Journeys in Japan
Season 9 Episode 2 - Yokkaichi: Bringing Back the Skies
On this journey, we visit Yokkaichi in northern Mie, central Japan. This industrial city, with a population of just over 300,000, is home to Japan's first petrochemical complex. It's known as the place where air pollution from sulfurous acid gas emissions caused respiratory diseases, called "Yokkaichi asthma," in the 1960s. Thanks to sweeping environmental protection measures, the environment has been vastly cleaned up, and the petrochemical complex has become a source of tourism-especially its nighttime factory cruises. The city is also famous for its ceramic ware, called Banko-yaki. Some local studios offer pottery-making workshops. Visitors can also take in the tea fields that flank the city's edge and enjoy high-quality beverage in a cafe run by a tea-farming family. Journalist Alice Gordenker travels to Yokkaichi, a city that has recovered from air pollution.
Episodes in Season 9
Traces of History: Exploring Around Hiroshima
28 min
Yokkaichi: Bringing Back the Skies
28 min
Tsubakuro-dake: New Year High Up in the Northern Alps
28 min
Oita: Rest and Recuperation, Onsen Style
28 min
Fukuoka: City of Food and Flavor
28 min
Takada: Community and Tradition in Snow Country
28 min
A Winter Wonderland of Ice: Eastern Hokkaido
28 min
Hachinohe: Warmth in Winter
28 min
Makabe: A Promise of Spring
28 min
Toyama: A Food Culture Rich in Umami
28 min
Following a Samurai Tea Master
28 min
Okumusashi: Spring Forest Feast
28 min
Agano River: Green Foliage and Spring Rituals
28 min
Ashikaga and Tochigi: Cultivating Nature and Tradition
28 min
Atami: The Spa Revival
28 min
Nikko: Contemplating Its Architectural Jewels
28 min
Tsugaru: Amateur Sumo, Indomitable Tradition
28 min
Tsuwano: Painted Past, Vividly Present
28 min
Remote Ojika Island: Portal to the Past
28 min
Misugi: Taking it Slow in the Mountains
28 min
Tobishima: Living Life on Island Time
28 min
Yuki & Oyama: Neighbors with Interwoven Tradition
28 min
Mt. Fuji: Climbing to the Sacred Realm
28 min
Kita-Akita: Deep Connections with Nature
28 min
Okushiri Island: Secret Gem Off Hokkaido
28 min
Totsukawa: A Spiritually Charged Place of Beauty
28 min
Iki: Island of Beauty and Promise
28 min
The Lost Pirates of the Seto Inland Sea
28 min
Kitayama Village: A Community with Unique Charms
28 min
Mt. Gozaisho: Going Extreme
28 min
Fukuoka: A City of Two Faces
28 min
Houki-cho: Preserving the Past for the Future
28 min
Kanazawa: A Legacy of Color
28 min
Iriomote Island: A Small Piece of Paradise
28 min
