The new James May travel series, James May: Our Man in Italy, just came up on Amazon Prime. We like to have one show on our active “watch” list as a break from all the “murder and mayhem” shows we usually watch. We decided to go back and watch the first season from 2021, James May: Our Man in Japan.
In each episode, he is in a different part of Japan. He takes you to see some things that are “off the beaten path.” You experience unique local cultural experiences like “yukigassen” which is competitive snowball fighting. May shares a lot of experiences where he really connects with the people. It is a great reminder that what we share and have in common is much stronger than our differences.
I spent a lot of time in Japan while I worked for Texas Instruments. This brought back lots of great memories. There is a scene where he shares a meal in a small local place. He shares it with a group pf people he doesn’t know. I remember several meals like this. These meals were especially good when we were toasting with Asahi “Super Dry”. It is my favorite larger. It is very dry and very crisp. The locals use the word “karakuchi” to describe it.
Here is the trailer for James May: Our Man in Japan. The “official” one was shared by Amazon Prime UK and we couldn’t embed and play that one here.
We have watched the first couple of episodes so far. It is fun. May visits some interesting places and does connect with people despite the language limitations. His humor can lean to the “raw” side at times, so you should be prepared if that type of thing bothers you.
Definitely on our recommended watch list.