Catch up TV

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\nHe begins by exploring the southern city of Hakodate, one of the ports which was first to trade with the outside world. Visiting a family-run miso factory, he finds out how the staple Japanese ingredient is made using soybeans and a cultured mould known as koji.\n\nIn the centre of the city, Michael visits the star-shaped Fort Goryokaku, the setting for a turning point in Japanese history. He discovers how the last remnants of the Tokugawa military forces were defeated in 1869 by the new Emperor Meiji’s army, ushering in a new modern era for Japan.\n\nSwapping the Shinkansen for a slower pace in a diesel train, Michael leaves the city to explore Hokkaido’s stunning volcanic landscape, travelling to Lake Toya in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park.

Source: BBC 2