With Isabella Bird — Part 2: On the Road to Tsugawa
Episode 14 · 2023-06-06
- Documentary
Episode overview
British explorer and writer Isabella Bird arrived in Japan in 1878, a mere 10 years after the country opened its doors to the West. Accompanied by just one young man who served as both her interpreter and attendant, she traveled deep into the hinterland. Unbeaten Tracks in Japan is her highly praised travelogue of that journey. It is a valuable record written from the perspective of a devout Christian endowed with critical thinking, which smashed the fairytale image of Japan that had spread in Western countries. On this episode of Journeys in Japan, US writer Benjamin Boas traces Bird's footsteps, looking for vestiges of the Japan of 150 years ago. Starting from Kinugawa Onsen, he makes his way to the Aizu region and then to the town of Tsugawa, in Niigata Prefecture.
28 minutes
Season 14 episodes
1. Nagoya: Exploring with Insiders2023-01-03
2. Ozu: Castle Town Looking to the Future2023-01-17
3. Kyushu: On the Trail of Shoyu2023-01-31
4. Yasugi: Discoveries Along the Iron Road2023-02-07
5. Matsue: The World of Wagashi2023-02-14
6. Kochi: Into the Luminous Darkness2023-02-28
7. Winter Along the Mogami River2023-03-07
8. Live Long, Live Well in Northern Nagano2023-03-14
9. Akita, Yamagata, Niigata: The Textiles and Traditions of Winter2023-03-21
10. Sapporo: Ski Mountaineering Tradition2023-04-11
11. Rambling Around Secluded Yanbaru2023-04-25
12. Onomichi: Vistas, Cats and Steep Hillsides2023-05-02
13. Tobishima Kaido: Taking It Slow on Golden Isles2023-05-16
14. With Isabella Bird — Part 2: On the Road to Tsugawa2023-06-06
15. On the Sugar Road from Nagasaki to Saga2023-06-13
16. Nibutani the Ainu, Living with Kamuy2023-06-27
17. The Wild Life in One-of-a-Kind Amami2023-07-04
18. Amami Oshima: Beauty in the Rain2023-07-11
19. Owase: City of Abundant Rain2023-07-25
20. Discovering the Wonders of Iya Valley2023-08-15
21. Tsuruga Castle, Where the Past Meets the Present2023-09-19
22. Gujo-Hachiman: Dancing the Night Away2023-09-26
23. With Isabella Bird — Part 3: On the Road to Yamagata2023-10-31
24. Koyasan: In Pursuit of Enlightenment2023-11-07
25. From Ise to the Source of the Sacred River2023-11-14
26. The Soaring Dragons of Chichibu2023-11-28
27. Kyushu: On the Shoyu Trail: Nagasaki – Kumamoto – Miyazaki2023-12-05
28. Handa: Savoring a Canal City's Delights2023-12-12
29. Yakushima Awakenings2023-12-26
