Main content

Great Japanese Railway JourneysSeries 1Episodes

  1. Today18:30
    BBC Two

    Kanazawa to Kurobe Gorge

    4/15Michael begins in the city of Kanazawa, where he goes behind the scenes of the Shinkansen.

  2. Tomorrow18:30
    BBC Two

    Japanese Alps: Nagano to Narai Juku

    5/15Michael ends the first leg of his Japan adventure heading to Nagano.

  3. Monday18:30
    BBC Two

    Kagoshima to Chiran

    6/15Michael is in Kagoshima, a city which sits in the shadow of Japan’s most active volcano.

  4. Tuesday18:30
    BBC Two

    Amakusa Islands to Shin Omuta

    7/15Michael Portillo takes the ferry to the Amakusa archipelago and meets a master swordsmith.

  5. Next Wednesday18:30
    BBC Two

    Yame to Nagasaki

    8/15Michael visits a Kyushu tea farm and the city of Nagasaki.

  6. Next Thursday18:30
    BBC Two

    Arita to Fukuoka

    9/15Michael arrives in the home of Japanese porcelain, Arita, with its ceramic Shinto shrine.

  7. Next Friday18:30
    BBC Two

    Shimonoseki to Hiroshima

    10/15Michael tries the deadly delicacy of pufferfish in the harbour town of Shimonoseki.

  8. Mon 27 Apr 202618:30
    BBC Two England & HD only

    Tokyo, Part 1

    11/15Michael arrives in Tokyo, one of the greatest cities on earth.

  9. Tue 28 Apr 202607:30
    BBC Two England & HD only

    Tokyo, Part 1

    11/15Michael arrives in Tokyo, one of the greatest cities on earth.(R)

  10. Tue 28 Apr 202618:30
    BBC Two England & HD only

    Tokyo, Part 2

    12/15Michael visits the busiest train station in the world by passenger numbers.

  11. Wed 29 Apr 202607:30
    BBC Two England & HD only

    Tokyo, Part 2

    12/15Michael visits the busiest train station in the world by passenger numbers.(R)

  12. Wed 29 Apr 202618:30
    BBC Two England & HD only

    Tokyo to Sendai

    13/15Michael heads north from Tokyo to Honshu’s Tohoku region, the rice granary of Japan.

  13. Thu 30 Apr 202607:30
    BBC Two England & HD only

    Tokyo to Sendai

    13/15Michael heads north from Tokyo to Honshu’s Tohoku region, the rice granary of Japan.(R)

  14. Thu 30 Apr 202618:30
    BBC Two England & HD only

    Sendai to Lake Toya

    14/15Michael’s bullet train takes him through the undersea Seikan tunnel to Hokkaido.

  15. Fri 1 May 202607:30
    BBC Two England & HD only

    Sendai to Lake Toya

    14/15Michael’s bullet train takes him through the undersea Seikan tunnel to Hokkaido.(R)

  16. Fri 1 May 202618:30
    BBC Two England & HD only

    Lake Shikotsu to Otaru

    15/15Michael explores the history of Hokkaido’s indigenous Ainu people.