[Music]
[Chris]:- We're going to Yamadera, it's the most
[Chris]:- beautiful temple in all of Tohoku. Well, I like
[Chris]:- it so much that I had it on my business
[Chris]:- cards for the longest time.
[Chris]:- But- [Sharla]:- You took it off now.
[Chris]:- I took it off now and I replaced it with a
[Chris]:- photo of a shrine in Hiroshima, but anyway-
[Sharla]:- Traitor!
[Chris]:- Yamadera, beautiful shrine, love it. It's probably
[Chris]:- at its best either now or in winter when
[Chris]:- you've got
lots of snow.
[Chris]:- It's a little bit of a climb, so I hope you've got your hiking
[Chris]:- shoes on. [Sharla]:- I don't. [Chris]:- Oh dear. [Sharla]:- It's up on the side of
[Sharla]:- a mountain, which is why it's called
[Sharla]:- Yamadera. I've never been, I've seen so
[Sharla]:- many photos and videos of it. It's probably
[Sharla]:- the most famous temple in North Japan, I
[Sharla]:- would say. So, the place we're going today
[Sharla]:- you can get to by car, obviously, or
[Sharla]:- you can take a train from Sendai station
[Sharla]:- and it'll take you right up to the
temple. [Chris]:- Mmm. [Sharla]:- It'll take about an hour, so it's pretty easily accessed from
[Sharla]:- Tokyo. So I feel like Yamagata prefecture
[Sharla]:- is probably one of the best places to
[Sharla]:- drive around in the autumn- [Chris]:- Mmm. [Sharla]:- because of
[Sharla]:- the mountains, they're so orange and
[Sharla]:- pretty right now. [Chris]:- It's an amazing place. [Sharla]:- Yeah.
[Chris]:- I'm very lucky to live here for three years
[Chris]:- I keep coming back, even now, and I
[Chris]:- honestly think it's one of the most
[Chris]:- beautiful preferences in all of Japan. [Sharla]:- If I had
[Sharla] to rate my favorite prefectures it would
[Sharla]:- probably be number one or two. We're
[Sharla]:- gonna park the car at the base of the
[Sharla]:- mountain, I guess. [Chris]:- Mmm. [Sharla]:- And then hike up for
[Sharla]:- about half hour and that'll bring us up to the
[Sharla]:- temple. [Chris]:- Half an hour? [Sharla]:- It's a little bit of a hike. [Chris]: - Speak for
yourself, ten minutes. [Sharla]:- Google said half hour- [Chris]:- We're
[Chris]:- running up it, no problem.
[Music]
[Sharla]:- So there's a really nice town down here
[Sharla]:- with lots of restaurants and shops
[Sharla]:- and probably places to stay too.
[Sharla]:- not sure if they have any Ryokan or
[Sharla]:- anything around here, but it looks like
[Sharla]:- the type of town that would. And a really
[Sharla]:- pretty river running through it. So cold
[Sharla]:- today! I was out of Japan for one month
and it went from summer to almost winter.
Oh, here this is where we start. Oh, cool.
I feel tired already just looking at
these stairs. 10 minutes. You probably used to make it in 10 minutes.
CB: How long do you think it will take me to get these stairs?
S: I don't know.
CB: What time is it?
CB: Ready?
Two, one ..
Idiot.
19 seconds
He was good charging up here like an
idiot. Everyone was feeling 'what the hell'
I've single-handedly ruined the
atmosphere of Yamadera.
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
Ou, Matsuo, Matsuo Bashō
Poet.
Writer.
[Music]
See, Yamagata is um well known for exporting
safflower.
Which is a
a flower used to stain clothing red.
So you know Yamagata was actually
quite rich and then
presumably they found a better source of
safflower but most importantly of all
there's a cat over here. Look at this.
[Applause]
Hi.
[Music]
All right, so we are
here
CB: The cat is here.
and we need to go
CB: Oh my goodness you really want to go up there.
... oh god, it's endless.
There, I think that's the glory there.
CB: Can't we just fly a drone up there.
There's literally like a heart attack warning,
because you'll die if you go up there
That's for you really.
CB: I'm still still
recovering from the stairs.
Тhe 19 seconds stair sprint.
Well, look at this rock. It's as big as it
looks
chris: Yeah that must be pretty great
sharla: looks really creepy
it looks like a monster
Sharla: so you have to pay a couple dollars to enter this area
i think it's 300 Yen
yeah about three dollars
oh it's so pretty!
*music*
sharla: have you ever seen a monkey here?
*indistinct chatter*
*music*
sharla: it's a really nice climb
it is tiring
*chris dying and gasping for air*
sharla: but um yeah there's lots of really pretty things to look at look at
look it's two-headed one
sharla: I've never seen it two-headed
sharla: get up there
chris: it's up there
*music*
sharla: it's a secret path up there,
I don't know where it goes
sharla, softly: secret path :)
sharla: maybe it's just another way up
chris: secret shot
in the uh
end game of the climb
it's always vertical bit
but also the most beautiful
*sharla laughing*
chris: stunning
sharla: do they light these up at night time?
chris: uhhh think they do in certain seasons
sharla: that'd be cool
chris: here for example there's a candle
sharla: yeah they all have one
*music*
sharla: oh look at that!
it is balancing them
sharla: that's pretty cool, they're not stuck
I think they're all just balanced though
sharla: should we try and stick one in?
chris: do it
so these are all...
balanced very precariously, right?
sharla: yeah
chris: it's pretty incredible
sharla: I'm scared to knock someone else's down D:
awww
chris: is it magnetic rock?
sharla: nooo
this is aluminum anyways
oh there! :D
*twinkle sound of success*
chris: oh wow that was easy
sharla: you can kind of wedge it in
sharla: don't knock the other ones off >:((((
*buzz noise of failure*
sharla: what the h***?
chris: shut up :'(
*sharla laughs*
chris: you did an easy one, I want a daring one
you know i want a challenge
that's what Abroad in Japan is all about,
challenging.... yourself.
chris: let's put a coin-
sharla: alright then go for it
chris: let's put a coin in the wall
chris, whispering: challenge
*buzz noise of failure #2*
chris, a little louder: challenge
*sharla laughs*
chris: oh?
chris, whispering again: get in ya bastard >:(((
sharla: there, that looks-
*chris snorts*
*sharla laughs*
*buzz noise of failure #3*
sharla: you suck at this
sharla: these ones are pretty impressive though
chris: how the f*** have they done that then??
sharla: right??
*buzz noise of failure #4*
chris: no good luck for me
*sharla laughing*
that's very- oh my god
you couldn't even do that :'D
chris: f***
sharla: come down here and trying to wedge it somewhere
chris: oh oh look!
*twinkle sound of success*
sharla: oh nice
chris, singing: I set fire, to the rain
dun dun dunnn
sharla: almost there you can see the goal
looks like it gets really pretty up there
lots of red maple trees
*music*
chris: stunning almost there we're sort of
final
sharla and chris: final stretch
*music*
chris: どうぞ (dou zo/ go ahead)
*music*
sharla: looks like there's two ways to go here
that way or
up that way
I think chris went up there??
never mind
found him
wow look at the view~~
didn't feel like we hiked up that far
but I guess we did
*music*
chris: beautiful
sharla: surprised they don't have like a fence here
chris: yeah no restraint
sharla: *nervous laugh* scary
chris: too busy, in the moment
imagine, "it's so beautif-ahhhh" D:
sharla: *nervous laugh* scary
chris: this isn't the peak
sharla: oh..
chris: it's a little bit higher
and the views
are outstanding
this is the bit I had on my business card
sharla: ah yeah this is the part that everyone takes a photo of
chris: yeah
it's all about those
sort of crazy rock formations right
sharla: yeah the cliffs are really neat
chris: yeah yeah yeah
like as you start to look at them you
see little temples and shrines
jutting out of them and uh
yeah so it's a really quite imaginable place
sharla: oh look at that one up there can you even get up there?
chris: I don't ...think you can??
sharla: it's an old one
chris: but maybe, I don't know I've never seen anyone up there
where are we going in a minute it's a little bit like that though,
still here
but yeah really one of my favorite
places in, not just Yamagata but all of north Japan.
being sincere for once
*sharla laughs*
sharla: everyone's complaining about how hot they are
it was a mistake wearing this coat, that's for sure
after about five minutes of hiking you regret it
*music*
sharla: you know how old the temple is?
chris: almost as old as Ryotaro
sharla: so uh... just over a thousand years
sharla: that's cool
*music*
wow
sharla: is this the top?
chris: it is
sharla: wow
chris: とても綺麗ですね (totemo kire desu ne/ it's very beautiful, isn't it)
*music*
sharla: hehe here's your next challenge >:)
*music*
*camera shutter click*
*camera shutter click #2 *
*camera shutter click #3*
chris: I think for my money this is one of the top sort of five views
in all of north Japan
sharla: what are the other four?
chris: Matsushima Bay
sharla: went there
chris: Natsuki's salon
sharla: *laugh* went there
chris: mcdonald's in Sendai
sharla: uhh haven't been to that one yet
chris: the.....
all the cliffs in Iwate
there's such a good coast line
sharla: oh yeah been there
chris: and...
*chris's brain, hard at work for the first time*
sharla: I just gotta go to mcdonald's and I've done all five
chris: what's the other one what's the last one?
sharla: that was four
chris: I said five though, didn't I?
sharla: yeah this one
chris: oh yeah, I can't count
that's what happens when you climb up a thousand meter mountain
*sharla laughs*
chris, now in the voice of an old man: well,
it's been a long climb to the top of Yamadera,
it's taken about 42 years but
I think you'll agree the view is....
really worth the wait
wasn't it
*music*
chris: so did you enjoy your climb to the top,
the summit of uh, Yamadera?
sharla: my legs are shaking
chris: your legs are shaking?
sharla: it's too much exercise just coming out of quarantine
chris: yeah I mean I think it's about 900 meters sharla will put it here
sharla: is it? wow
chris: in post but uhh
sharla: it felt like 900 meters anyway! (it was 330 meters)
chris: well I will say is it's much easier to climb in autumn than it is in winter
sharla: do they clear the steps off?
chris: they do a little bit, but it's still a slip and slide nightmare,
so I recommend autumn and,
actually, the scenery is nicer in autumn as well probably
sharla: yeah
chris: and you've got the nice smoky smell of the shrines around you
you've got people brushing the leaves away
slowly walking away from sharla and escaping but I do know
a good traditional japanese burger restaurant
sharla: pfft of course
chris: just around the corner from here
so
what do you say
sharla: really???
chris: yeah B^)
*sharla laughs*
chris: burgers innit, let's go
this is the place
Fledged Burger I've only been here one time with my boyfriend,
cdawgva, back in Feburary,
we both came here and uh
they do really good authentic burgers
100 beef
and the menu is so extensive as you're about to see
let's go
*music*
chris: I'm gonna get the old bacon cheese it's basically
sharla: whats the old mean?
chris: they basically just remove the vegetables
I'm not really that bigger fan of vegetables in a burger
it just makes it a bit too messy and
too big
sharla: yes the vegetables make it messy
chris: old bacon cheese, like the good old days
were there's no vegetables
*sharla laughs*
*music*
chris: beautiful
chris: I burned it off climbing Yamadera, so it's okay
*music*
chris: I hope you've enjoyed your time in Yamadera and Yamagata
sharla: yeah I've, I think I've done all the major things in Yamagata now
that was the last one on the list
chris: you've completed Yamagata
sharla: so,
chris: congratulations
sharla: hope you guys enjoyed joining us for the day
and I'll see you again very soon
bye for now
chris: subscribe to ------ -- -----!!!!!
*music*