← Cycle Around Japan · Season 9

Okayama - Sunshine and Smiles

S9 · E8 · 13 Aug 2022 · 49 min

Okayama Prefecture, known as the Land of Sunshine, is a fertile farming region. At the coastal town of Kurashiki, we meet high school students revolutionizing its famous denim, then ride to Kojima Bay to use an old-style scoop net to fish for our dinner. Deep in the countryside we find a traditional rakugo storyteller, and discover how local volunteers have restored a millennium-old terraced hillside with over 1,000 rice paddies. And finally, in an old post town we meet an artisan making inkstones for calligraphy.