Japan’s YouTube ecosystem is still a deep, shimmering rabbit hole in 2025. Past the hyper-edited J-vloggers, the studio-lit mukbang empires and the corporate-backed “creator units,” there’s a stranger layer. A weirder, more sincere stratum where creators file human fingernails into jewelry, hunt sea cucumbers by hand, or drunkenly stir noodles on a stained tatami mat. This is the realm where Japanese YouTube is at its purest and most bizarre.

kiwami japan

With video titles like “sharpest fungi kitchen knife in the world”and “engagement ring made from human nails,” you get the idea. The reigning king of unnecessary sharpness, kiwami japan’s channel remains the place where a calm, low-voiced man explains how to turn anything into a knife: soft clay, ice, jelly, smoke-cured eggs, and, infamously, human fingernails. Every new upload is a step further into the void between scientific brilliance and genuine concern for anyone within arm’s reach of his creations. It’s oddly beautiful, strangely satisfying, and will absolutely make you side-eye your own kitchen utensils.

KONBINI CONFESSIONS

For the unaware, Tokyo nightlife is pretty tame compared to other large cities. However, throw a few Strong Zero’s in the mix and suddenly everyone is spilling their inner secrets like Kevin from The Office with his precious chilli. Sitting center stage, sharing all of this inebriated chaos is up-and-coming Japanese-American rapper MIYACHI. As the host of these un-scripted man-on-the-street videos, he keeps it very simple: Find drunk people and ask them simple questions, it literally writes itself. The combination of purposely incorrect subtitles and blissfully drunk people trying to pull themselves together to do an interview excellently showcases what missing the last train is all about.

 

Diving Fisherman Masaru

A channel run by a charismatic Japanese fisherman teaching you hunting and cooking skills A mix of David Attenborough, Bear Grylls and JunsKitchen, Masaru teaches you with charming enthusiasm all the coolest parts of Japan’s marine life, showing you how to hunt and cook these local delicacies in both the kitchen and out in the wild during his survival challenges. Squishy echinoderms, giant starfish, a deep dive into rural Japan and video diaries of an amateur explorer, this channel’s got it all. He even cooks an entire alligator. 

Omagatoki FILM

If you’re looking for something to watch before bed, here’s the channel for you. Omagatoki FILM is made up of a team of amateur horror enthusiasts who explore some of Japan’s most haunted locations. In English, omagatoki means dusk, and, according to Japanese folklore, this is the time when ghosts and spirits begin to emerge and start creeping the sh*t out of everyone. Each video is ranked according to fear-level, ranging from mild to medium, spicy, hot and hell.

廃墟探索師エヌ

A team dedicated to exploring Japan’s abandoned theme parks, hospitals, mining towns and forgotten Showa-era hotels. No invented ghosts — just real crumbling buildings, heavy breathing from the person holding the camera, and creepily empty space.

Elsewhere on Metropolis:

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We Tried Tokyo’s Weirdest Ice Creams in One Day.
Fried oyster ice cream? A double scoop of whale? Here’s our honest opinion

Kengo Kuma: Skyscrapers Are Going Out of Style.
The future of Tokyo’s skyline and how tracking cats via GPS is part of it