1
00:00:04,079 --> 00:00:08,039
Japan. Michael, welcome to Japan, a
railway paradise.

2
00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:13,000
Its huge population spread over long
islands lived by its railways. It's like

3
00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:13,979
I'm driving.

4
00:00:13,980 --> 00:00:19,400
My new adventure takes me through the
land that launched the high -speed

5
00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:21,000
I love Shinkansen.

6
00:00:21,300 --> 00:00:25,680
Where millions of journeys are made each
day through some of the most bustling

7
00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:26,800
stations on Earth.

8
00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:28,360
Busy city.

9
00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,820
I'll ride Japan's vast railway network.

10
00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:34,500
To uncover a land of bold innovation.

11
00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:37,180
Haven't quite got the hang of it yet.

12
00:00:37,580 --> 00:00:44,400
A place of enduring tradition, volatile
geology and remarkable people. Join

13
00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:49,420
me on an excursion like no other. I'm
too excited to sit down.

14
00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:10,720
My excursion continues on Kyushu, the
most southerly and westerly of Japan's

15
00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:11,720
main islands.

16
00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:17,940
Japan is one of the world's greatest
manufacturing economies, and yet it

17
00:01:17,940 --> 00:01:22,960
out entirely on the industrial
revolution that transformed the West

18
00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:25,420
mid -18th and mid -19th centuries.

19
00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:32,220
I will travel on Kyushu Island's newest
Shinkansen railway to the port of

20
00:01:32,220 --> 00:01:33,220
Nagasaki.

21
00:01:33,550 --> 00:01:39,830
one of two cities destroyed by an atom
bomb, to hear how a Scottish trader, one

22
00:01:39,830 --> 00:01:44,610
of the foreigners excluded by Japan,
played an important role in its

23
00:01:44,610 --> 00:01:47,690
industrialization and political change.

24
00:01:48,810 --> 00:01:54,330
Visiting Japan opens my European eyes to
a distant country with a wholly

25
00:01:54,330 --> 00:01:56,390
different culture and view of life.

26
00:01:56,730 --> 00:02:01,570
In planning my journey across Kyushu
Island, I had a choice of over 20 rail

27
00:02:01,570 --> 00:02:03,910
lines. and more than 500 stations.

28
00:02:04,350 --> 00:02:09,030
Having begun in Kagoshima in the south,
I'm travelling along the west of the

29
00:02:09,030 --> 00:02:13,790
island, whose history has been shaped by
being closest to foreign influences.

30
00:02:14,250 --> 00:02:18,890
Later I'll reach the largest island,
Honshu, and arrive in Hiroshima.

31
00:02:28,620 --> 00:02:32,620
This morning I begin with a nine -mile
hop on a local commuter train.

32
00:02:37,260 --> 00:02:43,000
Safety depends on procedures that are
rigorously followed. In Japan, a train

33
00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:48,740
driver acknowledges his every thought
and action with a point of the finger.

34
00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:54,520
That emphasizes that he is constantly
following procedure to the letter.

35
00:03:16,750 --> 00:03:21,890
From the station at Chikugo, I make my
way a few miles east to the agricultural

36
00:03:21,890 --> 00:03:23,230
city of Yame.

37
00:03:27,970 --> 00:03:33,230
In the mountainous southern Fukuoka
region on the Yabe River, with a

38
00:03:33,230 --> 00:03:39,610
of 38 ,000, it's famous across Japan for
its production of tea, one of the

39
00:03:39,610 --> 00:03:40,890
nation's favourite drinks.

40
00:03:43,730 --> 00:03:49,730
In Britain, We invest tea with
extraordinary recuperative properties.

41
00:03:50,030 --> 00:03:55,390
After any slight misfortune, a friend
will recommend that we have a nice cuppa

42
00:03:55,390 --> 00:03:59,750
to make us feel better. But it's served
entirely without ceremony.

43
00:04:00,350 --> 00:04:07,190
In Japan, tea occupies entirely a
different position. It has evolved over

44
00:04:07,190 --> 00:04:11,270
centuries from being the exclusive
preserve of the privileged.

45
00:04:11,510 --> 00:04:13,490
It is held in respect.

46
00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:18,040
and its serving is accompanied by a
complex ritual.

47
00:04:18,820 --> 00:04:21,820
I approach the subject with due
deference.

48
00:04:25,020 --> 00:04:27,420
I'm in the tea capital of Kyushu.

49
00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:32,120
There are about 15 ,000 growers in the
Yame area.

50
00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:37,140
This tea factory, run by the Oishi
family, opened in 1940.

51
00:04:37,980 --> 00:04:41,580
Pierrick Groselin, who's French, is the
sales director.

52
00:04:43,229 --> 00:04:44,229
Hello, Pierrick.

53
00:04:44,550 --> 00:04:45,550
Oh, hello.

54
00:04:46,210 --> 00:04:48,130
What a pleasure to see you. Welcome in
Yamé.

55
00:04:48,390 --> 00:04:52,390
So you're picking the leaves today? Yes,
you're right at the time of the new

56
00:04:52,390 --> 00:04:55,110
harvest. Would you mind helping a little
bit, removing this?

57
00:04:55,590 --> 00:04:56,810
What, a roller's pack?

58
00:04:57,110 --> 00:05:00,650
Rolling it away, slowly, delicately.

59
00:05:01,610 --> 00:05:07,970
You have been shedding them for two
weeks, making the leaves greener,

60
00:05:07,970 --> 00:05:08,970
a superior quality.

61
00:05:09,350 --> 00:05:11,810
The leaves under here look absolutely
superb.

62
00:05:13,610 --> 00:05:15,330
Which leaves make the best tea?

63
00:05:15,670 --> 00:05:22,330
It would be just the very top bud and
the two following leaves, taken like

64
00:05:22,530 --> 00:05:24,810
making the best tea of all kind.

65
00:05:25,430 --> 00:05:28,250
We associate tea with both China and
Japan.

66
00:05:28,610 --> 00:05:30,350
When did it arrive in Japan?

67
00:05:30,730 --> 00:05:35,870
The very first seed arrived like 800
years ago through the island of Kyushu,

68
00:05:35,890 --> 00:05:40,190
through the port of Hirado, which is a
little bit north of Nagasaki, and then

69
00:05:40,190 --> 00:05:41,270
after, traveled up.

70
00:05:41,710 --> 00:05:43,230
to the emperor in Kyoto.

71
00:05:43,490 --> 00:05:46,850
Did the Japanese make tea in the same
way as the Chinese?

72
00:05:47,470 --> 00:05:52,950
It would be slightly different, since
instead of firing it, we are steaming

73
00:05:53,070 --> 00:05:57,950
keeping the tea green, and that's why
Japanese green tea is famous worldwide.

74
00:05:58,710 --> 00:06:00,690
What happens at a tea ceremony?

75
00:06:01,110 --> 00:06:04,810
Usually, this is a gathering of guests
with a tea master.

76
00:06:05,110 --> 00:06:07,210
It's a combination of tradition.

77
00:06:08,110 --> 00:06:13,470
and like spirituality in order to enjoy
tea in a relaxing atmosphere.

78
00:06:13,990 --> 00:06:18,250
What is it about the climate here that
makes it so good for tea growing?

79
00:06:18,570 --> 00:06:21,690
Making good tea is about having a good
soil.

80
00:06:22,050 --> 00:06:28,410
We had like a very active volcano called
Asosan just nearby here, making the

81
00:06:28,410 --> 00:06:29,229
soil rich.

82
00:06:29,230 --> 00:06:35,850
In the mountain area of Yame, you have
also like a natural mist, fog covering

83
00:06:35,850 --> 00:06:36,870
every morning.

84
00:06:37,420 --> 00:06:44,280
making it a natural shading, making the
tea leaves greener, softer, more

85
00:06:44,280 --> 00:06:45,280
delicious.

86
00:06:45,500 --> 00:06:50,360
I've heard of different sorts of green
tea. For which one is Yame famous?

87
00:06:50,740 --> 00:06:55,400
The most renowned, the best green tea in
all Japan.

88
00:06:55,900 --> 00:06:58,880
Traditional, authentic Yame Gyokuro,
harvested.

89
00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:05,260
By hand, which is the GI, geographical
indication register, in the same list

90
00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:06,760
for example, the beef from Kobe.

91
00:07:06,980 --> 00:07:07,980
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

92
00:07:08,280 --> 00:07:11,940
And so that is a premium tea. That would
be very expensive.

93
00:07:12,220 --> 00:07:13,980
How much would you pay for that?

94
00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:19,320
It could be priced between, like, 400
and 500 pounds a kilo.

95
00:07:20,260 --> 00:07:22,880
Ooh, that is very, very special indeed.

96
00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:24,840
A good Bordeaux would be cheaper.

97
00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:27,780
A good Bordeaux or a bottle of
champagne, too?

98
00:07:34,480 --> 00:07:39,960
The award -winning factory blends green
tea from its own fields and from other

99
00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:40,960
local farms.

100
00:07:41,620 --> 00:07:47,260
Loose leaf and powdered varieties are
processed, including Sencha and Matcha.

101
00:07:47,780 --> 00:07:53,760
Thierry, we're surrounded by this
magnificent aroma of green tea.

102
00:07:54,020 --> 00:07:55,920
We have a lot of machinery here.

103
00:07:56,220 --> 00:07:58,480
What goes on? What is the process?

104
00:07:58,980 --> 00:08:02,560
So, the main purpose of this factory
will be about...

105
00:08:02,910 --> 00:08:09,050
to refine the tea, meaning sorting the
different type of tea and also drying

106
00:08:09,190 --> 00:08:14,570
decreasing the level of moisture or
increasing the level of umami flavor in

107
00:08:15,230 --> 00:08:20,170
Umami. Interesting word. It's coming
from Japan, but they use it all around

108
00:08:20,170 --> 00:08:21,109
world now.

109
00:08:21,110 --> 00:08:23,930
It's pretty noisy in here, but what do
we start with?

110
00:08:24,170 --> 00:08:25,170
The big blender.

111
00:08:25,990 --> 00:08:27,730
Blending for 20 minutes.

112
00:08:29,190 --> 00:08:34,559
Sorting. The big leaves from the small
leaves. Small leaves go on a different

113
00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:36,900
line. And what happens there?

114
00:08:37,220 --> 00:08:39,900
So here would be about color sorting.

115
00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:43,840
You have the green leaves, but also the
white stem.

116
00:08:44,179 --> 00:08:50,220
So this machine, using air pressure, for
removing the white stem from the green

117
00:08:50,220 --> 00:08:52,240
leaves. Can you use the stems?

118
00:08:52,580 --> 00:08:56,900
Definitely, yeah. It would be a
different tea called cookie chop, the

119
00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:01,260
After, going to these two machines,
which would be the dryers.

120
00:09:02,020 --> 00:09:06,260
Then moving to this one, which would be
air sorting.

121
00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:14,180
Removing the very small leaves, small
particles, mainly used in the tea bags

122
00:09:14,180 --> 00:09:15,800
sold in the supermarket, for example.

123
00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,740
So you do every kind of tea here,
really? From the best to the most basic?

124
00:09:21,180 --> 00:09:22,180
Exactly.

125
00:09:24,650 --> 00:09:30,690
Japan's green tea industry is worth over
£3 billion, with around 70 ,000 tonnes

126
00:09:30,690 --> 00:09:32,590
consumed here each year.

127
00:09:33,090 --> 00:09:38,070
It's said to contain a host of health
benefits, and sales across the world

128
00:09:38,070 --> 00:09:40,490
increased dramatically over the last
decade.

129
00:09:41,030 --> 00:09:46,430
In the factory tea room, I'm invited to
taste the company's matcha, Japanese for

130
00:09:46,430 --> 00:09:51,710
powdered tea, with the owner's son,
Executive Director Kenichi Oishi.

131
00:09:52,390 --> 00:09:53,390
Oishi -san.

132
00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:54,999
Hello, I'm Michael.

133
00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:56,660
Thank you. What a pleasure.

134
00:09:57,800 --> 00:09:58,800
Thank you.

135
00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:01,600
This is your family's business, isn't
it?

136
00:10:01,900 --> 00:10:03,320
Yes. How many generations?

137
00:10:03,740 --> 00:10:05,440
Fourth generation.

138
00:10:06,140 --> 00:10:07,220
You're the fourth generation.

139
00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:14,420
Pierrick prepares our tea, mixing the
bright green matcha powder with boiling

140
00:10:14,420 --> 00:10:20,280
water, using a traditional bamboo whisk
known as a chasen to create a foam.

141
00:10:20,860 --> 00:10:21,960
Moving naturally.

142
00:10:22,910 --> 00:10:24,350
From the left to the right.

143
00:10:26,370 --> 00:10:29,450
And then gathering from the side to the
middle.

144
00:10:29,930 --> 00:10:31,050
And here it is.

145
00:10:31,510 --> 00:10:32,510
Yamemachi.

146
00:10:43,490 --> 00:10:48,030
That is a splendid tea. It's full of
deliciousness and fragrance.

147
00:10:48,770 --> 00:10:51,310
Wonderful tea. Thank you very much.

148
00:11:04,460 --> 00:11:11,020
Around 35 miles west, at the hot springs
resort of Takeo Onsen, I'm bound for

149
00:11:11,020 --> 00:11:16,460
the port city of Nagasaki on Japan's
superfast Shinkansen bullet train.

150
00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:24,840
As a rail explorer in Japan, you can
record your route by collecting eki, or

151
00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,500
station stamps, each with a unique
design.

152
00:11:27,980 --> 00:11:31,460
They were introduced in the 1930s to
encourage travel.

153
00:11:32,010 --> 00:11:33,730
and you can build up a great souvenir.

154
00:11:44,610 --> 00:11:50,410
Kyushu Island is extraordinarily well
served by Japanese railways. Here's a

155
00:11:50,410 --> 00:11:51,410
of the network.

156
00:11:51,770 --> 00:11:53,350
Every sort of train.

157
00:11:53,850 --> 00:11:58,210
Shinkansen, diesel, electric, standard
gauge and narrow gauge.

158
00:11:58,550 --> 00:12:01,270
And the train spotter is well catered
for.

159
00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,060
you can look out for all these different
models.

160
00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:10,040
I just saw the luxurious tourist train,
the 36 plus 3, and here is the Komome.

161
00:12:10,820 --> 00:12:15,040
It means seagull, and it's one of the
newest variants of the Shinkansen.

162
00:12:26,420 --> 00:12:30,960
I'm on Kyushu's latest Shinkansen line,
opened in 2022.

163
00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:36,780
and its trains travel at an impressive
260 kilometres per hour.

164
00:12:38,460 --> 00:12:44,420
The Komomo trains are fresh and modern.
There's much better signage than before.

165
00:12:44,660 --> 00:12:48,440
There's more legroom. We have these
beautiful woods.

166
00:12:49,560 --> 00:12:54,140
People say there's no need for first
class, because even in economy, you're

167
00:12:54,140 --> 00:12:55,180
getting the top experience.

168
00:13:22,780 --> 00:13:24,380
How magnificent!

169
00:13:24,900 --> 00:13:31,240
This new station is a wonderful gateway
to the Bay of Nagasaki, city of history

170
00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:32,500
and of legend.

171
00:13:35,820 --> 00:13:42,220
On Kyushu's west coast, Nagasaki lies on
a deep, narrow harbour at the mouth of

172
00:13:42,220 --> 00:13:45,140
the Urukami River, surrounded by steep
hills.

173
00:13:46,020 --> 00:13:50,420
During the Second World War, on August
9, 1945,

174
00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:54,940
it was devastated when the United States
dropped an atomic bomb.

175
00:13:55,340 --> 00:14:00,500
Up to 70 ,000 people lost their lives
and around a third of its buildings were

176
00:14:00,500 --> 00:14:01,500
destroyed.

177
00:14:02,560 --> 00:14:05,140
Over the following decade, it was
rebuilt.

178
00:14:05,790 --> 00:14:10,150
and today the thriving port city has
over 400 ,000 residents.

179
00:14:15,730 --> 00:14:21,370
To appreciate the topography, I board a
cable car from just west of the city

180
00:14:21,370 --> 00:14:26,090
centre to rise more than a thousand feet
to the top of Mount Inasa.

181
00:14:32,890 --> 00:14:39,420
Nagasaki is to me surprisingly glamorous
for a major port and an industrial hub.

182
00:14:39,940 --> 00:14:45,220
The same beautiful mountains rising
deeply from the water's edge that

183
00:14:45,220 --> 00:14:48,440
the inlet make it a picture postcard.

184
00:14:50,840 --> 00:14:51,840
Arigatou.

185
00:15:00,500 --> 00:15:04,280
Portuguese merchants came here in the
mid -16th century.

186
00:15:04,830 --> 00:15:10,470
They established it as a trading port in
1571, and the city grew around it.

187
00:15:12,970 --> 00:15:17,690
Because of the mountains soaring above
the high -rise buildings, I find it just

188
00:15:17,690 --> 00:15:23,310
about possible to think what Nagasaki
was like centuries ago, maybe when the

189
00:15:23,310 --> 00:15:25,090
Portuguese first arrived.

190
00:15:25,810 --> 00:15:28,350
You can see how attractive they would
have found it.

191
00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:39,180
Almost 300 years later, in 1859, Thomas
Blake Glover, an enterprising young Scot

192
00:15:39,180 --> 00:15:41,140
from Aberdeen, disembarked here.

193
00:15:42,100 --> 00:15:46,640
Then, in his early 20s, he would become
one of Japan's most famous foreigners.

194
00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:51,040
Across the bay, his former house is now
a popular museum.

195
00:15:51,700 --> 00:15:56,780
I'll explore his remarkable story and
the trading history of this city with

196
00:15:56,780 --> 00:15:59,620
author and historian Brian Burke
Gaffney.

197
00:16:02,489 --> 00:16:06,010
Brian, I am thrilled to be in Nagasaki.
I'm just stunned by its topography.

198
00:16:06,410 --> 00:16:09,330
It's the first time for me here, but it
strikes me as one of the world's great

199
00:16:09,330 --> 00:16:13,870
ports. It really is one of the most
beautiful, and it's deep in the middle,

200
00:16:13,890 --> 00:16:18,050
surrounded by mountains, and so
protected on all sides. So right from

201
00:16:18,050 --> 00:16:23,410
Portuguese period, Nagasaki has been
chosen as an ideal port of call by

202
00:16:23,410 --> 00:16:27,080
ships. While I've been in Japan, I've
learned that it was closed to the

203
00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,760
world for two and a half centuries, with
a bit of an exception at Nagasaki.

204
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:32,000
What was the exception?

205
00:16:32,260 --> 00:16:37,320
Well, the shogunate took a very harsh
attitude towards Christianity, and the

206
00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:39,600
Portuguese were dismissed from Japan.

207
00:16:39,860 --> 00:16:41,880
But they wanted to continue the trade.

208
00:16:42,460 --> 00:16:43,520
under their control.

209
00:16:43,780 --> 00:16:47,800
And so they allowed the Chinese and the
Dutch, who were Protestant rather than

210
00:16:47,800 --> 00:16:51,700
Catholic, to continue a modicum of trade
for more than two centuries.

211
00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:56,400
Nagasaki was literally the only
officially open port in Japan.

212
00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:02,600
When Japan eventually bowed to pressure
from Western countries and opened up to

213
00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:06,940
foreign trade in the mid -19th century,
Nagasaki flourished further.

214
00:17:07,900 --> 00:17:11,200
At 23, Thomas Glover set up his first
business here.

215
00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,480
He went on to play a key role in the
country's industrial revolution.

216
00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:22,380
In 1863, he built this villa on the
city's Minami Yamate hillside

217
00:17:22,380 --> 00:17:24,000
overlooking the harbour.

218
00:17:25,069 --> 00:17:28,470
Well, Thomas Glover certainly knew how
to pick a view, didn't he? What a

219
00:17:28,470 --> 00:17:30,070
splendid house. Lovely, isn't it?

220
00:17:30,350 --> 00:17:31,289
It's superb.

221
00:17:31,290 --> 00:17:36,610
What would have attracted this young,
very young Abedonian to come to

222
00:17:37,050 --> 00:17:42,910
I think he saw in Nagasaki great
opportunities and also the relationships

223
00:17:42,910 --> 00:17:46,350
he established here with Japanese
samurai at the time convinced him that

224
00:17:46,350 --> 00:17:48,290
Nagasaki was the place to be.

225
00:17:48,530 --> 00:17:53,110
These young samurai went on to be the
leaders of Japanese politics and

226
00:17:53,110 --> 00:17:56,800
industry. Now, how did he pull that off?
How did he develop these relationships

227
00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:57,759
with the samurai?

228
00:17:57,760 --> 00:17:58,780
He spoke Japanese.

229
00:17:59,020 --> 00:18:04,900
And so it's obvious that he took
interest towards Japanese culture and

230
00:18:04,900 --> 00:18:11,120
just his Scottish charm. He was more
successful than many other of the

231
00:18:11,120 --> 00:18:14,300
and American merchants who were coming
to Nagasaki.

232
00:18:14,780 --> 00:18:16,460
What businesses did he get into?

233
00:18:16,900 --> 00:18:21,800
Thomas Glover started, like other
merchants, importing fabrics from India

234
00:18:21,800 --> 00:18:26,320
from China and exporting Japanese
agricultural products, etc. But

235
00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:32,900
saw the potential for coal mining, so he
developed the Takashima coal mine,

236
00:18:32,980 --> 00:18:37,980
which in fact you can almost see from
his house here. Then he built a ship

237
00:18:37,980 --> 00:18:40,120
repair dock close to Nagasaki.

238
00:18:40,340 --> 00:18:45,810
He used engines and boilers to bring
ships. up on a slip dock. So this was

239
00:18:45,810 --> 00:18:48,270
really the beginning of the modern
shipbuilding industry.

240
00:18:48,510 --> 00:18:51,930
And the list just goes on and on. Please
tell me that he had a connection with

241
00:18:51,930 --> 00:18:56,970
the railways. He did have a connection
with the railways. In 1865, Thomas

242
00:18:56,970 --> 00:19:03,090
brought a miniature locomotive to
Nagasaki and did a demonstration and ran

243
00:19:03,090 --> 00:19:06,470
along the waterfront. And this would
have been the first time for Japanese

244
00:19:06,470 --> 00:19:11,890
people to understand the huge
possibilities of steam locomotion.

245
00:19:13,260 --> 00:19:18,200
In 1908, Glover was the first foreigner
to be awarded Japan's highest civilian

246
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:23,920
honour, the Order of the Rising Sun, for
his contribution to the country's

247
00:19:23,920 --> 00:19:29,860
industrialisation. He died three years
later, aged 73, and was buried here in

248
00:19:29,860 --> 00:19:30,860
Nagasaki.

249
00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:36,320
Quite close to where Thomas Glover had
established a ship repair facility,

250
00:19:36,860 --> 00:19:40,660
Mitsubishi established an enormous
shipbuilding yard.

251
00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:46,960
Glasgow had once been shipbuilder to the
world. The title passed eventually to

252
00:19:46,960 --> 00:19:50,680
Japan with a little help from an
Aberdonian.

253
00:19:54,460 --> 00:20:00,280
Amongst Thomas Glover's significant
legacies was the Takashima coal mine,

254
00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:02,580
intriguingly is accessed by boat.

255
00:20:03,160 --> 00:20:09,140
I'm travelling 11 miles south to the
extraordinary island of Hashima in the

256
00:20:09,140 --> 00:20:10,140
China Sea.

257
00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:34,820
Being on this boat enables me to
appreciate the vastness of the inlet at

258
00:20:34,820 --> 00:20:41,620
Nagasaki, its shipyards, its ship
repair, its industries, its urban

259
00:20:41,620 --> 00:20:46,420
thrall, a massive city facing the
outside world.

260
00:20:48,860 --> 00:20:53,980
My trip promises a glimpse into the
early days of this country's economic

261
00:20:53,980 --> 00:20:54,980
success.

262
00:20:56,330 --> 00:21:01,790
Japan has produced some coal for
centuries, but its industrialisation

263
00:21:01,790 --> 00:21:05,790
high -grade product that could be
extracted in vast quantities.

264
00:21:06,150 --> 00:21:11,650
And it was found under the sea bed and
could be accessed with some difficulty

265
00:21:11,650 --> 00:21:18,470
from the offshore islands of Takashima,
where Glover invested, and Hashima,

266
00:21:18,590 --> 00:21:20,390
to which I'm bound now.

267
00:21:23,450 --> 00:21:24,770
The island...

268
00:21:25,110 --> 00:21:31,130
that covers just 16 acres, was abandoned
in 1974 when its coal reserves ran out.

269
00:21:31,630 --> 00:21:36,890
It's been preserved as a part of Japan's
industrial heritage, an intriguing

270
00:21:36,890 --> 00:21:38,050
sight for visitors.

271
00:21:39,130 --> 00:21:43,890
My first impression of Hashima is that
it's a rather forbidding place.

272
00:21:44,630 --> 00:21:50,550
Amongst all this natural beauty, the
incongruous high -rise buildings

273
00:21:50,550 --> 00:21:53,270
that humanity was crammed together here.

274
00:21:53,850 --> 00:21:56,150
to meet the needs of Japanese
manufacturing.

275
00:21:58,390 --> 00:21:59,390
Thank you.

276
00:22:03,250 --> 00:22:09,110
In 1890, Hashima was bought by the
Japanese Mitsubishi Commercial Company.

277
00:22:10,150 --> 00:22:15,730
Founded as a shipping company, it soon
diversified into mining to provide coal

278
00:22:15,730 --> 00:22:18,550
for its fleet of steamships and for
steel production.

279
00:22:19,430 --> 00:22:23,260
Initially, Japanese miners settled on
the island with their families.

280
00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:30,840
From 1910 to 1945, forced labour was
brought from Korea, which was

281
00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:31,940
occupied by Japan.

282
00:22:33,100 --> 00:22:38,740
Hashima is one of a number of sites
connected to Japan's industrialisation

283
00:22:38,740 --> 00:22:42,000
has been granted by UNESCO World
Heritage Status.

284
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:44,500
This has caused controversy.

285
00:22:45,420 --> 00:22:50,580
because the Republic of Korea is not
satisfied with Japan's explanation of

286
00:22:50,580 --> 00:22:55,460
use of enforced labour in horrendous
conditions in the mine.

287
00:22:56,120 --> 00:23:01,020
The first half of the 20th century casts
a very long shadow.

288
00:23:01,980 --> 00:23:07,260
The mine reached its peak during the
post -war period. In the late 1950s,

289
00:23:07,260 --> 00:23:11,060
isolated mining community had grown to
over 5 ,000 people.

290
00:23:11,730 --> 00:23:15,750
Minoru Kinoshita was born on the island
and now worked as a guide.

291
00:23:16,090 --> 00:23:18,950
This is one of the most extraordinary
places I've ever been.

292
00:23:19,630 --> 00:23:21,270
Describe to me what this was.

293
00:23:51,710 --> 00:23:56,410
Having gone down 606 meters, you then go
out under the seabed. Is that right?

294
00:24:11,460 --> 00:24:14,160
What sort of coal is under there?

295
00:24:28,250 --> 00:24:29,930
This coal is used to make iron.

296
00:24:34,950 --> 00:24:40,370
The temperature

297
00:24:40,370 --> 00:24:46,870
is over 35 degrees Celsius and the
humidity is

298
00:24:46,870 --> 00:24:53,050
95%. So I worked in a sauna for 8

299
00:24:53,050 --> 00:24:54,050
hours.

300
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:03,040
Across 84 years, this mine produced more
than 16 million tonnes of coal from

301
00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:04,040
under the sea.

302
00:25:04,540 --> 00:25:10,400
Slag was used to reclaim land, making
space for apartment blocks, a school, a

303
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,520
hospital and even a cinema.

304
00:25:13,140 --> 00:25:16,500
High sea walls were built to protect the
island's coastline.

305
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:23,000
Minoru lived with his parents and sister
here until he was 12, and I'm surprised

306
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,320
that he has fond memories of his
childhood.

307
00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,780
What an astonishing place. What a huge
ruin.

308
00:25:41,060 --> 00:25:44,180
Why were you born here? Why were you
living here?

309
00:26:14,630 --> 00:26:21,030
Your dad didn't like his job, but you
seem quite happy about your childhood

310
00:26:21,030 --> 00:26:22,030
memories.

311
00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:42,300
You have been a wonderful guide. Thank
you.

312
00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:04,820
On this part of my journey, I've seen
contrast between the sparsely populated

313
00:27:04,820 --> 00:27:10,460
countryside, where tea grows in
picturesque plantations, and the

314
00:27:10,460 --> 00:27:14,860
of people and manpower required to
produce high -volume coal.

315
00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:21,480
It's striking that Japan, that
industrialised so late, is still a

316
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:24,180
power in contrast to Britain.

317
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:28,480
Japan brings precision to everything
that it does.

318
00:27:29,130 --> 00:27:31,630
including the making of a cup of tea.

319
00:27:31,910 --> 00:27:36,750
And perhaps for that reason, it is still
a fabricator to the world.

320
00:27:37,510 --> 00:27:40,990
Next time, with cobalt in it, will it
always be blue?

321
00:27:41,590 --> 00:27:42,590
Yes.

322
00:27:42,950 --> 00:27:46,490
We have 300 kinds of blue.

323
00:27:49,210 --> 00:27:52,050
Changing the entire country is tough.

324
00:27:52,870 --> 00:27:56,150
But as mayor, you can change a city.

325
00:27:58,740 --> 00:28:01,440
This answer is delightful.

326
00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:05,260
You sense that you will emerge a new
man.