2021 Video Roundup! | Thanks Patrons❤️ (Patreon)

(Don't miss a message from Kyde down below my rambling, haha)

Here is your yearly video round-up! 2021 was a weird year for everyone of course, but we did our best to make the most of it and things panned out pretty good! The year's four major accomplishments outside of the video project were pretty big for us:

1. Permanent residency in Japan for both of us!
2. A driver's license for Eric
3. (probably) Buying a house in Japan
4. Our 10 year anniversary!

Honestly, we didn't think *any* of these things would have happened at the start of the year (well, #4 was fairly sure to be a thing haha), so it's basically been surprise after surprise for us.

Of course, in addition to these things, we made a bunch of videos from all over Japan too, totaling just over 25 hours of run time. Here's the list or a playlist if you'd prefer!

Sado, Japan
Drumming, Boating in a Tub & Getting Tricked by a Bird on Sado, Japan
A Gold Mine, A Mountain from Zelda & Our Last Day on Sado, Japan

Katsushika-ku, Tokyo
Exploring Tokyo's Katsushika
Exploring (even more of!) Tokyo's Katsushika

Cycling Lake Biwa
Cycling in Japan: Starting Our Trip Around Lake Biwa
Cycling in Japan: Biking more of Lake Biwa
Cycling in Japan: Biking Biwa on our 10 Year Anniversary
Cycling in Japan: Lake Biwa's Southern Bit
Cycling in Japan: Our Last Day Around Lake Biwa

Aomori Series
Our first day exploring Aomori, Japan!
Aomori, Japan | Food, Sights & Trains in Northern Japan's Countryside
Aomori, Japan | PONIES. (...and more)
Aomori, Japan | Sometimes Things Don't Go to Plan
A livestream we did from Aomori

Nasu, Tochigi Series
Exploring a Heckin' Spooky Village in the Mountains of Japan
Hiking an Active Japanese Volcano (in Japan!)
A Day With No Plans in Nasu, Japan

Fujigo-ko!
Eric got a Driver's License! Road Trip to Mt. Fuji!
Driving up Mt. Fuji! (in Japan!!)

One-off videos from Japan
Seven Lucky Gods in Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo by Tuk-Tuk
Tokyo's Underground Flood Prevention Temple
Tokyo's Cherry Blossom Tram
Kyde in Kyoto
300 Miles on Local Trains in Japan
Package "Camping" in Japan
Japan's Pleasure Forest
(finally) Getting Vaccinated in Tokyo, Japan

Food in Japan
Burger King Japan's Plant-Based Whopper
Cheap Eats Japan: Korean Take-Out Near Asakusa
Super Mario Snacks from 7-Eleven Japan
Tokyo Breakfast
Mac & Cheese Croquette Burger at Mos Burger Japan
Japanese Katsudon ft. McDonald's Nugs
Cheap Eats Japan: Amazing Japanese-Chinese Food
(The lost episode of) Cooking with Kyde: Stir Fry
(lunch from a) Japanese Robot Convenience Store!
tokyo breakfast | a hotdog
Eating Gyoza! In Japan! From a Store Without Staff!
We ate (most of) a gnarly Japanese crab burger. 🦀

Random bits & stuffs
Moving the whole game to 4k!
we have been married for 10 years
we've been sick
I'm applying to go around the moon (I'm not going lol)
A little "extra" video from a Twitch stream where I tell a story about Russia
Our robot vaccum's birthday!
Pieces of Japan | Outtakes from 2013
We're moving! Our Last Apartment Day in Japan! (whats good, what's bad)
A lightning storm tonight from our balcony
Hitchhiking in Japan | Eric's Trip to Hokkaido - The Full Series (Part 1) ~ (Part 2)
(Bonus boring video) Testing Sony Hotshoe Mics: ECM-B1M & ECM-XYST1M

A few "Youtube Shorts" we have been playing with
wiggle wiggle
Cat nuts calendar? Japan is ready for 2022.
Tidy Construction in Japan
Japan is a magical place lol

Other places we appeared
We were on 2.5 Oyajis
We were part of a video about the history of Youtubers in Japan

Message from Eric
Looking back at this list every year blows my mind. It always shocks me how many places we got to explore and make videos about through this project. That's flat out due to support here, so we are incredibly thankful to everyone for making this a reality. It's especially fun to know people are along for the adventure with us.

Specifically from this year, I think that trip around Biwa really sticks out as a highlight. I always assumed biking distances like that weren't "possible," but it was surprisingly do-able! It was also exciting to travel in a way that was "new," at least to us, and gave us a chance to see Japan at a different speed than usual. Plus, it was an absolutely beautiful week and magical way to spend our 10th anniversary being married.

That moment where Kyde got "stuck" hanging off that big jungle gym was another... well... let's call it "exciting" moment. We all know how much of a badass she is, I didn't have the guts to try that, hahaha.

Oh my gosh, the Tuk-Tuk video was this year too! That was awesome, haha. This year was fun.

I also really enjoyed getting better at "camera stuffs" with our new gear. I'm still learning a lot, but it's been exciting to level up the game a bit.

Regarding the future, I'm not going to lie and say we don't miss traveling internationally. As soon as it makes sense to do so, we will make those moves to see new parts of the world, but we also feel lucky to be "stuck" where we are as exploring Japan seems like an endless fountain of awesome stuff to see. We are glad you guys are still enjoying the videos and are excited to see what 2022 brings us to share with everyone.

Specifically, aside from what we filmed in Kyoto, Tottori, Kobe and Hyogo during December, we have nearly no idea what else 2022 will bring for the video project. As we have a lot of life stuff up in the air right now, it's hard to plan with certainty, but here's to hoping 2022 has as many fun moments as 2021 did.

Streaming on Twitch has been fun this year too! Hoping to do more of that once we are settled in the new place and have a little more "space." As it is now, if we are both home and either of us is busy or not in the mood to stream, it's difficult for the other one to stream.  So,
with more than one room in our home, that'll get easier, haha

In addition to all of that, I have about 5 ideas for totally different types of videos to make, some which I may brand under a new channel.  Now, it's all about trying to find the time and any new gear I may need to make them happen correctly. We will see if I get any of them off the ground in 2022, haha. Thanks again for a great year, hoping to keep it going for as long as we can! 

Message from Kyde

Wow, Eric is a chatty Cathy up there.  Looking at that long list (always surprising to me as well how much scrolling needs to happen to see each year's awesomeness), it's hard to believe Sado videos were happening at the start of this year.  That feels like forever ago.

Major moments (aside from Eric's list which had many I would steal) included:

Surrealness like visiting Jesus in Aomori and randomly noting a mountain in Sado looked like a mountain in Breath of the Wild to find out it was the true inspiration.  I called that shit!  

Sakura in Biwa - I share all Eric's points about Biwa, but he didn't mention how spectacular the sakura were.  So I'm taking that note and running with it.  We both have noted several times, then and since, that was possibly the best sakura showing we'll see in our lives.  What a weird way to note a climax in your life!  I challenge sakura trees everywhere to prove this wrong!

Making a video on my own in Kyoto - This idea scared me a lot when I thought I'd be taking on the responsibility of using our new, important camera. When Eric told me I could do it all on my phone, that lessened my fears but didn't wipe them out completely.  I'm fully aware of how good Eric is at not only the technical part of videography, but also the assessment part (seeing how to make a video great and opportunities for enriching content).  So, to put it plainly, I was worried about disappointing him and all of you.  There were just so many steps that I could mess up!  However, shockingly, I managed to make something fun and different, and when Eric said he enjoyed editing it, I felt a real achievement.

Tokyo Breakfast - I feel like this one comes as kind of a surprise considering all the cool things from this year, but there's a reason.  One, we are stupid to have not realized that Tokyo does have a breakfast culture.  Two, we really enjoy going to these old-school joints when we get the chance.  I like when Eric asks me if I wanna hit one of them up in Tokyo for an early morning outing or when we chase down a new one in a new city like Kobe (spoiler alert!). 

Above, Eric hoped that 2022 would be at least as fun as 2021.  I'm gonna one-up that.  MORE FUN PLS!  With that said, I can't wait to take you along for the rollercoaster that will be the next year of our lives.  It's more uncharted than it's ever been and I can't wait to get started!

-Kyde & Eric