Season 9 (2021)

Adios, El Dorado Carousel!
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January 12, 2021 • 25m

The closure of Tokyo's Toshimaen amusement park in August 2020 marked the end of an era. For decades, El Dorado, the park's wooden...Read more

Seeds of Happiness at a Tokyo Garden Center
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January 26, 2021 • 25m

As many people have spent more time at home during the coronavirus pandemic, gardening has become a popular hobby. Tokyo's garden ...Read more

Giving Kitchen Equipment New Homes
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February 2, 2021 • 25m

A Tokyo store selling cheap, good-quality kitchen equipment is a boon for restaurant owners, especially during the coronavirus pan...Read more

The Zoo on a Hill
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February 16, 2021 • 25m

It's small and has only a few large animals, but a hilltop zoological park in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, has captured the hear...Read more

Sapporo Born and Bread: A 24-Hour Sandwich Shop
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March 9, 2021 • 25m

With over 40 kinds of handmade sandwiches including egg, mince cutlet and even fruit available, it could be the wide selection tha...Read more

Opening New Doors at a Furniture Outlet Store
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April 6, 2021 • 25m

A major furniture outlet store in Chiba Prefecture boasts a stock of roughly 1,400 items from beds, sofas to tables. Customers are...Read more

Shimanami Kaido: A Ride Along Life's Cycle
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April 20, 2021 • 25m

The 70-kilometer Shimanami Kaido cycling route, which links Honshu and Shikoku via a chain of bridges and islands, is a magnet for...Read more

Tanga: The Market With a Big Heart
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May 4, 2021 • 25m

Tanga Market, a century-old market of 120 shops in western Japan, is known as the "kitchen of Kitakyushu." Although the market wil...Read more

Seeing Out 2020 in the Heart of Tokyo Bay
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May 25, 2021 • 25m

The Umihotaru parking area in the heart of Tokyo Bay offers 360-degree views of the surrounding area. Among the visitors we met ov...Read more

Fukushima Bento Shop: Serving Meals and Hope
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June 22, 2021 • 25m

It has been 10 years since the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami occurred, and nuclear meltdowns forced the town of Namie to...Read more

New Beginnings from an Osaka Bus Terminal
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June 29, 2021 • 25m

In Japan, spring is a time when many people move for school or work. A highway bus terminal linking Osaka Prefecture with over 60 ...Read more

Life Stories at a Hospital Convenience Store
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July 20, 2021 • 25m

A convenience store inside a major hospital in Kamakura City, just south of Tokyo, is open around the clock for doctors, nurses, p...Read more

Tokyo Dry Cleaner's: Reviving Clothes, Reliving Memories
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August 3, 2021 • 25m

A small dry cleaner in a western Tokyo commuter town is known for removing stubborn stains from garments and items that are precio...Read more

Water Taxis: Across the Sea and Beyond
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August 17, 2021 • 25m

For the approximately 1,100 residents of Kakeroma Island in southern Japan, water taxis that travel to Amami Oshima, a nearby larg...Read more

Quiet Prayers at a Secluded Shrine
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September 14, 2021 • 25m

Near the towering apartment buildings in Tokyo's Tsukuda area is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it alley. But tucked away down the narrow...Read more

Starting Fresh: One-Stop Uniform Shop
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October 5, 2021 • 25m

A uniform specialty store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, sells an exhaustive range of attire for medical staff, chefs, security guards and va...Read more

Tokyo Stationery Store: Messages from the Heart
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October 19, 2021 • 25m

Meeting in person isn't easy these days, so sending a written message is a personal way to stay in touch. A stationery shop in Gin...Read more

The Station Under the Cherry Blossoms
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November 2, 2021 • 25m

A small, unmanned train station on the Noto Peninsula facing the Sea of Japan, is quiet for most of the year. But each spring, the...Read more

Warming Body and Heart at a Yakiimo Shop
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November 16, 2021 • 25m

On a cold winter day in Japan, a piping-hot sweet potato baked so a natural sweet syrup oozes from its skin is hard to beat. An ol...Read more

Fireworks Shop: Lighting Up a Quiet Summer
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December 14, 2021 • 25m

From handheld sparklers to skyrockets and novelty fireworks, a small shop in Yamanashi Prefecture sells over 400 kinds of firework...Read more