SHARLA: Hmm.
Black ramen.
Probably pretty disgusting, but..
I say we go for it.
CHRIS: Yeah, it's got ramen in it, so...must be good.
mmMPH
*laughter*
CHRIS: Ohmygod.
No.
Ohh.
SHARLA: ...you alright?
Hello guys.
Welcome back to Journey Across Japan: Never-ending Cycle of Despair.
Today though, there is no cycle
because we're in Toyama City on our day off, checking out the city.
A beautiful laid-back scenic kind of town,
surrounded by the majestic Japanese Alps.
And we're about to be joined by our next major guest,
who is gonna be joining us from Toyama City all the way to Kyoto.
They're a good friend, a fellow YouTuber and above all perhaps,
a girl.
And apparently they've just arrived on a bullet train from Tokyo,
and they're sitting next to some kind of scenic water feature.
Let's go and find them.
CHRIS: Well, look who it is.
It's...
CHRIS: Nike...
SHARLA: Sweatshirts. CHRIS: What's that?
Are you trying to put some sort of product placement in my video that I don't know about?
SHARLA: I got sponsored!
CHRIS: Yeah.
SHARLA: I got sponsored for this trip.
CHRIS: Shady...
shady businesswoman.
Must admit, my favorite thing about Toyama so far,
are the incredible spinny chairs.
This is the future!
Look at that!
Spinning spinning spinning spinning.
Now I feel sick, oh my god.
So Sharla. SHARLA: yes
CHRIS: How do you feel?
Are you ready for the cycle to Kyoto?
SHARLA: I'm ready- I'm pumped!
I didn't risk my life on that bloody rollercoaster for nothing,
CHRIS: Yeah. SHARLA: I'm looking forward to this.
CHRIS: About a month ago, we made a video where Sharla had to go on a rollercoaster.
SHARLA: It was absolute hell.
*flashback yelling*
*various sounds of protest from Sharla*
WHAT THE FUCKING- FUCK!
*hyperventilation*
*loud whimpering*
CHRIS: Sharla is actually afraid of rollercoasters,
SHARLA: I was fucking terrified! CHRIS: and I said if she faced her fears and went on it,
She could come on the cycle.
And she did it!
So, she's here now!
SHARLA: I'm here!
CHRIS: It's your first time in Toyama City like me?
SHARLA: It is!
Yeah, I don't know anything about Toyama.
CHRIS: I know nothing.
So every single day of the trip,
I've been accepting challenges sent in by you guys to do weird or wacky things,
but seeing as it's Sharla's first day, I thought I would give today's challenge to her!
So with that in mind, Sharla,
what have you got planned for us?
SHARLA: Okay, so.
I've been following the journey so far and...
your diet has consisted of predominantly biscuits the entire time.
CHRIS: How dare you.
SHARLA: So... CHRIS: How dare you!
SHARLA: I challenge you to find a proper...
Toyama dish.
Something that's famous here.
CHRIS: Local dish? SHARLA: And I want you...
SHARLA: Yeah, a local dish.
And I want you to eat it and learn something about it.
CHRIS: No biscuits allowed, what is this?
SHARLA: No.
CHRIS: How dare you.
But then again, it is a challenge involving food, so it's something I can rally behind.
So, do you know of any local dishes?
SHARLA: ...I don't.
We're gonna have to look them up.
*electronic japanese narration*
CHRIS: Wow, Siri worked for once.
SHARLA: Erhh.
Black ramen.
CHRIS: Black ramen?
SHARLA: Yeah.
Probably pretty disgusting but...
I say we go for it.
CHRIS: Well- SHARLA: I'm up for it.
CHRIS: Yeah, it's got ramen in it, so...must be good.
SHARLA: Alright, let's do it. CHRIS: Famous last words.
CHRIS: So, this is it.
"Burakku" Ramen.
SHARLA: Yeah...
CHRIS: You could certainly smell it before you get anywhere near it.
SHARLA: Down the road.
CHRIS: Yeah, down the road.
We were like "wow, what's that?"
SHARLA: "Ope! Must be around the corner."
Yeah, it smells a bit like Marmite, or Vegemite,
SHARLA: Yeah, definitely. CHRIS: Or whatever Americans eat...
That isn't Marmite.
SHARLA: Really strong soy sauce.
CHRIS: So, what- how's this work?
What's in it?
I thought it was squid ink at first,
CHRIS: and I was really worried. SHARLA: Right!
SHARLA: When I heard "Black Ramen", you assume it's gonna be squid.
'Cause in Japan, whenever something's black, it's made with squid ink.
CHRIS: Yeah, like "black burgers" where the bun's black..
SHARLA: Black spaghetti, they're always squid ink.
No this time it's
Good apparently this was developed as a ramen that you're supposed to eat with rice
Right, so they made that flavor of the ramen and really strong but the owner has given us a soup
That is 50% weaker than Lee the legitimacy. So this is actually
weaker and what they normally serve because people don't
Really?
I mean this already smells like funding punched in the face. Yeah
The 100% the real deal so we could try this after oh, holy shit
Challenge for you to try the hundred percent
Mental soy sauce broth. Let's actually see any good. Let's try just the broth first
curious
So it's made with three types of soy sauce and a special jacket
Wow
It's literally like you took a big of salt and dug the entire figure Europe so my taste buds if it's a fire
Ignited it's it. I really like it I guess
This was a hundred percent this would be the end of my money. I don't know who want to try. The bloody bong is burning
Must say I'm not an expert on the positioning of salt receptors
Why I will say is mine are certainly in overdrive at the moment. I can already feel the heartburn and the saltiness
Oh my god, what's the story? What's the logic behind in? Ramen this this?
Salsa, so it was developed right after the war apparently in like 1946 and the guy who made it she would see people eating
their ramen with a bento
So people would always like pair it with. All right. Yeah
So he thought he would develop a ramen that worked. Well with rice
But the flavor was strong often that it would be something you'd want to eat with rice
So he made the soup in save these drugs, but it would apparently wouldn't wait, right? It's actually loved a lot of sense
Yeah, I thought it was some sort of crazy. Ramen. Dr
Frankenstein style elation method but no least. There's actually some method to the madness and apparently like
Originally, it just got stronger and stronger starving people loved it. But nowadays they can
Probably make it weaker. But I think this is just right. I think if it went to the next level it wouldn't work
Maybe would be compromised
I want to try that suit try the hundreds every lentil soup
And wonderfully even use any water just pure soy sauce this is 100% here side it's been fermented for two months, you know two months
Good luck
Malicious understand soy sauce two months fermented
Basically drinking pure soy sauce. That's all there is to it
We want to know what this tastes like take a bowl of soy sauce and then just take it in your mouth
Pour it in your mouth and that's what that tastes like
Get away from me, okay?
We need to drink so much more -
I just feel the or you just feel like this is too much soul for quite full
Even I've barely even it's not even eating out much. Maybe saw the water. I have to drink -
it's
important
I
Think if this ramen was a dinosaur, it'd be a heartburn. Asaurus retch
Oh being overwhelmed with heart bird right now
Price worth it it's worth it
How would you rate the black ramen on a scale of one to ten? I'd give it about a
Yeah, I'd give this about eight out of ten if I lived in Toyama City, I'd probably this like once every month or two
Yeah, the salt content is worrying but the flavor screen is very rich
And if you're in Toyama city, you know what you gotta do now and ask him to try some
Unless you want your mouth to implode
So in the middle of Toyama city now and this is called canary park literally Canal Park and it looks like
Something out of the UK looks like a Birmingham or Manchester or something and there's even a guy just playing golf next to Starbucks
I don't think you're supposed to play golf or the park and he seems to have stopped down
I've turned the camera in his direction but this Starbucks here isn't just any Starbucks. Is it Sean?
Oh, it's the most beautiful Starbucks injured the most beautiful Starbucks in Japan as right as rain
As ranked in 2016. Well, yeah, my city is really going up in my estimations like yeah, I
Didn't know what to expect when I came here. I didn't know anything about
You know
Did you anticipate a canal I did not
You think I'll fool that black ramen Sharla would be done but no she got a dessert of cheesecake
Salt down my god. I must say today's been a pretty good day
I didn't imagine what I'd meet sure that would be going for black ramen and
enduring a coffee outside the most beautiful Starbucks in all of Japan 2000 and
2016 but for now
We're actually gonna wrap things up Sharla and I start our cycle on to Kanazawa and ultimately on to kyoto tomorrow
So we're gonna relax unwind and prepare for that
We'll be back same time tomorrow to carry on our journey
And we hope to see you then no matter where you might be watching from out there in the big wide world guys
Take care. Have a good one, and hopefully we'll see you tomorrow. Bye
We're supposed to be a day of leisure and excitement it's turning into day of shit and
Horror, I've already had one accident today
I wasn't going to tell you guys but I did actually fall off the bike for the first time. I crashed into a pole