Michael ends the first leg of his Japan adventure on a Shinkansen bullet train, heading to Nagano, the host city of the 1998 Winter Olympics and the gateway to the Japanese Alps. At the top of the Ryuoo Ropeway, the largest cable car of its type, he takes in the spectacular view and the phenomenon of the ‘sea of clouds'.\n\nIn the town of Obuse, Michael learns how Japan’s most famous artwork, Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa, was made. He visits the largest wasabi farm in the world, where the plants are sheltered from the elements and fed by pure mountain spring water.\n\nFinally, he heads to the historic mountain town of Narai Juku, with its beautifully preserved wooden houses.
Source: BBC 2
Series 1: 5. Japanese Alps: Nagano To Narai Juku
Michael ends the first leg of his Japan adventure on a Shinkansen bullet train, heading to Nagano, the host city of the 1998 Winter Olympics and the gateway to the Japanese Alps ...
17-04-2026
BBC 2
Series 1: 4. Kanazawa To Kurobe Gorge
Michael begins in the coastal city of Kanazawa, where he goes behind the scenes of the Shinkansen operation to join the cleaning detail who service the trains at breakneck speed ...
16-04-2026
BBC 2
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 ...
15-04-2026
BBC 2
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 ...
14-04-2026
BBC 2
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, ...
13-04-2026
BBC 2
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, ...
13-04-2026
BBC 2
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 ...
14-04-2026
BBC 2
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 ...
15-04-2026
BBC 2
Series 1: 4. Kanazawa To Kurobe Gorge
Michael begins in the coastal city of Kanazawa, where he goes behind the scenes of the Shinkansen operation to join the cleaning detail who service the trains at breakneck speed ...
16-04-2026
BBC 2
Series 1: 5. Japanese Alps: Nagano To Narai Juku
Michael ends the first leg of his Japan adventure on a Shinkansen bullet train, heading to Nagano, the host city of the 1998 Winter Olympics and the gateway to the Japanese Alps ...
17-04-2026
BBC 2