Season 1

Peter Barakan is a broadcaster and a 45-year resident of Japan. In this series, he discovers how Japan is changing, starting with a look at the country's capital: Tokyo. From tucked-away shrines in upmarket Ginza to sec…

Almost immediately after the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, people in the Tohoku region started talking about encounters with ghosts. The region's culture and history may account for the reports. The area has expe…

In 2020, Tokyo expected to welcome people from all over the world for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Instead, the onset of COVID-19 took it down an unexpected path. Although activity is gradually resuming, the diseas…

The Ainu are the indigenous people of northern Japan. They were once subjected to cultural assimilation policies, and many of their traditions were lost. But now, young Ainu are spearheading a movement to restore their …

Japan's Jomon period was a time of peace that persisted for over 10,000 years. As the world moves towards implementing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, the sustainable practices of Jomon society are re…

Okinawa Prefecture is a group of subtropical islands in the south of Japan. It previously thrived as a separate country called the Ryukyu Kingdom, which maintained its independence for 450 years. It did this by acceptin…

When pirates operated in Japan's Seto Inland Sea around 500 years ago, the largest group, the Murakami Kaizoku, certainly did not fit the conventional image of pirates. They actually protected shipping rather than attac…

Tanaka Isson, an artist known as Japan's "Gauguin," moved to the subtropical island of Amami Oshima at the age of 50 after years of struggle. He then spent highly productive years there painting its striking flora and f…

In the 19th century, writer Lafcadio Hearn (Koizumi Yakumo) helped introduce Japan to the wider world. Peter Barakan visits Izumo to learn about the natural and unseen realms that Hearn treasured.

Pioneering ecologist Minakata Kumagusu explored the forests of Kumano. Join Peter Barakan as he follows Minakata's path and discovers a universe in nature.

Admired by John F. Kennedy, Uesugi Yozan transformed the fortunes of the struggling Yonezawa Domain. Peter Barakan visits Yonezawa, once called "an Asiatic Arcadia," to explore Yozan's legacy.

In 1843, after surviving a shipwreck, 16-year-old John Manjiro found himself in the US. He later played a key role in opening Japan's doors to the world. Peter Barakan visits Manjiro's hometown, Tosa.

Yoshida Shoin was an educator whose students played key roles in Japan's modernization. He died at 29, but his ideals still live on 160 years later. Peter Barakan visits Shoin's hometown of Hagi.

In Aizu, samurai teachings still run deep, and the defeat in the Boshin War further solidified that spirit. Peter Barakan explores this legacy, which also shaped bacteriologist Noguchi Hideyo's life.