Like many people, I too think the golden years of top gear were when Hammond, May and Clarkson were on it not what it is now. The Grand Tour is also a good but what about when the three presenters do their own stuff.
Today I have been binge watching James May’s Our man in Japan. The title speaks for itself but he isnt there for anything car related. Hes there to exchange cultures to show just how diverse and different Japanese society is.
He covers the snow capped mountains north of Hokkaido in the North Japan. The technical metropolis of Tokyo, Kyoto the heart of olden Japanese traditions. Osaka, Tokyo’s smaller sister city and others. At each city he gets a random tour guide who are all fairly bonkers in their own way. Yujiro being my favourite for talking on camera for washing your face using toilet water from the bidet option on Japan’s space age toilets. yes you read that right.
Throughout the six episode season, James undertakes various activities including watching one of the remaining sixty swordsmiths specialising in samurai swords. Taking part in the celebrations of the penis festival. Again yes you read that correctly. He undertakes snow dog sledding, preparing freshly caught octopus, dresses in approprate samurai armour from a descendant of the Soma clan and more!
Normally James’ shows on his own are more intellectual and filled with facts etc that some viewers may not find this entertaining. However on this I found the producers and cameramen dont allow him to go offcourse which in a similar fashion to his grand tour presenters creates a similar comedic theme that a mass of the population have come to love and enjoy.
One point in the series he uses a small robot called RoboHon as a travel guide which ended up as a funny segment especially as James cant spell his name right resulting in the robot refering to him as Bim for the segment.
Beyond these cool and crazy activites the cultures of Japanese food, drink, social life and traditions are shown to the viewer and for someone like me who is planning to visit Japan later this year I was hooked all the way through.
I am not so sure if there will be a season 2 to this and if there is whether hed be in Japan again. It feels more standalone. Either way its an enjoyable mini series for anyone who is a fan of May or Japanese culture. If I had one criticism it would be that I would like to have seen more on a few of the segments like the small Yatai in Hokaiddo. A yatai is a small market stand where your crammed in for food and beer with friends and other people seeking similar social activity.
I found the show entertaining and informative as I took away a few things about Japanese culture that I didnt know before which was good. It also left me with a few things I may have to add to my trip later this year.
James May’s Our man in Japan is available now on Amazon Prime. Enjoy. Sayonara.
Wh1te W0lf's Reviews 