04x03 - Japan with Milo Ventimiglia

[bunniefuu]

The art of mastery...

it entails precision

and painstaking devotion,

an astute dedication to detail,

an aspiration to set
a higher standard.

In Japan, there is a culture
of appreciation and refinement.

A virtuosity often imitated

but never replicated
anywhere else,

and it's what brings
Milo Ventimiglia and me

together for a trip
through Old Kyoto and Osaka.

Alright, hit it!

Here we go!

Yeah, baby.

That was crazy!

Stop me if you've heard
this one before,

but, Japan and I,
we go way back.

As a kid, I spent
a year in Shiba,

and Tokyo remains one of
my favorite cities in the world.

Kyoto.

But this time, I'm venturing
beyond the bright lights

of Japan's capital city
to take my first ride to Kyoto.

Have you been here, personally?

No, never.
First time here?

Never.
First time here, yeah.

How do you like it?

I love Japan.

That's Hideo Wakamatsu,

owner of Kamikaze Pinstripe,
a local top-detail shop.

He's showing me around this
ancient, traditional city.

Kyoto used to be capital
in Japan.

Tradition is very important
in Kyoto,

the original culture of Japan.

Tomorrow, my friend
Milo Ventimiglia

rolls into town.

He's spent serious time
in this part of Japan,

so I'm going to let him
lead the way to Osaka.

But today is all about Kyoto.

Along the river to the left,

are these houses or businesses?

Businesses. Then some
of them are houses.

That's a cool place
to have a house.

Cool, but, you know,
Kyoto is definitely small city.

Hideo is part of a Chicano
lowrider subculture

that first emerged
here back in the ' s,

an homage to
the streets of East L.A.

right in the middle
of old-world Japan.

I'm excited to meet
these lowrider girls.

Oh, yeah.
They are so cool.

- Right here.
- Right here, yeah.

- Konnichi wa.
- Konnichi wa.

- Hi.
- Hi.

How are you?
I'm Norman.

I know you.
Daryl, yes.

Nice to meet you.
Hi.

Do you have a name?

- Precious Time.
- Precious Time.

Precious Time.
Aw, that's so cool.

You're the first girls in Japan

I've seen wearing Dickie's.

Dickie's.

Did you guys build these cars?

Did you paint these cars?
Yeah.

They had some shop to
build everything, paint.

She put the speaker by herself.
Oh, nice.

Nice.
Thank you.

Do they bounce?
You got hydraulics in them?

For real?
These cars are sick.

- Sick.
- Very sick, very cool.

Monte Carlo.
My mom used to drive this car.

Yeah, yeah.

Yes. So you guys going to
take us around?

Little bit of Kyoto.
Let's do it.

Let's do it.
Let's do it.

- Yeah.
- Let's do it.

- Let's go.
- Let's do it.

Yeah.

It's so quiet, Japan,
on the streets, everywhere.

Yeah. How's that
sound in New York?

In New York, it's like,
"Honk, honk. you.

You.
Honk, honk, honk."

Rolling down the street
alongside pimped-out

Monte Carlos,
we're headed to Kanga-an Temple

to partake in a slightly more
traditional Kyoto experience.

Have you ever hung out
with a geisha?

Yeah.

What does a geisha do, exactly?

Pour you some sakes,
beers, dance.

They do, like,
a traditional dance?

Uh-huh, and some games.

What kind of games?

Well, there's so many.

After you. After you.
After you. After you.

After you. After you.
After you.

Ah.

Geishas exude
old-world mystique,

and their tradition
began here in Kyoto.

Since the th century,
these skilled entertainers

have charmed clients
from all across the world.

Aah!

Boom.

You let me win, didn't you?

- This is really good.
- Good?

Yeah, it's delicious.

Did you make all this food?

No, we are not allowed to cook.

Oh, wow.
What do geishas do?

We perform traditional arts,

dancing, tea ceremony, flute,

drummings, shamisen,
three-strings instrument,

and singing.
Oh.

Is there a school to learn
how to be a geisha?

Not like a normal university,

but we go to lessons
early in the morning

to learn all those subjects.

There's no graduation.

Oh.
As long as I'm professional,

I need to keep going
to the lessons,

so I hope I can continue
until I get old.

That's amazing.

What made you want
to be a geisha?

I was born in Kyoto,
and some of my family members

were working
for kimono industry,

so I got interested
in Japanese tradition...

Oh, wow.
Since when I was little.

I sometimes travel abroad...

Oh, you do?
As well, to perform.

Oh, wow.
Mm.

What's the farthest
you've been to perform?

Maybe France, New Zealand.

What's your favorite movie?

Harry Potter.

Really?
Yes.

Okay.
Just checking.

Oh, thank you so much. Yeah.
It was a pleasure.

Thank you.
Fist bump.

Do you fist bump, as a geisha?

Bump.

Thank you.
Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Lowriders.

All right, brother.
Be good.

See you.
See you, man.

I think it's going to rain.

Sumo, one of the most iconic
Japanese traditions.

With its Shinto roots
spanning nearly , years,

it's the perfect mix
of ceremony and spectacle.

So when I found out about
the team at Kyoto University,

I made plans to stop by
and check out a practice.

Hi.
Don't let me interrupt.

Fight.

I've seen the ones,
the... the sumo wrestlers on TV,

and they're huge.

Ah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Students. So I feel like this
is an unfair advantage.

Ah.
He's bigger.

But he has better skill.

Ah.
Important.

Yeah.

Where did this sport come from?

Around , years ago.

Wow. Really?

The origin of sumo,
it was a kind of fighting.

A kind of fighting.
Yeah.

What's that called?

Was originally to k*ll
the evil one in the ground.

To k*ll the evil one
in the ground?

Yeah, on the hope
that good harvest.

Oh, wow.
In the ancient time.

Wow.

But now this is a kind
of training for legs.

To get your legs strong.
Yes.

We usually do this
about times.

Really?
Yeah.

Wow.

This means that, "I do not have
anything in my hands."

We play sumo fairly.

It's a very honorable sport.

Yeah. Yes.

Fight.

One part chaos,
one part composed ritual,

demanding years of regimented
discipline, dedication,

and, I'm guessing,
a solid appetite.

Thank you so much
for showing us around.

- Yeah.
- Yeah, what a pleasure.

Yeah.
Nice to meet you.

And as night falls
on this ancient city,

a tip from my travels...

If you look hard enough, you can
find an underground after-hours

just about anywhere,
even in old-world Kyoto.

Hello.
I'm Nick Yamamoto.

Nick, nice to meet you, man.

I think I'm going to get
a cocktail.

And since I'm in Japan,
I couldn't be too surprised

when things suddenly got weird.

Yeah. It's probably best that
our cameras call it a night.

Today, I'm up early to go meet
my friend Milo Ventimiglia.

What's up?

What's up, man?

Ooh.

What's going on?
Good to see you, man.

Good to see you, brother.
How you been?

I'm good, man.
Good to see you.

Whoo.

Been cold for days.

At least the sun
came out, though.

Thank God.

I first met him back
on the Comic-Con circuit

and became friends with him
through our mutual buddy,

Jon Bernthal.

This guy has been
all over Japan,

so when I planned this trip,

I knew he had to come
along for the ride.

Kanpai.

Kanpai. Cheers.

So what have you been up to?

Tell me... You know,

I know "This Is Us" is,
like, k*lling it.

Yeah. Yeah.
Which is great.

Writing is phenomenal.

As an actor, you're looking for
those words that are just...

they stick to your brain.

It's one of those jobs
I just hope goes on for a while.

How's Bernthal?
How's he doing?

Johnny's good.
He's always working.

Yeah.
And what about you?

You, uh, you're on a break.

You got this show.
Where are you, like...

A break? What break?
What are you talking about?

An art show here

or a book there,
and I'm, you know,

constantly doing something.

Just had a baby.

Yeah.
That's great, man.

Congrats, man.
Yeah. Thanks, man.

Speaking of Bernthal, he just...

He came to the house, like,
a couple weeks ago

and came bearing gifts.
Yeah.

You know, he's big
with the babies.

I took her, and I went...
I went,

"Here, say hi to Uncle Jon,"

and she goes "Waah!"
right in his face.

Yeah, dude, yeah.

So what got you into Japan?

How do you know so much
about Japan?

When I was a kid,
I had to do a report

on the Bushido code of samurai.

There was something about
the culture of it that

I just loved,
and then, as I got older,

I wanted to know more about
Japanese culture,

stuff like that, so I just
spent some time over here,

loved it so much,
started to learn the language.

Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.

That's awesome.
So when you called me like,

"Hey, come out to Kyoto,"
I was like, "Yeah cool, yeah."

Have you studied martial arts
or anything like that?

Man, I think I took karate
when I was a kid.

Yeah, and I'm an idiot.

Somebody gave me
Chinese throwing stars,

and I'd throw them at everyone.

Yeah.

My entire house
would be shredded.

Yeah, dude. Yeah.

Well, thank you for doing
this ride, man.

This is going to be fun.

Absolutely.
I'm stoked.

Because I lived in Japan

for a little while,
in Moto-Okubo in Shiba...

Okay.
Like, you know,

when I was in my teens.

I do know that Kyoto used
to be the capital.

Yeah.
The south of Japan

has a different feel
from the north,

like Tokyo to Kyoto.

Kyoto, you can still walk
around certain districts

and, like, really
see geisha walking around.

I passed a couple of them
on the way in.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, speaking
of the old with the new,

we're going up in the mountains,

where we're going to
meet monks...

Yeah.
Who ride motorcycles.

Mm-hmm.
I'm excited to meet the monks.

I'm stoked. I mean, I, you know,
some friends of mine

that we're going to see
I think later today or tomorrow,

I know he's got
a couple cool things

that he wants to show you, too.

Right on.
Let's get out of here

while we still have some time.
Yeah. Let's do it.

Yeah, man.

It's like glass
piercing through your skin.

And miss it.
Miss it. Miss it.

Go bow to this deer.
I want to see it happen.

- Okay, bow?
- Bow, bow, yeah.

- Oh!
- Oh!

Yeah, what a beautiful day.

Yeah. This is perfect.

That's an awesome pagoda.

Yeah.
That's beautiful.

Yeah. Everything over here
is just pristine, manicured.

Everything is
a pleasant experience.

Give me something to
believe in every day ♪

Give me reasons to care

Leaving Kyoto,
Milo and I will trek

into the region of Nomanaka
to witness a waterfall ritual.

We'll then set off
to Nishinomiya,

where we're going to put
our archery skills

to the test before arriving in
the old merchant city of Osaka

on a -kilometer ride.

Give me money when
I need it every day ♪

Well, now I need it

While Shintoism is
Japan's native religion,

the path to enlightenment
for million Japanese

is Zen Buddhism.

Buddhists don't worship any God

but believe meditation
and reflection

lead to liberation
and eventually nirvana.

- Yeah, look how cute this is.
- Japanese mountain town.

The Ewok forest through here.

We're off to visit some monks

who've turned their temple
into a biker destination.

Yeah, these monks that ride,

there's a waterfall
purification thing.

Yeah, it might be a little cold.

It's supposed to crush your ego.

Crush your ego?
Yeah, no, I need my ego.

My ego is the only thing
that gets me through the day.

There's no way
I'm giving that up.

This is beautiful up here.

This is incredible.

- Hi.
- Hi.

What's going on?
Hi, guys.

Hi. I'm Norman.
Hi.

Nice.
Shuke, yeah.

Nice to meet you, Shuke.
Nice to meet you.

Yeah.
It's a pleasure.

Hi, I'm Norman.

- Nikki.
- Hey, Nikki.

- What's up, Nikki? Hi.
- Nice to meet you.

You speak Japanese?

So what is this place?

- Temple cafe.
- Yeah.

Yeah, many bikers come
here to enjoy the view.

Oh, wow.
A biker cafe in a temple.

- Yeah.
- That sounds rare.

Yeah.

How did it become
a motorcycle destination?

Bikes are dangerous, so...

You bless motorcycles?

Of course.
Caffeinated and safe.

Yeah.
How old is the temple?

- Wow.
- Would you like to go see more?

Of course.

Taki is waterfall,
and hon is like the main,

so this is the main
waterfall temple, literally.

And this gate is meant
to symbolize water,

so inside, they worship
the God of water.

How long have you
both been here?

So they're brothers,
and they were born here.

It's their family temple.

Their family is
the fifth generation

to look over this temple,
but their family name is Noma,

and, traditionally,
in this region,

people of the Noma family
were always the Buddhists.

- Oh, it's like my name.
- Right? Yeah.

- Noma, Norman. Norman, Noma.
- Yeah.

We're brothers.

Yeah. We're brothers.

I'm the missing
brother from New York

that just showed up.

- Here, we have the waterfall.
- Oh, wow.

It's like glass piercing
through your skin.

Wow.

Our apprentice monk
will now demonstrate.

The taki-go is a way to battle
your own demons

and your own will.

So people come here,

and they need to sort of reset
their minds and to...

To work harder,
to protect their families,

to keep pursuing their goals.

So he can leave as soon
as he wants,

but he's battling his own will.

That was amazing.

Go get warm.

And what is...
What was it he was saying?

I've heard that chant before.

Yeah, it's a mantra
of the Hoki Kyo sect

of Buddhism.

How many times have you
gone in there?

This is

Oh, wow.
Oh, wow.

From this place?
Yes.

Wow.

Oh, thank you so much.

Arigato.
Thank you so much.

All right. Here we go.
I got a spot.

Here you go.

Boom.
Protection.

Protection city.

Arigato.

I like those monks.
I feel at peace.

I feel...
Yeah.

The evil spirits
are warded away.

The bell is doing its job.

Do you speak a lot of Japanese?

Not as much as I used to.

I studied it for two years
while I was also sh**ting

"This Is Us," and then,
at a certain point,

the work on the show
was just too much,

so I had to take
a break from class,

so I kind of speak
like a kid nowadays.

Me too, and that's English.

We're traveling
to Kashihara Dojo

to partake in the ancient art
of Kyudo,

or the way of the bow,
but as someone who's

made a living sh**ting
a crossbow on TV,

let me be the first to say
it doesn't always go as planned.

This whole complex
is just archery?

Wow.

- Hi.
- Hi.

So we ask you
to wear Japanese socks.

- Sure.
- They have fingers separated.

It's a Vulcan sock.

- Take those chairs.
- Okay.

This is we call
a ceremonial sh**ting.

They are preparing for sh**ting.

I love the sound of...
slap.

It's such a good sound.

There are two kinds
of sound, right?

Hitting a target is one thing,

but sound of bow swing
is very important thing.

Better sh**ting person,
better sound.

So we don't have to watch.

We can just listen to see
if he has matured.

Oh, wow. Wow.

Now we're going to go sh**ting.

Okay.
sh**ting place.

Watch the target.

Please look at your target.

You use this.

Oh, okay.
And then...

After nine years
and thousands of sh*ts fired,

you'd like to think
I could hit any target.

Release.

- Oh.
- That was a little high.

I knew that was high
before I let it go.

Much better.
Much better than ground.

Okay.
Yeah.

But, luckily for me,
that's not what Kyudo is about.

And miss it.
Miss it. Miss it.

Okay.

- Ooh.
- That was good.

- Oh, getting there.
- That was good.

- One more.
- One more.

One more.
Let's keep going.

I'm going to hit that thing yet.

The true art lies
in the process, in discipline

and in self control,
a few things that I...

evidently still could
use a little more of.

Oh, so close.

So close.

Almost. Close.

Yeah, the zombie lived today.

Yes, you're exactly right.
Very funny.

Very, very funny.

Pleasure.
Nice to meet you.

- That was fun.
- That was fun.

That was harder
than you'd think.

I like being away from all
the Hollywood hoopla.

- Yeah.
- It's kind of nice

being out in the woods.
- I agree.

What are the fans of
that show? Are they just insane?

Yeah, super.

You know, you got to
a Comic-Con, everybody is like,

"Hey, so what sci-fi thing
you promoting?"

and I'm like,
"No, 'This Is Us.'"

"This Is Us."

People freak out.
They literally go from

seeing you in "Walking Dead"

to come and seeing me
in "This Is Us."

With darkness falling
in the Land of the Rising Sun,

we're off to meet Milo's buddy

and explore
a little bit of Osaka.

Feels nice to walk around,
I have to say.

Wow.
This is like Times Square.

- It's photo time.
- Here you go, Norman.

Check it out, Milo, a tunnel.

So where we headed to now?

Osaka.
We're going to go meet up

with my pal Sonny.

We rode from Oregon
down to Orange County.

Oh, right on, right on.

We're going to go get some food.

Osaka.

Leaving Nishanomiya,
it's a -kilometer ride east

across the Odo river
into the city of Osaka,

next to Tokyo, Japan's largest
and most modern city.

Is that Osaka right there?

Yeah, straight ahead.

Working on a living,
got up right into the space ♪

Her finger on a trigger
and a smile across her face ♪

Tired of watching life
go by beneath feet ♪

They started talking, zipped
it up, and hit the street ♪

Oh, yeah.
I know where we're at.

Have you been here before?

I have, yeah.

It's like a Japanese version
of an arcade of shops.

How cool is this?
Oh.

There's Sonny up here
on the right.

Yeah.

- Oh.
- What's up, dude?

I'm Norman.
Nice to meet you.

How are you?
Long time, no see.

Yeah.

- I'm starving.
- Yeah.

Hi.
- Hi.

I like spots like this,

you know what I mean?

This is authentic.
This is the real deal.

Norman.

Norman. I know.

Oh, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.
Norman.

Oh, you're so warm.
Oh.

Yeah.
My God.

Ah, this is nice.

Thank you.

Yeah, she ride
a Harley Davidson, too.

Lowrider.
Oh, nice.

- Oh, lowrider?
- Yeah.

Yeah.

- Big sides?
- Big sides.

- Okay.
- Please.

- What's been going on? Busy?
- Still busy.

So explain to me

exactly what you do?
So you...

In Japan, you guys do
vintage stuff really well here.

Yeah.

Vintage bikes,
vintage clothes...

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Everything.

Yeah, mm.
Yeah.

I think so.
What do you think

the appeal
of vintage is in Japan?

Yeah.
Yes.

Vintage is like...

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Osaka pizza.

- Is that mayonnaise?
- Mayonnaise, yes.

- Is that a kitty cat?
- Yeah.

Oh, I dig it.

Mmm.

Mmm.
Good?

Osaka pizza.

Mmm. It's so good.

What do you like
about Osaka the best?

Osaka?

In Osaka?
In Osaka.

Mm-hmm.
Oh, did it really?

Yeah, yeah.
Oh, wow.

Because a lot of the American
service members, like,

the motorcycles
that were here from,

like, back in the w*r time...

Yeah, yeah.
Just stayed here.

World w*r II, yeah.
World w*r II.

They just stayed here.
Yeah.

And then they started
acquiring them

because people weren't taking
care of them back in the States.

They'd buy them in the States
and bring them over.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, wow.

Well, that's interesting.
I didn't know that.

This was delicious.
So we're meeting tomorrow,

and you're going to
take us someplace, right?

Yeah, yeah.

We're just going to cruise
around with...

With Sonny.
Thank you so much.

- Yeah, thank you.
- We'll see you tomorrow.

Like Kyoto, Osaka dates
back thousands of years,

but unlike its neighbor
to the north,

Osaka didn't emerge unscathed
from the fury of World w*r II.

U.S. aerial raids destroyed
a third of the city,

bringing this industrial center
to a grinding halt.

But through reconstruction,
enemies turned allies

as the city rebuilt
and a modern hub emerged.

Day three begins with a walk

through Osaka's Dotonbori
neighborhood.

It feels nice to walk around,
I have to say.

Yeah.

Yeah. Right?

Oh, it's a river?

- Yeah. Many picture here.
- Oh, this is awesome.

Look at this.
Yeah.

It's photo time.
Here you go, Norman.

Perfect. Perfect.
Great.

You see the...
Ferris wheel?

Yeah.
Oh, wow.

Wow. This is like
Times Square.

Yes.
Right?

Yeah.

Um, can I have
the chocolate one?

Thank you.

So this is full of ice cream?

Oh, shut up.

Yeah, like a custard.

Mmm. Mmm.

This is ridiculous, bro.

So good.
How good is that?

Mmm.

Yeah, let's go.

- What is that?
- It's a firetruck.

- Firetruck.
- Oh, my God.

This doesn't even look real.

I'm kind of falling
in love with you.

Hug me.

What are these, uh, foxes here?

Are those foxes or dogs?
- Fox.

Oh, wow.
So this is all just, like...

Amulet, oh.

I feel like we should
make a wish.

Okay. I'll buy you
a fox amulet.

Oh, thank you.

Address, name, and wish
here to make a wish.

Can I just keep this?

I just put it in my pocket.

If you keep it,
it won't be real.

Okay.
Yeah.

Fine.
Be that way.

Okay. We hang it
on the thingy?

Oh.
Oh.

Yeah.

Are we supposed to draw
a cool face on it?

You make a face.

Oh, they're good.
That's a good one.

It's a little Satanic,
but it'll work.

Osaka.

So, up on the left here,
this is Osaka Castle.

- Oh, wow.
- Such a mixture of styles.

- Yeah.
- The super-modern one,

the traditional one.

It we're going to Semba,

go look at all
the vintage bikes.

Right on.

Back in the ' s
and ' s, Japan was busy

being reborn and, in many ways,
reinvented.

There was a new focus
on technology,

a mad dash towards the future.

In its wake emerged
an appreciation

for the tried and true,

for companies that
stood the test of time,

and a subculture devoted
to the restoration of that

which time forgot.

Semba Motors.

- My friends, Semba, what up?
- Hello.

- Oh, how are you?
- Konnichi wa.

Hi. I'm Norman.

How do you do?
Nice to meet you.

Oh, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.

This is your shop?
Yes. Please come in.

Wow.

And you restore all of these
bikes here in this garage?

Yes. Yes.

What is that?

It's a firetruck.
It's a firetruck?

Oh, my God.

.

This doesn't even look real.
It's a .

This is original paint.
It's so beautiful.

And so every floor of this
building has motorcycles on it?

Yes, yes.
You want to see upstairs?

Yeah.
Okay.

Just the detail,
too, on these old bikes.

These two are

This is a ' knucklehead
and a ' Panhead.

How do you find them?

Like, is there a newspaper,
an online search,

people just saying
they're selling them?

Mostly old people,
collector calling me,

and they ask me if I want it.

Yeah. You have really good

I feel like everybody
is out looking now.

Everyone is looking, and, like,

but nobody scores like this.
Nobody's finding anything.

Cool.
So which one can I have?

Everything.

How did you get into
all these old bikes?

I think I was born
with a motorcycle.

Yeah.
I think you were, too.

Because my father started
this business since ...

Oh, wow.

Right after the World w*r II.

That's... that's what
Milo was saying.

Like, a lot of these bikes
come from there.

So you were born with...
When you were a kid,

there were all these beautiful
motorcycles everywhere.

I get it.

I like the style,
and I like the history.

Yeah.

U.S. history
or Harley histories,

I like it.

Across Japan,
it's a common refrain,

a nostalgia
for th-century Americana.

Given our history, it's a lot
to wrap your head around,

but, to me, maybe it's
a respect and admiration

for the aesthetics
of classic design

and of a time when American
ingenuity drove the world.

What parts of the United States
are best to find barn finds?

Middle to east.

And it's just in a garage
with cobwebs on it?

Yes.

And do you walk in, you go,
"It's okay. I don't know."

Right, exactly.
My heart is pumping.

All the time.

Yeah, totally.

It was a pleasure.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.
Yeah. Call me next barn find.

That guy has got
a lot of cool stuff.

Yeah, right?

I've never seen a firetruck
motorcycle before.

Me neither.

I didn't even know
those were a thing.

I mean, that collection
is ridiculous.

Sonny, you have cool friends.

Yeah, thank you very much.

Try to stand up
on that bike, buddy.

Ooh.
Oh, there you go.

We're heading over
to the Tsurumi-ku ward of Osaka

to meet a friend
of Sonny and Milo's

who's taking his own approach to
a time-honored Japanese trade.

- Coffee.
- Always coffee.

- Yeah.
- There's so much coffee.

- Hey.
- Hi. I'm Norman. Hey.

I am Truck.
Nice to meet you.

You too.
Hi. How are you?

My coffee and bird.

Yeah.
Super cool.

You got a record player.
That's cool.

Yes, yes.
He's got a collection.

And we make
fresh doughnuts here.

I... I can... I can smell them.

They smell great.
Very good doughnut.

I like it.
I like it.

Yeah.

To... to eat.

What are those glass
ball things right there?

It looks like some
sort of laboratory,

Dr. Frankenstein thing.

Yeah, yeah.
That's so cool.

- Have you ever seen that before?
- First time.

That's a very good smell.

Why did you start
a coffee doughnut shop?

I make furniture for
furniture store next-door.

Wow.
Just next-door.

We moved here,
and there's nothing,

no cafe or nothing, but...
And no stores,

so I wanted to make
coffee and doughnuts and...

The first place people go to.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yes.

I like the craftsmanship
in here.

Everything is awesome.

Yeah. I did the ceiling
and flooring,

painting, everything.

Did you make this?
Yes.

Everything.
Everything.

- Oh, wow.
- Everything, he make.

How do you guys know each other?

Eight years ago, my customer.

Yeah.

- And then you became friends?
- Yeah, yes.

And, next day, he came here.

- Yeah.
- Oh, cool.

And bought two chairs.

Two doughnuts.

Yeah.
doughnuts.

I bought doughnuts.

- Mmm.
- Oh, my God.

- Mmm.
- That's so good.

I'm kind of falling
in love with you.

Yeah. Hug me.

Come here.

Mmm. So good.

New couple right here.

Deer is just chilling out
and letting people pet them.

Konnichi wa.

How did this place happen?

- Awesome here.
- Isn't it great?

Arigato.

Whoo!

You want some of what I got

We can get more

I can make you feel
better than before ♪

I can make you feel good

Just outside Osaka's
city limits is a site

Sonny and Truck said
we have to check out,

so we're taking
a -kilometer trek east

into the neighboring city
of Nara,

home to some of Japan's
oldest temples and works of art.

Its main attraction
is the free-roaming deer,

all , of them.

- Are you ready for the deer?
- Oh, yeah.

Really close?
- Yeah.

Yes.
You can see a lot of deer.

Wow. Holy
They're not scared at all.

Oh, they're all over the place.

- Oh, wow.
- Yeah.

Wow.

I've never seen
anything like that.

Deer is just chilling out
and letting people pet them.

That's nuts. Can we just
walk over there or what?

Yeah.
That is bananas.

He's like,
"What do you got for me?"

No.

Just walked up
and kissed the lens.

Can people eat them or just...

Don't taste...

- Hi!
- Hi!

Hi.
Hi, buddy.

- You?
- You are pretty cute.

You are pretty cute.

Konnichi wa.

How did this place happen?

Oh, wow.

And the deers have been here
the whole time?

Yes.

You can hear God's message
through the deer?

Yeah.

But were the deer here first
or the people here first, here?

Maybe deer, I think.

- Yeah.
- Really?

Yeah, yeah, bows.
Yeah, yeah.

Go bow to this deer.
I want to see it happen.

- Bow?
- Yeah. Bow, bow, yeah.

- Oh!
- Oh!

He's like, "No, man.
cr*cker. cr*cker."

I think I'm going to go
buy more crackers.

I think this is yam.

Oh, really?
Oh, I'm trying this.

Yeah, right?

- Arigato.
- Arigato.

How do I eat it, just...?
So yeah, yes, yes.

Here you go.
Have some.

Good.
Yeah?

You try it.

This is really good.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

Do deer eat this?

Yep.
They like sweet potato.

I... I don't want to give
the deer any more

because it's delicious.

I hear that... Is that the deer
making the noise?

Yeah, yeah. Yes.

Oh, yeah. Yeah.
No way.

That's a deer noise?

Yeah. The deer.

You hear the message?

This one is talking to us.

The legend goes that,
back around A.D.,

the Japanese God
of thunder appeared

on a mountaintop in Nara,
riding a majestic white deer.

Ever since, deer have been
considered sacred in Japan,

an omen from the gods.

And while I didn't get what
this deer was trying to tell us,

I'm sure it was rooted in old
Shinto significance and wisdom.

Then again, maybe he just wants
a bite of my potato.

- Fun day.
- Yeah. Thank you for that.

I've never fed a deer before.

- Oh, really?
- That was pretty cool, yeah.

- Me neither.
- Oh.

- Oh, look at the sun.
- Yeah. It's beautiful.

I think Sonny's bike
is getting hot.

Maybe Sonny and
Truck should just b*mb ahead?

- Yeah.
- Hey, Sonny.

- Hey, Truck.
- What?

Sonny's bike is overheating.

You guys go ahead and just go.

- Really?
- And we'll meet you

at your house.
- Okay.

Okay.
See you.

- What a pretty day.
- Right on.

- Incredible.
- Yeah.

This came out
to be perfect today.

Just so you know, I'm going
to back to "Walking Dead" soon.

Oh, yeah?

Yeah, so, like, sometimes
I'll be on the bike,

and I'll be thinking about
going back to "Walking Dead."

I'm like,
"Whoa, whoa. Hold on.

The worlds, you know,
they criss-cross."

Yeah.

I get it, though.
That's the thing.

For actors, just
with that character

hours out of the day.

You ever get to the point,
though, where you've been

away from it for so long
you actually look forward

to going back?

All the time.
I agree.

Right now, on this motorcycle...

In Japan.

In Japan,
thinking about getting back

in my Daryl Dixon head,
you know, start talking

like this all the time,
you know what I mean?

I think we're getting close.

- Hi.
- Hey.

- What's up?
- What's up?

What's up? What's up?
What's up?

Hi, Norman.

Yeah!

Yes.

It's my friend.
Motorcycle trainee.

- Pleasure, man.
- Nice to meet you, man.

This is a good life you got.
You guys have a good life.

This is great.

Ride on. Ride on.

Ride on. Ride on.

I need a motorcycle

Go to Japan, and it
becomes apparent...

Life is an art form.

But here it's more than
simple artisanship

or being good at what you do.

It's a desire to achieve
and to learn,

a deep sense of obligation
and a pursuit of perfection.

In Japan, it's to be shokunin,

and to get there,
that can take a lifetime.

But to me, the journey
is well worth it,

and I'm grateful to my friend
for showing me the way.

Thank you for introducing
to all your cool friends.

- Absolutely.
- Your friends, and then

your friends and friends,
like, it's a good vibe.

Yeah.
Good vibe for sure.

They're good people.

- Yeah.
- Thank you so much.

Thank you.

- Kanpai.
- Cheers.

Cheers. Kanpai, everybody.

Kanpai. Cheers.

Ride on. Ride on.