Episode 1

Join naturalist Steve Backshall and double Olympic gold medallist Helen Glover on an exhilarating adventure travelling a thousand kilometres through Japan's northern highlands. Steve speaks Japanese, having trained in Japan for his black belt in judo. Together they discover ancient pilgrimage routes, a volcanic landscape and unique wildlife in Tohoku - a region of outstanding natural beauty seemingly left behind by time. In this episode they track macaques and serows in the wild, go snow shoe trekking to Japan's largest mud volcano and experience a centuries-old samurai hot spring bath.