I'm Obsessed with a Japanese Guy who Sits in a Van

An Introvert's Dream in the Rainy Mountains of Japan

How the YouTube algorithm knew I'd need this in my life, I'll never know. But a few days ago, for no particular reason, this video entered my life.

I have since watched numerous videos on the channel, RCC: RELOADED, and they've all followed to same path:

1) The guy goes for a drive in his van, finds a nice quiet spot, and parks up.

2) He sets up a refrigerator and makes sure he has some cold drinks. He also has snacks.

3) In the back of his van, he plays some computer games.

4) He gets out his rice cooker and makes a dish that — to him is simple, but to me -- looks like the greatest and most complicated Japanese dish ever made.

5) He sits and eats.

6) He relaxes, sleeps.

7 He wakes up the following morning.

There is no audible dialogue in the videos. Instead, he has occasional subtitles to transcribe his inner thoughts.

Why Am I Obsessed with these videos?

These videos speak to me in quite a profound way. Here's a guy, sitting alone in a van, playing computer games, eating Gyudon, and it feels like exactly what I need in my life. I watch and I relate, feeling a deep feeling of "this would be an absolute dream!"

Yet, I have enough self awareness to know:

I am never going to own a van.

I am never going to own a van and drive it to a remote field to play games all night.

Yet still, the IDEA of doing it, it appeals.

It's funny to see comments that criticise him, that assume he is bored, or alone, because those people completely misunderstand what it is to be an introvert. There's nothing wrong with him, he isn't lonely and he isn't suffering, he's CHOOSING to sit in a van overnight with his rice cooker.

One of the all time best experiences of my life happened about 15 years ago. I took myself on a two day trip to Barcelona. The beautiful museums, the restaurants, the art--- I didn't see any of those things, because I stayed in my hotel room.

The only time I ventured out was to get food from whichever restaurants were nearest. Then I was back to my room, watching Spanish TV. I didn't understand what I was watching but it was bliss.

I’d arrived in Spain with the intention to explore, but the hotel room was so relaxing that a calm came over me. I knew I wanted to indulge in the nothingness rather than traipse around to see all the Gaudi architecture.

However - I'm not going to start a YouTube channel about me lazing around in the hotel rooms of European cities. It wouldn't be exciting, and realistically, I don't travel alone that often now.

But the IDEA of it resonates. As does the thought of having a van in the Japanese countryside where I sit by the trees and drink green tea.

THE ONLY TROUBLE I have with this guy's YouTube channel is that the filmmaker in me knows IT'S ALL AN ILLUSION!

He's not actually relaxing overnight, he's working!

When he parks his van-- suddenly there's a camera outside the van.

Then there's a shot of him by the river.

Then another shot of him inside his van cutting up some beef for his rice cooker.

He's creating CONTENT, he's not actually relaxing. He's lugging his camera around, getting all the shots he needs to get.

So then I have to remind myself that how he produces his content isn't what matters. The end result is what matters. The effect it has on me is what's crucial.

These videos are relaxing. And I need things like this, because I never let myself relax. I once knew a psychologist, the late Jean-Claude Audergon, who gave me amazing advice when he learned that I’m introverted. I was saying that after being around people for an evening, I need a good 30 minute walk by myself.

"30 minutes?" He said. "Go to the mountains! Go hiking for three months!"

Something in me needs to do that. It doesn't have to be today, or tomorrow. But there's a part of me that needs my version of overnight camping. I need a van, a game, a Japanese rice dish. To be off the grid someplace, to indulge in those moments. How can you really know anything if you don't know what it's like to be by yourself?

Or maybe I just need to watch the videos of RCC: Reloaded. I love the simplicity. I love that I just watched him cut up a tomato for three minutes and then cover it in soy sauce.

I completely understand if you don't watch these videos, if you don't heed the recommendation. But for me right now, as the clock passes midnight; it's exactly what I need.