Watch Journeys in Japan (2010) Online!
Journeys in Japan provides an eye-opening look at the many unique places to visit in Japan. English-speaking visitors travel the length of the country, exploring the culture, meeting the local people, visiting historic sites and offering travel hints rarely found in guidebooks.
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Episode 1 - Winter Wonderland: Hakodate
Release Date: 2015-02-10The city of Hakodate, on the southern tip of Hokkaido, attracts as many as 4 million visitors each year, drawn by its historic charm, the beautiful night views and the superb seafood. It is especially... more
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Episode 2 - Naruko Onsen: The Home of Kokeshi Dolls
Release Date: 2015-02-17Naruko Onsen, in Miyagi Prefecture, is located in the foothills of the Ou Mountains. With a history of more than a thousand years, the Naruko Onsen hot springs have long offered a respite to weary vis... more
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Episode 3 - Iwate: Savoring Winter
Release Date: 2015-02-24Tohoku's Sanriku Coast faces the Pacific Ocean and runs parallel to the Kitakami Mountains. With bitter cold winters and periodic tsunamis, life in Tohoku is harsh. After the March 11 earthquake / tsu... more
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Episode 4 - Blues City Osaka
Release Date: 2015-03-03Blues music is known and loved around the world, including Japan. But there is one place above all that has earned the title "the City of the Blues": Osaka. Since the 1970's, the blues has been part o... more
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Episode 5 - Sanriku: Returning the Emotion
Release Date: 2015-03-10The Sanriku coast of northeastern Japan was one of the areas worst hit by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011. Among the volunteers who rushed to help the people in the disaster zone, there w... more
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Episode 6 - Majestic Yakushima in Winter
Release Date: 2015-03-31Yakushima is listed as a UNESCO world natural heritage site. Located 60 kilometers off the southernmost tip of Kyushu, the small island has nearly 2,000 meter-high mountains and diverse climate zones ... more
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Episode 7 - Kumamoto: Children, Dolls and Celebrating Spring
Release Date: 2015-04-07Spring arrives early in Kumamoto, in southwestern Japan. In this region, people like to celebrate the annual Hina Dolls Festival. Arrays of dolls are displayed, to pray for the healthy growth of young... more
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Episode 8 - Otaru: Canal Town with Northern Lights
Release Date: 2015-04-21Otaru City in Hokkaido Prefecture is a land with beautiful canals. In the past, the commercial town enjoyed prosperity as an anchorage site of cargo ships called “Kitamae Bune." It also played an impo... more
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Episode 9 - Mito: Gardens, Tradition and Spring Blossoms
Release Date: 2015-04-28Throughout Japan, the blossoms of the ume plum trees signal the end of winter and herald the beginning of spring. The Kairakuen Garden in Mito, long considered one of the Japan's three greatest garden... more
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Episode 10 - Lake Biwa: In Praise of Water
Release Date: 2015-05-05Lake Biwa, Japan's largest freshwater lake, is located in the middle of the Japanese archipelago. Since ancient times, the expansive body of water has spawned myths and legends. British model and soci... more
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Episode 11 - Pure Himeji Beautiful Castle City, Craftsman Culture
Release Date: 2015-05-12Himeji Castle, in Hyogo Prefecture, just reopened after an extensive renovation. Its dazzling white appearance has been fully restored. On Journeys in Japan, radio DJ Chris Glenn, who has visited more... more
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Episode 12 - Awaji Island: Keeping Traditions Alive
Release Date: 2015-06-02In Awaji Island, John and Ruadh Moore explore the farms, food and traditional culture. In ancient times, Awaji Island (Awaji-shima in Japanese) was known as Miketsu-kuni, a land that provided food to ... more
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Episode 13 - Shonan: Living the Slow Life on the Coast
Release Date: 2015-06-16Shonan area lies on the coast of Sagami Bay in Kanagawa Prefecture, just to the south of Tokyo. Since ancient times, fishermen have lived along this coast, and there are still many fishing ports to be... more
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Episode 14 - Sado Island: Behind the Mask Dance
Release Date: 2015-06-23Contemporary dancer Alessandra Lupi visits Sado Island to study the powerful Onidaiko demon dance. The traditional performing art is offered to the gods to pray for peace and abundant harvests. Alessa... more
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Episode 15 - Mt. Hotaka: Climbing to the Roof of Japan
Release Date: 2015-07-07The Northern Alps range is often called "the roof of Japan." It is an area of great scenic beauty, offering superb views and unspoiled natural landscapes. Its highest peak is Mt. Hotaka, rising 3,190 ... more
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Episode 16 - Hokkaido: The Sacred Sounds of the Ainu
Release Date: 2015-07-14Hokkaido — the northernmost island of Japan — is known for its vast expanse of land and unspoiled nature. American shakuhachi player, Bruce Huebner, visits in early summer when the air is still crisp.... more
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Episode 17 - Morioka: Celebrating a Culture of People and Horses
Release Date: 2015-07-21Morioka developed as a castle town, the seat of the powerful Nanbu clan during the Edo Period [17th-19th centuries]. Even today, the city has many areas of historical interest, with numerous temples a... more
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Episode 18 - Izu & Odawara : The Senses of Summer
Release Date: 2015-07-28Since ancient times, Japanese have developed clever methods for keeping cool in summertime by using nature and the five senses. It's called noryo. On this trip, Deborah Ten visits Odawara and the Izu ... more
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Episode 19 - Shakotan Blue: The Ocean's Beauty and Bounty
Release Date: 2015-08-04The Shakotan Peninsula lies on the west coast of Hokkaido, jutting out into the Sea of Japan. Its rugged coastline is lined with steep cliffs eroded by the waves. Many parts of this scenic peninsula h... more
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Episode 20 - Biei, Hokkaido: Layers of Beauty in the Patchwork Hills
Release Date: 2015-08-11The town of Biei lies in the heart of Hokkaido, cradled by the magnificent peaks of Mount Tokachi. Surrounded by a colorful patchwork of fields and woodlands, it boasts an idyllic scenery that draws v... more
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Episode 21 - The Sacred Kumano Kodo: Kii Peninsula
Release Date: 2015-08-18The mountainous Kii Hanto is Japan's largest peninsula. It holds sacred places of faiths, including Shintoism, Buddhism, and Shugendo mountain ascetism. In 2004, three sacred sites in the Kii Peninsul... more
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Episode 22 - Kikaijima: Life on a Coral Island
Release Date: 2015-08-25Kikaijima is a coral island in the far south of Kagoshima Prefecture, about 1,300 kilometers from Tokyo. It has a circumference of 48.6 kilometers and a population of about 7,200. Surrounded by cobalt... more
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Episode 23 - Bullfighting in Uwajima: Passion and Tradition
Release Date: 2015-09-08Uwajima is a traditional castle town in Ehime Prefecture. The people there have a long tradition of bullfighting. Huge bulls weighing about a ton battle each other for supremacy in the ring. Close bon... more
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Episode 24 - The Thrilling Nebuta Festival
Release Date: 2015-09-22The Nebuta Festival attracts some three million visitors to Aomori City every August. Nebuta are giant lantern floats measuring five meters high and nine meters wide. They often depict scenes from leg... more
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Episode 25 - Savoring Rural Pleasures: Daigo, Ibaraki
Release Date: 2015-09-29The town of Daigo is in northwestern Ibaraki Prefecture, about 130 kilometers north of Tokyo. This attractive rural area is easily accessible from Tokyo, but preserves a traditional lifestyle based on... more
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Episode 26 - Kameyama, Mie: Living in the Present, Preserving the Past
Release Date: 2015-10-13Kameyama lies in the north of Mie Prefecture. In the past, it had great strategic importance, as it lay on the Tokaido, the main highway connecting eastern and western Japan. Three old post towns are ... more
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Episode 27 - Iiyama: The Landscape of the Heart
Release Date: 2015-10-27Iiyama City, located in northern Nagano Prefecture, is known for its beautiful nature and distinct four seasons. The rich landscape is nourished by snowmelt—Iiyama is one of the snowiest regions in th... more
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Episode 28 - Kingdom of Apples: Tsugaru, Aomori
Release Date: 2015-11-03About 145 years ago, apple tree saplings were imported to Japan and distributed around the country. The place where apple growing put down its strongest roots was in the Tsugaru area of Aomori Prefect... more
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Episode 29 - Mt. Tsurugi: Attacking the Palace of Crags
Release Date: 2015-11-10Mt. Tsurugi in Toyama Prefecture is one of the most impressive peaks in Japan's Northern Alps range, rising to a height of 2,999 meters. Because of its jagged appearance it is often called the "Palace... more
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Episode 30 - Adventures In WonderLand: Iya, Tokushima
Release Date: 2015-11-17The Iya Valley is a land of legends hidden in Tokushima Prefecture, deep in the heart of Shikoku. Surrounded by mountains rising to over 1,000 meters, it is a remote Shangri-la that was cut off from o... more
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Episode 31 - Takayama & Furukawa: Treasuring Traditions
Release Date: 2015-11-24The Takayama Festival, in autumn, is held annually on October 9th and 10th. The stars of the festival are the spectacularly adorned floats, called "yatai." They are paraded through the city with some ... more
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Episode 32 - Artisans and Beauty: Koshu, Yamanashi
Release Date: 2015-12-01Koshu is the former name for Yamanashi Prefecture. In feudal times, it was the base for the powerful Takeda warlords and many traditional crafts date back to that era. Koshu Inden is a way of decorati... more
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Episode 33 - Nara & Yagyu: On the Road to the Sword of Peace
Release Date: 2015-12-08Yagyu, which is located just outside Nara, is the ancestral home of the Yagyu family, which established Yagyu Shinkage-ryu. This sword art school was adopted by the Tokugawa Shogunate for its defense ... more
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Episode 34 - Ishigaki: Diving in the Sea of Coral
Release Date: 2015-12-15Ishigaki Island-surrounded by beautiful coral reefs-is considered one of the world's best diving spots. In 2007, though, its corals were damaged to the brink of extinction due to the rise of sea tempe... more
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Episode 35 - Akita Autumn Feast
Release Date: 2015-12-22Akita Prefecture is located 450 kilometers north of Tokyo. American actor Charles Glover visits the northern land in late autumn when local people are busy preparing for the long winter. Being one of ... more