NHK Documentaries
Satoyama Cafe: Amakusa, Nagasaki and the Goto Islands
2017 • E43 Jun 24, 2017 50m
This program takes food connoisseurs to some of the beautiful places in southern Japan. Surrounded by lush mountains and deep-blue ocean, residents have lived in harmony with nature for centuries. Our guide is Alex Kerr, a scholar in Eastern culture who specializes in reviving traditional Japanese houses. He argues a period of constantly chasing what's new is over and that the passage of time is what truly creates and nurtures authenticity. During his trip, he comes across modern-style cafés that embody the lifestyle of "Satoyama", the traditional way of living side by side with nature. We travel through Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture to Nagasaki Prefecture's Goto Island, where Christians maintained their beliefs in secret for several hundred years when their religion was banned.