The Japan The Algorithm Is Hiding From You

Is it me or has Japan suddenly become the trendiest place on earth?

It feels like everyone's here, everyone's filming it, and everyone's selling it.

But I want to know what's left when you leave the tourist trail behind and start walking in the other direction.

So I've packed a bag, I'm leaving Tokyo, and I'm hitchhiking across the country to find out.

Most people come to Japan for the bullet trains, the matcha everything, the 7-Eleven egg sandwiches.

And look, that Japan is real, but loads of stuff's real.

Like the fact that hidden along Japan's coast is a city of 25,000 Brazilians.

Nobody talks about that. Nobody wants to go there. And I want to know why.

So I'm hitchhiking the length of Japan's forgotten coastline to find out. I'll be camping rough.

Just sat on a beach in Japan eating breakfast looking at Mount Fuji. And drinking with locals in towns that barely see tourists.

To find the story that social media missed.

Japanese is going to be the hardest language in the world to write a hitchhiking sign for.

There is

nothing cuter on planet earth than a class

of kindergarten Japanese kids all wearing the same hat holding hands

going oh is the cutest thing in the world so

I've actually been traveling in Japan for 10 days already I've been traveling with my beautiful mother here's a picture of her.

Hello. How are you sir? Hi. Where are you going? Hometown.

Hometown? What's your hometown? Atugi. Ah, I want to go to Shizuoka.

You know Shizuoka? Yeah, I know. What do you think of my sign? Can you read this?

Yeah, Shizuoka Home. Yeah, yeah, Shizuoka Homen in the direction of Shushika.

So, what's your name, sir? I'm Terry. Again? Terry, nice to meet you, brother.

I'm going to try to catch a hitchhiker. Yeah.

I go to Atsugi, so if you want, go to Atsugi.

I can go? Mike, thank you, Terry. Let's go. How do I say let's go in Japanese? Let's go.

Oh, she go. Oh, she go. Let's do it. Thanks, Terry. Look at that. That's close.

Yeah, yeah. Everything close. Terry's just said, do you hate smoking? And I went, no.

We're going to have a smoke together. You are married? Yeah. Nice. How many years are you married? 20.

20 years? Yeah. How old are you? I'm 41. 51. Dude, you look so young.

Dude, the Japanese don't crack dude. Yeah, we. Yeah, you look young.

Terry, thank you my brother. Thank you for the journey through 80s classic movie music. It's been brilliant.

Just take my bag. Good luck, okay? Goodbye brother. Thank you so much. Goodbye.

We do love Terry. We do love Terry. If you're someone that struggles with social anxiety, I wouldn't recommend doing this.

Konnichiwa. Konnichiwa. You're going to Hakome. That's okay. That's okay, my brother.

That's okay. Eight more of them and I think we'll get someone. Hey, we've met another hitchhiker. Hitchhiker. Where are you going? Nagoya.

Nagoya. What do you want to do? I want to go to Makinohara. Mekinohara.

Mekinohara how men? How many hours to Nagoya?

Here to there? Yeah. Five hours. Five hours, big day.

Do you have any advice for me for hitchhiking in Japan?

Where is the best place for me to stand? Here or by the exit?

Can you show me where the best place to stand is? Good luck my brother. Good luck. See you my brother. You try. Good luck.

So the hitchhiking code is like this right. When you see another hitchhiker you'll be friendly of course.

But it's every man for himself. I just want to interrupt for a second and talk about mental health.