Uncharted Japan

Exploring places most visitors never see

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Why Uncharted Japan

I’m John Haynes and my wife, Josephine is the fourth generation in her family to have been born in Japan with her great, great-grandparents having arrived in September 1861 from New York only a few years after Japan opened to the west. Her ancestors served as missionaries there when Ronin (former Samurai) still roamed the countryside.  It was very much unlike today’s Japan.  Therefore her family has a very long history retaining many contacts and the family still keeps the family home there north of Nagano.  No one of whom I’m aware in the Japan travel community online or on Youtube has such a background.  We both love Japan and enjoy sharing our experience with others.  Read on to learn more.

From The Blog

Trademarked!

After a good bit of effort and having been denied more than once, we finally received our trademark from the United States Patent and Trademark Office! Obtaining a trademark for one's business is an important step in protecting intellectual property rights.  I was...

Driving the Kiso Valley

We recently published a video of our trip through the Kiso Valley from Nagoya to Matsumoto.  It was a spectacular trip as we followed the Kiso River through the valley making an overnight stop in Agematsu. We started the trip (after a short train ride from Nagoya to...

Godzilla Or Hello Kitty!

We enjoyed a day trip to Awaji Island also known by many as "Godzilla Island" because Awaji Island is where the legend of Godzilla was born in 1954.  Its here where the giant lizard arose from the depths to terrorize Japan and the world ever since. The "Godzilla...
New Video By Our Friends in Germany

New Video By Our Friends in Germany

Just prior to our visit to the Osaka Expo 2025, we received an email from Finn-Bo Loresnzen of the Germany based indie pop band "Roast Apple" informing us they would be performing at the Germany Pavilion during the Expo.  As it turns out, we were there the same days...

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Reached 5,000 Subscribers!

Reached 5,000 Subscribers!

The other day we celebrated one year on Youtube, and today we reached another milestone.   We now have 5,000 subscribers to our Youtube channel.  Hard to imagine that on June 8, 2024, we started with zero.  I'm told most new channels don't make it to one year or never...

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We’re One Year Old!

We’re One Year Old!

On June 8th of last year, we published our first video on our visit to Takayama.  With no experience in video production or editing, and having never uploaded anything to YouTube, we took the plunge and launched Uncharted Japan on YouTube.  Its been quite the...

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