NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Entertainment

Turning Japanese: Inside Rhys Darby's new travel show

Karl Puschmann
By Karl Puschmann
Freelance entertainment writer·NZ Herald·
30 May, 2020 06:19 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

"I'm not one of those guys who's constantly buying Lonely Planets," Rhys Darby confesses. "I'm more the guy who picks one up at the airport on the way to the destination and browses through it."

"In fact," he suddenly exclaims, "I did that on the plane journey to Japan!"

You'll be able to see for yourself if Darby's last-minute cram session helped any as he navigates his way around his new travel show, Rhys Darby: Big In Japan.

"One of the things I've done in my life is always confidently jump in the deep end," he explains when asked about the show. "That might be a bit of a New Zealand trait. We tend to do things without worrying too much about it, hence the old, 'no worries mate, she'll be right', and then figure it out later. There was certainly an aspect of that to it."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

As someone more accustomed to carefully shielding caution from the wind rather than throwing it willy-nilly into the wind, I ask Darby where his confidence comes from.

"For me, I guess it comes from my very inner being. I'm the last sibling in the family of five. I was a mistake by nine years. The other four were a fixed family living together and I was sort of dropped off at the other end when the parents split up," he answers. "I've always felt that I've been fighting the good fight to have attention and to go, 'Hey! Look! I count. I'm supposed to be alive!' even though I'm probably not. Luckily, I had the sense of humour which, if I didn't have that I don't know what I'd be. Maybe a musician."

We both laugh at the gag which immediately lightens the vibe as he continues.

"I really felt like I was screaming at the world to include me. That confidence coupled with some talent enabled me to get into acting and obviously stand up. You've got to be confident when you're onstage in front of however many people."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In the very first episode, Darby literally dives into the deep end when his samurai training plunges him into a freezing cold river, high in the Japanese mountains on a chilly winter morning.

"They didn't even tell me until the night before. They said, 'oh, by the way, tomorrow you'll be stripping down and getting in an ice-cold river'. I think they purposefully didn't tell me because I might have started making a few calls to the agent," he says, laughing. "I didn't have time to call anyone!"

It's fair to say he was stitched up. Especially when you see him, neck-deep in the water and positioned right beside a little old Japanese man. There's absolutely no way for Darby to get out and also save face.

"That dude was like 74," Darby grins. "I hadn't met those guys until that morning. I remember walking to the river behind him thinking, 'If he's doing it, come on Darbs, you've got to get in there. You can't wimp out now."

It's a good example of his wide-eyed enthusiasm and intrepid give-it-a-go spirit when seeing things not going exactly as he thinks they should. When you think samurai training you don't think 'ice water', you think 'samurai sword' and you think, 'cool fun'. Yes?

"I almost shat myself," Darby replies, deadly serious. "The samurai sword is so heavy and sharp. I thought it was gonna be fun too but literally the first thing you learn is how to pull the sword out of the holder and put the sword back in. I learned a couple of moves but I was so panicky about the situation of putting that damn thing in without slicing my fingers off I was like, 'lets move on, eh?'. Because, god those things are sharp."

Suddenly, he's back in full Rhys Darby mode, exclaiming, "They don't show you that in the samurai movies. They don't show ninjas delicately pulling their swords out so they don't slice their fingers off."

A less deadly, but no less brutal, activity he also threw himself into was Rakugo, a traditional comedic art that has incredibly strict and precise rules governing its performance.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I met this old guy and he'd been doing it for like 40 years, this art of doing comedy with two props. One is a hanky and one is a fan and they tell these jokes that, honestly, they're like old dad jokes. They're pretty bad," he says. "But it's the art of telling them. You've got to do them a certain way."

He explains that the jokes almost aren't the point as people have heard them all before, instead it's the tradition that the audience is there for.

"It blew me away," he admits. "I put on the kimono and had a real go at it."

As he's a beloved comedic veteran of both stage and screen, I ask Darby how he got on.

"The guy training me, he liked me and we got on, but in the end he went, 'Well . . . sorry, you're not quite good enough to do this.'"


LOWDOWN
Who: Rhys Darby
What: New travel show Big In Japan
When: 8:45pm, this Thursday on TVNZ 1

Travelling man

Rhys Darby on his travelling adventures

Who has most inspired your travels?
As a kid I read Tintin books religiously and then quickly moved on to a James Bond obsession. Seeing the world, remote locations and interesting cultures went hand in hand with those adventures.

What's your approach to packing for an overseas trip?
The first thing I do is check the season, weather and cultural norms. I like to take my time and pack over a few days in the lead up to departure.

What's the first thing you do when you get home?
I hug my wife and kids, then take my bags up to the bedroom and simply lay on the bed. Then I find the cats and hug them too.

What's your favourite thing about travel?
Taking time to reflect. Millions of humans have walked this planet and seen and touched the things that I could too. We have created so many beautiful things, yet there are so many mysteries on this planet yet to be solved, and that drives me to travel.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Entertainment

Entertainment

Star’s final posts to daughter before death

05 Jul 06:46 AM
Entertainment

'Absolutely insane': Lorde's new album hits number 1 on both sides of globe

05 Jul 06:12 AM
Premium
Entertainment

Marlee Matlin on Hollywood, healing and stories still untold

05 Jul 06:00 AM

Sponsored: Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Entertainment

Star’s final posts to daughter before death

Star’s final posts to daughter before death

05 Jul 06:46 AM

His daughter Madison, 25, shared a close bond with the Australian actor on Instagram.

'Absolutely insane': Lorde's new album hits number 1 on both sides of globe

'Absolutely insane': Lorde's new album hits number 1 on both sides of globe

05 Jul 06:12 AM
Premium
Marlee Matlin on Hollywood, healing and stories still untold

Marlee Matlin on Hollywood, healing and stories still untold

05 Jul 06:00 AM
Cause of death revealed as Julian McMahon, 56, dies after private battle

Cause of death revealed as Julian McMahon, 56, dies after private battle

05 Jul 04:42 AM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP