Entering the Slum that Japan Doesn't Want You to See

Japan has one of the lowest homelessness rates in the world, yet a slum called Sanya in Tokyo houses almost all of the city’s homeless. In this video the narrator explores why the area still exists, who lives there, and what the future holds. Sanya is a gritty neighborhood historically known as a hangout for day laborers and marginalized communities, now home to hundreds of homeless men wandering a dilapidated park, playing board games, and sleeping in makeshift tents. The surrounding alleyways are dotted with ultra‑budget hostels for $10 a night. The overall experience of walking around Sanya is bizarre, and the narrator stresses the importance of not turning a blind eye to homelessness even in a country like Japan. After learning about yakuza culture, the narrator also meets a real yakuza member in Fukuoka, sharing surprising revelations in the second half of the video.