Mapping Kyoto Streets - Season 3 / Year 2013
Season 3 / Year 2013
Episodes
Shirakawa-dori
Shirakawa-dori is a main thoroughfare in the very east of Kyoto city. Running north-south for five kilometers, it has been instrumental in nurturing the arts and culture since long before it was surfaced, half a century ago. Kyotoites create innovative culture through new collaborations, while continuing to follow in the footsteps of tradition. Along this street, we will see just how adept they have been at recreating themselves throughout history. Shirakawa-dori is an ideal place to view the beautiful fall foliage in the mountains of Kyoto.
Presenter
Hiroki Sato
Radio Personality, Alfa Station, Kyoto
Kawaramachi-dori
Kawaramachi-dori runs parallel to Kamo River from Aoi Bridge in the north for 7 km to Jujo-dori in the south. In this episode, we explore this main thoroughfare and two other parallel streets to the east - Kiyamachi-dori and Pontocho-dori. The zone around Sanjo-dori and Shijo-dori is Kyoto's busiest district. This wonderland has many attractions and surprises in its maze of lanes. A renovated machiya-style Kyoto townhouse houses a famous Chinese restaurant. A labyrinth-come-restaurant features ninja performances. Walk through a gate and find an esthetic salon behind the temple. This entertainment-oriented area is also home to skilled craftsmen who preserve Kyoto's traditions. We will also visit the renovated residence of a man instrumental to the Meiji Restoration, which ended the samurai era. Enjoy this trip along Kawaramachi-dori.
Yasaka-dori & Kiyomizu-zaka
In this episode, we map two streets. Yasaka-dori, which runs for 1.5 kilometers, begins at Yamato'oji-dori in the west, passes long the southern boundary of Kennin-ji, and crosses Higashioji-dori on through to Sannen-zaka in the east. Yasaka Pagoda has immense presence and towers over you as you cross Higashioji-dori. To reach Kiyomizu-dera we should continue on through Sannen-zaka - literally, Three-year Slope - but we take a slight detour to Ninen-zaka (Two-year Slope) and visit a location connected to artist, Yumeji Takehisa, an icon of Taisho-era culture. Kiyomizu-zaka is in actual fact called Matsubara-dori. The stretch ascending from Higashioji-dori is called Kiyomizu-zaka, because it is the approach to World Heritage Site Kiyomizu-dera, a tourist symbol of Kyoto. With more than 5 million visitors annually, the approach is always teeming and is lined with souvenir shops and restaurants serving Kyoto cuisine.
Imadegawa-dori
Imadegawa-dori runs east-west for about 7 kilometers. We start at the eastern end in an area referred to as students' town, where Kyoto University and several other of Kyoto's many universities are located. We visit facilities, where we can feel history, and shops along the street nearby, which have their own distinctive characters. Further to the west, we find a concentration of weavers in Nishijin, who gave birth to a dazzling textile culture. This area, which has many reminders of days gone by, is home to well-established businesses that keep traditional methods alive and craftsmen who are particular about producing authentic products. We map this street and looking at its diverse faces.
Presenter
Randall V. Channell (Soei)
Master of Tea
Recently Updated Shows
Black Mirror
Over the last ten years, technology has transformed almost every aspect of our lives before we've had time to stop and question it. In every home; on every desk; in every palm - a plasma screen; a monitor; a smartphone--a black mirror of our 21st Century existence. Black Mirror is a contemporary British re-working of The Twilight Zone with stories that tap into the collective unease about our modern world.
When Calls the Heart
When Calls the Heart is inspired by Janette Oke's bestselling book series about the Canadian West, the series tells the captivating story of Elizabeth Thatcher, a young teacher accustomed to her high society life, who receives her first classroom assignment in Coal Valley, a small coal mining town where life is simple, but often fraught with challenges. Upon arrival, Elizabeth befriends Abigail Stanton, a wife and mother whose husband, the foreman of the mine, along with a dozen other miners, has just been killed in an explosion. The newly widowed women find their faith is tested when they must go to work in the mines to keep a roof over their heads. Set against the wild canvas of a 19th century coal town, Elizabeth will have to learn the ways of the frontier if she wishes to thrive in the rural west on her own.
Wild Cards
Wild Cards follows the unlikely duo of a gruff, sardonic cop and a spirited, clever con woman. Ellis, a demoted detective, has unfortunately spent the last year on the maritime unit, while Max has been living a transient life elaborately scamming everyone she meets. But when Max gets arrested and ends up helping Ellis solve a local crime, the two are offered the opportunity to redeem themselves, with Ellis going back to detective and Max staying out of jail. The catch? They have to work together, with each using their unique skills to solve crimes. For Ellis, that means hard-boiled shoe leather police work; for Max, it means accents, schemes and generally befriending everyone in sight, while driving Ellis absolutely nuts. Against the backdrop of beautiful Vancouver — with all its unique, charming, and even contradictory neighbourhoods and subcultures — the two will have to learn what it means to trust another person and maybe actually become partners.
Hell's Kitchen
In Hell's Kitchen, aspiring chefs are put through an intense culinary academy to prove they possess the right combination of ingredients to win a life-changing grand prize.
