Miyagi - Where the Samurai Spirit Lingers on

Miyagi Prefecture in northeast Japan still has the flavor of the samurai culture that flourished here 400 years ago. Its major city of Sendai grew famous because of Lord Date Masamune, a cultured ruler and patron of the arts. His legacy is a city of parks and woods, finely decorated temples, traditional martial artists and a thriving craft industry, with the beautiful islands of Matsushima nearby.

Sounds of Falling Water

The Japanese are famous for their love of nature, and a deep appreciation of an unusually wide range of natural sounds. The suikinkatsu, now enjoying a revival, is an old but little-known device that uses the sound of water to enhance a garden's atmosphere. Echoes from water splashing inside a buried jar emerge from a tiny hole at the surface to awaken and stimulate the senses.

Disability, Mother of Invention

An engineer and inventor who lost his hand in an accident is leading a low tech revolution in mechanical aids for the disabled. Genju Kato fully understands the problems caused by missing limbs, and his simple but effective, custom-fitted devices are providing highly popular with people whose needs are not met by high tech commercial aids.

Carrying Wishes into the Sky

On a winter night in a village in the snowy mountains of Akita, huge hand-painted paper hot air balloons rise into the sky. This festival grew out of a custom by the village children of writing wishes and sending them aloft by balloon. Today, visitors to the festival can write their wishes and watch them carried up and away by the fiery balloons.