James May: Our Man In…

Just off the toe of Italy's boot, James starts his adventure in the Sicilian capital, Palermo, where centuries of immigration have left their mark.

James visits the northern region of Tohoku, where he engages in a robot duel, bathes in a natural hot pool and goes to a music concert; James meets a pioneer who has returned to the deserted town of Namie before boarding a luxurious train to Tokyo.

James ends up in Italy's magnificent capital, seeing more than just Romans and ruins. He meets another version of himself and looks at something too small to see.

As James heads over to Tuscany,specifically to the small village of Monte San Savino, he tries his hand at the traditional ball game, Pallone col Bracciale, a renaissance sport comprised of a ball,a spiked wooden wristband, and an old crumbling wall.

Carrara marble is one of Italy's most recognisable exports, used for everything from posh kitchen worktops to Michelangelo's David. After learning how it's cut from the mountainside, James has a go at sculpting a very small part of his anatomy.

James begins the final leg of his journey on the island of Shikoku, where he cycles across a series of suspension bridges; James tries his hand at Zen archery, gets buried in hot sand and visits a deserted village filled with scarecrows.