Kintaro Walks Japan

Posted on 17. Mar, 2007 @ 11:56 pm by harvey in Media

This is not new, but it’s incredible nevertheless.

This Tyler guy is intense!

Watch the trailer, watch the music video, and go buy the DVD if you’re interested!

Dude walked the length of Japan and made a movie about it.

I’m gonna get it as soon as I get a job again!

I sometimes regret that I haven’t done something as spectacular in Japan yet. My biggest travel adventure has to be the month in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, but that was tame compared to this hike. Tame. Heck, I even used buses planes and boats…

I’m really curious though as to who tagged along the whole time to shoot the video…

This guy walked!

- Harvey

21 Responses to “Kintaro Walks Japan”

  1. Jasper W

    Mar 18th, 2007

    at 04:10

    This looks good, guess i’ll have to check it out.

  2. K

    Mar 18th, 2007

    at 05:32

    I saw it first on Yahoo videos then immediately bought the DVD, then read George Meegan’s book (George Meegan in my opinion is the only person who could make the Kintaro walk look tame in comparison). If you love Japan, or are interested in Japan, or love people who just find joy in every moment you must go to the Kintaro website and order this DVD. You will not regret it I promise.

  3. ayumi

    Mar 18th, 2007

    at 14:36

    OOOOH MY GOODNESS, bless you Harvey, and K, and Jasper W, thank you for the enthusiam!

    Tyler is sitting next to me editing his next documentary “I Ran Iran”, which you can watch the trailer at http://www.iraniranthemovie.com

    ‘Cho Tanoshii’

    Hey Harvey, we’re going to Tokyo 1,2,3 of April, see you then? Email me your phone number pleease.
    I think I lost it.
    -Ayumi

  4. Todd

    Mar 18th, 2007

    at 17:10

    Alan Booth did it, and wrote beautifully about it. Some crazy Kiwi copied it, and “wote” a bar story about it (McLaclan maybe). This is derivative. Completely unoriginal.

  5. J.

    Mar 18th, 2007

    at 22:24

    I saw the movie on Google video. I think it was about 1 hour in length. It was great to see and I advised some friends to also watch it. Is the DVD any different from the material at Google video?

  6. harvey

    Mar 18th, 2007

    at 22:37

    Yeah Ayumi let’s hook up in April, I’ll email ya.

    J. I didn’t know it was available on Google Video… I hope Tyler and Ayumi do! Anyway though, I encourage everyone to buy it if you like it, because it’s a totally independent film, and I’m sure the income will help Tyler make more great flicks!

    I’m sure I ran Iran will turn out great as well!

  7. Tadashi

    Mar 19th, 2007

    at 03:51

    I wonder how he managed the visa issue. 4 Months is way longer than a tourist visa.

  8. Heather Meadows

    Mar 19th, 2007

    at 05:45

    Well, he was “Golden Boy”…maybe he got an educational visa.

    Studystudystudystudystudy

    Okay, if anyone understood that joke, yay.

    Harvey, I watched it on Google Video too (it’s linked from the official website), and it was great! I really enjoyed it! I think for me what was really inspiring was how he was so unafraid to talk with random strangers and not worry about not saying things correctly. That is my biggest issue–I don’t want to sound like a n00b, even though I am a n00b, and so I don’t practice nearly as much as I need to.

    The movie was well planned and edited too. It wasn’t just a bunch of clips strung together…it told a real story that was actually quite moving.

    It’s definitely worth buying the DVD. I will do so as soon as all the other things Harvey has convinced me to buy have cleared the bank and I’ve been paid again.

    ;)

  9. harvey

    Mar 19th, 2007

    at 07:44

    Tadashi -> I think he has family in Japan, which would allow him to be on different visa status.

  10. Tadashi

    Mar 19th, 2007

    at 08:39

    There is no hint he has.
    He wasn’t married and the only thing that connects him to Japan are a visit in 2002, that his greatparents were missionaries there and his father was born there as well, but that shouldn’t give him a special visa status.

  11. harvey

    Mar 19th, 2007

    at 09:08

    Hey Tadashi I just checked it out on Google video, and yeah I don’t know how the visa worked out. Maybe the cops that picked him up gave him a super secret extension in exchange for some Kintaro cards :-)

    Wow that movie was freakin great! Freakin GREAT!

    I feel like such a slacker now!

    Wow. That’s talent. The Kintaro cards were such an excellent idea. I can’t believe I’m gonna meet this guy in April!

  12. harvey

    Mar 19th, 2007

    at 10:29

    Hey guys, you can see a video that Lonely Planet made about Tyler here.

    http://www.tylermacniven.com/

    Hey seriously though, the newscaster did not say anything about him having giant balls! The subtitle joke has gone too far!

  13. Michael

    Mar 19th, 2007

    at 12:52

    Many people aren’t aware that Japan offers working visas to various kinds of artists, including photographers and filmmakers. Working visas for artists are issued for either 1 or 3 years, and you don’t even need a sponsor if you can adequately convince them that you’ll make money and have enough means to support yourself properly. It probably also helps when you tell them you intend to share with the whole world the beauty of Japan’s people. ^_^ Besides a working visa, he could have gone on a cultural activities visa, which can be for 6 months or 1 year. In fact, I even know of people getting a 6 month visa for the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage, even though it shouldn’t take most healthy individuals half that time. Indeed, there are so many ways to get extended visas in Japan that anyone who doesn’t succeed probably isn’t trying hard enough.

  14. Michael

    Mar 19th, 2007

    at 13:03

    I should probably mention that cultural activities visas are for things which do not produce income, and are typically intended for things like studying tea ceremony or other traditional arts with an expert. There is flexibility, though, for people who make a compelling case for themselves. Remember Abe’s slogan, “Beautiful Japan.” Since nobody knows what that means, probably not even Abe himself, interpret it however you want when describing how your desired activity contributes to “Beautiful Japan.” ^_^

  15. Tadashi

    Mar 19th, 2007

    at 19:54

    Thanks Michael for sharing this knowledge with us.
    Maybe this could be a way of getting there for me :D

  16. Michael

    Mar 20th, 2007

    at 04:51

    You’re welcome! It helps that my wife’s uncle works in immigration. He’s been a tremendous resource for me and some of my friends, and really saved my butt when I forgot to get my spouse visa stamped for multiple entry before leaving Japan… *blush*

  17. harvey

    Mar 22nd, 2007

    at 14:59

    Hey guys, Kintaro Walks the DVD has Japanese and English subtitles, bonus!

  18. Jessica

    Mar 24th, 2007

    at 17:07

    Thanks Harvey this looks terrific! We’re fans of Tyler anyway since seeing how light hearted he was throughout Amazing Race while so many people got tense and snippy. Will definitely check out the dvd!! :)

  19. Tori

    Nov 3rd, 2007

    at 01:49

    Hey Harvey!

    Did you ever meet up with Tyler?

    I just had a little interview with him. In this post he answers the question of how he filmed KWJ:
    http://nipponster.com/dailyj_copy/2007/11/01/the-making-of-the-film-an-interview-with-kintaro-walks-japan/

    I am posting the bulk of the interview tomorrow and will be sure to link to this post too.
    Let me know if you guys met up, yeah?

  20. [...] one of Daily J’s past interviewees, Harvey at JapanNewbie.com talks about KWJ and Ayumi replies in the the comments section. I just asked Harvey if he ever met up with them like they had talked about doing. If I find out I [...]

  21. harvey

    Nov 4th, 2007

    at 14:25

    I did meet him! Ayumi did a post about it on her blog!


Leave a Reply

White Rabbit Press Kanji Flash Cards
JapanNewbie
    Facebook Twitter Feed

Welcome to JapanNewbie.com! My goal is to get you excited about Japan and the Japanese language. Love it! This blog has been around for more than five years now, so be sure to dig into the archives and use the search. You never know what you might find!

iPhone Apps

    Hiragana App Giongo and Gitaigo App Kansai-Ben App Japanese Phrases App Japanese Idioms App JLPT4 Vocab Japanese Proverbs Karate Vocab App Toddler Japanese and Spanish Vocab App Giongo and Gitaigo App

Recent Comments:

The White Rabbit Press Kanji Poster

  • Photos on flickr