Shimonoseki to Hiroshima

Michael leaves Kyushu by foot tunnel under the Kanmon straits to arrive on the main island of Honshu at the harbour town of Shimonoseki. Here, he encounters the deadly delicacy of pufferfish. Containing a neurotoxin with no known antidote, only highly trained chefs can prepare the fish. Will Michael give it a try?

Travelling eastwards along the Honshu coast, Michael visits Hitachi’s Kasado Works, where the iconic Shinkansen high-speed trains are manufactured. Michael is thrilled to get inside the factory and see these amazing machines up close.

To end this leg, Michael arrives by Shinkansen into Hiroshima, the city devastated by the atomic bomb dropped by US forces on 6th August 1945. Michael crosses the city to visit the Peace Memorial Park, where he meets Keiko Ogura, a bomb survivor who was just eight years old on that fateful day.