you know what I think a road trip should
have three things number one delicious
mouth-watering food number two exotic
beautiful locations and number three
exotic beautiful travelers and I think I
think we've got all three
over the years I've been lucky to stuff
myself with almost every cut of Wagyu
beef in all of Japan from Kobe beef the
most famous to master SATA beef or the
most expensive but there's a cut of
Wagyu beef so rare but not even I've got
my hands on it until now a cut of Wagyu
so rare it makes up just 1% of Japan's
supply it's even been nicknamed phantom
Wagyu because some say it doesn't exist
one of the reasons Tong kaku beef has
eluded so many is that it's located in
the most rural region of Japan
second-biggest Prefecture or what it and
so to get there we're going on an
expedition a two-day road trip in search
of what's rumored to be Japan's juiciest
beef along the way we'll be staying at a
legendary haunted in known for its
numerous ghost sightings brilliant and
exploring a stunning remote coastline
that most people never get to see and
because I'm too lazy to drive myself
I've enlisted a reasonably priced
Japanese driver as well as an
experienced local guide from an exotic
land to help show us around
it's quite the blizzard out here here in
North Japan today good morning we are a
hey making me a standing here for like
half an hour yes I did film the opening
quite a few times if you are gonna stand
and film in a 2,000 year old house with
a bonfire going probably go out of it
quick because it's a lot of smoke this
is a Jomo near a house it dates back
about 2,000 years this is a sort of
house someone like Rio would have been
brought up in all those years ago and
the realtor is the driver fraud trip but
who is our guide he's holding the camera
let's introduce him good morning Quinn
hey good to see you I promised you
exotic beautiful people Quinlan it's
from Wisconsin if that's not exotic I
don't know what is Quinlan's very much
the expert and all things North Japan
he's lived here what 20 years now this
is my 23 years in Japan you might have
seen Quillin 3 years ago used in a video
didn't we yes we did he gave me a tour
at Morioka City and we talked about the
differences between American and British
culture apparently Americans are
friendlier than British people can you
really argue with that
no not really completely accurate to be
honest good man alright let's get out
the snake yeah this bloody cold
and so a hundred mile journey across the
mountains of North Japan is underway
in search of the mysterious hunk of beef
where we off to next a Quillin where's
our first stop tomorrow we're gonna find
that amazing Wagyu beef as well as the
rugged abandoned coast of you want it
but it's a bit late and so first I'm
gonna take you to meet a six year old
boy those meet a six year old ghost
we're staying a haunted in oh no you're
staying at high noon Oh a huge day
partying the holiday in the Haunted in
where's each day I use with you it's
getting worse by the middle I thought
was the host thing that's holding it
getting worse by the minute it said in
Japan that when a child dies within the
family home they returned as a spirit
known as a zashiki warashi sworn to
protect the household a zashiki warashi
is a playful guardian spirit which
brings good fortune to those who catch
sight of it although if the spirit is
ignored or unloved a terrible curse will
befall the household over 600 years ago
a six-year-old boy traveling through
otter died of an illness and centuries
later after the Ryoka Fuso Inn was built
upon the site where the boy passed away
it quickly became one of the most
haunted places in all of Japan on
account of the numerous sightings of the
boy wandering through the Inn at night
such was its reputation that many of
Japan's only traveled north to stay
overnight at the inn and try their luck
everyone from former Prime Minister's to
Soichiro Honda the founder of Honda if
it worked for them well hopefully it
worked for us so just checked into the
room yeah and gonna go and look at the
shrine outside the shrine where it said
the boy likes to hang around myself
first stop and then we're gonna come
back in here into the or come and look
at the foyer and the main area and the
main room after about nine o'clock I
think nine or ten they turn all the
lights out and they've got little lamps
and things on but it's pretty dimly lit
so you can get photos and go and have a
look around so we're gonna do that ready
ready three cold outside that's going
look at the shrine
in 2009 tragically a fire burned down a
great portion of the early aquifer so in
however none of the staff or guests were
injured it said that the spirit watched
over them before escaping to the one
part of the in left completely unscathed
by the fire apparently destroyed after a
fire is the place whether the spirit of
the boy escaped - this is the only place
I wasn't burned and some say that they
still see the spirit boy history here
speak repin it inside the torii gate
done
here something a little bit yeah I'm
talking about this kind of things and
then suddenly there's air I know it's
for those situations where you don't
want to look too much because you just
think you might picture a little boy
running through the trees or running
around the shrine or between the gates
even though we feel this creepiness here
but the spirit here is actually a good
spirit right so I think we should be you
know more welcoming more welcoming yeah
gonna bash out a song or just be more
welcoming if I was a six year old boy
and you turned up at my shrine I would
do everything in my power to get you out
of here I'll be frying rocks at you
right now
hint hint it's freezing outside pretty
boy so cold reason the boys probably
thinking I'm not going to go out there
let's go back inside
this is where the boys spirit of boy
appears so these are the toys have been
left here by people stay at the hotel
it's actually a sign here saying it's
all right to leave your toys here but
there's a scheme or actually but when
you leave the hotel take your stuff with
you otherwise this is gonna be a massive
pile of toys here as there already is
now as a 650 year old
six-year-old boy what if he's confused
by some of these toys I mean obviously
back in the 1300s there would have been
police cars or maracas or you know fried
potatoes I'd like to think the
absolutely loves this stuff after like
9:00 p.m. they turn all the lights down
in the hotel and it becomes like
hide-and-seek in the join like
traditional Japanese Inn see they give
imagine those days I think he had this
it found this maracas you know it's just
kind of what what you would do with it
is like that so yes exactly that's
exactly why you would date so this is a
note the visitors here people who stayed
here she left notes that experiences and
then are just kind of greeting some
really strange comments I'll thank you
for playing with me last night it was
fun it was fun like flying
the toy planes and I'm coming back again
last night when I was asleep I heard
some like strange sound and like I
couldn't move my body and I heard
someone like kind of standing on my
chest chest and then and Shh and he or
she whoever touched my cheek and then
like tapped my forehead sounds a little
bit dodgy to me yeah and I couldn't see
him with her
it's been said that you know the spirit
a boy tend to tends to appear in front
of you like around 2:00 a.m. 3:00 a.m.
oh it's gonna be disappointed because I
plan to be fast asleep or 2 a.m. but I
don't know I'll wake you up yes and just
drag you down here yeah I just leave you
here asleep and see what's gonna happen
he'll be joining the boy I'm gonna beat
you to death with a shape that's creepy
quit filming no I wasn't filming [ __ ]
typical isn't it the one creepy thing
that happens what this bird just fell
down off the off here we're about to do
some b-roll it creepy well that's Susan
b-roll shots for my shots of these dolls
and I was I was holding this light he's
holding the light I was gonna film it
and one of the birds just fell off this
little bird it's pretty heavy we're
watching it we were like no I mean right
there about a meter away when it all
fell off I know I went read into that
too much if he's if he's still here do
it again please do it again this time
let me have the camera rolling Benet the
bird fell off read into that whatever
you will
there you go I wouldn't want to sit in
this room on my own not gonna lie I
wouldn't do it
since now half-past twelve and the otros
gone for the onsen gone some late night
hot spring relaxation whilst I'm doing
some work on the laptop and yeah I mean
I don't believe in the paranormal but
you know when somewhere like this has
such a strong reputation for hundreds of
years it's hard to ignore that it's hard
to just walk in and dismiss something
and and yeah it is a little bit
unnerving walking down the corridors at
night but actually it really helps just
appreciate the atmosphere of the inn you
know walking around it you spend more
time looking around it I don't really
walk around these traditional Japanese
Inns much when I get here I usually come
in sit in a hot spring a bit dinner and
then go to sleep but because it has the
history and there's ask you what
actually it helps you to appreciate it
more you go out at twelve o'clock at
night and walk around the corridors and
look around and sit in silence and for
that alone it's a really cool kind of
backstory to have the only thing I am
worried about is apparently at night the
boy comes to your bed and lies on your
stomach he lies on the stomach of the
guests at the hotel especially adults I
don't want that to happen I've got to
get up pretty early tomorrow if you are
listening ghost boy don't do that don't
cross the line I'll be really angry
other than that great place see you
tomorrow morning
[Music]
so we're back on the road and look who
we've just picked up there are larger
and quillin's back in the car hey ding
Qin
I'm doing great how was the hotel we had
a little bit of a weird experience with
that I was getting something like verge
of these little toy birds and we're
about a meter away one of the birds just
fell off the shelf randomly one word you
are I don't like to read too much into
things but that was odd
I thank you for you that pounces solid
proof that counts of solid crystal
absolutely little doubt without a doubt
no pigs and no Japanese allowed to enter
so I'm not allowed to enter you and
Quinlan why is that we just stopped to
the middle of nowhere
literally the middle of nowhere on route
and there's a sign saying caution no
pigs and they Japanese but foreigners
okay you can't come here stay back
unbelievable
good bad they're good
we're because he's a pig
[Laughter]
after a lengthy drive across the
mountains and through areas that even
Japanese people appear to be banned we
arrived our destination one of the few
restaurants in the country serving
phantom Wagyu so it's 11:30 we've just
arrived the restaurant about to go in
the kitchen to watch the beef be
prepared everyone's favorite bit you
ready I'm ready are you ready yeah let's
go let's go
this short horn beef tongue Kikuyu and
some say that you know for argue is
whiter the better
some people like it white sense the
fattier spot this is not it's really but
it is some say it's a lot better than a
mob would be LSE
[Music]
Wow just amazing it's very juicy the
main thing that makes a big difference
is the seasoning if you saw in the
kitchen there was no shortage of
seasoning and he did it there was like
snubbing this is um guilt-free
I think because I'm I've been on hikes
where you as part of the hike up the
mountain there's pasture land and so you
passed these Tom copy of you the short
horn cattle and they're very Catholic
racing and so I don't know it's not a
factory part at all this is really
naturally pasture raised as much as beef
can be environmentally friendly
this is environmentally friendly people
I think I've eaten more like you than
what I know
Japan has lots of different varieties
every town every city every region this
is the first time I've had beef in Japan
Wagyu beef it is different because of
the fact that it is mostly meat rather
than fat so is it the rarest beef in
Japan today yeah definitely rarest yeah
and like it's fun too because it's gone
let's find your one's not because
equivalent Quinlan's taking is time of
the baby I'm not a big stick for
civilian I I haven't had a steak in 10
years to be totally honest what this is
like the first take off for ten years
yeah first take up at in ten years but
if I'm gonna have only one steak every
decade this is the steak of a day is it
an anniversary eh
it's one of the best beefs I've had in
Japan it's low in calories high in
protein low in fat and juicy and juicy
as hell bloody brilliant well that was
one hell of a meal thank you Quinlan
that was thanks to him his idea he told
me about this beef and I owe you a great
debt now because that was one hell of a
meal we're in the middle of our Alpine
kind of resort area but where we're
heading to next is the coastline which
is well known for being one of those
beautiful coastlines in all of Japan
will they call it the Sanriku calsilica
coached and luckily well Rio is driving
so we can have a map on the way
[Music]
well hey we've arrived thank you really
for driving the last two hours I had a
wonderful map most wonderful sleep good
job this silence has everything we
needed to next up on our hit list is a
handcrafted cave hand-carved tunnel
hand-carved tunnel we lead the way
this is adventure this is cool it's so
adventure I can't even see what's going
on
so you come here a lot Quinlan I do what
do you feel when you come somewhere like
this I usually go into the mountains and
so for me coming to the ocean gives me a
different kind of
massive power of nature basically this
place is spectacular and I can't wait to
get a car in a few months and actually
start coming here more often
well it's been quite the adventure
across the water from Rios former house
to the rugged Pacific coastline and the
terrifying sight of a bird falling off a
shelf forever ingrained in my mind if
you're interested and visiting any of
the places we explored on our road trip
or finding restaurants where you can get
hold of ton coffee fans of beef as
always you can find the details in the
description box below but that's all for
now folks we've had a lovely time eating
tongue cocky beef seeing Quinlan's face
it's been magical if you like Quinlan he
has got his own YouTube channel going
off Japan talking about life in North
Japan because a lot of mountaineering
trekking he's very outdoors person
somebody I should probably spend a bit
more time with but for now guys as
always hey thanks for watching and see
you next time
do the drone Quinlan here the drone beat
the drone let's get full drone shot like
in the films we've been exploiting
Quinlan's brand-new drone we'd get the
money shot now taking off across the sea
to try there we go everything with Japan
in it it's gonna crash do they see the
drain the drone is about to crash the
geofflove sea go
[Applause]