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Series 1: 3. Shima Peninsula to Nara
Michael takes a luxury, panoramic Shimikaze train to the beautiful Shima Peninsula. It transports visitors to Ise Jingu, Japan’s most sacred Shinto shrine, and is also renowned for its stunning coastline. Michael takes a trip to Ago Bay, where over 60 small islands sit just off the coast in the shimmering Pacific Ocean.\n \nThe next stop is Nara, the ancient capital of Japan, a beautiful, tranquil city where some 1,400 sika deer roam the green open spaces. Michael visits the magnificent Buddhist Todaiji temple and is astonished to find one of the largest bronze Buddha statues in the world, towering at a height of 15 metres.\n\nMichael’s last stop in Nara is at a traditional sumi stick workshop. Made from soot, gelatine and perfume, these blocks of ink are used for Japanese calligraphy.
Source: BBC 2
Most recent episodes of Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 3. Shima Peninsula To Nara
Michael takes a luxury, panoramic Shimikaze train to the beautiful Shima Peninsula. It transports visitors to Ise Jingu, Japan’s most sacred Shinto shrine, and is also ren ...
27-05-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 2. Kyoto
Michael travels to the cultural heart of Japan, Kyoto, the city that for a thousand years was the capital. At the Rozanji temple, he learns about a book that is described as the ...
20-05-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 1. Osaka To Nagoya
Michael begins his journey in Japan’s dynamic second city, Osaka, famous for its food culture, its nightlife and its friendly people. Using the city’s metro system, ...
13-05-2026
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Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 15. Lake Shikotsu To Otaru
On the final leg of his Japanese adventure, Michael explores the history of Hokkaido’s indigenous Ainu people. Travelling east to the Iburi region, an area closely associa ...
05-05-2026
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Series 1: 14. Sendai To Lake Toya
Michael’s bullet train takes him through the undersea Seikan tunnel to Hokkaido, the most northerly of Japan’s main islands and home to the indigenous Ainu people.\n ...
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Series 1: 13. Tokyo To Sendai
Boarding the superfast Shinkansen bullet train, Michael heads north from Tokyo to Honshu’s Tohoku region, known as the rice granary of Japan. He visits a fifth-generation ...
30-04-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 12. Tokyo, Part 2
On his second day in the Japanese capital, Michael rides the 21-mile Yamonote line, an elevated railway that encircles the city. His first stop is Shinjuku station, a rail enthu ...
29-04-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 11. Tokyo, Part 1
On board a sleek Shinkansen bullet train, Michael arrives in Tokyo, one of the greatest cities on earth, with a population of 37 million in the metropolitan area.\n\nHe begins b ...
28-04-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 10. Shimonoseki To Hiroshima
Michael leaves Kyushu by foot tunnel under the Kanmon straits to arrive on the main island of Honshu at the harbour town of Shimonoseki. Here, he encounters the deadly delicacy ...
24-04-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 9. Arita To Fukuoka
Michael arrives in the home of Japanese porcelain, Arita, where a railway line runs straight through the town’s stunning ceramic Shinto shrine. He learns about the traditi ...
23-04-2026
BBC 2
Most popular episodes of Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 1. Osaka To Nagoya
Michael begins his journey in Japan’s dynamic second city, Osaka, famous for its food culture, its nightlife and its friendly people. Using the city’s metro system, ...
13-05-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 2. Kyoto
Michael travels to the cultural heart of Japan, Kyoto, the city that for a thousand years was the capital. At the Rozanji temple, he learns about a book that is described as the ...
20-05-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 8. Yame To Nagasaki
One of Japan’s cultural highlights is the tea ceremony. Michael visits a Kyushu tea farm where morning fog shades the tea plants, helping the leaves grow greener and riche ...
22-04-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 13. Tokyo To Sendai
Boarding the superfast Shinkansen bullet train, Michael heads north from Tokyo to Honshu’s Tohoku region, known as the rice granary of Japan. He visits a fifth-generation ...
30-04-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 7. Amakusa Islands To Shin Omuta
Off the west coast of Kyushu lies the Amakusa archipelago, formed of around 12 islands. Michael first takes a bullet train to the coast and then a ferry to the islands, where he ...
21-04-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 14. Sendai To Lake Toya
Michael’s bullet train takes him through the undersea Seikan tunnel to Hokkaido, the most northerly of Japan’s main islands and home to the indigenous Ainu people.\n ...
01-05-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 9. Arita To Fukuoka
Michael arrives in the home of Japanese porcelain, Arita, where a railway line runs straight through the town’s stunning ceramic Shinto shrine. He learns about the traditi ...
23-04-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 15. Lake Shikotsu To Otaru
On the final leg of his Japanese adventure, Michael explores the history of Hokkaido’s indigenous Ainu people. Travelling east to the Iburi region, an area closely associa ...
05-05-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 10. Shimonoseki To Hiroshima
Michael leaves Kyushu by foot tunnel under the Kanmon straits to arrive on the main island of Honshu at the harbour town of Shimonoseki. Here, he encounters the deadly delicacy ...
24-04-2026
BBC 2
Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Series 1: 12. Tokyo, Part 2
On his second day in the Japanese capital, Michael rides the 21-mile Yamonote line, an elevated railway that encircles the city. His first stop is Shinjuku station, a rail enthu ...
29-04-2026
BBC 2