Hit the Road

2023•15m

Documentary

One of the most appealing features of Japan's national road network is the various Michinoeki, literally way stations, that provide a place for motorists to rest, dine and shop. They offer information on the locality and restaurants with regional specialties, and often sell local crafts and delicacies for travelers to take home. A stop at one or more of these spots helps to make any road trip in Japan unforgettable.

Open in PickFlick

Production

NHK, NHK Enterprises, TV Man Union

Language

Status

Returning Series

First Aired

May 31, 2023

Last Aired

August 3, 2025

Networks

NHK WORLD-JAPAN

Where to Watch

Region US · Lang EN

No providers available for this region.

Seasons & Episodes

Select a season to view episodes. Reddit links may contain spoilers.

Season

HIROSHIMA

Air date: 2023-05-31

Let's see Japan by car! We'll be driving through Hiroshima Prefecture, with our goal being the famed Itsukushima Shrine. Along the way, we'll make a few stops off the beaten path that will amaze you!

KAGOSHIMA

Air date: 2023-07-19

Take a drive in Kagoshima Prefecture! After circling the ever-erupting Sakurajima, we head to the southern tip for a sand bath utilizing geothermal energy, where you'll feel the vitality of the earth!

FUKUSHIMA

Air date: 2023-09-20

Take a drive in Fukushima Prefecture! 12 years since the disaster, see its rejuvenated community and daily life. Visit the rest stop emblematic of this resilience and sense the locals' unyielding spirit.

SAITAMA

Air date: 2023-11-22

Let's take a drive in Saitama Prefecture and discover its natural beauty and hidden gems. From Omiya, we head to Chichibu to see its famed SL train. En route, we savor local dishes and try washi paper crafting.

Similar TV Shows

The Mind of a Chef

8.5

2012

TV Show

Go inside the minds of some of the world's top chefs. Narrated by Executive Producer Anthony Bourdain, The Mind of a Chef is that rare and beautiful thing: an intelligent show about cooking.

The Mind of a Chef

2012

8.5

The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury

8.0

2020

TV Show

Julia Bradbury explores the hidden side of the dazzling, sun-drenched Greek Islands. In this series she uncovers the hidden side of well-known islands like Corfu, Crete and Santorini as well as uncovering some lesser-known island gems.

The Greek Islands with Julia Bradbury

2020

8.0

Algérie secrète

10.0

2020

TV Show

No overview available.

Algérie secrète

2020

10.0

Stratusphere

2008

TV Show

Seven-time WWE world champion Trish Stratus is going to the mat for a globe-trotting adventure. She travels to some of the world's most exotic locations -- Indonesia, Thailand, New Zealand and Fiji among them -- to explore the history and culture of the cities she visits, and to take part in some daring physical challenges.

Stratusphere

2008

Joanna Lumley's Trans-Siberian Adventure

5.5

2015

TV Show

The cameras follow Joanna Lumley as she travels from East to West on a Trans-Siberian adventure. She starts in Hong Kong and crosses 5777 miles of both Asia and Europe, through seven time zones, taking in an immense panorama of vistas and cultures, people and places, before her final arrival in Moscow.

Joanna Lumley's Trans-Siberian Adventure

2015

5.5

Flying to the Ends of the Earth

10.0

2015

TV Show

Some of the planet’s most extraordinary and spectacular experiences are only accessible by air. In this epic new series, pilot and former Royal Marine Arthur Williams will fly us into some of the remotest parts of our planet to find out how people survive and thrive in places only the plane can reach. Arthur was paralysed in an accident seven years ago, but took up flying to rediscover his spirit of adventure. Now he’s going to brave tiny airstrips and outrageously dangerous flying conditions, all to reach the world’s most spectacular remote places.

Flying to the Ends of the Earth

2015

10.0

Travel Guides

2015

TV Show

A travel series that sends five ordinary British households to review some of the world’s most popular holiday destinations.

Travel Guides

2015

Floating Palaces

1996

TV Show

Queen Mary, Normandie, Mauretania: These great ocean liners of the Atlantic were the largest and most opulent passenger ships ever built. It was as if the finest hotels and most magnificent estates of the Western World had been put to sea. Tour their elite staterooms and swimming pools, and the below-deck immigrant quarters. Hear the real stories of the people who built and boarded them. Visit their renowned ports of call. Follow the great ships as they are drafted into combat, and witness the haunting tragedies that led the Lusitania, Titanic, and Andrea Doria to their doom.

Floating Palaces

1996

Secrets of China

2015

TV Show

Billie JD Porter finds out what it’s really like to grow up in China, the country with the highest population on the planet.

Secrets of China

2015

Stephen Fry in Central America

7.7

2015

TV Show

The author, actor and comedian embarks on a journey through the entire Central American isthmus to the Panamanian border with South America, beginning in Mexico.

Stephen Fry in Central America

2015

7.7

Raymond Blanc: The Very Hungry Frenchman

2012

TV Show

Raymond Blanc is Britain's most famous French chef, yet he has never cooked professionally in France. Forty years after leaving, Raymond is going back to show us the country he loves so much and the French recipes that have inspired him. In each episode he takes over a restaurant for one night only and cooks a feast inspired by that region's food.

Raymond Blanc: The Very Hungry Frenchman

2012

Anton & Giovanni's Adventures in Spain

2024

TV Show

Strictly stars and best friends Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice are livin’ la vida loca as they head to Spain on an epic adventure across Anton’s motherland.

Anton & Giovanni's Adventures in Spain

2024