to embark on a 500 kilometer three-day journey  to japan's most extreme northern point across  

one of the most remote and isolated places in the  entire country if we make it back from this road  

trip in one piece it'll certainly be one hell of  a journey to remember complete with noisy clothes

hokkaido is japan's second largest island and  home to the country's most extreme northern  

point cape soya a thousand kilometers north of  tokyo and just 45 kilometers south of the russian  

island of sakhalin our epic three-day journey  across the island will take us 500 kilometers  

to wakana japan's most northern town and finally  on to cape sawyer as we battle through blizzards  

colorful barns frozen seas and scenery both jaw  dropping and utterly bizarre and because i don't  

want to freeze to death alone in a field joining  us on the trip is my best american friend pete  

a presenter on japanese tv who promises to drive  me insane along the way but our road trip begins  

here in hakodate the southern tip of the island in  1854 the city found its way into the history books  

by becoming japan's first port open for trade  with the west and that legacy lives on today  

in its western influenced architecture it's  here not too far from the red brick buildings  

that we grab a much needed breakfast at the  iconic seafood market before we hit the road  

oh so it's seven o'clock in the morning guys and  we're at hakodate morning market before we begin  

this long journey i thought get some breakfast  get some seafood given that's what this place is  

famous for and also worth introducing you to the  guy who's coming on the journey with us pete my  

best american friend probably there you think you  are that's quite the compliment i'm probably your  

only american friend um chris i gotta say we've  been friends for many years we have we met in  

a we made a video game bar in shinjuku about four  or five years ago that's quite real i remember you  

did announce yourself you don't know me i'm the  great chris broad i didn't say that and you said  

like who the hell are you oh you're one of my mini  fans okay just get it over with nice to meet you  

i'm chris broad you pulled out a business card and  you said it says right there 250 000 subscribers  

wow look how far you've come so you're probably  wondering why we've come on this trip to hokkaido  

in winter to the most northern point because i've  always wanted to go to cape soil but certainly not  

in the height of winter but pete is the reason  we're coming why did you choose air pete of all  

places like okay i know it sounds crazy but you  and i have been friends for a long time and one  

of the perks of being your friends is you guys may  know him i'm buddies with natsuki who last year  

got me a really nice gift and i'm very thankful  for it why'd you get you a gift it was my birthday  

for god's sake some of us remember awkward what  is that this is a shattered mug i know i get it  

i know i sound insanely stupid and this is crazy  but listen to me this was important to me he got  

it for my birthday i immediately broke it and he  specifically said he got this in a town called  

waka knight well i know natsuki did cover hokkaido  last year it seems a bit unlikely he got it in  

wakana the most northern town in japan right and i  know this sounds stupid i get it but i think that  

if we can have a chance to hang out together and  there's a chance a small one that i can replace  

this gift that he got me wow i'd feel good what a  great man you are i don't know whether to cry or  

be physically sick save your strength it's a long  drive well we're gonna finish up this breakfast  

guys then we're going to hit the road let's do  it for a mug i feel like a mug to be honest god

our first stop on our three-day road trip  is the coastal town of otaru 250 kilometers  

north of hakodate and neighbouring the regional  capital of sapporo it's here that i've booked us  

a traditional brick house for the night first  things first we've got to get there in one piece  

i have seen some snow in my days chris but this is  absolutely insane and i wouldn't want to drive in  

it yes thank you pete there's a reason i wasn't  overly enthusiastic about this uh this road trip  

like we're currently in between sapporo and aomori  city and both of those cities have the highest  

levels of snowfall on the planet do you get like  this kind of snowfall in kansas of course in  

northern america it's immense amount of snow but  i've been in tokyo for 10 years and the most we'll  

get is like a light little dusting of snow and  it's a big deal so what goes on in kansas is one  

of those states you never really hear that much  about america right i don't know we're very famous  

for our barbecue and um of course the wizard of oz  barbecues and the wizard of oz what what a legacy  

a film about a band of idiots going on a journey  that ultimately ends in massive disappointment why  

does that sound eerily familiar as we head west  around hokkaido's stunning coastline towards the  

city of otaru the blue sky quickly disappears  and we get our first taste of the region's  

infamous winter weather but amidst the snowfall  pete spots something rather odd out to sea  

what the hell was that crisp chris pullover what i  just i saw like a a glitch in the matrix it was it  

was a floating rock a floating rock yes you gotta  see it what have you been drinking this morning

holy [ __ ] look at that look at that rock  chris yes have you ever seen something like that  

no trying to be a little more excited please

i gotta say that is pretty [ __ ] cool it's one of  the most amazing things i've ever seen your whole  

life ever yes i don't go outside much so this is  really unique i really like that little torii gate  

too i don't know how they got that up there but  it looks like something out of ghost of tsushima  

a drumstick shaped rock that sticks out of the sea  somehow defying the laws of physics and gravity  

yes a drumstick because that's all you think  about is chicken how dare you how dare you

just half an hour away from hokkaido's  main city of sapporo otaru has something  

of a steampunk vibe going on thanks to  its old world european architecture left  

over from its days as a bustling  port town in the 19th century  

from the steam clock puffing away the heart of  the city to its famous canal lined with stunning  

historic warehouses it's a refreshing change  of atmosphere from the many shrinking run-down  

towns you typically find along the sea of japan  coastline here it is the picturesque otaru canal  

finished construction in 1923 as the booming  shipping market was full effect this quiet and  

idyllic place is perfect for a romantic getaway  or a special time with that someone in your life  

stop it get that on my face as it's not a large  city otaru is perfect for strolling around for  

a day trip and undeniably at its best in the  winter months because look there's a snowman  

hey look at this man there's a bunch of snowmen  and well there's about a dozen look at that one  

right over there we found the little chris broad  special he's got oil top hat and a scarf or pipe  

which one's you then uh that one in the back  right want the smiling face oh you just fell over  

just make sure if you do come to hortado in winter  don't forget to bring some gloves otherwise you'll  

end up like this oh it's so cold oh [ __ ] my  hands look at this i'm a weak little kansan boy  

take me to the hospital my hands are freezing as  the blizzard picks up and pete's hands require  

defrosting we head off to seek shelter in our  accommodation which looks more like a pirate's  

lair than your typical japanese inn which is  why i like it because pirates are cool in it  

so we've just had a long arduous drive through  the mountains of hokkaido but we're finally here  

in otaru in our beautiful converted barn that's  been turned into a hostel and pete and i are the  

only guest tonight and we're about to give you  a whirlwind tour of this place because it is  

pretty magnificent from what i've seen so far i  mean the walls are made of brick which is pretty  

rare in japan first off otaru is famous for its  kind of brick architecture but uh before we get  

to all that p are you ready to take us on a tour  absolutely let's do it welcome chris has already  

unloaded the bags thank you chris let's go ahead  and take a look at the master bedroom i'm told  

oh god it's it's we're sharing it  that's awesome thank you chris very cozy  

god damn it well let's go ahead and take a look  at the shower bath combo right in here oh this is  

a capsule hotel okay change of plans all being  here perfect for a party of six or 12. oh wait  

look at this this is one of those old false  windows let's take a look behind this guy oh

oh [ __ ] we're trapped okay nope  let's go with that not that way  

let's leave that one alone  let's try the third floor