Name: What Driving in Japan is REALLY Like
Uploaded: 2020-08-05T19:10:47.000Z
Duration: 19 min 44 s
Description: VoiceTubeの動画で発音を聞きながら英語表現を覚えよう！学べる英語：

- Y'know what, all good road trips kick off with a morning snack,

and fortunately, Japan has a multitude of tasty, traditional options.

In my defence, Japan doesn't have a lot of drive-thru options outside of

Sadly, drive-thru sushi hasn't really taken off yet.

They do exist, but they're few and far between.

I'm tryna eat my lunch, but y'know when someone stares at you

Fun fact: in Japan, the unnerving mascot of McDonald's isn't called Ronald McDonald

because that would be a little bit tricky to say - quite literally, 'Ronarudo Makudonarudo'

No, they went for a much easier option, because in Japan, Ronald McDonald is called...

I would love to have been at that marketing meeting when they thought that up,

Which, coincidentally, is also going to be the name of my first-born son.

-  Honestly, when you're driving through an area as beautiful as this,

and you're left with a deep appreciation for just... existence, really.

... And admittedly, a sense of regret for not bringing my bloody sunglasses.

Today I'm taking you on an all-expenses-paid road trip across north Japan

Despite driving in Japan for 8 years now, I haven't had a car for the last 5,

so I'm absolutely delighted to once again have the gift of freedom.

I'll get onto why I finally got a car, and why I got this model in a minute.

We're actually gonna drive to visit my good friend Natsuki in the other side of Japan,

We're gonna drive through some incredible places, and along the way,

I'll talk a bit about the key differences  between driving back home in the UK

and driving in Japan, as well as my own good and bad experiences on the road.

Honestly, the only thing we're missing right now is a nice soundtrack to fit the majestic setting.

There's a reason we keep the radio switched off here.

So why did I finally buy a new car, and why a Honda Fit?

Well, for the first three years living in Japan, I did have a car,

Driving around here kept me sane during tough times.

Many of my happiest memories are just driving through the mountains,

not quite knowing really where I'm going, hoping that I'm not gonna get eaten by bears.

[Upbeat music, but faster this time, as Chris screeches his car away]

But then, I moved to Sendai City of a million people, great public transport,

and traffic jams beyond your wildest dreams.

And not only did I find I didn't really need a car due to public transport,

but I quickly discovered I didn't particularly like driving there either.

However, since getting rid of that car 5 years ago now,

I've always felt like there's been something missing.

The best places in Japan, particularly in north Japan where we are now,

are the places you can't really access with public transport - the rugged coastline,

mysterious mountain ranges, and sleepy villages that explorers have yet to discover.

So that is the real reason I bought the car - to reignite that lost spirit of adventure,

and to show you guys bits of Japan you wouldn't normally see.

... Also I was getting fed up carrying the shopping bags home.

Nobody deserves to carry their shopping home on foot.

It might not be a Tesla, like all the good Youtubers drive these days,

but as someone who's used to driving rundown cars from the 1990s,

this car is nothing short of absolute luxury for me.

The last car that I owned was a Toyota Starlet that was brand new

It came into my possession in 2013 when the former owner - good friend of mine -

decided it was cheaper to give it to me than it was to just scrap it.

And it was a lot of fun to drive over the years. It was a manual transmission -

most cars in Japan, over 90% that are sold these days, are automatic.

But given its age, it wasn't without its downsides.

For example, I quickly discovered that the car's air conditioning wasn't working.

Not only that, but the windows didn't work either on occasion,

which is a terrible, terrible combination given that in the summer,

Japan turns into one great big fucking oven.

So to sit in a car made sometime in the last decade, with windows that go not only down,

Very exciting. Look at that. It goes down, and it goes up.

And because this car's a hybrid, which are all the rage in Japan,

You can get 85 miles per gallon, meaning I only have to fill up the car

I think if I did live in the UK, I might've bought something a little bit more fun to drive,

but in Japan, people aren't very ostentatious when it comes to buying cars,

and aesthetics and appearances tend to take a back seat.

Which is why it's not uncommon here to see cars

that look like they've been conceived by Homer Simpson.

In the west, cars are much more than a tool to get us from A to B -

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What Driving in Japan is REALLY Like

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