Embark on an unforgettable adventure through the breathtaking landscapes and rich cultural tapestry of Japan. This episode of Great Japanese Railway Journeys unveils the unparalleled beauty of the nation's rail network, a system renowned for its efficiency, punctuality, and stunning scenic routes.
Discover the intricate beauty of Japan's diverse regions, from the majestic peaks of the Japanese Alps to the serene coastlines. Explore hidden gems and iconic landmarks accessible only by train, offering a unique perspective on the country's natural wonders.
Experience the fusion of cutting-edge technology and cherished traditions as you traverse through bustling cities and tranquil countryside. Learn about the history and engineering marvels that make Japanese railways world-class, providing an essential link to the heart of Japanese life.
#JapanRailways #GreatJourneys #TravelJapan
Discover the intricate beauty of Japan's diverse regions, from the majestic peaks of the Japanese Alps to the serene coastlines. Explore hidden gems and iconic landmarks accessible only by train, offering a unique perspective on the country's natural wonders.
Experience the fusion of cutting-edge technology and cherished traditions as you traverse through bustling cities and tranquil countryside. Learn about the history and engineering marvels that make Japanese railways world-class, providing an essential link to the heart of Japanese life.
#JapanRailways #GreatJourneys #TravelJapan
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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.
01:10This morning my destination is one of the world's most dynamic cities.
01:16My Shinkansen or bullet train is hurtling towards its target.
01:21The imperial capital Tokyo.
01:23Which grew out of what was the fishing village of Edo.
01:28To become the world's largest metropolitan area with 37 million inhabitants.
01:34It requires an infrastructure of railways and stations also on a colossal scale.
01:41Tokyo has been devastated by war and by earthquake and defiantly risen from the rubble.
01:48Today is skyscrapers soar from foundations laid across treacherous fault lines.
01:55I approach this mega metropolis with a combination of admiration and awe and a map.
02:07This stage of my journey will take me almost 700 miles north of Tokyo.
02:12On Honshu, Japan's largest island.
02:15To Fukushima and onto Sendai.
02:18And then through the world's second longest railway tunnel to Hokkaido.
02:22The most rural of the country's main islands.
02:26There I'll visit Hakodate, Lake Toya and Sapporo.
02:29And finish at the port city of Otaru.
02:49In the Kanto region, on Honshu's eastern coast.
02:53Greater Tokyo stretches over 5,000 square miles.
02:57Divided into 23 districts or wards, it's home to around one third of Japan's population.
03:05With its skyscrapers, packed streets and neon, it is the epitome of the 21st century metropolis.
03:14Busy city!
03:15Busy city!
03:23Yet, arriving here in the centre, I find myself in oddly familiar surroundings.
03:30What a brilliant and unexpected sight.
03:34Tokyo Railway Station opened in 1914, modelled on Amsterdam Central Station.
03:41And although destroyed during the Second World War, rebuilt in much the same style.
03:47Today, it is the terminus for no fewer than seven Shinkansen lines.
03:53Behind the old exterior, much modernity, shopping centres, tower blocks and the like.
04:00But it looks like a piece of old Europe that has been parachuted into the heart of a brash Asian
04:07city.
04:10Tokyo replaced Kyoto as Japan's capital in 1868, when the military government, known as the Tokugawa Shogunate, was overthrown and
04:20a new administration was set up under the Emperor Meiji.
04:24During his 45-year rule, known as the Meiji Restoration, the government ushered in a modern era for Japan and
04:32a new place in the world.
04:33The royal family took up residence at the Imperial Palace in the centre of Tokyo.
04:40Two miles west, in the neighbourhood of Yotsuya, I visit the Akasaka Palace, built for the Emperor's son, Crown Prince
04:48Yoshihito.
04:52Japan has the world's oldest, continuous, hereditary monarchy.
04:58But for most of its period, it has not held political power.
05:02When the Tokugawa dynasty, those who did have political power, the shoguns, were toppled, the new government of Japan wanted
05:09everything to be modernised.
05:12That included the monarchy.
05:13And as in other things, the west was to be the model.
05:18The emperor was to wear Western clothes and he was to build a palace in the European style.
05:28History professor and royal expert Naotaka Kimizuka will be my guide.
05:34Oh, Mr. Pojo.
05:36What a pleasure to see you, sir.
05:37Yes, thank you very much.
05:38I find this such an intriguing place because we have the very Japanese-style trees, the disguise craters, typical of
05:46Tokyo.
05:47Then we have this palace that could be in England and a fountain that could be at home in Buckingham
05:53Palace.
05:53Yes, that's right.
05:55When there is the big change in 1868, what role does the new government want the monarchy to play?
06:03Before the major restoration, the Japanese emperor is just nominal head of state and also always behind the scene, so
06:13nobody saw him.
06:15But after the restoration, the emperor must be the real, actual head of state, like European countries at that time.
06:25So he must be in front of more ordinary people and he must build a modern country.
06:33Japan set about transformation, abolishing its feudal land system, introducing the first parliament and funding a huge program of industrialization.
06:43You mentioned that the emperor now becomes formally the head of state, which also means he's the head of the
06:49army.
06:49Yes, great marshal.
06:50Now, in this period, there's enormous advances in the Japanese military.
06:55That's right.
06:551904, 1905, Japan beats Russia in a naval war.
07:01It's an extraordinary pace of change, isn't it?
07:03The Japanese are proud of themselves.
07:06And maybe they could build such kind of Western-style palace for Crown Prince of Japan, actually.
07:14It means maybe we are, of course, Japanese, but also we are also the members of Western powers.
07:20I understand how the government wants change, but how do the Japanese people react to being Westernized?
07:26In the beginning, of course, there was some resistance, but, of course, he was divine.
07:31Also, he was actual head of state and symbol of the country.
07:35So, ordinary people belong to the emperor.
07:39If the emperor changed, we must change.
07:42Does this idea of a divine emperor, a powerful emperor, a military power, does this lead to nationalism?
07:48Yeah, that's right. It is. Also imperialism.
07:53Completed in 1909, the European-style neo-baroque palace also features elements of Japanese design,
08:01including the bronze samurai guarding the entrance.
08:12Well, the interior of the palace is gorgeous, very opulent. Who was the architect?
08:18Tokuma Katayama. He's one of the first architecture of the Japanese in Western style.
08:24Josiah Kondo, very famous British architect.
08:27He was invited by the Japanese government to teach modern style Western architecture in Japan.
08:34And Katayama was one of his students. And this is one of his masterpieces.
08:40What is the palace used for nowadays?
08:41Today, it is a guest house for foreign state guests. For instance, in 1975, your country's Queen Elizabeth II stayed
08:52here.
08:53And also, 1986, Prince of Wales and Princess Diana also stayed here.
08:58So, we're in a very special place. When I look at this, I have to ask you a philosophical question.
09:03Is Japan in the east or the west?
09:06Oh, it is a very difficult question, actually. Maybe middle centre of east and west, I suppose.
09:12It's been a great pleasure to meet you.
09:13Oh, thank you very much indeed. Thank you.
09:19Tokyo is now one of the most visited cities in the world.
09:23In 2024, it welcomed almost 25 million tourists.
09:28Here in the centre is a hugely fashionable area.
09:33Ginza is one of the very smart shopping districts of Tokyo, with global brand names known to everyone.
09:39And the high street, which runs through buildings of mirrored glass, is pedestrianised once a week.
09:48The neighbourhood was established as a bustling commercial centre with the opening of the first silver mint in 1612.
09:56Following a fire, it was rebuilt in the late 19th century during the Meiji era,
10:01with wide tree-lined streets, and the wooden houses were replaced with European-style brick buildings.
10:09Ginza is also home to a piece of railway history.
10:14Highakawa Noritsugu visited London and was inspired to build the first metro in Asia, which opened here in Tokyo, in
10:221927, along what is now the Ginza Line.
10:26Although it was less than a mile and a half long, on the very first day, 40,000 passengers travelled,
10:33which shows there was a need for it.
10:35The city has now turned the tables, because the company that owns the Tokyo Metro has now won the management
10:42of London's Elizabeth Line, promising to bring to Britain Japanese levels of punctuality.
10:48What a challenge!
10:53With 286 stations across 13 lines, this is the busiest metro network in the world.
11:03Despite serving a staggering 9.5 million people a day, more than double London's figure, it's renowned for its efficiency.
11:13Nihonbashi. Nihonbashi. Nihonbashi desu. Ashiotori wo chui.
11:23Did you hear that?
11:24Every station is identified by its own particular jingle.
11:29To the visitor to Tokyo, it just becomes a background sound.
11:33But to the people of Tokyo, it's a constant subconscious reminder of where they are.
11:43In the city's southern suburb of Kawasaki, I'm honoured to meet the man behind many of the tailor-made melodies.
11:53Musician and composer Minoru Mukaiya has become famous across Japan for his catchy train tunes.
12:02Mukaiya-san. Konnichiwa. Konnichiwa.
12:04Ah, lovely to see you.
12:06Hi.
12:07Were you composing there?
12:08Yes, of course, and arrangement also.
12:11Lovely. I've been hearing in the railway stations these little pieces of music, these little jingles.
12:17And you are responsible for quite a large number. How many?
12:20About 300.
12:22Oh my goodness. Really?
12:23300 stations.
12:25Tell me a little bit about this tradition then, because where I come from we don't have this.
12:30So we got a lot of rush and many, many passengers in the station.
12:36Yes.
12:36The train melody is very, the kind of safety system, right?
12:39During the train melodies, the train is not shut the doors.
12:45Right.
12:45And after the melody is finished, and the voice announcement and...
12:52Shut the door.
12:53Right.
12:54It's a safety system.
12:54So it calms everybody down, doesn't it?
12:57The music calms everybody down.
12:58Presumably, if you have a different melody for your station, if someone's reading a book or whatever, they hear their
13:06melody.
13:06Yeah.
13:06Ah, my station.
13:07Yes, yes.
13:07When did you start writing these melodies?
13:10Oh, about 25 years ago, I think.
13:14Really?
13:14Yes, high speed rally in the Kyushu area, they wanted to use my melody.
13:19Minoru began his career as a keyboard player in the 1970s with pioneering Japanese jazz fusion band Cassiopeia.
13:29I performed a lot of concerts worldwide in London.
13:32At first, Dominion Theatre in 1982 and the Hammersmith Odeon.
13:37The Hammersmith Odeon?
13:37Yeah.
13:37Yeah.
13:38How did you get from Cassiopeia to train melodies?
13:44I'm a musician.
13:45Yeah.
13:45Also, I'm a strong train fan.
13:47Are you?
13:48Yes, I'm very strong train fan.
13:50So when I was very young, about 12 years old, we had the high speed rail, Shinkansen.
13:57Yes.
13:571964.
13:58And I was so excited.
14:00Did you ride the Shinkansen?
14:02Yes, yes.
14:0212 years old.
14:03What did you think?
14:04So it's an amazing situation, you know.
14:07Yeah, yeah.
14:08Normally, the train is at least 100 kilometers, right?
14:11But Shinkansen is more than 200 kilometers.
14:13Now, the 320.
14:15It's astonishing, isn't it?
14:17Yes, it's a lot.
14:17So, music, train fan, you put the two together?
14:21Yes, together.
14:22How do you write a train melody?
14:24This is my melody sound.
14:27It's kind of the bell sound.
14:35This is a…
14:36Very calming.
14:38Yeah.
14:38Now, how do you distinguish between one area and another, musically?
14:44Yeah.
14:45So, one of the examples, we have many stations in Tokyo.
14:50All town in Tokyo is very Japanese taste, so we have a scale for Japanese music.
14:57Yes.
15:05Now, that's very, very nice.
15:07Now, by contrast, a busy part of modern Tokyo.
15:12Huge buildings, people running around.
15:15We need to calm them down.
15:16Maybe those stations must be more rhythmical, right?
15:20Yeah.
15:27Sounds like this.
15:28Lovely.
15:28If you were going to compose melodies for London, let me give you an example.
15:33Aha.
15:34So, I live near Victoria, quite a big station.
15:37Most importantly, named after Queen Victoria, so we want it to be royal.
15:41So, needs more…
15:42We want to feel the crown, like this.
15:45Yeah.
15:58Yeah.
16:00It's a more classical soundtrack.
16:03Yeah.
16:03Yeah.
16:03Exactly.
16:04And…
16:04I'm sure the old Queen would be absolutely delighted with that melody.
16:08Your melodies, then, must be amongst the most played music in the world.
16:14Yes.
16:15300 tunes being played hundreds of times every day.
16:20Yes.
16:20Tell me you get paid per broadcast.
16:23Oh, this is a very difficult question.
16:27It must have been a very good business to be in.
16:30Please talk to my manager, please.
16:33Japanese commuters up and down the country are entertained by Minoru's music.
16:39Perhaps other rail systems should also give it a try.
16:45Back in the central neighbourhood of Bankio, I've come to admire a view over railways reputed to be amongst Tokyo's
16:53best.
16:53This is the Hijiri Bashi Bridge, built in 1927 across the Kanda River.
17:00It's long been a popular location for train fans and became still more famous when it featured in the hit
17:06Japanese anime film.
17:08This spot doesn't look real.
17:10It looks like a model, because modelers become over-enthusiastic and make their layouts too complicated.
17:18Hiya.
17:20Hi.
17:20My name's Michael.
17:21Do you mind if I disturb you a minute?
17:22Yeah, I'm fine.
17:23I see you photographing the trains.
17:26What photo would you like to get here?
17:28So I'm looking to get a photo of all the trains coming through, one through the tunnel, one through the
17:33bridge, and one going under the bridge as well.
17:36I've been wanting to come here for like three years now.
17:38This is pretty special to me.
17:39How did you find this spot?
17:41It's all over TikTok.
17:42Yeah?
17:42Yeah.
17:43This is a really prominent scene in the movie Suzume.
17:46So it's like in one of the last bits of the movie, and in that scene there's like all the
17:51trains passing by.
17:53So I thought that was really cool.
17:54Great to see you.
17:55May you get the perfect picture.
17:57Thanks.
18:06Thanks.
18:08Thanks.
18:10Thanks.
18:10Here, the first public park in Japan opened in 1873, and it's also known for its vibrant Amayoko street market.
18:19In the last year of the Second World War, 16 square miles of Tokyo were destroyed by B-29 bombers,
18:27and more than 100,000 people were killed.
18:30From August 1945, Japan came under American occupation, including its ruined capital.
18:38Everything was rationed, and in places like this by Ueno station, black markets grew up selling food and goods that
18:47had somehow leaked from the American military.
18:50From 1950, Japan became a staging post for the American war effort in Korea.
18:55And as the black markets flourished, Japan's economic miracle took off.
19:03Alongside the elevated Yamanote Railway, this daily market consists of almost 400 shops and stalls, selling everything from fresh produce
19:12and spices to handbags and electronic goods.
19:16The fish in Japan is just spectacular.
19:19In every restaurant, you're offered the most delicious delicacies.
19:23And even though Japan is surrounded by water, I sometimes wonder, how could there be any sea life left out
19:30there?
19:34Thank you very much.
19:36Thank you very much.
19:41Wonderful. Incredibly refreshing. Seedless. Very, very juicy. Lovely, lovely.
19:48Please.
19:52Just one box, please.
19:53With only 11% of land in Japan suitable for cultivation, and with exacting quality standards, fruit here is some
20:02of the most expensive in the world.
20:04Thank you. Excellent.
20:06It's considered a luxury item and is often given as a gift.
20:10You get used to things being quite cheap in Tokyo. So, 2,000 for these grapes. I could buy four
20:16beers. I could easily buy lunch for that.
20:19I could never sit.
20:41Back on the metro Ginza Line, I am travelling around two miles east to Asakusa Station and the area of
20:48Sumida.
21:07Tokyo is susceptible to earthquakes because it's surrounded by tectonic plates and fault lines.
21:14In 1923, Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated with more than 100,000 killed and 2 million left homeless.
21:24Today, this is possibly the best place to be during strong tremors.
21:29The metro has been reinforced against seismic shocks.
21:33I was here during a quake on the 20th story of a building which swayed from side to side as
21:39it was designed to do.
21:41I would like to find out about the engineering that enables Tokyo to be shaken but not stirred.
21:50On the bank of the Sumida River, one of the city's five main waterways is the Tokyo Skytree, the tallest
21:58freestanding tower in the world.
21:59Wow! What a building!
22:02An imposing 634 metres high, the Broadcast and Observation Tower is almost twice the height of its 1950s predecessor, the
22:12Tokyo Tower.
22:13It opened in 2012, just a year after the massive Tohoku earthquake, and has become one of the city's most
22:21distinctive landmarks.
22:26The viewing deck is 450 metres up.
22:32Oh, slightly giddy-ing feel as the ground races away from us, and looking up through the glass ceiling, we're
22:40whizzing through the structure of this extraordinary building.
22:59What an amazing view.
23:02I'm at over 1,000 feet here. If I lean over the streets of Tokyo, I can maximise the sense
23:09of vertigo.
23:11It is the endless metropolis. There are skyscrapers as far as I can see and beyond.
23:19I can, of course, pick out the rivers and the port over there. And what an amazing thought that in
23:26the last century, this city was devastated by an earthquake and has had to be rebuilt, earthquake-proof.
23:42In the tower's lofty ground floor atrium, I meet one of the team behind this impressive structure.
23:48Design engineer, Norio Nakanishi.
23:51Nakanishi-san.
23:52Hello.
23:53Nice to meet you.
23:54Nice to meet you.
23:55This engineering is spectacular.
23:58Now, people in Tokyo live with the possibility of earthquakes. How does that affect their psyche, do you think?
24:06As citizens living in Japan, we always try not to forget to prepare for earthquakes.
24:11Preparing evacuation equipment at home, securing furniture, and also conducting daily evacuation drills
24:18at work and school.
24:20How does the community of architects in Tokyo approach this issue of having to prepare buildings
24:28that are earthquake-proof?
24:31Continuing to build so many high-rise buildings in Tokyo is a very high technical challenge.
24:37The site, the design of the building, the amount of money that can be spent are taken into consideration.
24:43Let's talk about this magnificent building.
24:45How did you approach the issue of earthquake security?
24:49The Skytree has a unique system created to safely design a building over 600 meters tall
24:55on such a small site.
24:57A new concrete pillar was installed in the center of the building.
25:01It was built separately from the surrounding frame, to move independently, thereby reducing shaking.
25:08The tower's Shimbashara system is named after the central pillar of a traditional Japanese pagoda.
25:15It connects its white steel frame via shock-absorbing dampers to the 375-meter-high concrete core, reducing earthquake vibrations
25:26by up to 50 percent.
25:31The five-story pagoda, a traditional Japanese wooden structure, has never been destroyed by an earthquake in its history.
25:43The name was chosen to pay tribute to the great history of traditional Japanese architecture.
25:49We utilized the latest modern technology to create a system to control the shaking,
25:54with the staircase located in the center acting as a weight.
25:58You were part of this amazing project. You must feel so proud.
26:02Absolutely, yes.
26:07It's a unique and wonderful building project.
26:10From my heart, I congratulate you.
26:13Thank you very much.
26:23Down at the base of the tower, I take a peek behind the scenes.
26:29This is extraordinary.
26:34I'm now under the concrete pillar, eight meters in diameter.
26:42And I find that it rests on six rubber pads.
26:50This is the seismic isolation system.
26:54So in the event of a quake, the rubber absorbs a lot of the energy.
27:00And this technology just leaves me breathless.
27:18This vast metropolitan area has numerous urban centers,
27:25places like Asakusa, Ginza and Tokyo Station,
27:28that have been linked together by a cat's cradle of railway lines denoted on the map with every color of
27:35the rainbow.
27:36And as those historic places became interchanges, their economic development received an enormous boost.
27:43Today, they are attractive destinations, magnetizing the visitor,
27:48who has the sensation not of having arrived in a great city, but in many.
27:56Next time, the robot is literally sizing me up.
28:01Now this is the alarming moment.
28:03The hand is advancing.
28:05The culture goes back a hundred years.
28:08You just get to experience recorded music greater than you've ever heard it before.
28:12It sounds absolutely superb.
28:15Everything has to be perfect before it sets out.
28:18Look at this floor.
28:19I could comb my hair in the reflection.
28:24Spotless.
28:49Spotless.
28:50Spotless.
28:51Spotless.
28:52Spotless.
28:53Spotless.
28:54Spotless.
28:54Mello. Henry. Woo.
28:54How many minutes? How many
28:56minutes? What? zwiluppität
28:56Hemp.
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