History of Japan

An exciting tale of action on the distant northern island of Hokkaido around the beginning of the 20th Century starring two of the biggest names in Yakuza film history, Fuji Junko and Takakura Ken. Since the death of death of her father, Yuki who has traveled from her home in the southernmost part of Japan must fight corrupt local officials seeking to fill her late father's post.

We travel south from Sapporo on the Hakodate Line, one of Japan's earliest rail lines, to visit a museum that preserves railroad history and a distillery known around the globe for its whisky. Rail fans will not want to miss a rare experience at one of its remote stations. At Oshamambe, customers enjoy crab bento while savoring the joy of travel, without boarding a train. Leisurely journey through an area where new winds will blow when the Shinkansen starts operations in the future.

Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom Of Trees is a documentary featuring scientist and acclaimed author Diana Beresford-Kroeger. The film follows Diana as she investigates our profound biological and spiritual connection to forests. Her global journey explores the science, folklore, and restoration challenges of this essential eco-system. Beresford-Kroeger explores the most beautiful forests in the Northern Hemisphere from the sacred sugi and cedar forests of Japan to the great boreal forest of Canada.

For everyone who believes that fact is stranger than fiction there can be nothing in the world more fascinating than the search for the truth behind the most extraordinary mysteries and myths of the Twentieth Century.

Michael revisits his TV travels and fans reflect on his achievement.

A lavishly-produced historical drama from China, A Battle of Wits tells the complex story of a lone warrior whose mission is to save a besieged walled city from the savage attack of a 25,000 strong army. Late in the 3rd century, when China comprised seven rival kingdoms, Ge-Li – an remarkable savior in rags – stands alone in an endangered city waiting to fulfill his destiny. It is an impossible battle however you look at it. But here is a lone man willing to climb every mountain and cross every river just to get to the city of Liang with only one aim: to deliver Liang from the overwhelming threat of the Kingdom of Zhao in her battle against the Kingdom of Yan. Ge Li is the last Mohist in the Warring States period of China. Facing him in the field are thousands of swift chariots ad many thousands more mail-clad soldiers. His battle will be the loneliest battle in the history of war. No battle has ever been this unmatched in strength. Would this one man alone be able to change the destiny of Liang? On the surface, this is a battle for which bloodshed would be inevitable. But in reality it is also a battle of wits. A struggle between power and desire: between a ruler and those being ruled. A message of anti-war through war itself…

The first air attack of te Second World War officially commenced at 04.34 hours on September 1st 1939, when three Luftwaffe Ju-87 Stukes attacked railway bridges in Poland. The air war effectively ended at 10.58am on August 9th 1945, when a solitary B-29 Superfortress over the Japanese city of Nagasaki dropped the second atomic bomb. The Stukas carried 250kg bombs: the a-bomb dropped by the B-29 was equivalent to 23,000 tons of TNT.

The first air attack of te Second World War officially commenced at 04.34 hours on September 1st 1939, when three Luftwaffe Ju-87 Stukes attacked railway bridges in Poland. The air war effectively ended at 10.58am on August 9th 1945, when a solitary B-29 Superfortress over the Japanese city of Nagasaki dropped the second atomic bomb. The Stukas carried 250kg bombs: the a-bomb dropped by the B-29 was equivalent to 23,000 tons of TNT.