NHK WORLD PRIME
Season 3 Episode 2 - Epic Challenge: A Race Across the Japanese Alps
The Trans Japan Alps Race is an intense run through the massive mountain ranges that cut across Japan's main island. This 415km ultramarathon, which starts at the Sea of Japan and ends at the Pacific Ocean, is known as the most grueling race in Japan. Competitors must traverse trails across 3 ranges with peaks exceeding 3,000 meters in height, all while carrying packs stuffed with food, clothes, and tents on their backs. In August, 30 runners who passed the stringent selection process competed in a fierce 8-day battle for the goal. Along the way they were plagued by severe weather, extreme fatigue, and even hallucinations. And they receive no awards or prize money for finishing. So what keeps them going? We followed these superhuman athletes who test their mental and physical limits as they competed for glory with the majestic Japan Alps beneath their feet.
Episodes in Season 3
A Doctor Beside the Deathbed
50 min
Epic Challenge: A Race Across the Japanese Alps
50 min
Reviving Kumamoto Castle
45 min
Class Struggle: Changes to China's Education System
49 min
A Vanished Dream: Wartime Story of My Japanese Grandfather
50 min
Vessel of Friendship: An Untold Story
49 min
Battling a Radiation Emergency: The Doctors at Fukushima Part 1
50 min
Battling a Radiation Emergency: The Doctors at Fukushima Part 2
49 min
Split-Screen Documentary: Nuclear Ghost Town - After 8 Years
43 min
A Journey through Genders
49 min
Bettering Tibet
50 min
I too was a Child of Camp.
49 min
Hope in the Dark
50 min
MATAGI - Worshipping Bears
50 min
Helping Hands - The Lives of Atomic Bomb Orphans
49 min
The United Red Army: A Troubled Legacy
50 min
The Lives of Japanese War Brides in America: Part 1
50 min
The Lives of Japanese War Brides in America: Part 2
50 min
1971 - Japanese Rugby Takes On England, And The World
49 min
Chinese Internet Celebrities: Influencing the Huge Online Market
Henoko: Living with an American Base
49 min
Digging the Untold History
50 min
No More Plastic: In Search of a Sustainable Future - Part 1: Clearing Plastic from the Ocean
50 min
No More Plastic: In Search of a Sustainable Future - Part 2: Frontlines of Global Business
50 min
