Joanna Lumley's Japan: Season 1, Episode 2

1 - 2: Episode 2

Joanna is in Tokyo and flies over the city spanning 5420 square miles, in a helicopter.

Tokyo was bombed extensively during the second world war, so almost all of Tokyo has been built in the last seventy years; a symbol of Japan's post war economic boom that saw it become the world's second largest economy.

In the evening, Joanna heads out to a nightclub to see Kamem Joshi, a Japanese girl band. She watches the energetic performance and sees that the largely male audience are performing almost as much as the girls on stage.

Joanna meets up with Minori, a fashion designer and internationally known artist. She wears ‘Shinori' make up, meaning her face is white, similar to Geisha.

Joanna leaves the bustling city and travels to the Kiso Valley to walk the Nakasendo Way, an ancient route that once linked Tokyo to Kyoto. Arriving in Kyoto at the peak of the city's cherry blossom season, Joanna takes a tour of the city's favourite Hanami spots by taxi.

Kyoto is also best known for that most famous of Japanese traditions, the Geisha. Joanna goes to Gion, Kyoto's entertainment district, where she meets a trainee Geisha, called Maiko Tomitsuyu. She happily chats to Joanna about her world and experiences.