- 13 hours ago
- #japaneserailways
- #traveljapan
- #railwayjourneys
Embark on a breathtaking exploration of Japan's most scenic rail routes in this captivating episode of Great Japanese Railway Journeys. Discover the unparalleled efficiency and stunning beauty of the nation's railway network as we travel through diverse landscapes, from bustling urban centers to serene natural wonders.
Join us as we highlight the unique charm of each journey, showcasing how these trains offer not just transportation, but an immersive cultural experience. Learn about the engineering marvels and the dedication to service that make Japanese trains a world-renowned marvel.
This episode delves into the heart of Japanese travel, revealing the intricate connection between its railways and the soul of the country. Prepare to be inspired by the blend of tradition and innovation that defines these incredible railway adventures.
#JapaneseRailways #TravelJapan #RailwayJourneys
Join us as we highlight the unique charm of each journey, showcasing how these trains offer not just transportation, but an immersive cultural experience. Learn about the engineering marvels and the dedication to service that make Japanese trains a world-renowned marvel.
This episode delves into the heart of Japanese travel, revealing the intricate connection between its railways and the soul of the country. Prepare to be inspired by the blend of tradition and innovation that defines these incredible railway adventures.
#JapaneseRailways #TravelJapan #RailwayJourneys
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FunTranscript
00:04Japan.
00:05Michael, welcome to Japan, a railway paradise.
00:08Its huge population spread over Long Islands lives by its railways.
00:13I feel like I'm driving.
00:14My new adventure takes me through the land that launched the high-speed train.
00:19I love Shinkansen.
00:21Where millions of journeys are made each day through some of the most bustling stations on earth.
00:27Busy city.
00:28I'll ride Japan's vast railway network to uncover a land of bold innovation.
00:35Haven't quite got the hang of it yet.
00:37A place of enduring traditions, volatile geology and remarkable people.
00:44Kanpai.
00:45Join me on an excursion like no other.
00:48I'm too excited to sit down.
01:12My rail journey continues on mountainous Kyushu, which is the third largest of Japan's islands.
01:19And one that is closest to Korea and lying opposite to Shanghai.
01:25It's home to about a tenth of the Japanese population.
01:28And accounts for about a tenth of the country's economy.
01:31I'm looking forward to reaching its northern coast.
01:39On this adventure, I've discovered how, in the 19th century, Japan experienced political revolution and westernization due to influences which
01:49entered from the outside world through Kyushu.
01:52I began in Kagoshima and have been traveling up the western side of the island.
01:58I look forward to visiting useful Fukuoka.
02:02I'll then dip under the sea to emerge on the western tip of Honshu Island to end at Hiroshima.
02:19I'm beginning on a regional railway line which delivers me to Arita, a small town with a big reputation.
02:31Known for its exquisite quality and artistic beauty, Arita Porcelain was shipped around the world by the Dutch East India
02:40Company from the mid-17th century.
02:42Even today, it's considered some of the finest in the world.
02:47I'm so impressed by Japanese delicacy and good taste.
02:50When you go to a restaurant, the food is elegantly presented on a range of beautiful dishes.
02:58Porcelain is strongly associated with Japan.
03:01And yet, it's something that arrived as a foreign influence from Korea at the beginning of the 17th century.
03:09And so, it's associated with Kyushu Island.
03:12And in Japan, it has been developed to new perfection.
03:22I've come to the Fukaomi factory, a family business stretching back 400 years,
03:28which produced porcelain ware for the Japanese imperial family.
03:33It's delightful ceramics are found in museums around the world.
03:39Fukaomi-san.
03:41Hello, I'm Michael.
03:42I'm Sosuke.
03:44How do you do?
03:44Good.
03:45I mean, these wonderful colours, so many different blues, this is like a temple to colour.
03:52Thank you very much.
03:53When did porcelain making first arrive in Arita?
03:57It was 1610, because Japanese shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded to Korea,
04:04and then they brought back Korean potter to Kyushu.
04:08And is this how your family arrived here?
04:10They were Koreans originally?
04:12Yes.
04:13So, they're brought over by the shogun.
04:16They arrive here as Koreans, foreigners, but they have this skill.
04:21Are they treated with respect in Japan?
04:22Yes, a lot.
04:24Once my ancestor proved their skills, regional shogun granted surname, Fukaomi,
04:33and permitted to have swords.
04:36Yes.
04:37So, two great honours to carry a sword and to enjoy your very illustrious surname.
04:42My ancestor's name is Fukaomi Soden and Hyakbasen.
04:49They were first potter to create Arita porcelain.
04:53That is extraordinary.
04:56Today, the business specialises in producing a vital element of porcelainware, the underglaze,
05:02pigments used to coat pottery before firing.
05:06Most renowned of these is gosu, a traditional underglaze that transforms into a rich blue when fired.
05:13This is cobalt oxide and manganese, iron and cowl.
05:22Cobalt comes from DR Congo, mined and purified by Belgium and imported to Japan.
05:31That makes it very expensive, I suppose.
05:34Yes, a lot.
05:36With cobalt in it, will it always be blue?
05:39Yes.
05:41We have 300 kinds of blue.
05:47It takes a month of mixing, firing, grinding and refining to produce the delicate gosu glaze.
05:58What extraordinary machinery.
06:01This looks like the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
06:05What happens here?
06:06What process is this?
06:08This is refining.
06:10We grind it over two weeks.
06:13Yes.
06:13I'm in awe that you make 300 blues.
06:16Yes.
06:16But I suppose it means you can't make that or that.
06:20It's not blue.
06:22It's not blue.
06:27The underglaze made here is used across the world and by the many potteries in Arita.
06:34There are around 85 just in the town.
06:37I'm touring Risugama, founded in 1930, in the former residence of another Korean potter, Yi Sanpei, who is considered the
06:46father of Arita porcelain.
06:49Everything is so very delicate.
06:54Any little impurities are being removed from the basic porcelain.
07:01And here a glaze being applied.
07:05Gorgeous liquid.
07:08A process that is not only hands-on but actually hands-in.
07:19Here an artist with the finest of brushes, applying a pattern of exquisite detail.
07:27For a lesson, I hope in somewhat less intricate painting, I'm meeting the head of the company and great-grandson
07:34of the founder Shinji Tarauchi.
07:38Terauchi.
07:39Yes.
07:39Hello.
07:40Hello.
07:42Great pleasure.
07:43I come dressed as a humble student.
07:45Yes.
07:47To learn from the master.
07:49Yes.
07:52Let's do a bit of practice.
07:54This piece of paper is done by the end.
07:57You can really make a piece of paper and create a piece of paper like this, and then you're not
07:59done as well.
08:04You can just use this in your paper.
08:07I'll aim yourself to the end of the paper.
08:11You can print this out.
08:15Now you'll have links, that fit the paper so you can use it.
08:19I'll aim yourself.
08:20You can put it in your paper too.
08:24Okay, here you can do this.
08:25With this paper, you can use it to keep this paper here.
08:35Beautiful confidence strokes.
08:40So, make sure the particles are all mixed together.
08:44Get rid of the excess paint.
08:47Get the brush into a nice point.
09:07Nice.
09:14In Arita, we use this kind of paper.
09:28Right.
09:30I'm going to do this with a mistake.
09:36I'm going to do this and I'm going to do this.
09:41Oh!
09:51This is extremely difficult.
09:53He's telling me not to paint with this big brush,
09:56but just to let the paint flow down.
09:58But bearing in mind that at any moment it can run away with you.
10:13We're joined together forever on a plate.
10:25This town has been shaped by four centuries of porcelain making.
10:29I find a Shinto shrine displaying the craft for which Arita is venerated.
10:46What an extraordinary thing.
10:49Must be highly unusual for the entrance to a shrine to be bisected by a railway.
10:57But here I am, Tozan, established in 1658 and most exceptionally decorated with the glorious blue of the porcelain of
11:10Arita.
11:14Kyushu is dominated by volcanoes, which accounts for the mineral resources that have supplied its pottery industry.
11:22One third of Japan's natural hot springs are on the island, again thanks to volcanic activity.
11:28Not far from Arita is the hot spring town of Ureshino, where I'm making a stop for the night.
11:36And I'm looking forward to experiencing a ryokan, a very traditional style of Japanese hotel.
11:45Good evening.
11:46Good evening.
11:47Good evening.
11:49Good evening.
11:50Good evening.
11:50Good evening.
12:01Before I settle down for the night, I'm taking a tea, which in Japan is elevated to a ceremonial.
12:14So the first thing, with great reverence, is that the tea leaves are put into my tea pot on a
12:24weighing machine,
12:25so that exactly the right amount goes into the pot.
12:30The piping hot water is measured in a Pyrex jug, but you cannot pour a Pyrex jug into my teapot
12:40directly,
12:40so there's an intervening, much more elegant vessel.
12:44So it goes from one to the other, and then into the teapot.
12:49Ah!
12:50And now a little egg timer is inverted.
12:54And as soon as the sands of time have run through the egg timer,
13:00I will be presented with a doubtless perfect cup of Sencha green tea.
13:11This is Shinja.
13:37This morning, I'm up early and ready for my breakfast.
13:45Good morning.
13:47Good morning.
13:48Ah, thank you.
13:49I'll follow.
13:53With tatami mats covering the floor and paper screen walls,
13:58the simplicity of the interior is typical of the Japanese aesthetic.
14:02And so too is the breakfast.
14:08Here I have some miso soup.
14:14Some meat and vegetables that have been cooked in sweet soy sauce.
14:20Salty custard.
14:24Sashimi.
14:25Sesame seed.
14:27Pickle.
14:28Cod row.
14:29A little sauce that I'm going to make up with which to eat my tofu,
14:33which is boiling merrily there in onsen water.
14:37And here, some red snapper.
14:46It can be very daunting for the foreigner eating in Japan.
14:50So many things that are unfamiliar.
14:53But people are always on hand to give you guidance.
14:58And foods that may seem very strange at first turn out to be rather wonderful.
15:03I'm not used to having soup for breakfast.
15:08But hey, it works.
15:12And salty custard.
15:17Is an acquired taste.
15:20This ryokan is built around one of the island's many hot springs.
15:24And I'm keen to experience a very special feature,
15:28which I can enjoy without leaving my room.
15:30Every present should have a wrapping.
15:35A Japanese hotel room has many layers.
15:40Moving through one's quarters is a series of revelations.
15:48Crossing the tatami mat.
15:50Opening the shoji door with its washi paper
15:55to reveal the garden beyond...
16:01..and my own onsen pool.
16:06Onsen are natural thermal baths heated by volcanic geology.
16:11Sometimes communal, sometimes private,
16:15they are integral to Japanese culture.
16:22This onsen is delightful.
16:26It's a warm bath.
16:27And the water is so clearly natural.
16:31You feel its warmth opening your pores.
16:34You feel the softness of it on your skin.
16:38You sense that you will emerge a new man.
16:51Refreshed and relaxed, I'm ready to continue my journey
16:54from Takeo Onsen Station.
17:00With a few minutes to spare,
17:02I'll watch a great ceremony of the Japanese railway.
17:05In a country full of customs and formalities,
17:10the bullet train has its own departure ritual.
17:15Shinkansen's are extremely frequent.
17:17So, there is zero tolerance of lateness.
17:20Each of these employees is responsible for punctuality.
17:24With precision, she marks out each thing that she's doing.
17:28The doors are closing.
17:30We are approaching departure time,
17:32and I can guarantee you that it will go on time.
17:41We are checking the monitor.
17:43You can see down the train.
17:45The doors are closing.
17:46All is clear.
17:52But, as a final safety check,
17:54the guard leans out of the train,
17:57and she will maintain that position
17:59until she's cleared the platform.
18:10Missing you already.
18:20My train is not a Shinkansen,
18:23but a limited express train called the Relay Komome 787.
18:31The trains across Japan vary enormously.
18:35Each has its personality.
18:37This one sports a sleek black finish.
18:42It's around a 60-minute journey to my next stop,
18:45Fukuoka, on the northern coast of Kyushu.
18:51The city of Fukuoka has a history of more than 2,000 years.
18:55In 1975, the opening of a Shinkansen tunnel,
18:59almost 19 kilometres long,
19:02linking Kyushu with Honshu,
19:05gave the city superb connections to Tokyo.
19:08But businesses are attracted to Fukuoka by its much lower rents.
19:12And it's actually closer to Seoul and to Shanghai
19:17than it is to Tokyo.
19:19The city has been marketing these advantages
19:22and offering tax breaks to start-ups.
19:26The age range of the population is strikingly young.
19:30It is a city both ancient and modern.
19:52Fukuoka is Japan's fifth-largest city.
19:56I'm fast approaching its centre.
19:59Feels like a metropolis.
20:07Hakata Station is the island's largest and busiest.
20:11From this hub, trains depart for Japan's principal cities,
20:15Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Tokyo.
20:25Major railway stations get combined with subterranean shopping centres.
20:31So, you get the gaggles descending from the trains,
20:34mixed with the crowds who are doing their shopping,
20:37along with the multitudes who are trying to grab lunch.
20:42Japan has an ageing population.
20:45But you wouldn't know it here,
20:47as Fukuoka is the city with the highest proportion of residents
20:51aged 15 to 29.
20:56And I'm barely out of the station
20:58before the city's youth makes an impression.
21:02You just really want to make sure
21:08you're the largest.
21:09You can't even miss the world
21:28My name is Michael. Hello, you were very very very very good. Thank you. What's it called this dance?
21:41What is Fukuoka like for young people? Is it a good city for young people?
21:48Very very nice.
21:49First of all, it's a warm place to be here. I'm happy to be here.
22:08Is Fukuoka the best city of all?
22:09It's the best place to be here.
22:20Fukuoka is now the fastest growing city in Japan.
22:24It was granted the status as a national strategic special zone for start-up entrepreneurial businesses,
22:31which entails relaxed planning laws, tax breaks and special visas for entrepreneurs.
22:38Driving this change is the city's mayor, Soichiro Takashima, elected in 2014, whom I have the pleasure of meeting.
22:47Nice to meet you. Takashima-san. Nice to meet you.
22:52What a pleasure.
22:53We're grabbing a drink at one of the street food counters, or yatai, that have become a distinctive feature of
22:59the city.
23:01Have you ever been to Fukuoka?
23:03I have not. This is the first time I've been in Kyushu and I've enjoyed it so much. It's been
23:07absolutely marvelous.
23:08Really?
23:08But I've left the best for last.
23:11Fukuoka city, really attractive city.
23:14Now, I'm so pleased to be here.
23:16Ms. Mayor, I've learned that your name, Takashima, means tall island.
23:19High island, yes, that's right.
23:21My name, Portillo, means small gate.
23:25You used to be a TV host and are now a politician.
23:28I used to be a parliamentarian and minister, and now I'm a TV presenter.
23:33Yes.
23:34So we've got an opposite direction?
23:35Yeah, yeah, opposite direction.
23:38What ideas did you have for the city, for Fukuoka?
23:41What were your ideas, and how did you want to achieve them?
23:44This Fukuoka city is a central city of Asia.
23:52This city has been influenced by the海流流 of the sea.
23:59It has been influenced by the first time in Japan.
24:02It has become a foreign language and culture.
24:07It has become a new technology.
24:12It has been influenced by the 200 years and the history of Fukuoka city.
24:18So I am a proud sponsor of this Fukuoka city, and to start with the start of the start of
24:24the world.
24:24So I want to be a broadener of Fukuoka city.
24:26I want to be a broadener of the new Fukuoka city.
24:26And to be a broadener of the international people with different people,
24:29I want to be a broadener of the international people.
24:31So you have taken great advantage of the physical location of the city.
24:36Yes, yes, that's right.
24:37you're you're you're so close to the Asian mainland yeah yeah yeah yeah for
24:41example and from Fukuoka to Shanghai Fukuoka to Tokyo just same distance one
24:48time the kilometers radius yeah so and you've been attracting small businesses
24:54and startups with tax breaks yes I know
24:59no no I'm not going to be a little bit I'll be a little bit I'll be a little bit
25:08I'll be the only one you know I'm at the other end I'll be is
25:09you know I'm not going to be there's no much nothing to do
25:16I'm not going to be in the only way to be those who are
25:23and cars, cars, cars, and cars
25:29have been challenged to the world around the world.
25:33But now, Japan has become a little bit of a barrier,
25:37and it's a new challenge that makes it hard to break.
25:40I think that's what I want to do with Fukuoka.
25:45Um, may we take a risk on some beers, please?
25:49Good idea.
25:53Oh, that's a good sight.
25:56Okay,乾杯,乾杯,乾杯 to you.
26:03Mr. Mayor, I'm a little bit older than you.
26:07I left politics many years ago.
26:09It's a rough business.
26:11Don't you want to give up and come back to television?
26:14Mr. Mayor, I love you.
26:21I love you.
26:23I love you.
26:26I love you.
26:38I love you.
26:42Mr. Mayor, I love you.
27:00You won't swap.
27:01And I won't swap either.
27:03Yes.
27:05MUSIC PLAYS
27:26Over history, Japan, as a nation of islands, has had to debate whether to admit foreign influences.
27:33It absorbed porcelain making in the 17th century, and in the 19th, it imported the Industrial Revolution from the West,
27:43in both cases with great success.
27:45But even today, Japan receives very few immigrants by comparison with other developed economies.
27:54It's open to ideas and to technology.
27:57It's a great world exporter.
28:00But its population and its culture remain homogeneously Japanese.
28:07Next time, part of the fish is highly poisonous and dangerous.
28:12Yes.
28:12All the chefs have to take care of the puffer fish.
28:15They have to have the national license.
28:18Everybody think about how to make it beautiful.
28:22That's the Shinkansen.
28:23A piece of engineering and almost a piece of art at the same time.
28:26Atomic bombs dropped just behind you and the entire community simply disappeared.
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