JAPANESE SEAFOOD BRUNCH With GEISHA & MAIKO! RIVER CRAB Hotpot on River Boat

Good morning. I'm in the city of Gifu in this area called Kawaramachi, which means Old Town by the River. And I really love neighborhoods like this, just walking through, seeing all these traditional architecture, the vibe that it gives off. It's so historic and serene. And today is going to be a special treat. As I mentioned before, I'm on this tour because of a company called Baifu. They invited me, taking me on all these food experiences. And today we are going to try a local delicacy called the Japanese Mitsun Crab. And we're not just eating it in a restaurant. We're taking it on a boat. Not just on a boat, a boat where geishas will be performing. I mean, I've seen geishas from like far away in Kyoto, and I don't dare approach because it's like, oh, geisha, do not disturb. Just quietly take a photo from afar. But today we're going to be eating and they're going to be performing. So excited. Right now, we're at a traditional Japanese restaurant called Koyori, and this is where we're going to be picking up our seafood, our crabs. And then the river is right next to the street. While our food is being prepared for the boat, I'm starving. So I'm looking around this little area. It's a really cool bunch of little shops and cafes and stuff to grab coffee and some sandwiches. I'm a huge fan of Japanese sandwiches. I found this shop, this amazing tuna slash egg sandwich. I'm a big fan of tuna sandwiches and the egg sandwiches. They look bigger because they kept the crust on, which I'm not a big fan of the crust. But that just looks all gooey and creamy. That is a good egg sandwich. You know what? I don't even mind that they kept the crust on. Something about this bread, there's like a mochi-esque texture to this crust. So this is just tastes like purposeless bread. It actually has a nice chew to it. Oh, this tuna sandwich, loads of tuna. Oh, man. This is a good tuna salad sandwich. Usually you get these sandwiches in Japan. They're just tuna. Like this is actual tuna salad. There's a little bit of onions in here, a little kick of wasabi with a creamy mayo and the crunchy greens. This might be one of the better ones I had in this country. It's actually tastes healthy. I'm actually eating my vegetables. I don't even want the egg anymore. I wish they'd just give me a whole sandwich for this tuna. So good. Now we're going to walk around and then I think our food's going to be ready. We're going to head to the boat, watch some entertainment, eat some food, go down the river. It's going to be a good day. You know what? We do have a little more time. We're passing by this cool looking ogashi shop. I'm going to go in for some traditional Japanese sweets and some matcha. I think, I think we're good for breakfast. Well, this place is really interesting is that you come here, you choose the ogashi you want, and then they make it for you right away. Then you enjoy it with a cup of tea. And what's really cool is that these are all seasonal. So all the all the sweets here will change depending on what season you come here in this winter season. So I got this one. It says treishite. This is like a water drop. That one is a, it's a plum. This one is like a pine, snowy pine. And that's just a smiley face. To sit in a very traditional tea room and enjoy your sweets and your tea. Wow. So pretty. You get a whole room to yourself sitting down and then they bring the tea and desserts to you. So I got my four sweets in front of me, and this is really interesting. This dessert is called a utafuku. And it's based on the female masks that you see in a lot of Japanese theaters. I mean, I thought it looked like a sandal, but here, here's the lips. There you go. It's going to start with this little kiss and a nibble. Creamy. Red bean on the inside. The outside is like a little thin layer of steamed dough. This is really cool. This is basically a water drop from like a like a hanging icicle. I love how creative this place is. And on the outside, it's just little bits of mochi with a tiny speck of gold on here. I don't know whether that represents like the sun shining on this little drop of water. That's my interpretation. Oh, this is great. I love this. It's the same red bean paste inside, but the outside. And it's just such a gentle little layer of mochi. I'm going to chase that with some matcha. Wow. Fresh matcha and really good matcha. This thing might be a little bitter for a lot of people, but perfect when combined with sweets. This one is basically snowed cover pine tree with a bean on top. That's my favorite so far. Extremely chewy and soft mochi with little specks of dried coconut on the outside. Delicious and creative. This is the plum. And this is just, look at this, a layered rice cake. This is so cool. Outside, right here on top, is like little mochi-esque dough. And on the bottom, a red bean paste. Never stops to amaze me. Look at this. There's a hand spa. I want to try out a hand spa. Ooh. That's hot. This is why I don't get into hot tubs. Low heat tolerance. I like to keep my heat inside my mouth. My skin feels smoother. Alright, guys, check this out. So, there's only three authentic, traditional umbrella shops in all of Japan. Two in Kyoto, and one here in Gifu, and this is it. So, handcrafted artisan house, Kasa. Kasa, of course, means home, but in Japan, Japanese, it means umbrella. And it is not cheap. Take a look. This is Kawasaki. He owns the shop, and there's only three all of Japan. Two in Kyoto, one here. So, he's going to show us the price range of the umbrellas. So, cheapest one. Where's the cheapest one? The cheapest one. This is how I shop. Wow. Look at this. It's like, it's like an art. When you're walking around the ring, you can just look up and appreciate beauty. Everything by hand. How long to make one? Three months. Three months to make this? 23,000 yen. So, about 200 US dollars. But it's exquisite. Wow. This is, I mean, this is the cheaper one. Show me the most expensive one. Most expensive one. Let's go take a look. Oh, it's 300,000 yen. It's 300,000 yen. That's $3,000 around. And he had to hide it so people don't touch it. I feel like, I'm afraid I'm going to wear it. Oh. What are you doing? I don't want, I feel like, oh, oh, oh my good Lord. It's a blossom. Here, look at this. Wow. A $3,000 umbrella. Oh my God. This is amazing. You're getting an umbrella and it's a hundred percent unique. Oh, this is so much lighter. Look at this. A different blossom. Look at this. Wow. Oh, 200,000. So a $3,000 umbrella, a $2,000 umbrella. Wow. Oh, don't use it. They can't use it. Okay. So these are art, just to look, just to look. Okay. So the cheap one, cheaper one is okay. When it's held to the light, this is so beautiful. Galaxy. Can you imagine like you walk around New York with this thing. Someone bumps into you, smashes your $2,000 umbrella. There'd be some words. Oh man. It is too. It is too pretty. Like I've never seen an umbrella this pretty before in my life. I probably, none of you guys have either. Look at this. Wow. And this is a boat I'll be dining in. A little scenery, a little food, some entertainment. Might be one of the coolest things I've done in this country. And right inside this boat, it's crazy because just like a typical Japanese restaurant or a traditional home, there's tatami mats right here. So take off your shoes before you board an Asian boat. All right. Cool. The performers are here at the Geisha. So we have a Michael, which is a Geisha in training, kind of like the apprentice Geisha. If you don't know, there's like different stages of the Geisha, different stages to becoming a full on full fledged Geisha. And Michael's like right before the final Geisha stage. So this is really interesting. And those of you who don't know, like Geisha, it's a really very highly respected occupation here in Japan and cost a lot of money to see a Geisha. So usually only the wealthy people get to be entertained by Geishas. And there's really, it's very classy, very classy occupation. They're very good at the arts, music, dance, cultural etiquette. So it's, it's really just a pleasure to be entertained by, by them and have them kind of educate you a little bit on the Japanese culture as well. And a lot of you guys may not know there's, there's also male Geishas. Actually, the Geisha profession was originally all males because they were kind of acting as the jester, like the equivalent would be like a jester of the court. So these dying males, these warlords, they will all have a Geisha called Hokkan. They started around the 1200s and then female Geishas were introduced around the 1700s. All right. So we're going to sit and eat and watch some performance, taste the food. Let's do this. Usually there's low performance, then you eat and they help serve as well. So, uh, and there's some games. I don't know. Sound like so cool. And what we're eating today, we have a tempura mitten crab. Then we have a braised Ugui fish. We have the crab nabe, which is basically like a hot pot. And we have the dojo fish inside our steamed rice as well. So we've got like a seafood feast going on. What's traditionally happens is that, um, the Geishas will, will sit by you and they will basically, uh, be the entertainment. So they will talk to you and discuss, I guess, whatever you want to talk about. And they're very well versed in etiquette and food etiquette and all this stuff. So basically Japan's oldest, most professional entertainers. And usually this is going to be sake. I don't drink. So it's just water. Here we go. Ooh, hot water. Very watery. Ooh, that nabe looks good. Oh, arigatou gozaimasu. I feel so bad. I'm the only one eating here. I feel so bad, but thank you. Thank you. All right. So this is the, the mitten crab nabe. It smells insane. It's got that great miso, miso flavor, that fermented flavor to it. Oishii desu. I hope you ate breakfast today before coming here. If you did not, I'm sorry. Mm. Wow. This is really, really good. Deep miso flavor and nice sweetness of the crab all soaked in here. Especially this part, the tamale, the guts and the brains and the innards of the crab. That's the best. Oh, arigatou gozaimasu. Fried tempura. You eat the shells too. I don't know if feeding me is part of their job description, but arigatou gozaimasu. A little sweetness of the crab. Cause you got to take a bite of the middle too. That's why all the flavor is the tempura, but I'm surprised. It's been like sitting here for like 15 minutes. It's still crunchy and nice. This is almost like a soft shell crab. Oh, wonderful. I hope you ate breakfast too. I feel, I feel bad. Like I wish, I mean, I know it's tradition, but like, I wish I can offer you guys some food. This is very nice. Like two entirely different types of crabs. One, it's just boiled. So you get that nice flavor in the soup. The other, crunched through the shell. Oh, wow. That's a meaty fish. So pampered and not used to being pampered like this right now. And this is a very popular river fish in this region. Ooh, there's tons of little bones in here. Yeah. Gotta be careful. The meat is so delicate. Yeah. My parents didn't even ever do this for me. The flavor is so nice. It's just really gentle and soft. Very mild, flaky piece of fish. I mean, there's, there's like a big bone in here, but then there's like the tiny little microscopic bones. Those are a little difficult to navigate, but it's a great fish. Oh, wow. I mean, seriously, this kind of service, I can't, I mean, service and attention. I don't, I don't know if I ever had this ever in my life before. And then we have the rice with the dojo fish. Even the way she scoops rice is graceful. Wow. I don't know why this reminds me of like gently fallen snowflakes when she put that leaf on the rice. So the dojo is like a little eel fish sort of, and they find it in rivers right around this region. The meat is pretty firm. So this is like dojo fish dashi in the rice. There's also marinate here, which is like key component to rice wine. So we're going to sit here and eating, eating is just part of the experience. And then we're going to do some games and they're going to perform some more. So pretty cool. Pretty interesting. Never had the, um, the geisha experience before. This Michael has been doing it for three years and need about maybe a year or two more to become a full on geisha. And then she can have shorter sleeves. A male geisha is called a hokan. He started learning this at seven years old. Wow. They have to stop this if they want to get married. Wow. So you guys have to train every single day. Otherwise, like, wait, what are you training every single day? What do you do? Like, what is the typical day of training? Japanese dancing. So no, like hip hop. None of that. Shall we send the Japanese guitar? Yeah. Singing, singing every day. So this is like a big sacrifice. Either you want to, like, this is my career or I get married and then that's it. You know what though? I gotta say, like whoever marries you guys will be the luckiest person ever. Cause right. Cause like, it's just be like, you know, about everything. You're like professional entertainers. You know, like literally all the instruments, dances, music, food. I think the spouses would just be like incredibly pampered. So is there like a, I mean, I'm just asking, I don't know. It's like a, how did Geisha's date? How did it, how did it, is like a website like geishamatch.com? Like, you know what I mean? Like, how do you, I'm like asking such dumb idiotic questions. Is there okgeisha.com? Like, but I'm just curious. I'm just curious because you don't know. Only eight? Wait, wait. All of Japan. There's only eight of you. No. I'm in the presence of whole kinds of royalty right here. There's only eight? What? Business card. Oh, arigatou gozaimasu. Whoa. It's like a scroll. I don't have a business card. Oh, wow. Makoto? Makoto. Nice to meet you. These look like they should be painted on the wall. Wow. These are geisha business cards. It's a sticker. What? Oh, it is a sticker. Oh my gosh. Wow. Okay. And I, I have one of the stickers from one of the, the most famous hokan in Japan. Very happy. Oh, life is good. That's great. I'm happy for you. Well, this has been a tremendous experience. So, um, we're going to do some more eating and, but I like, I hope you guys find it interesting too, because it's like one of the aspects of this culture. I, I definitely did not know much about, um, I think for a lot of people, you guys watching, you don't know much about it either. So anyway, I think it was, I thought it was very, very enlightening. So thank you. Arigatou gozaimasu. So apparently like one, two, two people serving were two people entertaining. Just me. It's like, nobody's, nobody does that. Like I have to be like the emperor or something. And even the emperor has to probably share it with his wife. Like I, you know, I'm very honored. Wait a minute. Arigatou gozaimasu. I'm very honored. Ah, thank you. Thanks for the hot water. Okay. So this is a drinking game and then we both touch this and we're going to try to make each other miss. So if I grab it, she has to hit it with the fist. If she doesn't, she has to drink sake. In this case, hot water. Drink up, become more hydrated. Good for your body. You know why? It's because she's too graceful. So like when she grabs it, I can see it very clearly. I'm more like just uncultured. So I just like. And that is the grand conclusion of experience eating with a Hokkaido and a Michael. So thank you so much. That was enlightening. That was so culturally stimulating and it's just a wonderful experience. So I got to go. Thank you. Thank you so much. Hey guys. Like I said, I was invited on this tour by by food and it's a great company. If you ever want to come to Japan, you want to go on any food experiences or any experiences in general, booking accommodations, restaurants, they handle it all. Plus they do so much good things for children's charities all across the globe. Portion of their proceeds always goes to charities. So check them out, put their information down below for you as well. Thank you all so much for watching. This has been so great. And until we eat again. Bye.