About this season
Stories about people, stories about life. Intimate portraits of people from around Japan, each leading diverse lives while enriching lives of others.
Episodes (12)
1. Aiming for Glory: Japan's Senior Esports Team
Aired 5 January 2026 • 25 min
In northern Japan, a senior esports team with an average age of 69 is aiming high. Pushed relentlessly by their coach, more than 30 years their junior, they dream of competing in a world championship.
2. The Island of Boze Deities
Aired 27 January 2026 • 26 min
Despite earthquakes and isolation, the people of Akusekijima Island work to uphold local traditions, including the mysterious Boze deities. A new generation is helping to keep those traditions alive.
3. Tradition and Innovation: Tochigi's Sake Masters
Aired 2 February 2026 • 26 min
An energetic mix of brewers strives to enliven the sake scene in Tochigi Prefecture, a place not well known for its breweries. With pride and innovation, they bring new life to an ancient tradition.
4. Hope at Your Fingertips
Aired 16 February 2026 • 26 min
Cancer treatments can leave a patient's fingernails weak and dark, adding to their anxiety. So a doctor opened a nail salon to help clients improve both their appearance and their outlook on life.
5. A Doctor Duo: Songs to Comfort the Heart
Aired 23 February 2026 • 26 min
Two doctors in western Japan have an alter ego as the music duo Insheart, whose songs bring hope to patients and families. We follow them and the fans who find strength and comfort in their music.
6. A Ten-Year-Old Takes the Reins
Aired 2 March 2026 • 26 min
In Ehime Prefecture, children on horseback take part in a 600-year-old tradition. With fewer participants each year, one strict trainer sees promise in a young rider spurred on by his love of horses.
7. A Morning Market in Early Winter
Aired 24 March 2026 • 25 min
For the past century, Saga Prefecture's Yobuko morning market has been one of Japan's leading destinations for fresh seafood. We cover recent changes, as old shops close and new ones take their place.
8. Breaking Barriers by Farming
Aired 6 April 2026 • 25 min
Mako and Fahmi, an international couple living in a small Japanese town. Their farm is a gathering place for people of diverse backgrounds, including foreign residents and people with disabilities.
9. Soul-Searching in a Mikan Orchard
Aired 13 April 2026 • 25 min
In winter, seasonal workers arrive at mandarin orange groves for the two-month harvest. While living in communal lodgings, they share their views of the world, and plot new paths in life.
10. Moments of Happiness: Living with Younger-Onset Dementia
Aired 27 April 2026 • 29 min
We follow people with younger-onset dementia in their daily lives, their work as public speakers, and the support they receive from those around them as they seek life's fleeting moments of happiness.
11. Preserving a Midwinter Tradition
Aired 4 May 2026 • 25 min
Every winter, a group of performers in Kikonai, Hokkaido drench themselves in freezing water in hopes of inviting a bountiful harvest and catch. We follow efforts to preserve this timeless ritual.
12. A Musical Rivalry Between Two School Bands
Aired 26 May 2026 • 25 min
In a rural town in Hokkaido, wind ensembles from neighboring junior high schools have a longstanding rivalry. As they face off in a big national competition, which one will take home the prize?