WEBVTT 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:07.240 - Ooh! - Yeah! 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:08.840 So far in my hard-hitting 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:11.240 current affairs series about Japanese culture... 00:00:11.280 --> 00:00:13.960 - What are you doing? -I've successfully dishonored 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:16.040 - the Northern Islands... -It's terrible. 00:00:16.080 --> 00:00:18.880 ...been put on a watch list on the mainland... 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:21.960 I feel like a pervert. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:23.520 ...and had a dunk with a monk 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:25.200 that we shall never speak of again. 00:00:25.200 --> 00:00:27.520 Yes, we are completely *. 00:00:27.560 --> 00:00:29.780 This time... this. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:31.640 - Trainspotters. - Trainspotters. 00:00:31.880 --> 00:00:33.600 Did you eventually meet some girls? 00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:35.440 Eh... 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:54.520 I finally hit the bustling hub of what most of us think of 00:00:54.560 --> 00:00:57.880 when we hear Japan: Tokyo. 00:00:57.920 --> 00:00:59.800 So, how to begin? 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:01.960 A dreadfully amusing shot of me being the tallest person 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:03.880 in a lift, perhaps. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:07.920 Or maybe we should set our sights a little higher. 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:13.280 Believe it or not, everything you're going to see 00:01:13.360 --> 00:01:14.920 out of the window of this helicopter 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:17.880 began life over 900 years ago 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:20.560 as a fishing village called Edo. 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:25.160 This is the biggest urban area on the planet. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:27.400 38 million people. 00:01:27.440 --> 00:01:29.320 It was also, of course, 00:01:29.360 --> 00:01:31.120 largely destroyed in World War II 00:01:31.160 --> 00:01:33.480 by American firebombing. 00:01:33.520 --> 00:01:37.200 Most of what you see today is obviously post-war. 00:01:37.240 --> 00:01:38.760 And then, of course, you mustn't forget 00:01:38.800 --> 00:01:40.880 that Godzilla, by my reckoning, 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:44.080 has destroyed Tokyo at least 15 times. 00:01:45.680 --> 00:01:47.880 Oh, my God, there it is now. No, it isn't. 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:51.240 As usual, I've arranged to meet with a local guide, 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:54.200 so I land my helicopter on one of the quieter streets 00:01:54.240 --> 00:01:55.720 and go to find him. 00:01:55.760 --> 00:01:58.240 Presumably at a suitably epic location. 00:01:58.280 --> 00:01:59.840 Konnichiwa. 00:02:01.480 --> 00:02:03.640 Which of this means "cats"? 00:02:07.720 --> 00:02:09.080 Konnichiwa. 00:02:11.040 --> 00:02:13.280 Hello, kitty. 00:02:13.320 --> 00:02:14.440 I said, "Hello, kitty." 00:02:14.520 --> 00:02:15.720 You'll have to kill me. 00:02:15.760 --> 00:02:17.160 Wash your hands, please. 00:02:17.160 --> 00:02:19.440 Thank you. 00:02:19.520 --> 00:02:20.960 "No flash, please. Don't hold a cat. 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.040 "Don't give food and drinks to the cats. 00:02:23.080 --> 00:02:25.160 If you're inflicted the injury, only first aid." 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:26.400 - Okay. - Thank you. 00:02:26.440 --> 00:02:28.520 Hello. 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:31.520 Cat cafés like this one have recently started 00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:33.360 springing up here and there in the West, 00:02:33.400 --> 00:02:36.240 but as usual with flights of whimsical madness, 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:39.360 Japan is far ahead of the curve. 00:02:39.400 --> 00:02:40.720 In Tokyo, you can find themed cafés 00:02:40.760 --> 00:02:42.720 for dogs, rabbits, 00:02:42.760 --> 00:02:46.120 snakes, owls, hedgehogs, robots... 00:02:46.160 --> 00:02:48.000 This is for mad cat people. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:52.440 Well, it's quite tricky. 00:02:52.480 --> 00:02:54.200 I think I'm gonna have one of those 00:02:54.240 --> 00:02:56.320 with chips and vegetables. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:02:58.720 I think you're supposed to choose 00:02:58.760 --> 00:03:00.520 which cat you would like to meet. 00:03:00.560 --> 00:03:03.720 Yukinojou. Ragdoll. 00:03:03.760 --> 00:03:06.320 I think that might be... 00:03:06.360 --> 00:03:09.800 that one? Seven. Ow. 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:12.320 Konnichiwa. 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:14.400 - Konnichiwa. -Are you Mr. James May? 00:03:14.440 --> 00:03:15.640 I am. 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:17.480 Hello, sir. Uh, it's a big honor. 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:19.320 My name is Samurai Yujiro. 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:20.960 - Oh, you're Yujiro. - Yes. 00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:22.600 Sorry. I thought you were a mad cat person. 00:03:22.640 --> 00:03:24.840 - Oh. -Konnichiwa. 00:03:24.880 --> 00:03:27.320 - Konnichiwa. - Sumimasen. Sumimasen. 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:29.320 - Your Japanese is better than mine already. -Fantastic. 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:30.640 - Yes. - Are you really a samurai? 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:33.280 I decided to get dressed as a samurai. 00:03:33.320 --> 00:03:35.440 - Right. - Because, literally, 00:03:35.480 --> 00:03:37.920 "samurai" comes from the word "saburau." 00:03:37.960 --> 00:03:39.440 Means "to serve the master." 00:03:39.480 --> 00:03:42.600 So I have decided I want you to be my master. 00:03:42.640 --> 00:03:44.120 And I'll be your samurai. 00:03:44.160 --> 00:03:45.600 I'll be the servant. 00:03:45.640 --> 00:03:47.560 - So, can I call you master? - Um... 00:03:47.600 --> 00:03:48.960 Master James? 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.480 Well, it's a bit weird, but, um... 00:03:51.520 --> 00:03:53.720 Okay. I'll call you "sensai." 00:03:53.760 --> 00:03:55.720 - Oh, sensei. Sensei, yes. - Sensei. Sorry. 00:03:55.760 --> 00:03:57.240 "Sensai" means "deodorant." 00:03:57.280 --> 00:03:58.800 - Okay, I'll call you that. - Yeah. 00:03:58.840 --> 00:04:00.160 Sensei, okay. 00:04:00.200 --> 00:04:01.520 Master James. 00:04:01.560 --> 00:04:04.560 - Yeah? - Do you know the term sakura? 00:04:04.600 --> 00:04:05.960 It's... Hang on. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:07.720 Sakura is cherry blossom. 00:04:07.760 --> 00:04:09.240 Absolutely, sir. 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:11.280 You have come at a perfect day. 00:04:11.320 --> 00:04:14.360 The sakura today is very beautiful. 00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:18.320 It will be my huge honor if I can kidnap you 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:20.320 all the way to the great cherry blossom. 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:22.120 Would that be okay, sir? Can I take you? 00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:24.320 Yes, but we can just go on the tube if you want, that's fine. 00:04:25.240 --> 00:04:28.360 For a few brief days a year, 00:04:28.440 --> 00:04:29.800 the cherry trees famously flower, 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:32.720 showering parks in Japan everywhere 00:04:32.760 --> 00:04:35.000 with amazing pink petals. 00:04:35.040 --> 00:04:37.120 But I can't really pay attention to any of that. 00:04:37.160 --> 00:04:39.560 I'm boggled by my new samurai deodorant. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:40.640 Uh, that way. 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:42.920 After the calm of rural Japan, 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:44.320 Yujiro's like Tokyo itself: 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:47.720 bigger, madder, and much louder. 00:04:47.760 --> 00:04:50.480 - Uh, Master James. -Yes, you don't have to call me master, it's... 00:04:50.520 --> 00:04:51.800 Okay, okay, sir. 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.000 - Master James, are you a big fan of sausages? -No. 00:04:55.040 --> 00:04:59.200 Why have you brought me out on a pink swan-stroke-duck? 00:04:59.240 --> 00:05:00.520 We are riding on the pink duck 00:05:00.560 --> 00:05:02.600 because cherry blossoms are also pink. 00:05:02.640 --> 00:05:04.240 - Yes, that makes sense. - Yes. 00:05:06.640 --> 00:05:09.120 I finally manage to focus Yujiro's enthusiasm 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:10.360 back on the cherry blossom. 00:05:10.440 --> 00:05:12.800 This is a sakura... 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:14.640 In Japan, their brief blooming is celebrated 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:16.680 as being symbolic of life... 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:18.360 beautiful but tragically short. 00:05:18.440 --> 00:05:20.000 Just like Richard Hammond. 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:22.160 Tokyo citizens will take the day off work 00:05:22.200 --> 00:05:25.000 to sit under the sakura, 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:27.960 and Yujiro tells me he has some friends doing just that. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:31.040 And these are my lads, my mates. 00:05:31.080 --> 00:05:32.600 - Your mates, your lads. - Yeah. 00:05:32.640 --> 00:05:34.360 James May... 00:05:34.400 --> 00:05:36.360 Konnichiwa. Konnichiwa. 00:05:36.400 --> 00:05:38.800 Konnichiwa. Arigato. 00:05:38.840 --> 00:05:41.000 Shoes. 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:42.240 Oh, shoes, shoes. 00:05:42.280 --> 00:05:44.200 - Oh! - Shoes! 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:45.920 - Yes. - Sumimasen. 00:05:45.960 --> 00:05:48.680 - Taking me shoes off. - Yes. Yeah, yeah. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:49.960 - Cheers. - Yes. 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:53.040 No, not cheers! We have to do it Japanese way. 00:05:53.080 --> 00:05:55.320 James... Kanpai! 00:05:55.360 --> 00:05:57.040 Kanpai! 00:06:01.040 --> 00:06:02.400 Are you hungry? 00:06:02.440 --> 00:06:03.840 - Hung... hungry? - Not really. 00:06:03.880 --> 00:06:05.560 - Yeah, yeah, yeah... - Okay, yes. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:07.400 - Yes, I am hungry. - You have to say yes. 00:06:07.440 --> 00:06:08.920 - Yes. - You have to say yes. 00:06:08.960 --> 00:06:10.640 - Yes, okay, yes. - Japanese bento. 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:12.640 - Yes. -JAMES: Japanese bento. - Whoa...! 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:14.040 - Oh, that looks fantastic. Yes. - Oh, my God! 00:06:14.080 --> 00:06:15.760 - Yes. - Whoa...! 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:18.560 - Who made it? - Oh, uh, my... wife. 00:06:18.600 --> 00:06:20.960 His wife made it for you! 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:22.640 My God! 00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:25.440 Ah, the quiet, peaceful cherry blossom. 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:27.280 - So, Master James. - Yes? 00:06:27.320 --> 00:06:30.280 The Japanese love the so-called... 00:06:30.320 --> 00:06:32.920 - the "brevity of life." - Well, that's the thing 00:06:32.960 --> 00:06:34.240 that baffles me. 00:06:34.280 --> 00:06:35.280 Yes. 00:06:35.320 --> 00:06:36.720 You celebrate... 00:06:36.760 --> 00:06:39.080 - Yes. - that life is short... 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:40.960 - Yes. - and will end soon. 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:42.520 - Absolutely, sir. Yes. - Is that right? 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:44.400 Yes. Japan is a land of conformity. 00:06:44.440 --> 00:06:47.960 We are ostensibly a homogenous nation, 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:50.040 - Yes. - with, uh, 00:06:50.080 --> 00:06:51.600 sakura trees everywhere 00:06:51.640 --> 00:06:52.760 across the nation. 00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:54.800 So it's something that unites 00:06:54.840 --> 00:06:56.560 the heart of our people. 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:57.920 Yes. 00:06:57.960 --> 00:07:00.520 It turns out even cherry blossom 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.760 isn't as fleeting as a Japanese picnic 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.280 once it starts raining. 00:07:05.320 --> 00:07:07.880 A Tokyo gathering is a world away 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:10.120 from the quiet and cozy Obihiro yatai hut 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:11.560 from my very first day. 00:07:11.600 --> 00:07:14.720 But I feel every bit as welcome. 00:07:14.760 --> 00:07:16.600 - So, Master James. - Yes? 00:07:16.640 --> 00:07:18.400 Can I wrap it up with Japanese type of ending? 00:07:18.440 --> 00:07:19.440 - Sure. - Okay. 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:22.160 Okay. 00:07:22.200 --> 00:07:24.920 In the beginning, you have to say, "Yo." That's your job. 00:07:24.960 --> 00:07:27.000 - Yo. -Okay? Okay, ready? - Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:28.400 - Yo. - Yo. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:32.120 Hey! 00:07:33.320 --> 00:07:34.440 Hey! 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:40.920 Right, that's good. 00:07:40.960 --> 00:07:42.480 - Arigato. 00:07:42.520 --> 00:07:43.920 Yes. 00:07:43.960 --> 00:07:45.440 Well, I was advised that he was 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:48.240 a little bit bonkers, and that's putting it lightly, 00:07:48.280 --> 00:07:50.080 but, you know, I don't mind that sort of thing. 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:52.880 And... let's be honest, his English is fantastic, 00:07:52.920 --> 00:07:54.920 his local knowledge is fantastic, 00:07:54.960 --> 00:07:56.480 and he's quite amusing. 00:07:56.520 --> 00:08:00.120 I find the whole master-servant thing a little bit... 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:01.640 kinky. 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:04.120 But as long as he's not expecting anything later on, 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:06.160 that's fine. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:19.080 As the sun sets across the city, 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:21.400 the streets come alive with a very particular part 00:08:21.440 --> 00:08:24.360 of Japanese culture. 00:08:24.400 --> 00:08:28.560 Like the werewolves of Tokyo, these are the salarymen. 00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:30.040 Their lifestyle all revolves around 00:08:30.120 --> 00:08:33.440 two very Japanese concepts of behavior: 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:35.920 "honne" and "tatemae." 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:39.280 To explain more, here's my advisory antiperspirant. 00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:43.280 Salaryman... men... or man who receives salary 00:08:43.280 --> 00:08:45.280 - from the company, literally speaking. - Right. 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:48.040 - We say salaryman. - Salaryman. 00:08:48.040 --> 00:08:51.160 I read about, is it honne? 00:08:51.160 --> 00:08:52.920 Honne and... not tatami. 00:08:52.920 --> 00:08:54.440 - Ah, yes. Yes. - That's a type of carpet. 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:57.120 - We're not talking about carpet here, Master James. -No, no, no. 00:08:57.160 --> 00:09:00.280 - Yes, very close. Honne to tatemae. -Tatemae. 00:09:00.360 --> 00:09:03.920 One is the... diplomatic face 00:09:03.920 --> 00:09:05.840 - that you use at work. - Yeah, tatemae. 00:09:05.880 --> 00:09:07.680 Like devotion. It's like... 00:09:07.720 --> 00:09:10.040 Uh, s-some, some people say human sacrifice. 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:12.280 - Ooh. - In a way. 00:09:12.280 --> 00:09:14.640 Japan is a land of conformity. 00:09:14.680 --> 00:09:18.280 And even if you hate your boss, you obey. 00:09:18.280 --> 00:09:21.560 Overly submissive. So you're stressed out. 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:24.400 But there is an unwritten rule that says when you go, 00:09:24.440 --> 00:09:28.280 you know, "Hey, hey, kanpai" with your work colleagues, 00:09:28.280 --> 00:09:31.760 then, mm-mm... you've had... 00:09:31.800 --> 00:09:34.280 - That's-that's honne. -Then you can be honest. 00:09:34.280 --> 00:09:35.600 - Yes. - Really honest. 00:09:35.640 --> 00:09:38.400 Be honest, your true feelings. That's honne. 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:41.480 The Japanese is very much work... work very hard, work very long, 00:09:41.520 --> 00:09:44.720 drink like hell, fall over, 00:09:44.760 --> 00:09:46.280 get up, go back to work. 00:09:46.360 --> 00:09:48.560 - And-and puke. Puke. - And puke. 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:52.640 I decide to seek out some salarymen with Yujiro, 00:09:52.680 --> 00:09:54.920 if only so that he can practice some honne 00:09:54.920 --> 00:09:58.720 and start calling me a bellend rather than bloody "master." 00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:02.040 Where do you work? 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:04.040 At a bank. 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:05.480 - Bank? - Bank. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:08.600 M and A. Merger and acquisition. 00:10:08.640 --> 00:10:09.720 - You know, like investment. - Yes. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:12.280 - Same-same company. - Together? 00:10:12.360 --> 00:10:15.160 Is it very hard work? Is it very tough? 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:16.880 Do you feel a lot of pressure? 00:10:16.920 --> 00:10:18.120 Very. 00:10:18.160 --> 00:10:19.680 - Very much. - Very much? 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:23.240 In Japan, you're not allowed to say what you think. 00:10:23.280 --> 00:10:26.120 And basically you have to say a tatemae, 00:10:26.160 --> 00:10:29.280 which is something that respects the other person, 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:30.840 and you have to say something that is good 00:10:30.880 --> 00:10:32.240 for the other person. 00:10:32.280 --> 00:10:35.720 So you have to kind of suppress your own opinion 00:10:35.760 --> 00:10:37.240 and respect others. 00:10:37.280 --> 00:10:40.560 Especially if someone is older than-than you, so... 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:43.560 But what if you've had, say, eight Asahis? 00:10:43.600 --> 00:10:44.840 - Eight Asahis? - Yeah. 00:10:44.880 --> 00:10:47.360 Oh, then that's a different question. 00:10:47.400 --> 00:10:49.680 In Britain, after a heavy one, 00:10:49.720 --> 00:10:51.840 you'd end up outside a kebab shop somewhere 00:10:51.880 --> 00:10:53.840 distributing lumps of doner meat 00:10:53.880 --> 00:10:55.720 and salad on the pavement. 00:10:55.760 --> 00:10:57.000 But not in Japan. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:01.400 - Yes. - Yes. 00:11:01.440 --> 00:11:03.160 Let's go! 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:06.880 Karaoke recently experienced 00:11:06.920 --> 00:11:08.520 something of a renaissance in the West, 00:11:08.560 --> 00:11:11.280 especially with video games like SingStar 00:11:11.320 --> 00:11:12.600 letting you be irritating in the home. 00:11:12.640 --> 00:11:16.600 But here in Tokyo, karaoke never left. 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:21.560 I'm not... I'm not really sure what to make of all that, 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:24.280 because it's not how I'd normally spend a Friday night. 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:26.960 In a small, hot room with some other blokes 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:28.480 singing songs I've never heard of, 00:11:28.520 --> 00:11:30.720 but it was actually quite good fun. 00:11:30.760 --> 00:11:33.360 God knows how we're going to edit it together, 00:11:33.400 --> 00:11:34.960 but it's not a problem we can't fix. 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:36.760 We can do it in the mix. 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:42.480 In the mix. 00:11:46.560 --> 00:11:48.880 After a night of vehemently insisting that I did, 00:11:48.920 --> 00:11:51.480 in fact, build this city on rock and roll, 00:11:51.520 --> 00:11:53.040 I'm a bit bleary this morning. 00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:55.800 But you do have to hand it to the Japanese. 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:58.360 The culture does work. 00:11:58.400 --> 00:12:00.440 They've retained their manufacturing industry, 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:03.320 despite ten years of a flatlining economy, 00:12:03.360 --> 00:12:04.840 and if that means you have to sing 00:12:04.880 --> 00:12:06.960 "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" 00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:10.200 with eight big glasses of Asahi on board, 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:12.280 well, then that's what it takes. 00:12:13.720 --> 00:12:15.960 Today I'm going to a festival, 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:18.240 if I can continue to speak properly 00:12:18.280 --> 00:12:21.160 and remain alive for the rest of this journey. 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:23.840 Something Japan is best known for... 00:12:23.880 --> 00:12:26.160 apart from, now, giant phalluses... 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:29.680 is ingenious gadgets and tech. 00:12:30.680 --> 00:12:33.440 This is a super gadget shop I recommend. 00:12:34.760 --> 00:12:37.000 We are in Akihabara, 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:39.520 Tokyo's hub for solutions to problems 00:12:39.600 --> 00:12:42.240 that no one has ever identified. 00:12:43.400 --> 00:12:45.680 And where I experience firsthand 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:47.280 the Yujiro shopping channel. 00:12:47.280 --> 00:12:50.000 This is a, uh, backpack 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:52.280 to carry your animal. 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:53.520 A dog or cat. 00:12:53.600 --> 00:12:56.760 - What is that? - It's-it's a mask. 00:12:56.840 --> 00:12:58.840 It blocks tiny particles from the pine trees... 00:12:58.880 --> 00:13:00.520 - Like hay fever? - Yes. 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:03.640 - It also makes you look a tit. - Yes. 00:13:03.680 --> 00:13:06.000 It's an ear cleaner. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:09.200 But if I clean your ears, 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.080 the video inside of your ears 00:13:11.120 --> 00:13:13.480 is displayed on your iPhone. 00:13:13.520 --> 00:13:16.600 - Isn't that fantastic? - No. 00:13:16.640 --> 00:13:18.080 - What do you think this is? - I don't know. 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:20.840 - I've no idea what that is. - It's a dish cleaner. 00:13:20.880 --> 00:13:23.760 - What? - There you go. 00:13:23.760 --> 00:13:26.360 What is the point of that, really? 00:13:26.400 --> 00:13:29.200 - You're not gonna buy this? - No, I'm not. 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:32.280 As well as the smaller Aladdin's caves of Akihabara, 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:35.880 there are towering shrines to tech. 00:13:35.920 --> 00:13:36.960 When I first came to Tokyo 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:38.920 25 years ago, you could buy things 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:40.080 that you simply didn't see anywhere else, 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:41.280 like a little credit card 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:43.280 that held phone numbers and addresses. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:45.480 This was before we had smartphones and what have you, 00:13:45.520 --> 00:13:48.280 but these days that's not the case, because 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:50.120 we get the same electronics everywhere. 00:13:53.180 --> 00:13:55.140 Akihabara 00:13:55.180 --> 00:13:56.900 isn't just a center for gadgets. 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:01.560 The "otaku," which translates roughly as "super geek." 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:03.840 The difference between super geeks here 00:14:03.880 --> 00:14:06.640 and in Britain, for example, is that, 00:14:06.680 --> 00:14:08.280 here they're not derided. 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:10.400 They are embraced, they are welcomed 00:14:10.440 --> 00:14:13.000 as a necessary part of the social fabric. 00:14:13.040 --> 00:14:16.040 And the greatest of all super geeks are, of course... 00:14:16.080 --> 00:14:18.480 Tetsudo mania, or trainspotters. 00:14:18.520 --> 00:14:19.800 Trainspotters. 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:23.160 Japanese trains are so efficient, 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.040 if they are late, they often have to issue certificates 00:14:26.080 --> 00:14:27.640 to all the passengers, or their workplaces 00:14:27.680 --> 00:14:29.200 won't believe it happened. 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:33.600 This means Tokyo is a trainspotter's paradise. 00:14:33.640 --> 00:14:37.320 Yujiro's arranged for me to meet two trainspotting otaku 00:14:37.360 --> 00:14:40.680 at a model-railway themed café around the corner. 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:42.480 Because of course there is. 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:47.800 - Konnichiwa. - Konnichiwa. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:49.320 Konnichiwa. 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:51.240 Excellent. 00:14:51.280 --> 00:14:52.640 Do you have to be secret 00:14:52.680 --> 00:14:55.520 about your train obsession? 00:14:57.360 --> 00:15:00.360 - Ah... - Oh... 00:15:01.800 --> 00:15:03.720 Did you eventually meet some girls? 00:15:03.760 --> 00:15:06.400 Mm. Mm. 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:13.440 Ah. Uh... uh... 00:15:14.520 --> 00:15:16.920 No. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:25.680 Takahiro-san is so obsessed with trains... 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:29.160 ...he actually achieved 00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:32.280 15 minutes of fame in Japan with a top 20 single 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:34.840 where he mimicked platform announcements. 00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:37.360 No, really. 00:15:45.800 --> 00:15:49.080 I mean, it's still better than Coldplay. 00:15:57.840 --> 00:15:59.480 And that's not all. 00:15:59.520 --> 00:16:00.960 You can... I heard you do noises. 00:16:01.000 --> 00:16:03.760 You can do beatbox train noises? 00:16:03.800 --> 00:16:05.920 - Yes. - Can you do Shinkansen? 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:08.120 That's the Japanese bullet train. 00:16:13.040 --> 00:16:14.960 - That's quite good, isn't it? - Whoa... 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:16.480 Yes! 00:16:16.520 --> 00:16:17.920 - Bravo! Bravo! - Yes. 00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:20.240 Can you do...? I don't know 00:16:20.280 --> 00:16:22.440 - if you can see this. - Yes. 00:16:22.480 --> 00:16:24.040 There's a small... looks like a German steam. 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:25.680 - Oh. - Oh. Made in Japan. 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:27.160 - That's Japanese steam locomotive? Okay. -Yes. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:29.240 Can you... can you do the noise of that? 00:16:41.160 --> 00:16:42.440 This is... 00:16:42.480 --> 00:16:45.680 - Whoa! Bravo! - That's fantastic. 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:49.280 That is a realistic chuffing sound. 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:51.080 - Domo arigato gozaimasu. 00:16:53.720 --> 00:16:55.400 Closing. 00:16:57.840 --> 00:16:59.120 - Okay. - End of interview. 00:16:59.160 --> 00:17:00.440 Okay. 00:17:02.760 --> 00:17:05.240 My new otaku friends take me to Shibuya Station 00:17:05.280 --> 00:17:08.400 so I can observe them in the wild. 00:17:08.440 --> 00:17:10.280 And, as luck would have it, 00:17:10.320 --> 00:17:12.640 an incredibly rare train has just pulled in. 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:15.880 For Minamida-san, it's all too much. 00:17:17.840 --> 00:17:19.400 Here it comes. 00:17:19.440 --> 00:17:21.800 Yeah. 00:17:21.840 --> 00:17:22.880 Should I bow to it? 00:17:22.920 --> 00:17:24.040 - Because it's exceptional. - Whoa! 00:17:24.080 --> 00:17:26.720 It is old style. 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:35.720 James, it said that is a Tokyu Line 00:17:35.760 --> 00:17:38.800 90th anniversary model. 00:17:38.840 --> 00:17:40.800 In case you didn't quite get that, 00:17:40.840 --> 00:17:43.160 that was a 90th anniversary liveried 00:17:43.200 --> 00:17:44.920 Tokyu 5122. 00:17:44.960 --> 00:17:46.640 I'm not doing the noises. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:53.160 I can't help but notice that every train station 00:17:53.200 --> 00:17:56.080 in Tokyo seems to have its own catchy jingle. 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:02.800 And there's ano... 00:18:02.840 --> 00:18:05.360 There it is. 00:18:07.520 --> 00:18:10.120 - Whoa. - What... So, do you do 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.480 - jingle dances all the time? - Yeah. 00:18:15.360 --> 00:18:17.040 That was a jingle. 00:18:17.080 --> 00:18:18.840 - Jingle maker. Jingle composer. - Yeah. 00:18:18.880 --> 00:18:20.440 Jingle... Yeah, that's what he said. 00:18:20.480 --> 00:18:23.560 You must meet Mr. Mukaiya, 00:18:23.600 --> 00:18:26.040 - the composer of this jingle. - I'd-I'd love to... 00:18:26.080 --> 00:18:27.600 I would love to meet Mr. Mukaiya, a jing... 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:29.440 - a train jingle composer. Yes. - Yeah. 00:18:29.480 --> 00:18:32.440 Domo arigato gozaimasu for showing us your trains. 00:18:32.480 --> 00:18:34.040 We have to leave you. 00:18:34.080 --> 00:18:36.360 So wait till the ne... the jingle comes. 00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:38.680 Then we'll leave this scene with a jingle dance, 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:40.560 away from the station, okay? 00:18:40.600 --> 00:18:42.360 So, it's gonna come any second, I think. 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:56.280 So, acting on this hot tip, 00:18:56.320 --> 00:18:59.360 I decide to see if I can find and meet this Mr. Mukaiya, 00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:01.760 the train station composer. 00:19:01.800 --> 00:19:03.760 Yujiro's got the rest of the day off, 00:19:03.800 --> 00:19:05.720 but I'm sure I can cope by myself. 00:19:05.760 --> 00:19:07.640 Well, I had imagined 00:19:07.680 --> 00:19:10.440 that Mr. James May would be a typical gaijin, 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:14.600 or a ter-term as a foreigner as a... in Japanese. 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:19.920 But he has turned out to be, in a way, a real samurai. 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:25.240 What did I do? 00:19:29.240 --> 00:19:31.760 Uh... 00:19:31.800 --> 00:19:33.200 Yes. 00:19:36.760 --> 00:19:40.280 He-he knows so much about this country. 00:19:43.960 --> 00:19:45.720 Yes. Sumimasen. 00:19:45.760 --> 00:19:47.720 - Uh, sumimasen. - Sumimasen. 00:19:47.760 --> 00:19:50.120 James understands the background 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:54.120 of these Japanese mythical world. 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:55.840 Yellow line. 00:19:55.880 --> 00:19:57.720 - O-Okay? Okay? - Okay. Sumimasen, huh? 00:19:57.760 --> 00:19:58.960 - Sumimasen. 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:03.920 He is the blue-eyed British samurai. 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:06.000 - Camera, camera. - Camera. Yes. 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:09.760 - YouTube? - YouTube? 00:20:09.800 --> 00:20:11.760 - No, no, no, no, no. - YouTube. Ah, no. 00:20:11.800 --> 00:20:13.560 Not YouTube. Well, maybe. 00:20:13.600 --> 00:20:15.440 This bit might be on YouTube. 00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:18.120 Having shaken the rozzers, 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:21.920 I finally find Mr. Mukaiya's HQ. 00:20:21.960 --> 00:20:24.320 It's a paradise for train nerds and even has 00:20:24.360 --> 00:20:27.400 its own working Tokyo underground simulator. 00:20:27.440 --> 00:20:28.640 - Here. - Oh, there. 00:20:28.680 --> 00:20:30.160 - Oh, on the red triangle. - Yes. 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:31.360 - Okay. - Okay. 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:32.360 - The... oh, it's right there! - Oh! 00:20:33.560 --> 00:20:35.000 - Oh, no! - Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, 00:20:35.040 --> 00:20:36.880 oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:40.160 The 200-plus jingles Mr. Mukaiya has written 00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:42.200 are played constantly at Japanese stations, 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:43.880 which technically makes him 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:47.960 one of the world's most-played musicians. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:49.600 You've got seven seconds and you have 00:20:49.640 --> 00:20:51.160 to capture the character 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:52.560 - of the station. - Mm-hmm. 00:20:52.600 --> 00:20:53.960 Is the... is the name of the station 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:55.120 - an inspiration? - Name of the station. Yeah. 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:56.920 So let's say the-the station is my name. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.760 It's called James May Station. 00:20:58.800 --> 00:21:01.040 - James May. - "May" is like 00:21:01.080 --> 00:21:02.600 a Japanese word, isn't it? 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:05.720 Ja-Jame-Jame-James May. 00:21:05.760 --> 00:21:07.720 And it's an outside Tokyo... 00:21:07.760 --> 00:21:09.440 James May. Outside Tokyo. 00:21:09.480 --> 00:21:10.520 - Just write, like, a... - Yeah. 00:21:12.560 --> 00:21:14.840 - Like a James May. - That's quite nice. 00:21:17.520 --> 00:21:19.160 Is this keyboard going? Yeah. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:23.680 Because I'm... 00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:28.040 'Cause it has 00:21:28.080 --> 00:21:29.120 - almost a bow at the end. - Okay, okay, okay. 00:21:29.160 --> 00:21:30.120 - It needs a little bow. - All right. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:31.200 - 'Cause I say "sumimasen." -To try. 00:21:36.680 --> 00:21:38.040 Or it could even be, um... 00:21:42.480 --> 00:21:44.640 B flat, ninth chord. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:52.600 - Oh, that's nice. Yes. - Okay. 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:56.600 It is more sophisticated, yes. 00:22:06.640 --> 00:22:08.960 - Okay, we did it. - You did it. 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:10.240 I think it's fabulous. 00:22:10.280 --> 00:22:11.960 - Congratulations. - Thank you very much. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.160 All we need to do now is build James May Sumimasen Station 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:18.040 on the Tokyo subway. 00:22:32.800 --> 00:22:35.320 I never thought meeting a subway jingles composer 00:22:35.360 --> 00:22:37.800 would leave me feeling creatively inspired, 00:22:37.840 --> 00:22:39.880 but I've decided to book myself in 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:41.880 for a thoroughly artistic day. 00:22:41.920 --> 00:22:44.560 First, I'm headed to a little oasis of calm 00:22:44.600 --> 00:22:46.520 in the Wakamiya district 00:22:46.560 --> 00:22:49.520 to hone my quickly stagnating haiku skills. 00:22:49.560 --> 00:22:52.720 And I've brought Yujiro to stop me getting arrested. 00:22:55.520 --> 00:22:57.480 - Konnichiwa. -Konnichiwa. - Konnichiwa. 00:22:57.520 --> 00:22:59.200 James-san. Yujiro-san. 00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:06.640 Hana Fujimoto and Toru Kiuchi are venerated haiku masters. 00:23:06.680 --> 00:23:09.960 Fujimoto-san writes for a popular haiku magazine, 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:11.760 and Kiuchi-san is the vice president 00:23:11.800 --> 00:23:15.000 of the Haiku International Association. 00:23:15.040 --> 00:23:16.000 If you were going to judge haiku, 00:23:16.040 --> 00:23:17.920 what would you look for? 00:23:17.960 --> 00:23:20.440 Or what would your... what would your advice be? 00:23:20.480 --> 00:23:21.840 When I-I'm writing haiku, 00:23:21.880 --> 00:23:24.280 I write... I catch a moment. 00:23:24.320 --> 00:23:26.480 The clear image. 00:23:26.520 --> 00:23:28.600 Just like a photo, photograph. 00:23:28.640 --> 00:23:29.920 Like a snapshot. 00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:31.720 - Ah. Mm. - Mm. 00:23:31.760 --> 00:23:33.760 A moment. 00:23:33.800 --> 00:23:36.160 At the end of my trip, in about four weeks' time, 00:23:36.200 --> 00:23:38.880 I want to write one haiku 00:23:38.920 --> 00:23:41.080 that says everything I feel 00:23:41.120 --> 00:23:42.960 about my journey across Japan. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:43.960 Mm. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:46.120 Can I send that to you? 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:48.520 And then you can give me an honest critique 00:23:48.560 --> 00:23:49.720 and send it back. 00:23:49.760 --> 00:23:51.080 Oh, sure. 00:23:51.120 --> 00:23:52.520 May I read you some 00:23:52.560 --> 00:23:54.240 - of my original haiku... - Okay. 00:23:54.280 --> 00:23:57.720 and you can give me, maybe, marks out of ten? 00:23:57.760 --> 00:23:59.720 Or five? 00:23:59.760 --> 00:24:01.120 Or five, seven and five? 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:07.320 This was written when we, um, spent the day 00:24:07.360 --> 00:24:08.840 with a katana maker, 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:11.040 a Japanese swordsmith. 00:24:11.080 --> 00:24:12.920 "The fire roars, the snow 00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:15.440 "Gathers at the forge threshold, 00:24:15.480 --> 00:24:17.240 Clamoring for peace." 00:24:17.280 --> 00:24:19.280 Oh. 00:24:19.320 --> 00:24:21.560 - You like that one? - Oh, yeah. 00:24:23.120 --> 00:24:26.920 Um, this is when I had a boil appeared on my chin 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:29.920 early on in the trip. 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:33.040 "Land of volcanoes, 00:24:33.080 --> 00:24:35.040 "Who thought your next eruption 00:24:35.080 --> 00:24:36.840 Would be on my face?" 00:24:36.880 --> 00:24:38.400 Hmm. 00:24:41.520 --> 00:24:43.440 "Ah, Matsushima, 00:24:43.480 --> 00:24:45.840 "The spring morning is windy; 00:24:45.880 --> 00:24:48.200 I blame the noodles." 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:49.840 Mm. 00:24:54.120 --> 00:24:56.400 "Going for a poo, 00:24:56.440 --> 00:24:59.040 "I drop off my boots and wear 00:24:59.080 --> 00:25:01.160 Your flip-u-flop-u." 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:02.240 Mm. 00:25:05.080 --> 00:25:06.480 Flip-u-flop-u. 00:25:06.520 --> 00:25:07.800 - Flip-u-flop-u? - Flip-u... Oh. 00:25:07.840 --> 00:25:09.320 Flip-flop is... 00:25:09.360 --> 00:25:11.200 Flip-flop... 00:25:11.240 --> 00:25:12.480 Yes, beach sandals. But in Japanese, 00:25:12.520 --> 00:25:14.000 I thought they would be 00:25:14.040 --> 00:25:15.320 - "flip-u-flop-u." - Flip-u-flop-u. 00:25:15.360 --> 00:25:17.280 Mm. 00:25:17.320 --> 00:25:20.720 I may cancel the book launch. 00:25:20.760 --> 00:25:22.360 - That's it, I'm afraid. - Good. 00:25:22.400 --> 00:25:23.960 - Yeah, the last one is very good. - Thank you. 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:26.360 Domo arigato. I've learned a lot. 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:28.360 Like a haiku, you have said a lot 00:25:28.400 --> 00:25:31.400 with very few words. Fantastic. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:33.080 - You're welcome. -Arigato gozaimashita. 00:25:33.120 --> 00:25:37.960 My haiku genius was clearly lost in translation. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:39.480 I have to say, though, 00:25:39.560 --> 00:25:41.920 even though we're still very much in Tokyo, 00:25:41.960 --> 00:25:43.600 escaping from the sight of the big city, 00:25:43.640 --> 00:25:45.960 even for a few moments, 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:49.200 has me thinking just what is it I'm looking for 00:25:49.240 --> 00:25:52.440 in my quest to understand Japan. 00:25:52.440 --> 00:25:54.760 I'm wrestling with a bit of an inner conflict here, 00:25:54.800 --> 00:25:57.440 because the thing I've always loved about Japan 00:25:57.480 --> 00:25:59.680 is that it's so Japanese. 00:25:59.720 --> 00:26:02.400 And everything about it is completely Japanese. 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:04.960 Normal everyday things like having your breakfast, 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:06.840 going to the shops to buy something, 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:09.640 it's-it's... that's what makes it so intriguing and so exciting. 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:11.960 But what I'm actually doing there 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:14.640 is celebrating monoculturalism. 00:26:14.680 --> 00:26:16.960 So, by that token, I ought to be the sort of person who says, 00:26:16.960 --> 00:26:18.440 "Britain should remain British." 00:26:18.440 --> 00:26:19.680 But I don't think that. 00:26:19.720 --> 00:26:21.920 I like Britain being multicultural. 00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:25.640 Because it improves the food, obviously. 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:29.120 So where does that leave me? 00:26:29.160 --> 00:26:31.680 I am very close to being one of those people 00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:33.680 who goes to visit Maasai warriors and says, 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:35.840 "Oh, isn't it wonderful that they still live in mud huts? 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:39.440 I hope this doesn't become spoiled by tourism." 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:43.320 Similarly, the East has bled into Western culture, too. 00:26:43.360 --> 00:26:45.240 So, speaking of improved food 00:26:45.280 --> 00:26:47.120 and to somewhat demonstrate my point, 00:26:47.160 --> 00:26:49.640 Yujiro and I decide to stop at a sushi place for lunch, 00:26:49.680 --> 00:26:51.960 the sort of thing that would have once seemed 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.640 bewilderingly alien but is now a Western staple. 00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:59.000 Hello, viewers. You join us at a very exciting lunch. 00:26:59.080 --> 00:27:02.200 This is kaiten sushi, which means, uh, 00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:04.200 sushi going round on a conveyor belt. 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:05.920 "Round and round," it means, "kaiten." 00:27:05.960 --> 00:27:07.960 Now, there's two ways to get the food. You can take it off 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.480 - the conveyor. The plates are... - Excuse me, James. 00:27:09.560 --> 00:27:10.760 - Yes. - That's a... 00:27:10.800 --> 00:27:13.320 - that's a bloody gaijin manner. - What? 00:27:13.360 --> 00:27:15.600 - You never... - Oh, sorry. 00:27:15.640 --> 00:27:17.560 - put your chopsticks like this. - Oh, uh... 00:27:17.600 --> 00:27:18.960 - All right, now... - Yeah, like this. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:19.960 - Very rude, yes. - Okay. 00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:21.680 - You're-you're bollocks. -Sumimase... 00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:23.680 Yes. Yes. 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:25.640 That's not how you use "bollocks." 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:26.960 - Okay. Th... Uh... - I'll explain 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:28.200 "bollocks" to you later. 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:30.160 - Yes. -Sumimasen. 00:27:31.840 --> 00:27:33.200 - Okay. - Now, there are several ways 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:34.640 to select the food. 00:27:34.680 --> 00:27:37.280 But to start with, let's say, have this one. 00:27:37.320 --> 00:27:39.600 Shit, that was a bit slow. 00:27:40.600 --> 00:27:42.480 "Bollocks," as you would say. 00:27:42.560 --> 00:27:43.600 - Yes. - And then you eat it 00:27:43.640 --> 00:27:45.440 with your chopsticks. 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:47.560 - And wasabi. Yes. - And wasabi. 00:27:47.600 --> 00:27:50.120 Then you say "itadakimasu." 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:51.960 Absolutely. To-Totally perfect. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:53.560 - Itadakimasu. -And then-then you pick it up 00:27:53.600 --> 00:27:55.560 with your chopsticks and you shove it in your face, 00:27:55.600 --> 00:27:57.480 - like that. Okay? - Yes. 00:27:57.560 --> 00:27:59.920 - Mmm. - Perfect. Itadakimasu. 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:01.360 Mmm. 00:28:01.400 --> 00:28:02.760 Should we try ordering something? 00:28:02.800 --> 00:28:04.080 - Yes. Ha... - So, if we go to... I would like to have 00:28:04.120 --> 00:28:07.120 - salmon roe. Ikura. - Yeah. 00:28:07.160 --> 00:28:08.120 Order. 00:28:11.160 --> 00:28:12.600 I can see something coming. 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:15.680 - This is exciting. Are you ready? -Yeah. 00:28:15.720 --> 00:28:17.080 - Ah, look, there's ours. - Yes. 00:28:17.120 --> 00:28:18.120 Oh. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:19.480 Ikura. Here you are. 00:28:19.560 --> 00:28:21.240 Even if you're used to sushi places, though, 00:28:21.280 --> 00:28:24.360 as usual, Tokyo is one step ahead. 00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:26.960 Over 50% of the sushi is made by robots. 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:29.640 So, like, for example, this is rice, right? 00:28:29.680 --> 00:28:31.440 - Shari. - Mm-hmm. 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:32.840 This was made by a robot. 00:28:32.880 --> 00:28:35.600 And a human just put the topping right here. 00:28:35.640 --> 00:28:38.440 Like this. So, these robots here, 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:39.960 it is said that, 00:28:39.960 --> 00:28:42.360 in one second they can make one plate. 00:28:42.400 --> 00:28:43.960 In just one second. 00:28:43.960 --> 00:28:45.680 - Really? - Yeah. 00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:47.560 I didn't know that. 00:28:49.160 --> 00:28:50.760 - That was egg. - That was egg. 00:28:50.800 --> 00:28:51.960 - Yeah. - And, furthermore, 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:53.960 - in here, in Kurasushi, - Yeah. 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:57.240 if you insert five plates inside this little... 00:28:57.280 --> 00:28:59.400 - What do you say? - The bin. 00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:01.760 Bin. There's a lottery. 00:29:01.800 --> 00:29:02.920 - You want to try? - Yeah. 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:04.280 Please do. 00:29:04.320 --> 00:29:05.640 Uh, well, I'll have to take a couple... 00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:06.960 - So, I just put them in there, yes? - Yeah, yes. 00:29:07.000 --> 00:29:09.880 - One. Two. - One-one. Two. 00:29:09.920 --> 00:29:13.720 - Three. Four. - Three. Four. 00:29:14.760 --> 00:29:16.080 Five. There you go. 00:29:16.120 --> 00:29:17.440 Let's see. 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:18.900 So, there you go. There you go. 00:29:19.080 --> 00:29:20.640 - You won! - So, do I get a...? 00:29:20.640 --> 00:29:22.600 You're such a... 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:25.680 - See, look! Yeah! - Oh! 00:29:25.760 --> 00:29:28.560 Oh, my God, you're a lucky bastard. 00:29:28.600 --> 00:29:31.840 Usually you don't win this at-at a first try. 00:29:31.880 --> 00:29:33.320 - You like it? - I love it. 00:29:33.360 --> 00:29:35.160 - Here you are. Here. - Oh. Arigato, James. 00:29:35.160 --> 00:29:38.120 - Furthermore, James, we put the plate here, right? -Yes. 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:40.960 Actually, there's a river. River is flowing. 00:29:41.000 --> 00:29:42.840 So the plates we put in 00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:45.160 goes automatically to the kitchen. 00:29:45.160 --> 00:29:47.160 So everything's automatic. Everything's AI. 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:48.640 Robot, robot, robot. 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:50.640 Rationalization, I guess. Yes. 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:51.880 Arigato gozaimasu. 00:29:51.920 --> 00:29:54.080 Arigato. Soon we'll be robots, as well, 00:29:54.120 --> 00:29:55.880 and there will be no need for television presenters. 00:29:55.920 --> 00:29:57.880 And that will be a good thing. 00:29:57.920 --> 00:29:59.400 Goodbye. 00:30:02.920 --> 00:30:04.760 I can't read manga, obviously, 00:30:04.800 --> 00:30:08.200 because my Japanese is limited to ordering beers 00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:11.520 and sashimi, but I've-I've had some translated 00:30:11.560 --> 00:30:13.520 for me by Japanese speakers, and some of it, 00:30:13.560 --> 00:30:16.640 it-it delves into quite dark corners 00:30:16.680 --> 00:30:19.040 of human consciousness, like loneliness, 00:30:19.080 --> 00:30:21.120 depression, violence, 00:30:21.160 --> 00:30:24.440 uh, terrible relationships, terrible work problems. 00:30:24.480 --> 00:30:26.160 All these things are covered, aren't they? 00:30:26.200 --> 00:30:28.680 All the things that you would expect in big dramas in film. 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:30.600 - It's all in manga. - Yeah. 00:30:30.640 --> 00:30:32.600 It is just part of literature. 00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:35.080 There's manga for every situation in Japan: 00:30:35.120 --> 00:30:37.600 happy, uh, sad, angry. 00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:40.480 In Japan, uh, expressing something with a picture 00:30:40.520 --> 00:30:44.400 has been a part of our culture for several hundred years. 00:30:44.440 --> 00:30:47.640 Is it possibly because your-your language... or kanji, anyway... 00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:50.120 - is really based around the idea of pictures? -Yeah. Yes. 00:30:50.160 --> 00:30:53.440 Yeah. And it's easy to imagine, like, um, certain characters. 00:30:53.480 --> 00:30:55.600 So it's e... When it comes out in kanji, 00:30:55.640 --> 00:30:59.240 it's easier to imagine what the word means. 00:30:59.340 --> 00:31:00.540 Here a voice-over acting class 00:31:00.580 --> 00:31:02.300 starts with a warm-up introduction 00:31:02.340 --> 00:31:04.340 of saying your name anime-style. 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:13.340 - James-san. - James-san! 00:31:13.380 --> 00:31:15.660 And to study movement, 00:31:15.700 --> 00:31:18.500 there's a visit from a sword master. 00:31:20.060 --> 00:31:21.900 Of course, the blue-eyed, British samurai 00:31:21.940 --> 00:31:23.940 - held his own. 00:31:34.420 --> 00:31:37.700 The school is currently producing a feature film, 00:31:37.780 --> 00:31:40.140 and I'm invited to the auditions. 00:31:40.140 --> 00:31:44.060 Apparently, there's a potential role I'd be perfect for. 00:31:44.100 --> 00:31:46.300 The improvisation is very important 00:31:46.340 --> 00:31:47.540 in voice-overs, yes. 00:31:47.580 --> 00:31:49.460 So, Japan update, subject: anime. 00:31:49.500 --> 00:31:50.980 I've got a part, 00:31:51.020 --> 00:31:53.020 owing to my excellent Japanese language skills. 00:31:53.060 --> 00:31:54.540 I'm a dog. 00:32:21.720 --> 00:32:24.120 Time for the real record. 00:32:47.360 --> 00:32:50.880 The review of the day's footage seems to go down well. 00:32:57.840 --> 00:33:00.840 So, with a career in canine vocalization beckoning, 00:33:00.880 --> 00:33:04.320 it's time to graduate from the Yoyogi Academy. 00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:11.280 And, indeed, it's time to leave Tokyo. 00:33:11.320 --> 00:33:14.000 But before I do, there's one more artistic destination 00:33:14.040 --> 00:33:17.040 that apparently can't be missed. 00:33:21.080 --> 00:33:23.640 Yujiro, typically, downplays it. 00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:26.840 I'm honored to take you to this super exhilarating 00:33:26.880 --> 00:33:29.200 Japanese experience, sir. 00:33:29.240 --> 00:33:32.760 This is something unreal that's gonna blow your mind. 00:33:32.800 --> 00:33:36.840 - Something unbelievably amazing. - Well, that's a relief. 00:33:36.840 --> 00:33:38.360 - Are you ready for that? - Yes. 00:33:52.680 --> 00:33:54.680 Wow. 00:34:15.720 --> 00:34:18.280 For once, Yujiro's unhinged enthusiasm 00:34:18.320 --> 00:34:20.720 is actually on the money. 00:34:23.600 --> 00:34:26.600 It's astonishing. 00:34:34.280 --> 00:34:36.000 This is Borderless, 00:34:36.040 --> 00:34:38.280 a cutting-edge digital art installation 00:34:38.320 --> 00:34:40.360 from the Japanese group teamLab, 00:34:40.400 --> 00:34:42.400 who've successfully managed to visualize 00:34:42.440 --> 00:34:46.360 what it must look like inside Brian Eno's head. 00:34:46.400 --> 00:34:49.520 If I lie down, do I disappear in the flowers? 00:34:50.760 --> 00:34:53.120 It's all done with a huge network 00:34:53.160 --> 00:34:55.920 of hundreds of computers and projectors... 00:34:55.960 --> 00:34:58.280 How does it look? 00:34:58.320 --> 00:34:59.560 ...which all come together to create 00:34:59.600 --> 00:35:01.600 the same state-of-the-art experience 00:35:01.640 --> 00:35:03.280 you could get in the '60s by drinking 00:35:03.320 --> 00:35:05.480 from the wrong beaker at a party. 00:35:07.480 --> 00:35:09.480 Oh, I hope that's what it's like being dead. 00:35:09.520 --> 00:35:11.040 It'll be fantastic. 00:35:13.600 --> 00:35:17.760 The exhibit is an astonishing 10,000 square meters, 00:35:17.800 --> 00:35:22.000 or roughly half the size of the Genesis concept album. 00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:24.880 Look at that. 00:35:26.200 --> 00:35:28.200 And, just to complete the trip, 00:35:28.240 --> 00:35:32.600 the projections even respond to your own movement. 00:35:32.640 --> 00:35:34.600 At least, I think they do. 00:35:34.640 --> 00:35:36.880 Mmm. 00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:40.360 Here come the birds. 00:35:42.840 --> 00:35:46.040 There are 50 digital artworks on display, 00:35:46.080 --> 00:35:47.880 but they constantly change, 00:35:47.920 --> 00:35:49.520 blend and merge with each other, 00:35:49.560 --> 00:35:52.280 and even move into different rooms. 00:35:52.320 --> 00:35:54.000 Look, there's a moose. 00:35:54.040 --> 00:35:56.040 Look at that. 00:35:59.480 --> 00:36:01.440 Of course, this being modern Japan, 00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:02.920 the installation has fast become 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:05.880 one of the most Instagrammed places in the country. 00:36:05.920 --> 00:36:08.880 It's amazing, isn't it? 00:36:08.920 --> 00:36:11.440 But putting away the smartphone and just drinking in 00:36:11.480 --> 00:36:15.440 the surreal atmosphere is a transcendent experience. 00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:18.360 That is very disconcerting. 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:20.400 Can I go that way? 00:36:24.400 --> 00:36:26.040 Ho! 00:36:26.080 --> 00:36:28.160 Have you looked up? 00:36:28.200 --> 00:36:29.720 - Look up. - Oh, wow. 00:36:31.640 --> 00:36:34.640 Exhibits include the Crystal World room... 00:36:38.280 --> 00:36:41.280 I'm completely lost, but I don't think I mind. 00:36:44.960 --> 00:36:48.560 ...the Forest of Resonating Lamps... 00:36:56.120 --> 00:36:58.160 ...and the even more catchy 00:36:58.200 --> 00:36:59.880 Memory of Topography experience... 00:37:13.040 --> 00:37:14.360 ...where I reunite 00:37:14.400 --> 00:37:17.160 with an equally lost Yujiro. 00:37:17.200 --> 00:37:20.560 - So, how do you like it? - Welcome to the afterlife. 00:37:20.600 --> 00:37:22.280 - Thank you. - It's fantastic, isn't it? 00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:24.080 Yes, it's a big honor 00:37:24.120 --> 00:37:26.720 meeting you in the afterlife, too. 00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:28.320 It's... 00:37:28.360 --> 00:37:30.120 it's so real, you know? 00:37:30.160 --> 00:37:32.120 Yeah. 00:37:32.160 --> 00:37:34.880 So digital but so real. 00:37:34.920 --> 00:37:38.280 If we move three paces that way, it'll change. 00:37:38.320 --> 00:37:40.440 - Really? - Watch this. I think so. 00:37:42.120 --> 00:37:44.680 As I walk through the fields of digital lilies 00:37:44.720 --> 00:37:47.800 and cherry blossom with my faithful samurai aerosol, 00:37:47.840 --> 00:37:51.240 with the ancient meeting the new all around us, 00:37:51.280 --> 00:37:54.160 I think back on my time in Tokyo. 00:37:54.200 --> 00:37:57.800 Japan's shifting, both between its past and its future 00:37:57.840 --> 00:38:00.520 and between East and West, 00:38:00.560 --> 00:38:02.640 is never more apparent than here. 00:38:02.680 --> 00:38:05.000 As with most big capital cities, 00:38:05.040 --> 00:38:06.720 there's a multiculturalism here 00:38:06.760 --> 00:38:09.160 that's a marked difference to my rural adventures 00:38:09.200 --> 00:38:11.120 to this point. 00:38:11.160 --> 00:38:13.120 Yes, a lot of it is still bizarre, 00:38:13.160 --> 00:38:15.640 but technology, anime, karaoke, 00:38:15.680 --> 00:38:19.560 sushi, even novelty cafés... we're getting more used 00:38:19.600 --> 00:38:21.240 to this sort of thing in the West every day. 00:38:21.280 --> 00:38:23.720 And the bleeding of West into East 00:38:23.760 --> 00:38:26.200 is at its strongest here, too. 00:38:27.240 --> 00:38:29.080 I actually think it's worth coming 00:38:29.120 --> 00:38:30.440 to Tokyo just to see that. 00:38:30.480 --> 00:38:32.200 - Yeah? -Wherever you live in the world. Yeah. 00:38:32.240 --> 00:38:34.160 - How did you like it? - It's fabulous. 00:38:34.200 --> 00:38:36.360 - Fancy a cheeseburger? - Cheeseburger. 00:38:36.400 --> 00:38:38.000 Yes, everything is American here. 00:38:38.040 --> 00:38:40.040 Yes, Big Mac. 00:38:48.680 --> 00:38:50.800 Tokyo. Do you know what? 00:38:50.840 --> 00:38:54.280 There are a lot of tired, old clichés attendant upon it. 00:38:54.320 --> 00:38:57.720 I'm sure we've all heard about the ten-pounds-a-pint beer, 00:38:57.760 --> 00:39:00.640 the exclusively raw fish diet, 00:39:00.680 --> 00:39:01.960 the gridlocked traffic, 00:39:02.000 --> 00:39:04.520 the impenetrable language barrier on signs. 00:39:04.560 --> 00:39:06.600 And it was like that when I first came here 00:39:06.640 --> 00:39:08.120 about a quarter of a century ago, 00:39:08.160 --> 00:39:10.120 but it's not really like that anymore. 00:39:10.160 --> 00:39:12.040 I have to speak as I find. 00:39:12.080 --> 00:39:13.920 Tokyo has changed a bit. 00:39:13.960 --> 00:39:16.920 Tokyo is not as Japanese 00:39:16.960 --> 00:39:19.760 as it once was. 00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:21.480 Still, if you're a fan of the old ways, 00:39:21.520 --> 00:39:24.600 join me in a future episode, where I will be in Kyoto, 00:39:24.640 --> 00:39:26.280 where everything's made of real wood, 00:39:26.320 --> 00:39:28.600 and I'll be looked after by a geisha. 00:39:28.640 --> 00:39:32.760 Until then, sumimasen. 00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:37.040 Exiting... 00:39:37.080 --> 00:39:39.000 No...