User reviews

Despite some occasional indulgences (banter with the crew, sometimes unnecessary), it's a great travelogue. James May brings to it his trademark humour and the odd highbrow reference; his enthusiasm shines through and he's generally a genial, entertaining host. Sometimes I wish he unleashed his geekiness totally unchecked, which doesn't happen here -- however it remains a brilliant show, informative and entertaining, with many laugh-out-loud moments.

The show is good overall, but it's let down by half-heartedly squatting between two schools of thought aboht what it wants to be and it suffers greatly for it. I want to watch James May spend hours excitedly explaining intricate processes in detail, admiring the delicate craftmanship of woodworking and the technical complexities of engineering; there is a bit of that, but far too often in this series this is cut short - seemingly on the (spurious) assumption that people would rather see James May being forced to perform ridiculous antics and laugh at him he complains about it. Please, drop this for the next series; it's not smart, it's not funny, and it's a waste of James May's talent as a presenter. We get enough bullying of him on The Grand Tour - let him explore things he's passionate about and share them with us. Too much focus on these antics has left the show felt rushed overall - it could have done with another few episodes and much longer segments of the interesting bits.

Mellow and sensible little show. Yujiro was simply great!

Unlike many documentaries and YouTube videos filmed in japan, James really showed how japan is like in a respectful way. Funny, entertaining and I learnt a lot more about japan than just the touristic places. Watch it!

Amazon have done an amazing job by filming a documentary on one of the most places countries on earth. The documentary contained all the best and weird parts of Japan along with breathtaking scenery. Ofcourse James May's crisp presentation makes it more watchable. I have watched alot of James May documentaries over the years and Our Man In Japan is the 2nd best on my list (cars of the people being the obvious winner). I wish Amazon makes this into an anthological series with May travelling to other beautiful countries. Surely this is a binge watching documentary. Fantastic job James May & Amazon. Cant wait to see what else you have in store (pun intended).

Joined up just to say how much I enjoyed this series! James and Yujrio have amazing on camera chemistry that is so fun to watch! They really feed well off one another- they're crazy if they don't collaborate to make another season.

Such a fun new mini series by the one and only James May. Very informative as well just with a lot of James May souse which I love.

Amazon really struck gold by getting Jeremy, Richard ( who will also have their own shows ) and James on board. They are the only reason I subscribed.

Most people already know that James May is great with documentary style shows, so most wouldn't need to worry for a new juncture with Amazon to create a show about traveling Japan. 'Our Man in Japan' builds on James' usual style of informative show but everything is tweaked by the fact it is on Amazon, having the extra resources and crew makes this show pretty much perfect.

This six part travelogue follows presenter James May as he travels from snow covered Hokkaido, the most northerly island in Japan to Kyushu, the most southerly of the main island group. On the way he visits numerous sights; some familiar, some more obscure. In each episode he explores the local culture. This varies from the more high-brow traditional aspects of Japan, such as sword making, beautiful gardens and calligraphy; surprising things like competitive snowball fighting, go carting through the streets of Osaka and a 'penis festival' near Tokyo; to things like a cat-maid café that he found too pervy to enter! There are also views of amazing scenery in areas that rarely feature in programmes about Japan.

I found this to be a really interesting series. James May is a fun presenter who clearly had an interest in Japan. While some of the stranger elements of the country are mentioned it never felt as the series was dwelling overly on such items... unlike some past shows about Japan that revel in the bizarre. Each episode is broken down into many sections so we get a broad view on numerous things rather than going into great depth so we get a taste rather than a real insight into each topic. Occasionally I wished certain topics could have been looked at in greater depth but for the most part I liked the format. For three of the episodes James was joined by Yujiro Taniyama; a man who is far from the stereotype of the very reserved Japanese. He provides many local insights into his culture without being afraid to laugh at it at times... at first I thought he was a bit over-the-top but soon thought he was a great addition... perhaps Amazon will commission a series where James acts as a guide to Yujiro as he travels through Britain; I know I'd watch it! While I've seen a few series about Japan this managed to show areas I don't think I've seen before; including some amazing scenery in the southern islands... as James remarked anywhere else tourists and the wealthy would flock there but here they were suffering from depopulation. Overall I'd definitely recommend this series to anybody fascinated by Japan. I hope Amazon find another fascinating country to send James to.

(Flash Review)

It makes sense that between Clarkson and Hammond that James May would be the one to explore Japan from a cultural perspective. Over six episodes and across each island, May explores several cultural activities from artistic to food & drink to Japanese heritage to local manufacturing to picturesque nature to the bizarre. The spectrum goes from simple and cheap restaurants to luxury train rides. His dry wit and quirky charm is entertaining for the duration and he really exposes the viewer to a wide array of what Japan has to offer. A solid combo of information and amusement.

Producers and directors are looking too much for 'funny' awkward situations to put James in. Interesting places like the rocket factory and particle collider have only 5-10 minutes of screen time. Italy is known for for its rich history, food, art, exotic cars and science. But no, James has to visit someone who likes to dress up like a Hobbit...

The episodes (especially episode 3) are FILLED with a lot of activities that have 10 -15 minutes of screen time. This makes it a bit dull and without any memorable events. We have already seen that a healthy balance between funny situations and serious activities can be achieved, with the previous season in Japan!

Love James May in Top Gear, Grand Tour and Our man in Japan but the Italian series just didn't hit the spot. It's badly produced, badly written and no real context.

Could and can do better.

A comfortable and entertaining show to watch on a slow day

Thank you James May: you have showed me things about my own country I had no idea about. I think this series is quite insightful, entertaining and treats the subject matter in a sympathetic way, acknowledging its beauty and its many contradictions.

My only criticism is that it's too short. Most of the topics explored would have deserved a much longer screen time. One wonders if half of the footage remained on the cutting floor. I have quite often this impression with May's programs: they are haunted by a little inner voice wondering "I am not boring you, right?". You would like to reassure them: no, you're not boring. Show us that sequence of woodwork or cheese making, unleash the geekiness!

Having seen James May in the Amazon Prime Original series The Grand Tour, and remembering his cheery but often quiet disposition there, I was surprised at his outspokenness in James May: Our Man in Japan, the second series I've watched of his. As host, he is astute, often self deprecating, and incredibly witty both in his interactions with others and in voice over. Sometimes it takes me a moment to get his innuendo humor. I laughed out loud several times.

I enjoyed the recurring jokes in this documentary series as well as the outtakes and the way the documentary was woven together from the very north of Japan to the very south, but admittedly some of James May's raunchiness did start to wear me down by the end. But luckily his type of humor was a good match with his Japanese guides Yujiro and Maki as well as the show's production crew, so I happily watched most of the series. James May really butchers the Japanese language, especially in the beginning, but he is so good humored and comfortable in his skin and with others that really this program is a master class on how to be a "stupid foreigner" as May says, have a good time, handle complicated spur of the moment situations and come out on top, as well as displaying proper respect to other cultures. As noted, there are let down moments, but for the most part May is to be commended for doing his best in tricky and often impossible circumstances, such as how to memorize eight different steps of how to shoot a bow and arrow for the first time while maintaining a zen attitude and also performing in front of a group of stony faced judges. Easy? I think not, but May appreciates the contradictions and turns a potentially frustrating moment into a humorous one. May did have to apologize "sumimasen" on dozens of occasions, but that's to be expected in the land of many strictures of polite formality, many of which western foreigners are known to find hard to navigate.

While I wish this documentary series could go more in depth, for those not familiar with Japan at all this is a good, current introduction to its customs, locales and people. For those who have some knowledge there is still things in this documentary you probably haven't heard of, like squid ink ice cream and the scare crow village of Nagoro. For others, there is probably more detailed documentaries available, but this is one I enjoyed very much and will be recommending whenever I can.

James May is doing a really good job outside the Grand Tour and it is equally enjoyable

Ever since the first season of Top Gear, I've been a fan of the humor and talent of James May. He holds the bar and turned this travel show into an authentic trip with Italian flair and English jokes. I watched all 6 episodes in a row in one day and never regretted it. The authors reveal the original features of Italy and serve them under the sauce of wit, accessibility and fun. In each part of the documentary series, I was able to learn something new about the birthplace of pizza, cool sports cars and exclusive cheese. Highly recommended - time won't be wasted!

Absolutely a great en fantastic show! It has the education but also the jokes that James always makes! I hope there will be an other season from the show!

Its what you expect from james and the type of humor. the show takes a nice balance between taking it serious and taking the piss. its very quick jumping from topic to topic, and with 6 episodes its a quick watch. If you like japan and james may, its for you. Dont expect too much information like its a documentary, its more of a themed road trip.

7/10: delivers what it promises

Typical James may series : James may never disappoints... Unlike a lot of documentaries that tends to be boring and bombards you With a lot of information, this is a soothing series with just enough mix of fun, beautiful shots and slightly useful information 😀

OK, I confess, I'm a James May fan. I find him intelligent, humorous and watchable. I can't imagine spending 6 hours with "the other two", but will gladly watch anything with his name on it.

But this second series is not without flaws.

Italy is over-exposed - beautiful and interesting, certainly, but too much of a staple of the travelogue to be entirely surprising. Japan is much more of a mystery to Western audiences, and the first series is better as a result.

The episodes where he has a guide are not as strong as the ones where he goes it alone, they are all good in the role (Paolo is a little annoying to be honest), but end up distracting from the main point of the show.

Yet the great frustration - which James alludes to time and time again - is that the production team insist on making him dress up in silly outfits and do silly things. James is uncomfortable and makes it very clear, and there is a seam of amateurishness in the crew which compromises too much of what they are doing (no filming permits, disagreements over whether footage will work, etc etc).

Amazon, have the guts to commission a series where James gets to do what he REALLY wants to do, and you will be rewarded with a much better bit of telly.

It's still good though.

First of all I'd like to say upfront that I am a Top Gear fan and I've watched all seasons etc. It looks like when he worked with the Top Gear or GT production team they have more control or censored his real character. The actual James May is boring as many have said, very disrespectful to local culture and pedantic. In fact he's so pedantic he can't enjoy himself no matter the location or activity and this gets transmitted to the viewer. His poor treatment of Yujiro and endless exaggerated criticism bears no excuse. Overall it was borderline endurable to watch. I'm sorry Mr. May but do you really think Japanese people need your seal of approval with regards to their culture and way of life?

This show was AMAZING. I enjoyed every single minute of it! It was funny, informative and beautifully made, the landscape shots were breathtaking.... i could go on with this list forever! However if you expect a Planet Earth style documentary you will be disappointed, because this format focuses on the question what Japan and the japanese culture are all about.

Normally travel shows to Italy shows rome and collaseam but James elevated the entire show ans showed true Italy and culture this is the best travelogue ever produced with comedy, emotion, culture must watch show.