---
type: Video
title: "14 Days in Japan 🇯🇵 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
description: Tokyo to Kyoto to Osaka with Walid — a capsule hotel, crickets from a vending machine, a bullet train that averages twelve seconds late, a day of kendo, and one piece of Kobe beef for $10.
tags: [japan, tokyo, kyoto, osaka, bullet-train, capsule-hotel, kendo, food, vending-machines]
timestamp: 2026-08-05T12:00:00Z
resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwQ323luUKo
video_id: nwQ323luUKo
upload_date: 2023-09-03
duration: 2909
---

# 14 Days in Japan 🇯🇵 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

A fortnight across [Japan](/countries/japan.md) with [Walid](/people/walid.md),
running [Tokyo](/places/tokyo.md) to [Kyoto](/places/kyoto.md) to
[Osaka](/places/osaka.md).

It is the lightest video in this stretch of the backfill and the most useful
practically: a capsule hotel priced and toured, the JR Pass justified in one leg,
a ryokan explained room by room, and the recurring complaint that in a country
where everything works perfectly, doing anything at all is difficult because it
is all in Japanese.

The idea he takes away is **Kaizen** — improvement by 1% a day — which he credits
for the bullet train and later applies to his own channel.

## Key moments

- [00:00] The plan: Tokyo, the bullet train, Kyoto and Osaka.
- [00:31] The matcha ice cream, famous for making people choke, and the prank —
  Walid is told it's ordinary and instructed to take the biggest bite he can.
- [02:45] A side street he calls the most beautiful he has seen, with the
  comparison that the equivalent in London or LA would be dangerous.
- [03:18] A large snake loose in a park, attended by police, and treated by
  passers-by as mildly interesting. Then a second one.
- [03:48] A Harry Potter-themed train station, found by accident.
- [04:52] The otter and hedgehog cafe. Harry's assessment of the otters: they
  look angry.
- [06:03] He admits the only hedgehog he'd previously met in England, he ran
  over.
- [09:26] Wagyu at a Korean-style barbecue where the meat comes raw and you cook
  it yourself.
- [10:24] What the chef actually does: cuts the meat properly and makes the sides.
- [10:54] Why wagyu costs what it does — different feed, and cattle he is told are
  treated markedly better.
- [11:28] Walid incinerates his portion. Harry calls it the best and the most meat
  he has ever eaten.
- [11:59] The history in one paragraph: imperial expansion, defeat, reconstruction,
  and an economic power built on resilience and innovation.
- [12:33] **Over five million vending machines**, which he ties to office culture
  and the short break.
- [12:33] The bug vending machine — bamboo worms, diving beetles, crickets,
  scorpion.
- [13:51] About $3 for crickets, bought as a present for Walid, who eats them.
- [14:17] The capsule hotel: around $60 a night, men only, roughly a hundred
  capsules.
- [14:53] Free earplugs and eye mask.
- [15:24] Inside a capsule — fan, alarm, pull-out TV, headphones, sockets, and a
  blind for privacy. House rules on smoking, talking and alarms.
- [16:32] The free lounge, which is the real value: fast wi-fi, a silent work
  room, ironing, massage chairs, and free tea, coffee, soft drinks, alcohol and
  rice.
- [08:11] Shibuya Crossing — unofficially the busiest in the world, and Harry's
  note that a pedestrian crossing has become a tourist attraction.
- [09:26] The recurring problem: everything is in Japanese, and he realises after
  ordering at random that his phone could have translated the whole menu.
- [17:08] Buying a bullet train ticket, which defeats them both.
- [18:10] The JR Pass — two weeks, and this leg alone would be about $130.
- [18:43] **Average delay: twelve seconds.** Fastest ever recorded: 375 mph. 280
  miles in the time 80 miles takes at home.
- [19:20] Tokyo exceeded his expectations, and he says he didn't expect to be a
  Japan person at all.
- [19:56] Cleaners turning the seats around between services.
- [21:01] **Kaizen** — continuous improvement, even 1% a day — offered as the
  explanation for Toyota, the bullet train and the rest.
- [21:35] The carriage: a window bigger than a plane's, legroom, power, wi-fi
  around 20 Mbps.
- [23:14] Kyoto — and Harry leaves his bag on the train, which was continuing to
  Osaka. Walid grabs it. The train does not wait.
- [24:30] A pay-per-use work pod inside a station, about $2.75, with a desk, TV,
  ring light, fan and air conditioning. He briefly can't get out.
- [26:33] The shrine — one of over 30,000 in Japan, dating to 706, with over a
  thousand gates climbing the mountain and a three-hour walk to the top.
- [27:39] Washing your hands at the entrance as an act of respect, with his own
  admission that he's guessing at the reason.
- [28:12] Prayer plaques, and what the printed options reveal about what people
  pray for: traffic safety, a good fishing catch, a good harvest.
- [29:19] Torii gates, and who comes to them — every age and walk of life,
  praying for harvests, business and their dreams.
- [29:52] Longevity, and the reasons given: seafood, green tea, fermented food,
  small portions, good healthcare, cycling to school, and respect for the
  elderly. The oldest Japanese person cited is 117.
- [30:26] Scallop and salmon torched to order at a market stall, with fish eggs
  on top. The sauce is the best part.
- [31:43] Kendo, descended from samurai training — full armour he can barely see
  or hold his head up in.
- [32:59] Bamboo swords, a bout against each other, then the master, who is much
  better.
- [33:30] A real sword against a target. He says only 20–30% manage the cut, and
  both of them do.
- [34:48] Far more tiring than expected for a minute of fighting, and he'd do it
  again.
- [35:10] Osaka — the commercial city, known for food and nightlife.
- [35:18] Dotonbori: street food, arcades, revolving sushi, enormous signage.
- [35:54] Clean, easy to get around, and a good base — Nara and Kyoto are day
  trips.
- [36:25] Kobe beef sushi, one piece, talked up to premium.
- [39:17] It comes to about $10 for the single piece. He says he could have had
  three of the standard, and that it is the best beef he's eaten.
- [39:50] The stall's claim, repeated: the finest beef in the world.
- [39:50] The Glico sign, up since 1935, and Harry's honest admission that he
  isn't sure why it's so famous.
- [41:27] A ryokan — wood, sliding doors, tatami mats, paper screens.
- [43:16] Free green tea and water, high-quality toiletries, and everything
  spotless.
- [45:36] A meditation balcony.
- [45:36] Sleeping on the floor, which he's told relaxes the muscles and keeps
  the hips and spine neutral.
- [46:14] A convenience store, and asking the staff what they actually drink.
- [47:29] Zero-calorie ciders and a bubble gum soda, all of which he insists
  taste like Christmas.

## Extracted pages

- Places: [Tokyo](/places/tokyo.md), [Kyoto](/places/kyoto.md),
  [Osaka](/places/osaka.md)
- Country: [Japan](/countries/japan.md)
- Person: [Walid](/people/walid.md)