Great Japanese Railway Journeys
Michael Portillo is in Japan for a breathtaking railway journey through the country that launched the magnificent Shinkansen bullet train.
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Cast
Seasons
Michael Portillo is in Japan for a breathtaking railway journey.
1.Osaka to Nagoya
13-04-202628mBeginning his journey in Osaka, Michael explores the artistic phenomenon of manga, takes a trip on the Shinkansen and, in Nagoya, visits the factory making the smart loo.
2.Kyoto
14-04-202629mMichael travels to the cultural heart of Japan, Kyoto, the city that for a thousand years was the capital. He visits a Shinto shrine, learns about a classic of Japanese literature...
3.Shima Peninsula to Nara
15-04-202629mMichael takes a luxury, panoramic Shimikaze train to the beautiful Shima peninsula. He visits Nara, the ancient capital of Japan, and encounters one of the largest bronze Buddha st...
4.Kanazawa to Kurobe Gorge
16-04-202629mMichael begins in the city of Kanazawa, where he goes behind the scenes of the Shinkansen operation. He discovers the history of the Maeda family and rides the exhilarating Kurobe...
5.Japanese Alps: Nagano to Narai Juku
17-04-202629mMichael 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.
- Ep 6
6.Kagoshima to Chiran
20-04-202629mMichael starts a journey in and around Japan's southernmost main island, Kyushu. He begins in Kagoshima, an extraordinary city which sits in the shadow of Japan’s most active volca...
- Ep 7
7.Amakusa Islands to Shin Omuta
21-04-202629mMichael Portillo takes the ferry to the Amakusa archipelago, visits the town where missionaries brought Christianity to Japan and meets a master swordsmith in Shin Omuta.
- Ep 8
8.Yame to Nagasaki
22-04-202628mMichael visits a Kyushu tea farm and the city of Nagasaki, the only port open to foreign trade when Japan was closed to the outside world for more than 200 years.
- Ep 9
9.Arita to Fukuoka
23-04-202629mMichael arrives in the home of Japanese porcelain, Arita, where a railway line runs straight through the town’s stunning porcelain Shinto shrine.
- Ep 10
10.Shimonoseki to Hiroshima
24-04-202629mMichael tries the deadly delicacy of pufferfish in the harbour town of Shimonoseki and visits Hitachi’s Kasado Works, where the iconic Shinkansen high-speed trains are manufactured...
- Ep 11
11.Episode 11
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12.Episode 12
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13.Episode 13
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14.Episode 14
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15.Episode 15
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