JAPAN TODAY


 

TOKYO - John Daub, creator and producer of the ONLY in JAPAN series on YouTube, one of the top Japan travel channels with an audience of over 1.5 million subscribers, has moved to a new YouTube channel.

Saying good-bye to the old channel was not easy. “I really tried my best to find a way to work together with the company I formerly partnered with, but we just had a different way of seeing the series and its future.

I felt it was better for me to continue my direction of showing Japan how I’ve seen it as a longtime resident. I want viewers to share the same emotional connection I have with Japan through the videos I produce.”

In his first episode, Daub covered the Noboribetsu Onsen “Naked Man” Festival held in February, and for future episodes he plans to delve into Kanazawa’s traditional food culture, Sado Island’s annual Earth Celebration music festival and connection with taiko drums, as well as regional wagyu farms.

I really love finding stories that connect history and culture with people,” Daub explains when asked about his direction for the new channel.

“Instead of just showing viewers an interesting aspect of Japan, I want to answer the question ‘why?’. What makes it significant and special? Why should we care?”

Daub came up with the series ONLY in JAPAN after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

After volunteering in towns like Mihonoseki and Ishinomaki, he saw tourism numbers shrinking and foreign friends leaving Japan. “It was heartbreaking, especially hearing the word ‘Fukushima’ being used in a negative way. I once lived in Iwaki and it hurt me seeing people hear their home mentioned in such a negative way internationally. Japan is so much more than what I was hearing back in 2013.”

Daub took his experience working in TV as a NHK World reporter to produce a show explaining what international media wouldn’t show at the time. “The Naked Man Festival is portrayed as a silly event with people in thongs running around the town in the winter.

It was portrayed in such a ridiculous way, but there is a deep religious meaning and history behind it going back hundreds of years that no one ever mentioned. I really wanted to show the world the way I saw Japan as someone who’s lived here for a long time.”

The new series is called “John Daub ONLY in JAPAN” and will feature a new episode every week: http://youtube.com/johndaub

Daub also has a mobile live streaming channel ONLY in JAPAN GO (http://youtube.com/onlyinjapango) with over 200,000 subscribers, who tune in to catch his live travel adventures around the country 15-20 times a month. He recently returned from Koyasan in Wakayama, where he was exploring the temples and shukubo lodgings.

“On the live streaming channel, I can take viewers with me, many of whom had to cancel their trips to Japan because of the pandemic. I hope when the world is in a better state in 2021, we can help grow interest in Japan again just like we did after the earthquake in Tohoku.”