T1D Wanderer

Video diary - Between videos in Sakai

Here is a brief Patreon-only video diary from Sakai, Japan. I shot an upcoming YouTube video during my wanderings today, and will do so tomorrow. Knees willing.

Watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFjYRLkgLUM

[Newsletter] Creepy or amusing? The rakan statues of Otagi

▶︎ Watch the new video → https://youtu.be/kZfiu_dW6Hw

This week's video is a bit shorter than usual. But it's about a subject that's especially unique and, well, weird.

First of all, a couple unrelated notes

1. The Japan Series...

   2025-11-01 11:00:17 +0000 UTC View Post

[Extended version] Quirky roadside vending/game center stuck in 1982

This early link to the extended ad-free version of my Drive-in Daruma vintage vending machine video is exclusively for Travel Lovers, Travel Partners, and Travel Masters. It's 41 minutes long and includes the early morning train ride, the long walk from and back to Shinonome train station, a lot more drama fr...

[Raw footage] Me playing the classic Space Invaders

Complete game (short as it is) from the retro Drive-in Daruma.

[Raw footage] Me playing Tetris (but not for long)

After eating vintage vending machine food, I thought I was ready for Tetris.

[Raw footage] My first Super Mario Bros game in years

Of course the Drive-in Daruma retro game center had this classic video game. And of course I played it.

[Raw footage] Me and the driving game Rave Racer

I'd never heard of this game but I tried it when I saw it at Drive-in Daruma. How did I do? Well...

[Raw footage] Me playing Lupin the Third pachinko (or possibly not)

Did I play this game? What even is it? I do not know.

[Raw footage] Me playing Grass Derby (like Japanese pinball)

A fun game of flipper-less pinball at a Japanese retro game center. (Two games, in fact!)

[Raw footage] Me murdering Galaga for nine minutes

The entire video of my Galaga game at Drive-in Daruma. Not bad eh!

[Raw footage] Me playing Fist of the North Star (slot machine)

I was a bit confused, but I think I mostly figured it out...?

[Raw footage] My entire Pac-Man game

Complete game footage of Pac-Man from the Drive-in Daruma retro game/vending machine center in Kyōto, Japan.

Several other complete videos of the games I played this day available in my Raw footage videos playlist on Patreon...

[Newsletter] Toxic mountain village with Japan's last wolf

▶︎ Watch the new video → https://youtu.be/95VDbw2wma0

The prefecture of Nara, Japan is very mountainous and there aren't many people. The actual city of Nara is a big tourist draw of a city, of course, as are its surrounding cities and towns. And...

[Extended version] Creepy or amusing? The rakan statues of Otagi

This early link to next week's video is the extended ad-free version, exclusively for Travel Lovers, Travel Partners, and Travel Masters. It's 12 minutes long and includes the bus ride through Arashiyama to the temple.

Extended, ad-free video →

htt...

[Newsletter] Why locals love this ancient tree bridge

▶︎ Watch the new video → https://youtu.be/w0vcA6N7eCg

I found something unique and mostly unknown in a small town called Kaibara, Japan: an ancient tree beside a river that grew a single gigantic root across the river to the oppo...

[Extended version] Toxic mountain village with Japan's last wolf

This early link to the extended ad-free version of next week's video is exclusively for Travel Lovers, Travel Partners, and Travel Masters. It's 43 minutes long and includes exploring many more streets and paths in town, marking further bonus items off my checklist, and the whole long tragic tale of how I got left behind by m...

[Newsletter] A train line, a river, a belly button - Kakogawa!

▶︎ Watch the new video → https://youtu.be/Ik5pg8nfTEk

Oh boy I've got a really good video for you this week, if I do say so myself. Another train line that turned out to be highly unusual and full of fascinating stops. This time, it's the 2025-10-11 11:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post

[Extended version] Why locals love this ancient tree bridge

This early link to the extended ad-free version of next week's video from Kaibara, Japan is exclusively for Travel Lovers, Travel Partners, and Travel Masters. It's 30 minutes long and includes the story of Nagayamon gate from 1714, my impromptu guided tour around Kaibara, the story of a legendary 6-year-old haiku poet from t...

[Extended version] A train line, a river, a belly button - Kakogawa!

This early link to the extended ad-free version is exclusively for Travel Lovers, Travel Partners, and Travel Masters. It's 60 minutes long and includes extensive walks around both Yashirochō and Tanikawa, info about other stations, a look at the tricky train schedules, a close-up look at the Kakogawa river, more from Nishiw...

[Newsletter] Live stream this week

This week's video is going to be a live stream here: https://youtube.com/live/ilJwO-1jftA

Of course it's not possible to find a time that suits everyone, but I hope you can join this one. It's 8:00 pm in the Eastern Time zone i...

[Newsletter] Eerie night on the Rokkō Cable Car

▶︎ Watch the new video → https://youtu.be/PhLxHlWRaKQ

This week, yet another reminder that even when you think you know what to expect when visiting somewhere, things can go sideways. A whole new world can reveal itself when you're anticipating s...

Notice: No early-access video this week

Hi!

Usually this is where the link to next week's video would be. But there isn't a link because there isn't a regular video; next week's video will be a live stream. (More info about that will be coming soon.)

I've been wanting to do a live stream for a couple months, and I was sick for a few days last week and d...

[Extended version] Eerie night on the Rokkō Cable Car

What a night! This early link to next week's video is exclusively for Travel Lovers, Travel Partners, and Travel Masters. This extended, ad-free version is 39 minutes long and includes the many train and bus mistakes I made getting to the cable car in the first place, my experience barely leaving the Garden T...

[Newsletter] Why does Japan's cursed Meishō train still exist?

▶︎ Watch the new video → https://youtu.be/jhGEMHMIqI8

I've got a really fun train ride for you this week. It's from the Meishō Line, a rural JR line in Mie Prefecture, just east of Nara.

The Meishō Line has had a very rou...

[Extended version] Why does Japan's cursed Meishō train still exist?

This early link to the extended ad-free version is exclusively for Travel Lovers, Travel Partners, and Travel Masters. It's 54 minutes long and includes more from the stations, neighborhoods, and rural communities; the tale of a rare 16th century Buddhist carved stone near Isegi station; more from on board the trains; and a c...

[Newsletter] Surprising stories at the old Ishizu tram stop

▶︎ Watch the new video → https://youtu.be/_Avh32e_0RY

Greetings once again from a central Japan that's finally, sort of, becoming perhaps slightly less hot and humid than last month. A bit.

In my latest wander, I return to the Hankai Tramwa...

[Newsletter] Madness and magic on a ferry to Kōbe

▶︎ Watch the new video → https://youtu.be/77APYyLLvSc

Time for a nice relaxing ferry ride! At least, that's what I thought when I was leaving Takamatsu to return to Ōsaka. What an adventure it turned out to be.

The Jumbo Ferry 2025-09-06 11:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post