japanese Shinto god). at first, these area was Kasuga shrine in the 8th century, which was original japanese religion "Shinto". after that Buddhism came to japan, those joined together in 9th century.
14:30 - I'm pretty sure you need the Sake-Pass to buy from those machines. At least, I always assumed that was an ID thing and not a pre-paid booze card.
lol, actually the kids don't buy alcohol at the vending machines - because the convenience stores and liquor stores just don't card them. I used to wonder if cheeky kids would sneak off to the vending machine at night, but when I asked some kids what they did, they were incredulous. "Huh? No, we just go to the liquor store when we want liquor." The entire idea of sneaking around for alcohol was just completely foreign to them. It's a funny thing, because schools tend to have complete, totalitarian control over a child's life - so there's a ton of kids out there with no respect for their parents, authority, or the law - but if their school says, "Students aren't allowed to go to video game arcades," you'd better believe those kids aren't going near an arcade. But the liquor store? Funnily enough, there's no school rule against drinking (just a national law), so the kids just go to the liquor store instead of the video game arcade.
Fun fact: There are so many vending machines in Japan that there is one vending machine for every 27 people in the country! Japan's population is about 125,700,000.
I like the conspicuous Canadian flag on Graham's bag. Was that for national pride or so people don't mistake you for Americans? ;) P.S. These videos are great by the way. I kind of want to go to Japan now.
I can't speak for Kathleen and Graham, but my husband and I will be traveling to Japan in about a week and a half and staying for a week in Tokyo and a week in Kyoto (with a side trip to Nara inspired by this video xD) and it's costing about $5,000 for the two of us, including airfare, hotel, and a two week JR pass.
Refraining from any dumb Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference, I gotta say: Paper towels and electric dryers in restrooms are pretty wasteful... Your Hands should be clean after washing. So unless it's freezing, there should be no problem drying them on your pants/letting them air-dry.
Gotta come back to that park as Krog some day and lay out some deer with The Perfect System! Graham may not be able to suplex a deer, but who is gonna stop a caveman from runnin' wild on some protected wildlife?
oh i remember you saying that, but i thought it was planing the trip. since they were holding penelope. i thought you were filming in japan at the time. also, man your fast with your responces.
![FEED BIRBS [PAX Aus 8]](/img/n.gif)
This is a double-barrelled comment. 1. I'm LOVING this vlog, and I really appreciate you sharing your vacation with us. 2. I would watch an entire series of just "Graham makes jokes about Japanese signage."
Rewatch phail-haus lucky teapot never gets old
#MakePhailHausGreatAgain
Robo9400
I think it survived based on when I last binged the site.
it is own their site
Star Otters in the spaaace!
Those deer being all pushy to get the biscuits and then when Graham tried to pet them being all "nuh-uh, dude, you ain't getting none of THIS"...
I'm sure Norbert, with their incredible capacity to follow humans and be cute as heck, is now Top Manager of Deer Biscuit Affairs back at the park--Good on you Norbert, you make us proud!
As someone who is a huge fan of LRR and badly wants to visit Japan - this is my dream series :)
The pushy ones are so cute! Amazing they bow for their food. Amazing deer.
I've had a really stressful week, and seeing you guys feed cute deer, really helped me relax :)
Some sort of sidewalk slam! Deer are truly savage.
This is just so fun to watch. Its got this personal "hey come on this trip with us" feel to it, thank you for sharing this trip with us. I've been hoping to see more of this since the first one was upload days ago. I could spend and want to spend watching you travel Japan. Makes me want to travel!
I can't be the only one who marked out when Graham used the phrase "some kind of sidewalk slam".
When I was in Nara park we were shown around by one of the deer-handleres, and she told us they had to cut the deer's antlers every winter because if they didn't they would grow big enough to knock people out when the deer bowed for biscuits.
My favorite thing in Nara was the huge Buddha and the pillar with the hole the size of the Buddha's nostrils, where you were challenged to crawl trough to obtain eternal happiness or something. I was dragged trough by my friends, so I guess the lesson is that happiness requires friendship or something like that.
Man, this is reminding me of my visit to Nara a couple years back. That place is amazing.
Those deer were adorable. Awesome vid guys.
I think the "suplex a deer" was a reference to Nichijou, where the principal at the school suplexes a deer in one episode.
My mind is blown, the fact that deers bow for their cookies.
Funny thing is that most mattresses you will find at hotels and lodgings not specifically targeted at tourist are hard as all hell. Most people sleep on futons so yeah.
Also the suplexing a deer thing is probably a reference to the anime Nichijou. It's worth a watch.
I assume the big Canadian flag emblem on the backpack strap was to make sure people didn't think you were Americans. As an American, I totally understand.
varmintx0 the worlds view of us as people isn’t great.
I really like going on holiday with Graham and Kathleen.
Glad you both had a good time in Nara. Your ryokan looked great but if you ever have the opportunity check out the Nara Hotel. Not only an impressive building but because it was made years ago it has unique bright red fire pickaxes in nearly every corridor.
I love this series! Keep 'em coming!
I went to Hokkaido last year. This brings back so many memories. :')
Planning a trip myself, love your perspective!
I've been there! The deer are one of a kind eh? The temple inside was soooo nice as well, how did you guys find the heat?
"who trained these deer to be so pushy?" wonders Graham, as he gives all the cookies to the pushiest deer. the ones who were more shy barely got any.
+Yana Malysheva I panicked! Also, off camera, I made a point to reward the more chill deer.
You don;t really get a choice, you buy them then you get jumped by the dear
These vlogs are fantastic, keep them coming please! :)
If that was the Permanent Store, where do I go to buy my Instants and Sorceries?
At the temporary store, obviously.
Is the store itself temporary, though? Like, one of those mysterious fantasy shops that turns up one day and it seems like it was always there, but then next day it's gone again?
i'm going to japan in 3 weeks and my itinerary is surprisingly quite similar to yours! first few days in osaka, doing day trips to kyoto, then osaka to takayama for two nights then tokyo for the last few days.
"Full ham", Graham?
I do believe you meant "full lamb" :P
Loving these travel videos. Doubly glad that you and Kathleen seem to have had an amazing trip. Can't wait to see more!
The deer are accustomed to nipping at peoples' pockets, hoping to fish the biscuits out. This is why they're so pushy, though I don't quite think they understand the concept of pockets that well...
I am also reminded of Bill and Tedd Whenever I pass by a Circle K.
Oh man, Nara was amazing - I went there 2? years ago?
And my chest was real popular with the deer. Straight up became a surrogate mother for the day.
Same phrase book FTW. Didn't use it once as everyone spoke enough English for us to get by it seemed. We got some great photos of Nara deer. Did you bow back at them? You had the same thought that they seemed like cardboard too huh...my exact comment to the missus!
It's funny how much you look for areas away from school groups. We didn't go into Todaiji as we had our backpacks on still and it was really hot and full of kids plus we'd just come from Kyoto so had had our fill of temples by that point. Kinda regret not going in but only so much you can do. Kofukuji, the 5 story pagoda, was really impressive though, especially for its age.
If anybody has ever read/watched the manga/anime/movie Gantz then visit Nara and you'll recognise some statues.
All that stuff looks pretty damn interesting. Would love to feed some deer myself.
This makes me really want to go back to Japan soon
You should've checked for Dual-Lands, Moxen and Tarmogoyfs at the Permanent Store...
8:20
Wow...that's worth going to Japan to see.
But Graham, you can't get instants or sorceries at the permanent store!
loving the series! can't wait for the next one ":D
the deer suplex thing is a nichijou reference, theres a principle that does that
I knew Nara would be mentioned the moment I saw that deer in the first video! Big surprise that the Naruto character Shikamaru has the family name of Nara and Shika means "deer." As far as I can tell, the "shika senbei" you guys were feeding the deer are just rice crackers.
In the anime they also tend the forests around the city. It was a plot point in a few episodes.
Starting a petition for Graham and Kathleen for The Amazing Race.
Yeah, I love walking around urban areas in Japan, seeing ridiculous Engrishy shop names, and making snarky remarks to myself. The one in the stinger is just awesome.
*Adds Nara to travel checklist*
nara city. oh, deer me
You're fired
Leave it to Graham to make wrestling jokes out of a warning sign. To be fair I laughed heartily at said jokes.
Can't wait to see more vlogs!
Everything is burnable, if the temperature is high enough.. =)
4:34 Graham names a podcast nearly 5 Months-ish before he starts it :P
Oh yeeeeeeeeaaaah, Good point.
The phrase "Some sort of sidewalk slam" has been a thing for a while now. For example, G dropped it on the lrrcon LNDF just to get Alex.
To be fair "Sidewalk Slam" is not unique to LRR. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powerslam#Sidewalk_slam
You got those cellphone lenses! And the mighty mic. How did you get on with those?
Some sort of deer-walk slam!
(Caretaker for Scale) I'm dead now. This killed me.
So did you guys usually try first English or Japanese? And how successful were you?
+Martin Drkoš Basically everywhere we went looked at us and thought, "Ah yes, gaijin" and spoke English or handed us the English menu.
Not actually EVERYWHERE, but you don't need to talk to the 7-11 clerk.
Hey! I think I saw Shikamaru and Shikako in the background!
You know how sometimes you go from not knowing a thing could exist to wanting it way too much?
Now I kinda want this series to end with a "Ways to Japan." Some of those deer shots would make an amazing Sam Raimi.
... I never knew I could love a place that I've never been to before, and only after, what 30 minutes? But I suspect it's super hot and or humid there,and that is not good for my nervous system. :(
Summers are incredibly humid and you have my pity if you're there in the spring and have allergies.
Anything is better than mid Texas
+bustedsim The humidity is the most surprising aspect, it's like walking through soup. As someone who doesn't handle heat well, the whole trip was totally worth it, but maybe try the autumn?
Best time to visit Japan is spring or autumn. I am working in a country with regularly 50+ celsius temperatures, though, so I am looking forward to the relative coolness of the Japanese summer.
Never, and I repeat, NEVER come to the East cost of Australia.
At 6:03 a deer come out with an RKO out of nowhere.
10:54 I think you are supposed to announce "Train" if you lead a creature into an unsuspecting group like that :)
the deer was not messager from Budda, it was messager from Kami (japanese Shinto god). at first, these area was Kasuga shrine in the 8th century, which was original japanese religion "Shinto". after that Buddhism came to japan, those joined together in 9th century.
14:30 - I'm pretty sure you need the Sake-Pass to buy from those machines. At least, I always assumed that was an ID thing and not a pre-paid booze card.
+Adderkleet [G] I just straight-up bought beer from them with cash. So, IDK.
loadingreadyrun
Looking into it: It *was* a thing, an ID card scanner or drivers license checker. But it was scrapped, so now you can just buy beer.
nah it just detects beards now.
I don't recall seeing that many Asian people with beards. Well except martial arts masters.
Can you guys speed up publishing these a little? Im going to japan in a couple of weeks and all this is really cool information.
you shoulda said "absolute venison" on the deer thing. purrfect pun.
like 15:30/16:00 time zone btw
16:32
TEN THOUSAND YEARS WE SLUMBERED
NOW WE RISE
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
How many countries is Circle K in? I remember it from Taiwan and Vietnam
I wonder if it's common for Japanese people to carry a personal tenegui since there are no hand towels in the bathrooms?
Sidewalk Slam plug at 4:30
lol, actually the kids don't buy alcohol at the vending machines - because the convenience stores and liquor stores just don't card them.
I used to wonder if cheeky kids would sneak off to the vending machine at night, but when I asked some kids what they did, they were incredulous. "Huh? No, we just go to the liquor store when we want liquor." The entire idea of sneaking around for alcohol was just completely foreign to them.
It's a funny thing, because schools tend to have complete, totalitarian control over a child's life - so there's a ton of kids out there with no respect for their parents, authority, or the law - but if their school says, "Students aren't allowed to go to video game arcades," you'd better believe those kids aren't going near an arcade.
But the liquor store? Funnily enough, there's no school rule against drinking (just a national law), so the kids just go to the liquor store instead of the video game arcade.
Did your trip go anywhere near the Kansai region? I'm going to be studying abroad near the area from September
+Gilgidane Both videos so far are in Kansai-take a look at episode 1 for a map. Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto are *all* in the Kansai region :)
proof I've been awake too long, completely forgot nara is in kansai -_- for some reason I had it in my head it was near tokyo
Graham and Kathleen's 2015 trip to Japan? Is this uploaded late or did i win the "spot the mistake" sweepstakes? :D
some sort of sidewalk slam hype!
12:28 NEW INTERSTITIAL MUSIC I LOVE IT
Oh my god, Nichijou reference request! Awesome. XD -laughing-
Fun fact: There are so many vending machines in Japan that there is one vending machine for every 27 people in the country! Japan's population is about 125,700,000.
I like the conspicuous Canadian flag on Graham's bag. Was that for national pride or so people don't mistake you for Americans? ;)
P.S. These videos are great by the way. I kind of want to go to Japan now.
Drat, I was hoping I was the first one to post that thought.
How affordable was this trip? oh and when is the next one?
I can't speak for Kathleen and Graham, but my husband and I will be traveling to Japan in about a week and a half and staying for a week in Tokyo and a week in Kyoto (with a side trip to Nara inspired by this video xD) and it's costing about $5,000 for the two of us, including airfare, hotel, and a two week JR pass.
You left home without a towel!?
can I has more deer biscuits?
Strange happenings at the circle K
"The deer is their thing, and they went full ham with it..."
Tho poor deer!
Refraining from any dumb Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy reference, I gotta say: Paper towels and electric dryers in restrooms are pretty wasteful... Your Hands should be clean after washing. So unless it's freezing, there should be no problem drying them on your pants/letting them air-dry.
Going ham with the deer? Wouldn't that be venison? :D
My feet hurt just looking at all that walking...
"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K."
Go to the Fox Village!
Oh and the Rabbit Island! Get swarmed by hordes of bunnies!
Wait you show us the mascot of this town, a cute adorable deer, and you only got a magnet? We're the plush toys super expensive
+IndyX No, but they were large.
I quickly read this as feeding deer in narnia
Gotta come back to that park as Krog some day and lay out some deer with The Perfect System! Graham may not be able to suplex a deer, but who is gonna stop a caveman from runnin' wild on some protected wildlife?
12:40 Sam rami
Deer, Japan's adorable seagulls. Not to be confused with actual seagulls, who will cut you.
im confused. was this the pre-penelope age?
Check episode 1-Kathleen was 5 months pregnant at the time.
oh i remember you saying that, but i thought it was planing the trip. since they were holding penelope. i thought you were filming in japan at the time.
also, man your fast with your responces.
Glub glub, I'm a fish, give me back my eye
On supplex-ing a dear, please check Nichijou: my ordinary life
The caretaker for scale xD
I have to say the part I Found most humorous was when you, as tourists, were complaining there were to many tourists. Ah the irony. :-D
+J Barr Oh that wasn't meant as s complaint, merely an observation.
me suplex dear clip would have gone great there
The "wear a Canadian flag so they don't think you're from the US" is a real thing apparently. I clearly need to get out more.
Not only a real thing, but a surprisingly valid thing. Hating on the US is common, hating Canada is rare
The real question is did you find any panty vending machines.
Deer-shasa! 1! 2! 3! Deer-Ske Nara-mura wins lol
Feeding deer costs buck fifty :p
角がある鹿は危ないぞ！
This is pretty narley
i want to own 3000 deer and then have them eat my body when i die
deer conter attack
Just dry your hands on your jeans, like everyone in the UK does.