Season 15 (2024)

Morioka: Slow Life, Indie Spirit
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January 16, 2024 • 28m

In January 2023, the New York Times newspaper introduced Morioka as one of its "52 Places to Go" - second only to London. The capi...Read more

360 Degrees of Mt. Fuji: Hiking the Long Trail - Part 1
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February 6, 2024 • 28m

In 2021, a long trail course was established that encircles Mt. Fuji. By following this trail, one can explore not only the natura...Read more

360 Degrees of Mt. Fuji: Hiking the Long Trail - Part 2
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February 13, 2024 • 28m

In 2021, a long trail course was established that encircles Mt. Fuji. By following this trail, one can explore not only the natura...Read more

On the Sugar Road from Saga to Fukuoka
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February 20, 2024 • 28m

The Nagasaki Kaido was an important trade road from the 1630s that connected Nagasaki's port—the only one open to overseas trade i...Read more

Isumi Shines as Liveable City
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February 27, 2024 • 28m

Isumi in Chiba Prefecture was voted most desirable place to live in the Tokyo area for its accessibility and great outdoors with b...Read more

SILK Road: Threads of History from Gunma to Yokohama
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March 5, 2024 • 28m

In 1859, when Japan reopened its doors after more than two centuries of isolation, goods flowed in and out of newly expanded ports...Read more

Geto Kogen: Deep Powder Dreams
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March 19, 2024 • 28m

Geto Kogen lies in an area of Japan known as a gosetsu chitai—a region with extremely heavy snowfall. In an average year it gets a...Read more

Akita's Festivals Light Up Long Winters
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April 2, 2024 • 28m

The city of Senboku in Akita Prefecture is made up of three towns: Tazawako, which has the deepest lake in Japan; Nishiki, home to...Read more

Tomonoura: Tradition and Community in a Historic Port
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April 30, 2024 • 28m

Tomonoura is a port town on the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, in Hiroshima Prefecture. It occupies an important location because t...Read more

Okinawa: Whispers of the Ryukyu Kingdom
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May 14, 2024 • 28m

Across Okinawa's islands, you will find the stone walls of castle ruins. The Ryukyu Kingdom was a country for 350 years before it ...Read more

Taketa: Onsen Bathing Old and New
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May 28, 2024 • 28m

People in Japan love bathing in hot springs, or onsen. And since the old days, it has been common for people to check into residen...Read more

With Isabella Bird — Part 4: On the Road to Akita
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June 4, 2024 • 28m

British explorer and writer Isabella Bird arrived in Japan in 1878, just 10 years after the country opened its doors to the West. ...Read more

Okayama: Divine Beings Up Close
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June 18, 2024 • 28m

Okayama Prefecture is a magical place where ancient myths live on. Shinto shrines venerate unique gods and Buddhist temples featur...Read more

Ogaki: The City of Water
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July 2, 2024 • 28m

Ogaki in Gifu Prefecture is called "the city of water." Its abundant groundwater has fed countless spring water wells, and a river...Read more

Yamagata: Heartland of Wood Architecture
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July 16, 2024 • 28m

Yamagata Prefecture, some 300 kilometers north of Tokyo, is a mountainous region. Around 70% of its land covered by forests and to...Read more

Shodoshima: Island of Discoveries
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August 6, 2024 • 28m

Shodoshima, the second largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, is known for its beautiful landscapes, natural scenery and tradition...Read more

Deep Dive in Sugashima: The Island of Women Fishers
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August 20, 2024 • 28m

Japan's legendary Ama free-diving women still plumb the waters around Sugashima Island in search of abalone, turban shell and Ise ...Read more

NISEKO IN SUMMER: Natural Fun in the Great Outdoors
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August 27, 2024 • 28m

Niseko is renowned as one of Japan's leading winter sports destinations. But these days it's also becoming famous as an exciting s...Read more

Kumano Kodo: Fast Hiking to Nirvana
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September 3, 2024 • 28m

The Kumano Kodo, leading to Kumano, the sacred land of the Gods, is one of the few pilgrimage roads designated as a UNESCO World H...Read more

Nagasaki's Obon: A Time for Remembrance
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September 17, 2024 • 28m

Obon is a summertime ritual when Japanese people welcome ancestors' spirits home from the Buddhist Pure Land. The people of Nagasa...Read more

With Isabella Bird — Part 5: On the Road to Aomori
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October 1, 2024 • 28m

British explorer and writer Isabella Bird arrived in Japan in 1878, just 10 years after the country opened its doors to the West. ...Read more

Osaka: OSAKA HEART AND SOUL
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October 8, 2024 • 28m

Osaka is a dynamic city with a dynamic history. Photographer Alfie Goodrich captures the food culture of the "Kitchen of Japan," t...Read more

Tokushima: Heartland of Fermentation
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October 22, 2024 • 28m

Tokushima Prefecture, in the eastern part of Shikoku Island, is renowned as a heartland of traditional fermentation. It is especia...Read more

OITA Kunisaki Peninsula: A Land of Buddhas and Gods
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November 19, 2024 • 28m

The Kunisaki Peninsula, known for its temples, shrines and pilgrimage paths, abounds with rites enduring from ancient times. The K...Read more

Another Kobe: A Thatched Roof Village
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December 3, 2024 • 28m

North of Kobe's neon lights you can enjoy another side of the city—a hidden village with over 650 thatched homes. It's another wor...Read more

Fukushima: Trekking with Volcanoes & Hot Springs
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December 17, 2024 • 28m

Japan is a land of volcanoes, many of them very active. And anywhere there are volcanoes, you will almost always find hot springs....Read more

Ise-Shima: Timeless World of Pearls
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December 24, 2024 • 28m

Called "tears of mermaids" or "dewdrops from the moon," pearls have captivated people since antiquity. The world's first cultured ...Read more