Seasoning the Seasons

1. Izumo - Abode of the Gods

Izumo is an abode of gods, home to many of the deities that appear in Japan's...

2. Udon Noodles - A Wheat Delicacy

Udon noodles are loved in Japan as an easy, tasty, everyday dish. In Japan, f...

3. Ekiben - A Box of Flavor and Feeling

When going on a trip, packing a lunch box to take was the standard. In 1885, ...

4. Echizen - Taste of Winter

Located 100km north of Kyoto, the region of Echizen faces the Sea of Japan. L...

5. Chichibu - Home of the Mountain Gods and Festivals

In the west of Saitama Prefecture, nestled among 2,000 meter tall mountains, ...

6. Modern Architecture: Giving Form to Dreams

When the Meiji era started, Japan advanced forward to build itself into a mod...

7. Winter in Tohoku

In Tohoku, the winter is long and harsh. People cannot avoid the cold weather...

8. Spring in Tohoku

Cherry Blossoms... People wait eagerly for their blossoms, love the famous sc...

9. Kyoto: The Enigmatic Entertainers of Gion

In Higashiyama, Kyoto, Gion evolved as the district in front of the Yasaka Sh...

10. Hozenji: The Sentimental Alley of Osaka

Hozenji lies just behind Dotonbori, Osaka's bustling downtown area with its d...

11. Hakodate: The Storied History of a Port Town

Travelers to Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido often first arrive in Ha...

12. Kirishima: A Town Thriving on Volcanic Mountains

Kirishima, a group of 20 mountains in the south of Kyushu. It is a volcanic a...

13. Sado Island: Into the Mystic Dreams

The stage for this episode of Seasons of Seasons is the largest remote island...

14. Oze: A Mountain Marshland

Ozegahara, at an altitude of 1400m, is the largest and highest wetland on Jap...

15. Ayu: Treasures of the River

When summer arrives, there is a fish that causes the hearts of fishermen to r...

16. The Islands of Nagasaki

The nation of Japan is made up of many islands, numbering some 6800 in total....

17. Karuizawa: A Fleeting Summer

Karuizawa, which sits at an altitude of 1,000 meters, was developed as a summ...

18. Strolling the Paths of Onomichi

Onomichi is a town of hills and pathways, situated along a 200meter wide stra...

19. Shinsekai, Osaka: A Town Guarded by a Tower

This is the story of "Tsutenkaku", the symbolic tower of Osaka, and the town ...

20. Kujukuri: The Endless Beach

Just over an hour away from Tokyo the beautiful beach of Kujukuri stretches s...

21. Nagasaki: Hills and Exotic Atmosphere

Nagasaki, on Japan's southern island of Kyushu. Interactions with foreign nat...

22. Japanese Yokai: Ghosts, Goblins or Ghouls?

The Japanese have been living in a world inhabited by "Yokai", paranormal bei...

23. Kawagoe: Keeping Urbane Traditions Alive

The town of Kawagoe, which lies just 30km northwest of central Tokyo, is stil...

24. Travelogue of Mackerel Road

Mackerel Road connects Wakasa, which overlooks the Sea of Japan, and Kyoto. W...

25. On a Moonlit Night...

The Japanese have admired the moon, which waxes and wanes over 30 days, and b...

26. Japan's Historic Tramways

Trams still run in numerous Japanese cities and are very popular with the pub...

27. Aso: Life in the Caldera

Aso is a vast caldera - the largest in Japan. There, people live together wit...

28. Crossing the Amagi Pass

Izu Peninsula is located approximately 100km to the southwest of Tokyo. Divid...

29. Kamo River: The Waterway that Created Kyoto

The Kamo River runs through one of Japan's most famous tourist destinations, ...

30. Beppu: Exploring the Exciting Hot Springs

Beppu is Japan's leading hot spring town, both in terms of volume of water fl...

31. The Tottori Sand Dunes, Unity with Nature

This is the Tottori Sand Dunes, a landscape of sand 16km long, built up over ...

32. A Journey to Holy Places

For all sorts of occasions, Japanese people bow their heads and pray to natur...