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Home > Screenings > Autentic Distribution > World's Most Punctual Train - Japan's Shinkansen

Producer: Autentic, Wondertrunk for NDR

Genres: Documentary


2x45’

We visit a wasabi farmer, who initiates us into the secrets of the most demanding cultivated plant in the world. In a 400-year-old drum factory, we are there when one of the last giant taiko drums in the world is built. We also take a look behind the scenes of the record-breaking train: We sit in the cockpit with one of the youngest Shinkansen pilots in the country who lets us take a test drive with an almost perfect Shinkansen of the future. A voyage of discovery with the high-tech super train into the soul of Japanese craftsmanship.

In Part 1, we explore Japan's newest Shinkansen line. We meet a wasabi farmer, visit Japan's best woodcarvers and see how one of the world's last giant taiko drums is created. In between, Shinkansen engineers take us on a test ride of an almost perfect futuristic train. At the terminus of the Shinkansen, a young geisha lets us in on the latest secrets of world-class entertainers.

In Part 2, we explore the Sanyo Shinkansen routes that connect the two largest cities in the west of the country: Osaka and Fukuoka. We explore one of the most beautiful bike routes in the world and meet a young woman in Hiroshima who keeps the stories of the atomic bomb victims alive. We look out for the Dr. Yellow, a bright yellow route checker bullet train; legend has it that fate is kind to anyone who spots it.