Man, this reminds me of the time I flew to Germany at the end of the pandemic. It was my first international trip in a few years and I was going to film ancient history sites from Bavaria to...
Exemplary
Man, this reminds me of the time I flew to Germany at the end of the pandemic. It was my first international trip in a few years and I was going to film ancient history sites from Bavaria to Sardinia.
My first night I am having a solo dinner in the town at the foot of Neuschwanstein Castle. Afterwards I go for a bit of a nighttime hike. I’m from the West Coast of North America. It might be midnight here but it’s 3 PM my time!
I climb the trails for 10 minutes and then take out my phone to see water running across the rocks. I tell myself that it’s time to turn around because it’s getting too technical and that’s the moment I stumble and fall off the cliff.
The first drop was only 15 meters or so, but a serious tumble. Yet it was on the second tumble that I lost my phone. Almost broke my leg. Pitch black for half an hour trying to find it. Then I have to figure out how to rescue myself.
Do that. Come back at dawn but never find my phone. Realize I have to carry on without one. There are no cell phone stores in town that can help me. My rental has no GPS. My cousin who lives in Milano expects me in three days.
So… I just start driving. Gas stations don’t have paper maps anymore. The sky is overcast but I can just spy the crown of the Alps to the south so I just aim in that direction.
But the valleys don’t run properly north/south, as the Romans and many others have learned, and instead of my Airbnb in Switzerland I find myself pushed all the way to Austria and the Brenner pass. At this point my leg is swollen to twice its normal size and black.
I spend a night in Trento where the staff get me in touch with my cousin. He guides me in. When I arrive he asks, where were you and why haven’t you been answering your phone? I tell him how I fell off a cliff. He says, oh that’s why you haven’t responded to your parents. They’ve been calling and calling. Your mother had a stroke.
So then I realized it was going to be one of those kinds of trips, where absolutely everything goes wrong no matter what you do and you’re cursed. So even though I was still in extreme pain I was able to relax and let the curse take me where it would.
My mom had a full recovery and my leg ended up not being broken, although I do have a permanent bone bruise which permanently hurts. I did get some footage of Sardinia and produced a really nice episode about their history.
I usually really enjoy getting lost in foreign countries. But acute pain makes problem-solving impossible, especially in a foreign language or two.
Ludwig and Michael Reeves travel across Japan on their motorcycle in a challenge run from the most Southern part to the most Northern part of Japan. But there's a catch: No phones No maps No...
Ludwig and Michael Reeves travel across Japan on their motorcycle in a challenge run from the most Southern part to the most Northern part of Japan.
But there's a catch:
No phones
No maps
No highways
That means there's no google maps, google translate, or any idea at all where they need to go, except tip to tip.
_
Neither Ludwig nor Michael are YouTubers I watch normally. Ludwig is a bit too abrasive and I don't know Michael's content.
But this series is incredible.
With their daily struggles through Japan comes a very sweet slice of life show that focuses on the fun of roadtrips with friends, the heartwarming kindness of strangers, and the adventure of just striding ahead in the face of uncertainty.
The episodes are relatively short and have a relaxed editing style, reminiscent of old YouTube or vlogging of yore.
With the amount of Tildes Jetlag enjoyers I figured there must be a little overlap between the two. This short series has taken me by surprise and I've been looking forward to another episode each morning for a week and a half. I recommend giving it a try.
It feels like this would be the experience if you were a pilgrim or something traveling before the age of maps. Nothing guiding you but the vague idea you have to go to Constantinople, a hope, and...
It feels like this would be the experience if you were a pilgrim or something traveling before the age of maps. Nothing guiding you but the vague idea you have to go to Constantinople, a hope, and many directions from strangers.
That being said I feel like it only works because they're both insanely bad at Japanese geography.
I don't think that's entirely true. Drop me in any other country and tell me to go somewhere without any direction other than "north east" and I'll probably struggle finding the good routes too....
That being said I feel like it only works because they're both insanely bad at Japanese geography.
I don't think that's entirely true. Drop me in any other country and tell me to go somewhere without any direction other than "north east" and I'll probably struggle finding the good routes too. They had nothing to go on.
Then on top of that they're both insanely bad at Japanese geography. Something they skill out of when they buy a compass. It helps when you know the direction of travel.
Well, I wouldn't say Japan is just "any country" to them. They've both been there multiple times and both have a particular obsession with Japan as weebs - there's a reason Ludwig has a...
Well, I wouldn't say Japan is just "any country" to them. They've both been there multiple times and both have a particular obsession with Japan as weebs - there's a reason Ludwig has a surprisingly capable vocabulary in Japanese.
But Japan in particular has some key geographic features that should make this kind of challenge easy. Basically all of the main islands are long, mostly vertically oriented with huge mountain ranges in the centers. Additionally, most of the population lives in the East coast.
You should have no trouble using the coast and the sun as your guide (this is the land of the rising sun after all). The sun rises from the east and sets in the west - not exactly, but should be more than close enough for this kind of directional movement.
The main part where this falls apart somewhat is in Hokkaido, where you either go through the east or through the center.
None of this is, like, advance geographic insights. I think this kind of challenge would be much harder in, say, the US, or Mexico, or China or another non-island, country where you're traveling through mostly inland territories.
None of that is to say it's a bad thing, it's what makes the show work.
Ludwig had a tutor before this trip if I recall. Still, you can see it improve during the trip. With the occasional gaffe where Ludwig starts proselytizing by asking if this town has god (kami)...
Ludwig had a tutor before this trip if I recall. Still, you can see it improve during the trip. With the occasional gaffe where Ludwig starts proselytizing by asking if this town has god (kami) instead of bears (kuma).
From what I could tell, they did use the rising sun and the coast as a guide and a rough direction. They weren't totally inept. It just didn't help that Ludwig invented an entire island and Michael didn't know enough to correct him.
I suspect this has more to do with size than it does the particular geography. China in particular is a funny example because "go east and follow the coast" is arguably an even better strategy...
None of this is, like, advance geographic insights. I think this kind of challenge would be much harder in, say, the US, or Mexico, or China or another non-island, country where you're traveling through mostly inland territories.
I suspect this has more to do with size than it does the particular geography. China in particular is a funny example because "go east and follow the coast" is arguably an even better strategy there than in Japan, and its population is even more skewed towards the coast -- it's just that going between the southernmost and northernmost points of China would take far far longer, and thus the relatively small fraction of the journey where that doesn't work is a larger absolute distance.
Having just returned from Japan, with not much more language than they have. I was there to learn and see the sights and practice my Japanese, so I heavily used Google Translate and Maps to get...
Having just returned from Japan, with not much more language than they have. I was there to learn and see the sights and practice my Japanese, so I heavily used Google Translate and Maps to get around. If my math is right, I actually passed right by them when on the Shinkansen to Kagoshima as they were heading to Fukuoka and I was leaving it! Small world! Edit: Turns out they went the wrong way, so I was in Miyazaki the same day they were. Crazy.
I don't know if I'd be willing to do what they are ...but like their first episode showed, the people there are incredibly considerate, especially if you open in Japanese. The geography is beautiful. The country is wonderful...and if you go with empathy, patience, some Japanese, and a willingness to not be the "ugly American" or "noisy foreigner" who disrupts their lives, you'll be met with an abundance of generosity.
I'm going back. ASAP. And watching this series in the interim.
I was in Fukuoka for a work thing back in 2023 and pretty much only knew "Arigato Gozaimaisu" and "Sumimasen" and even that was enough for everyone to be super nice. Fukuoka was a little crazy...
I was in Fukuoka for a work thing back in 2023 and pretty much only knew "Arigato Gozaimaisu" and "Sumimasen" and even that was enough for everyone to be super nice. Fukuoka was a little crazy because, at least wherever I kept going, they hardly spoke English, but I had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back to Japan.
Having watched the entire series, I will slightly correct what I said before. I knew substantially more, but different Japanese than they did. I felt actually able to chat with people in Japan,...
Having watched the entire series, I will slightly correct what I said before. I knew substantially more, but different Japanese than they did. I felt actually able to chat with people in Japan, while they struggled. Nonetheless, I am certain that if I had gone to Fukuoka knowing as much as you just said, I would still been able to get around, and been welcomed by the locals. Kyushu is a special place, and I really loved it. A shame it gets so hot and humid for so long!
It ended today. I've enjoyed seeing this trip from start to end. Something about the style made it feel like a real slice of life. In my own experience, the best part about a trip is the people...
It ended today.
I've enjoyed seeing this trip from start to end. Something about the style made it feel like a real slice of life. In my own experience, the best part about a trip is the people you meet and the kindness you receive along the way. This series showcased human kindness in the same way and it creates this yearning and wanderlust inside of me to go on a trip myself that I haven't had in a while.
Which is roughly since I've had my daughter. A trip hasn't been possible yet, but this makes me look forward to the next time I'll be able to.
Unique in the current age of YouTube. As another commenter on YouTube said: you've left a handprint on the ceiling.
Now that the series is finished, here's the playlist of the whole trip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHIkv0XH20A&list=PLLGT0cEMIAzeq_YFR_iHm831-GuOWlwUJ
Man, this reminds me of the time I flew to Germany at the end of the pandemic. It was my first international trip in a few years and I was going to film ancient history sites from Bavaria to Sardinia.
My first night I am having a solo dinner in the town at the foot of Neuschwanstein Castle. Afterwards I go for a bit of a nighttime hike. I’m from the West Coast of North America. It might be midnight here but it’s 3 PM my time!
I climb the trails for 10 minutes and then take out my phone to see water running across the rocks. I tell myself that it’s time to turn around because it’s getting too technical and that’s the moment I stumble and fall off the cliff.
The first drop was only 15 meters or so, but a serious tumble. Yet it was on the second tumble that I lost my phone. Almost broke my leg. Pitch black for half an hour trying to find it. Then I have to figure out how to rescue myself.
Do that. Come back at dawn but never find my phone. Realize I have to carry on without one. There are no cell phone stores in town that can help me. My rental has no GPS. My cousin who lives in Milano expects me in three days.
So… I just start driving. Gas stations don’t have paper maps anymore. The sky is overcast but I can just spy the crown of the Alps to the south so I just aim in that direction.
But the valleys don’t run properly north/south, as the Romans and many others have learned, and instead of my Airbnb in Switzerland I find myself pushed all the way to Austria and the Brenner pass. At this point my leg is swollen to twice its normal size and black.
I spend a night in Trento where the staff get me in touch with my cousin. He guides me in. When I arrive he asks, where were you and why haven’t you been answering your phone? I tell him how I fell off a cliff. He says, oh that’s why you haven’t responded to your parents. They’ve been calling and calling. Your mother had a stroke.
So then I realized it was going to be one of those kinds of trips, where absolutely everything goes wrong no matter what you do and you’re cursed. So even though I was still in extreme pain I was able to relax and let the curse take me where it would.
My mom had a full recovery and my leg ended up not being broken, although I do have a permanent bone bruise which permanently hurts. I did get some footage of Sardinia and produced a really nice episode about their history.
I usually really enjoy getting lost in foreign countries. But acute pain makes problem-solving impossible, especially in a foreign language or two.
Ludwig and Michael Reeves travel across Japan on their motorcycle in a challenge run from the most Southern part to the most Northern part of Japan.
But there's a catch:
That means there's no google maps, google translate, or any idea at all where they need to go, except tip to tip.
_
Neither Ludwig nor Michael are YouTubers I watch normally. Ludwig is a bit too abrasive and I don't know Michael's content.
But this series is incredible.
With their daily struggles through Japan comes a very sweet slice of life show that focuses on the fun of roadtrips with friends, the heartwarming kindness of strangers, and the adventure of just striding ahead in the face of uncertainty.
The episodes are relatively short and have a relaxed editing style, reminiscent of old YouTube or vlogging of yore.
With the amount of Tildes Jetlag enjoyers I figured there must be a little overlap between the two. This short series has taken me by surprise and I've been looking forward to another episode each morning for a week and a half. I recommend giving it a try.
It feels like this would be the experience if you were a pilgrim or something traveling before the age of maps. Nothing guiding you but the vague idea you have to go to Constantinople, a hope, and many directions from strangers.
That being said I feel like it only works because they're both insanely bad at Japanese geography.
I don't think that's entirely true. Drop me in any other country and tell me to go somewhere without any direction other than "north east" and I'll probably struggle finding the good routes too. They had nothing to go on.
Then on top of that they're both insanely bad at Japanese geography. Something they skill out of when they buy a compass. It helps when you know the direction of travel.
Well, I wouldn't say Japan is just "any country" to them. They've both been there multiple times and both have a particular obsession with Japan as weebs - there's a reason Ludwig has a surprisingly capable vocabulary in Japanese.
But Japan in particular has some key geographic features that should make this kind of challenge easy. Basically all of the main islands are long, mostly vertically oriented with huge mountain ranges in the centers. Additionally, most of the population lives in the East coast.
You should have no trouble using the coast and the sun as your guide (this is the land of the rising sun after all). The sun rises from the east and sets in the west - not exactly, but should be more than close enough for this kind of directional movement.
The main part where this falls apart somewhat is in Hokkaido, where you either go through the east or through the center.
None of this is, like, advance geographic insights. I think this kind of challenge would be much harder in, say, the US, or Mexico, or China or another non-island, country where you're traveling through mostly inland territories.
None of that is to say it's a bad thing, it's what makes the show work.
Ludwig had a tutor before this trip if I recall. Still, you can see it improve during the trip. With the occasional gaffe where Ludwig starts proselytizing by asking if this town has god (kami) instead of bears (kuma).
From what I could tell, they did use the rising sun and the coast as a guide and a rough direction. They weren't totally inept. It just didn't help that Ludwig invented an entire island and Michael didn't know enough to correct him.
I suspect this has more to do with size than it does the particular geography. China in particular is a funny example because "go east and follow the coast" is arguably an even better strategy there than in Japan, and its population is even more skewed towards the coast -- it's just that going between the southernmost and northernmost points of China would take far far longer, and thus the relatively small fraction of the journey where that doesn't work is a larger absolute distance.
Having just returned from Japan, with not much more language than they have. I was there to learn and see the sights and practice my Japanese, so I heavily used Google Translate and Maps to get around. If my math is right, I actually passed right by them when on the Shinkansen to Kagoshima as they were heading to Fukuoka and I was leaving it! Small world! Edit: Turns out they went the wrong way, so I was in Miyazaki the same day they were. Crazy.
I don't know if I'd be willing to do what they are ...but like their first episode showed, the people there are incredibly considerate, especially if you open in Japanese. The geography is beautiful. The country is wonderful...and if you go with empathy, patience, some Japanese, and a willingness to not be the "ugly American" or "noisy foreigner" who disrupts their lives, you'll be met with an abundance of generosity.
I'm going back. ASAP. And watching this series in the interim.
I was in Fukuoka for a work thing back in 2023 and pretty much only knew "Arigato Gozaimaisu" and "Sumimasen" and even that was enough for everyone to be super nice. Fukuoka was a little crazy because, at least wherever I kept going, they hardly spoke English, but I had a fantastic time and can't wait to go back to Japan.
Having watched the entire series, I will slightly correct what I said before. I knew substantially more, but different Japanese than they did. I felt actually able to chat with people in Japan, while they struggled. Nonetheless, I am certain that if I had gone to Fukuoka knowing as much as you just said, I would still been able to get around, and been welcomed by the locals. Kyushu is a special place, and I really loved it. A shame it gets so hot and humid for so long!
It ended today.
I've enjoyed seeing this trip from start to end. Something about the style made it feel like a real slice of life. In my own experience, the best part about a trip is the people you meet and the kindness you receive along the way. This series showcased human kindness in the same way and it creates this yearning and wanderlust inside of me to go on a trip myself that I haven't had in a while.
Which is roughly since I've had my daughter. A trip hasn't been possible yet, but this makes me look forward to the next time I'll be able to.
Unique in the current age of YouTube. As another commenter on YouTube said: you've left a handprint on the ceiling.
Now that the series is finished, here's the playlist of the whole trip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHIkv0XH20A&list=PLLGT0cEMIAzeq_YFR_iHm831-GuOWlwUJ