Famed British actress Joanna Lumley does another one of her travelogues. She has created a niche of gentle journeys to foreign lands with a good amount of social commentary. In this one, she travels to the land of the rising sun, Japan. It's a short and sweet three episode series. The first episode has her start from the north. She visits a sake brewery, monkeys, the Fukushima exclusion zone, and an old man from a disappearing minority. The second episode has her visiting Tokyo and Kyoto. The last episode has her island-hopping south. Among her stops are a fertility Buddhist temple, a robot hotel, a school in Nagasaki, a radish farm in the shadow of an active volcano, Okinawa, and a singing group of elders.
The first episode's emotional highlight is the old man and his daughter. It's interesting to see sake being made. The second episode is a bit bland. Tokyo has been done to death and it's a little silly to see her overjoyed at shopping. Lots of this feels touristy. The girl group is a little creepy. It's like National Geographic going to and admiring a strip club. It's weird. Otherwise, it still has plenty of charming old school Japan. The third episode is fun, charming, and touching. The kids bowing to peace is poignant. I like Joanna going to out-of-the-way places and presenting different people. She does go too far at times pushing her social views. One does know what to expect from her.
