Joanna Lumley's Japan (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Episode #1.1 - full transcript

Behind me is Russia and
the Okhotsk Sea.

Ahead of me, a journey of 2000 miles
from this icy ocean

down to the tropical beaches
of one of 4000 islands.

Come with me to the land
of the rising run.

Japan!

To many of us, this is a mysterious
and somewhat alien country.

Travelling north to south,

I'm going to discover a Japan that's
as surprising as it is magical.

Look at that!

It's astonishing.

Bam. Whoooo!



A land of great natural wonder.

Isn't that beautiful?

Hello, monk. Cute.

A rich culture formed over thousands
of years.

Do wishes come true from here?
Yes.

With a troubled past.

I find this so...

..so unbearable.

And a strong belief in the future.

Hello, I'm Joanna Lumley.

I can't believe it.

Wow.

Believe me, this is going to be
a fantastic adventure.

It's the end of winter and I'm
as far north as you can get in Japan.



And everyone on this ice breaking
ship has come to see the same thing.

This is drift ice. Of course,
it's not sea water.

It's fresh water which comes
from one of Russia's east rivers.

And it freezes up there and
then drifts its way across the ocean

until it hits this most northern
island of Japan, Hokkaido.

It's received with great excitement.

It's cause for great celebration
in Japan.

Excitement over, we make our way
to the small fishing town of Monbetsu

and there is a welcome party.

A huge, fat seal, I think.

Isn't that gorgeous?

There are thousands of these mascots
in Japan

representing everything from tourist
attractions to electricity companies.

Can I have a hug from a seal?

It's ridiculous.

Ridiculous it may be but
sales of mascot merchandise generate

over £10 billion a year.

Being cute is big business here.

They have a lovely custom in Japan

which is when you go to somewhere
of interest

or stay in a hotel they have stamps

so you can remember where
you've been.

Press it hard. How beautiful.
There it is, sailing through the sea.

I was on that, thank you.

This is the most northern point
of my journey

down the four main islands of Japan.

So here we are on the little fishing
town of Monbetsu

and our journey is going to take us
all the way down here,

across to Sapporo, of course.

We're going to catch a ferry
across on to the main island here

then we go down and down and down
and down.

Sorry for the wind.

This is where Tokyo is down here
and down and down and down.

We're going to come across here, down
into Kyushu and from there, Okinawa

which can't fit on the map and right
down in the south of Okinawa

which is on the same lateral
as Miami.

But let me just show you again when
we were talking about that...

that river ice floating.

You can see how close we are
to Russia in the north. Look at that.

No distance at all. This is fabulous.
This is a fabled land.

This is going to be
an extraordinary trip. OK, let's go.

The first leg of my journey takes me
130 miles south through Hokkaido.

This island makes up
a fifth of Japan's land mass

but is home to less than 5%
of its population.

With vast national parks,

Hokkaido is Japan's island of nature
and wildlife.

Oh, this is astonishing because
I don't know

what I thought Japan would be like in
the winter but somehow not like this.

It's... It's a fairy land.
It's like driving through Narnia.

I'm driving carefully through
'Narnia' - the roads are packed ice

with fresh snow on top.

Not much traffic so I could hit
a wall of snow so it's not tragic.

The north of Hokkaido
is also the last habitat of a bird

that has held mythical status
in Japan for thousands of years -

The Red Crowned Crane.

I've been invited to spend the night
at the home of Makoto Ando...

I might just park rather badly like
film stars do.

..a local guide and wildlife expert.

Hello, I'm Joanna. Hi. I'm Makoto.
It's very good to meet you. And you.

Thank you so much for having me.

I'm longing to see the cranes.
Is this...? The beautiful sky.

Does that mean good weather tomorrow?
Erm, everything OK.

Is that good for seeing cranes?
Yeah.

At school. Makoto's nickname
was The Hokkaido Bear.

My gosh. Did you take pictures when
you were a little boy?

Erm, yeah so I start at elementary
school.

Yeah. Look at this picture. Yeah,
it's a red fox. Oh, boy.

A night crane in the river.

Wow. Wow. Wow.

But wildlife is not his only passion.
Sorry, my motorcycle.

I mean, honestly, in case Makoto-san,

you think I'm going to make a quick
getaway.

Isn't that fantastic?
That's the first time in my life

I will have slept with a motor...
motorbike in the room.

Got to get up at four, so goodnight.
It's just me and my motorbike.

4am comes quickly as does more snow.

So this is the thing is when you're
going out in the cold,

is to get yourself prepared because
if you're prepared,

you don't freeze
so I'm going to put on heat patches

and you don't put them directly
on to your skin

but you put them on the bits,
to keep your body warm

so one I'm going to put
just about there on my tummy

and one in the small of my back.

That's very good
and it's not unattractive. OK.

Of course, I wouldn't get out
of bed at this hour

for anything else than 1000 cranes.

Very slippery. Take your arm.

Each night, they gather together
in the local river to keep warm.

Are they just over there?

Then wake as the sun rises.

I can see them.

In the 1920s,
these beautiful red crested cranes

had almost completely died out.

Hokkaido is now the only place
you can see them.

I think what touches me so much
is that these are very rare birds.

They're only here.
They're not in North America. Never.

They're not in Africa.
Never.

It's just here.
With you. Congratulations.

As the sun rises, the light reveals
a magnificent scene.

Fantastic. Isn't that beautiful?

Fabulous.

These cranes can live
for over 30 years

and represent longevity in Japan.

They mate for life,

dancing for their partner even after
many years of being together.

It's so lovely. They seem to set each
other off.

Then they all have a bit of
a dance and have a bit of a preen.

I never thought I'd see them as close
as this in the flesh.

Makoto-san, thank you so much
for bringing me here. You're welcome.

To see them in the wild, a dream
of mine, thank you.

Looks like a Japanese painting.
It looks exactly like that.

Utterly beautiful.

Leaving Makoto and his beautiful
cranes behind,

I start my journey towards the
capital city of Hokkaido, Sapporo.

But first, a pit stop.

In Japan, they have these lovely
little, sort of, comfort stations.

You can get everything. I'm looking
for a coffee.

Things, all kinds of things,
corn soup... Boss. Cafe au lait.

There are over five million vending
machines in Japan

per capita more than anywhere else
in the world.

That's hot. Sensational little can...

..of hot cafe au lait.

Just beautiful. How long did that
take? Nothing.

Why don't we do this at home? It says
something, I think.

Have to be careful not to erm, go too
fast - it's 70 everywhere.

Look, it's saying really slow down,
you're going very fast

and it's detected
that I'm a British person, I think.

Sticking to the speed limit,
the countryside soon turns

to urban sprawl and the bright lights
of my first Japanese city.

Sapporo is one of Japan's smaller
cities

with a population
of just two million people

but for one week that doubles as
two million visitors

from around the world arrive
for the annual snow festival.

It began almost 70 years ago,
when a group of students started

making sculptures from the snow
that was cleared from blocked roads.

It is now one of the biggest events
in Japan.

The largest sculptures are made
by the Japanese Self Defence Force

known as the SDF.

This year, they've used 2000 tonnes
of snow

to construct the centrepiece
of the festival.

My fake fur coat and I
are being given an all-access tour.

Just watch your step.
Yeah.

By Lieutenant Fumiyoshi Hara of
Hokkaido's 11th Brigade.

This is the sculpture we made.

Hara-san. That's fantastic.
Thanks very much.

25 metres tall, this is a replica
of the Church of St Paul's

which stands in Macau in China.

I can't believe it. It's so detailed.
Yes.

How long did it take to make this
structure? It takes about one month.

And how many people? Erm, it's about
erm, 3600 person in total.

Extraordinary.
I think it's lovely that the SDF,

which is an Army, is helping to build
something so peaceful

and so beautiful. It's absolutely
lovely. I'm proud of it.

You're proud of it. I bet you are.
I bet you are.

Today is the last day of the festival
I think. No? Tomorrow.

Is it...? Tomorrow is the last day.
So what happens? Break it down.

Well, and what? They cut it like
this? Fingers in there.

Just like this? Break it down?
Oh, don't go, lovely thing.

Look, don't go.

Of course, the Self Defence Force is
unusual in another way.

Since their defeat at the end of the
Second World War,

Japan has renounced military
aggression

and its soldiers are not allowed
to enter into combat.

I think it's actually very wonderful
to think of soldiers

building snow castles.

In an old hippy dream, you'd think
that's what the world would be like.

And it is here.
It is in Sapporo today.

Tomorrow... Gone.

As night falls in Sapporo, the one
mile stretch of the snow festival

fills with thousands of visitors
and over 200 snow sculptures

are bathed in exuberant light shows.

It takes over 30,000 tonnes of snow
to make these sculptures

and they're undoubtedly impressive

but I'm looking for something
a bit smaller.

The best yet.
You know, I travel the world

and now all I care about is just
getting stamped in my book.

Making an unexpected appearance is
Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

I don't know this play very well
anyway, and after this version,

I sort of know it even less
but it's thrilling.

Tourism is becoming an increasingly
important part

of the Japanese economy,

bringing in £12 billion pounds
in 2015.

Over five million visitors came
from China

which possibly explains
why a Chinese church

is the centre piece of this year's
festival.

This is a time of celebration
in Hokkaido

but this island has a troubled past.

The name Sapporo isn't Japanese
at all

but comes from the language
of the Ainu,

the indigenous people of Hokkaido.

150 years ago, the Japanese feared
the Russians would invade the island

so they decided to colonise it.

They made everything and everyone
here Japanese including the Ainu.

They banned their language
and their culture.

The distinctive tattoos that women
were given

when they came of age were also
forbidden.

Welcome. Thank you so much.
Thank you for coming.

Chisato Abe and her father Yupo are
both part Ainu. Hi.

How very good to meet you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Yupo has strong memories of
his grandmother who was born in 1876

and was the last generation
to be bought up in the Ainu culture.

The tattoo around the mouth.
Ah, look.

Was it terrible for her
when she, as an Ainu person,

had to cease being an Ainu person?

As an Ainu, Yupo's grandmother
struggled to learn Japanese

which was now compulsory.

She couldn't even pronounce her own
grandson's Japanese name.

She called him Kupsi

because she couldn't pronounce
the sound.

Then he immediately regret that he
said such a...

..hurt, hurtful thing. It didn't hurt
her. Grandmothers always understand.

Very sad story.
Sad story.

Little one. Little one.

I'm so sorry.

Yupo and Chisato are now actively
involved in raising awareness

of the Ainu people and their culture.

Beautiful.

Oh, it's fine.

Seaweed dumplings.

That's beautiful.
We've got forks not chopsticks.

How is it? It's delicious.

The Japanese Government finally
recognised the Ainu

as the indigenous people of Hokkaido
in 2008.

But with a population that is 98.5%
ethnically Japanese,

and where immigration is barely
heard of,

racial diversity is still far
from the norm in Japan.

And the next morning, visitors
from around the world pack their bags

as the snow festival comes to an end.

All the JCBs have come in to pull
down the great snow structures.

So the party's over, it's time
to leave Sapporo, go south.

It's 200 miles from Sapporo
to the port

on the southern tip of Hokkaido,
Hakodate.

I'm just about to leave Hokkaido
which I've loved so much

with its cranes and its Ainu culture.

But, of course, it's only been part
of Japan for about 150 years.

I'm travelling South to here,
to Honshu, the main island

where the Japanese culture has
flourished for thousands of years.

I can't wait to see it. Well, I mean
I can see it but I mean the culture.

I'm going to immerse myself in it.
Just there.

I could virtually row across,
you know, but I... I won't.

A new bullet train service now
connects Hokkaido to the mainland

but the only way to get cars across
the Tsugaru Strait is by ferry.

But there seems to be something
missing.

There's almost nobody here.

I mean, it is actually very lovely
but it's practically empty.

It's like being on the Marie Celeste.
Should I be worried?

Oh, two pairs of shoes.

Sleeping. Two sleeping people.

Here's a room, I might... erm...
I might lie down here.

That's the thing about Japan.

Sometimes it like to remind you that
it does things its own way.

After all, this is the country
that for over 200 years

locked itself away
from the outside world.

Until the mid-19th century, it was
forbidden to leave or enter Japan.

It gave the Japanese time to create
a unique culture.

And on the main island of Honshu that
culture is still very much alive.

This area is Akita
and it's known for its rice.

Underneath these great flat white
banks of snow are paddy fields.

So although it's all white now,
in the spring and the summer

it's vivid bright green of rice
plants just growing, growing.

Everything depends on rice in Japan.

For the diet and, of course,
for the Sake.

Sake is Japan's national drink.

Made from fermented rice and water,
it is drunk like wine

but is much stronger.

I'm about to try the best Sake
you can get.

Hundreds of years ago,

a Samurai ruler visited
all the breweries in this area

and declared the Sake from the Suzuki
Hideyoshi Brewery to be the winner.

Yoko-san. I'm Joanna. Lovely to meet
you. Welcome. Thank you so much.

Welcome to Akita.

Yoko Suzuki is one of the owners.

How long have they been making Sake
here?

Oh, erm, this brewery was
established in 1689

so we've been making Sake
for 327 years.

That's amazing.

And the method for making
it has never really changed.

Koji mould which acts like yeast
in winemaking,

is sprinkled on to cooked rice.

Using a hi-tech wheelbarrow, the rice
is taken down to the muro room...

They just grabbed it and ran.

..which is kept at 28 degrees
to start the fermenting process.

Now great white cloths. It's being
spread out.

Next the rice enjoys what can only be
described as a massage.

Perfect.

And for this, we're being joined
by Yoko's husband Nyoki Suzuki.

Oh gosh! I can't tell you what
it's like. It's sort of rubbery.

He is 19 generation.
19?19th.

Always making it like this?
Yeah.

And it's a certain amount of kneading
going on

so this is what gets it all pushed
through.

Well, I'm warming up no end.

I'm rather regretting wearing
two layers of cashmere under this.

There we are.

This is the fermentation song.

The rice, with its water, ferments
for 25 to 30 days in these huge vats

but because heat rises,
it gets hotter towards the top

so they do this

so that they can keep a constant
temperature in these great big vats.

40 years ago,
there were 4000 Sake breweries

but now there are less than half
that number as Japan's taste

for imported wines increases.

Which seems a shame as Sake
is delicious.

Oh, that is Daiginjo - super premium
Sake. Super premium.

That's beautiful.

Thank you very much.
That's beautiful.

Would you like to try another one?
Well, I would, Yoko-san.

Tell me what is this one? This
is Manju. This is traditional Sake.

It's completely different.
It's delicious.

It's very good but the premium seems
better. Arigatou.

Thank you so much. I think just this
moment, it's customary on these trips

that when I have been drinking
obviously, in... in just the service

of the programme, the crew likes to
step forward and sample it

just to see that I haven't been
lying.

Close to the Sake brewery is the town
of Kakunodate

in the rural north of Japan.

For thousands of years, people have
relied on the rice harvest

and every winter in this town,

a fire festival is held to protect
the crops from bad spirits.

Traditional straw baskets, once used
by rice farmers, are set on fire

and locals enthusiastically swing
them around.

If I was a bad spirit,
I'd probably run a mile.

The girls love doing it.

I've noticed the girls are first
and foremost in the queue.

It looks sort of utterly medieval -
their scarves, their layers

and their coats
and strange, lovely gestures.

This is rather a sort of wild... a
wild one here. Slightly gay abandon.

I think he's getting instructions.
You know, not quite so insane there.

But very artistic. Look, how lovely.
It's... Phoo.

Yes, obviously sparks coming our way.

But it is fun and you could try this
at home. Not.

This is a Shinto festival.

Shinto, being the closest thing Japan
has to a national religion.

It translates as
'the way of the spirits'.

And across Japan are Shinto shrines,
the homes of the spirits.

South of Kakunodate is one of the
most sacred of these sites in Japan.

Wow.

The entrance is marked by a vast
Shinto gate.

Huge.

But nestled among the snow-capped
trees is an even greater treasure.

I've come to Mount Haguro
to see the 700-year-old pagoda...

..and I hadn't quite anticipated
such a challenging beginning.

Whoops. It's like walking on
an iced cake

and you never know when you're going
to go straight through.

I'm spending so long looking
at my feet,

I've forgotten to see these awesome
trees.

If the shrine is 700 years old,

I think some of these are
700 years old.

And I am a mere 70.

Well, not 70 yet, obviously.

I mean, I will be 70 in...
I don't know decade or so.

Still quite skilful on the feet.

You could say I'm a little late
to this rite of passage.

For centuries, making
the long journey to Mount Haguro

was a pilgrimage for boys
from around Japan

who were about to enter adulthood.

Glimpsing through the wood. Look.
Look at that.

One, two, three, four,
five storeys and underneath the eves

it looks like... erm, like a mushroom.

Well. Look at that beautiful thing.

Built in 1372, this five-storey
pagoda is made entirely of wood.

There are no metal nails holding it
together.

It's fantastic.

Despite this,
it's survived for over 600 years,

in one of the most earthquake-prone
areas of the world.

I could happily stay in this magical
part of ancient Japan forever...

..but it's time to move
on to the realities of living

in such a geographically unstable
country.

I'm driving from the west to the east
across Honshu, slightly to the south.

There's much less snow here and
everywhere around I can see mountains

and a lot of the mountains,
one hundred of them in Japan,

are active volcanoes and there are
about 1000 earthquakes every year.

Earthquakes have been part of life
in Japan throughout its history

and on the 11th of March 2011,
a huge earthquake created a tsunami

that struck Japan's east coast
killing 20,000 people.

It also caused the Fukushima Nuclear
Power Plant to go into meltdown

and thousands of local residents had
to leave their homes

due to radiation.

Five years later, and there's still
a 12-mile exclusion zone

around the power plant.

All OK, Mai?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, OK.

Along with our translator, Mai,

we're hoping to visit Tomioka, one
of the towns still inside the zone,

and meet the one resident who refused
to leave.

It must have had a shattering impact
particularly on the east coast

to have that catastrophic earthquake
followed by that devastating tsunami

and then the nuclear disaster
as well.

I was in Tokyo that day.
You felt it in Tokyo? Yes.

That was the biggest erm, earthquake
I've ever felt in my life,

really shaky and people on the
street, they didn't know what to do.

I'm just going to check our IDs.
OK.

We're only a few miles from the power
station and radiation levels

are still too high for residents
to return to their homes.

That's me. That one.

We're under strict instructions to
stay in the zone for only five hours.

And past the security gate, we enter
what has become a ghost town.

Before the earthquake, Tomioka
was home to 16,000 people

and was thriving thanks to the money
that the Fukushima Nuclear Plant

had invested in the area.

It's incredible how five years
of no use

and look how quickly it's gone back
to rusted rails and overgrown.

I think the earthquake fractured some
of the tracks so they can't be used.

I wonder what the read-out is here.

199208 down here.

247... 253... 58...

276... 281.

Blimey. OK. It's been lovely. Bye.

The radiation level would need to go
over seven for it to pose a risk.

The tannoy announcements on
the high street still remind visitors

not to hang around.

I think this was the restaurant.

Oh, my gosh. There's everything still
left on the table.

Sauce bottles, chopsticks.

Dry cleaners. Still clothes waiting
in their cellophane packaging

on hangers waiting to be collected.

I can just imagine how this was.

I'm standing in the crossroads of a
little busy thriving town,

agricultural, and the big...

the workers at the nuclear plant
are quite rich, quite well-to-do erm,

hairdressing salons, garages,
restaurants

and now it's just completely empty

and maybe people will never come back
here.

It's already feeling haunted.

But from this devastation has emerged
a story of utterly selfless heroism.

Naoto Matsumura refused to leave
Tomioka and risked his life

to save hundreds of animals.

Hello, Naoto-san. Cats. Cats. Cats.

Hello, sweet one. Hello, darling.
Hello, little one.

Sweet dog.

Oh, look at the house at the end,
Naoto-san. Right down.

Because of the
earthquake. It flattened.

Why did people leave their animals
behind?

Weren't they allowed to take them
with them?

So what happened? You drove back
but it was... It was exclusion zone.

Five years on and Naoto is still here
having exposed himself

to high levels of nuclear radiation.

And he didn't just save cats
and dogs.

Watch out for cow pats.

Hello, baby. Hello, little one.

You're a good man. Have you been
to the doctor?

How is your own health?

I hope you will live for 60
more years.

Disasters often create heroes and
I think I just found one.

I woke up here this morning
on this bright sunny day in Iwaki

which is just down the coast
from the Fukushima Power Plant,

which we visited yesterday and today,

I'm going to be driving across
this extraordinary country

to something which is
one of the benefits of being a land

which is full of earthquakes
and volcanoes.

Sure they disrupt things
and sure they destroy things

but they also bring huge benefits

in this case right over here in
Nagano - hot springs.

And I'm leaving you here
because you're not up to scratch.

I'm going 80 and it's 70.

I think sometimes, it's quite easy to
think Japan is a small country

but it's actually big in land mass,
bigger than Great Britain.

We never seem to see these vast
landscapes and everything seems

to be, sort of, manicured.

I don't think I mean that
but every view, every vista,

every clump of trees looks lovelier
than the last

as if some great hand has been round
fashioning it to look like a garden.

And after a long drive through
this immaculate country,

I arrive in Nagano
and my first Japanese-style hotel.

Isn't that absolutely beautiful?

Goodnight.

Obviously, I don't go to bed in all
these clothes.

I'm just lying down to show you that
this is a gorgeous bed.

And my arm is long enough to pull
the light off from here

The next morning I wake up in Nagano
to discover the snow has returned.

The perfect weather for a hot spa.

But it isn't just humans who enjoy
a morning bath.

Look.

It's so charming.
They are such charming little people.

These are wild Japanese Macaques.
Native to Japan,

no other monkey in the world lives
this far north

which might explain why they're drawn
to this hot spring in the winter.

There's little baby being groomed
here. Sweetest little person.

Food is left out to attract
the macaques

but they're free to come and go
as they please.

He's so sweet.

There's one sitting in the middle
which is me. She's my twin soul.

She's sitting in the middle going
occasionally,

'Oh.' And she's just been sitting
here in her bathing hat.

Yes, darling. Yes, darling.

I wonder if they think
we're as cute as we think they are.

The Japanese have a word for it.
Kawaii. Cute.

I love them. Hello, monk.

Little wet one going past us up
the steps.

Onsen are not just for monkeys.

Natural hot springs are as Japanese
as it gets.

And for over 1000 years, people have
been coming to this area

to bathe in its hot waters.

Just a few minutes
from the manmade monkey spa,

Shibu Onsen's main street is dotted
with inns, hotels

and, of course, lots of Onsen.

When you stay at an inn in
this lovely old town they give you...

This is your key and attached to it
is a little map of all the Onsen

that your key can open
and here's one which is 'ladies'.

And guess what? I've got my book.

Perfect. Now I'm going in
for my first Onsen.

This is as hot as a bath I've run
for myself at home.

It's fantastic and to think it's full
of minerals just gushing up

naturally from the water.

It's made me think actually
of the spa towns we have in England

with one difference - this is a
volcanic country

so the springs are hot.

You can tell why the Japanese people
know a good thing when they find it

and these Onsen are...

..addictive.

I've been in here about 3½ hours.
I don't intend to come out yet.

But depart I must and
the next morning, the city beckons.

I'm leaving Nagano and going across
country to Tokyo

and there's only one way
to arrive at Tokyo

and that's on a bullet train.

English.

Now this may be easy when
you know how...

A non-reserved seat.

..but I don't.

Ah. I don't want to get off at the
airport.

I don't want to go to Atami or
Shimoda

so suddenly... I'm going to return
to the feeder screen.

Something I've done wrong here.

It's given up on me. It's gone back
to the beginning again.

Look, I love Nagano.
I don't see why I have to leave.

Tokyo's great but I could just stay
at Nagano and just not buy a ticket.

To Tokyo.Tokyo.

Arigatou. You are wonderful.

Thankyou very much.
Thank you.

Sweetheart. Oh, that's great, great.
Oh, damn, missed it.

I've missed the train now.

It's traditional to buy bento boxes
to eat on train journeys in Japan

but they tend to contain meat
or fish.

Oh, look. This has got delicious
vegetarian things. Thistle, thistle.

Oh... Ichi... one of those.

Ichi.

Have a nice day.Arigatou.
Thank you very much indeed.

Bullet trains started running
in the 1960s

and was one of the ways Japan
advertised its post-war
economic growth

and modernity to the rest
of the world.

And needless to say, they run
on time.

Looks like a great silver worm with
glittering eyes. Rather exciting.

My Shinkansen, as bullet trains are
officially called,

is speeding me towards Tokyo
at 200 miles an hour.

Gosh, they're a bit fatter than
I thought.

It's thistle.

I chose it and it's...

..that's really lovely.

I could do a commercial.

Eat your
thistle dumpling now. It's lovely.

I've loved spending the last
two weeks

in the traditions of rural Japan -

its steaming Onsens, fire festivals,
lovely Sake.

But now it's time to experience
modern, urban Japan.

And as soon as I arrive at Tokyo
Station,

the change of pace is astonishing.

The Yamanote Line, Shinagawa and
Shibuya.

My hotel is situated on the famous
Shibuya Crossing in the city centre.

Its bright neon lights,

giant TV screens and never-ending
crowds of people

are an intense but totally fabulous
introduction

to the capital city of Japan.

Hello, Tokyo.

Next time, I experience life
in the biggest city in the world...

Look at that tower.

Great. Beautiful.

..walk the legendary Nakasendo Way...

Gorgeous.

..see cherry blossom in Kyoto.

Yay!

..and let my hair down.

I think it's time for more.

♪ If you love me let me go

♪ Back to that bar in Tokyo

#Where the demons from my past

♪ I'll be animating every night

♪ The grass will be greener
on the other side

♪ And the vampires and wolves

subtitles by Deluxe