Just posted my review for Best of Travel: Beautiful Japan. It seems there isn't a primary reviewer for the BoT line on this site. I also noticed that this very own site was quoted on the back cover.
My review is posted below in the spoiler (it is long!).
Since there was no professional review, I did a full write up that took me about three hours.
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Best-...7/#UserReviews
[Show spoiler]
A must see release that provides a look into the Japanese culture.
Movie: Best of Travel: Beautiful Japan is divided into two episodes with six chapters each, first of which is Tokyo, the latter being Kyoto. Rudy Maxa, contributing editor with National Geographic Traveler magazine, host for a multitude of PBS documentaries, and who even runs his own radio talk show, guides us on a journey to two amazingly beautiful and historic cities.
Episodes and chapters are as follows:
Tokyo
1) Commerce
2) Tokyo By Night
3) Fish Market
4) Spring
5) Exploring Tokyo
6) New & Old
Kyoto
1) Wabi-sabi
2) The Story
3) Crafted Goods
4) Nishiki Market
5) Spring
6) Temples & Shrines
The documentary starts us of by giving a background of the shopping districts and lifestyles in and around Tokyo. It briefly touches upon the numerous malls and even food department stores such as the Isetan, where fruits such as "the most perfect melon in the world" are sold for hundreds of dollars each. Tokyo By Night shows the Shinjuku district with it's vast neon signs and tiny hidden restaurants. Maxa highlights the pachinko parlors there.
Maxa next visits the Tsukiji fish market and sees his first blowfish, giving us a pointer that if we ever caught one in the wild, throw it back fast. He highlights how many billions of dollars runs through the market each year. Some tuna here sell for $10,000-$15,000 on average per fish! He briefly speaks about the auctions that run here and where the food ends up, usually in local bars with wait times up to two hours for the most fresh sushi.
Spring in Tokyo is when the first cherry blossom trees bloom and is Maxa's next topic. Here he talks about the Shinto shrines, wedding ceremonies, and hanami, the tradition of relaxing under the beautiful trees and enjoying the recently bloomed flowers. Exploring Tokyo shows a glimpse of the subways and then has Maxa exploring some small areas around Tokyo, such as Kagurazaka. Here he samples soba noodles, which are handmade, never machined, daily. He also experiences Japanese hospitality, where sake is poured overflowingly, just to show their generosity.
The last topic of Tokyo is titled New & Old. Maxa starts off mentioning the economy of Japan's past and present, as well as the corporate culture, where 90% of it is contrived of men. Traditional tea ceremonies as well as classic and modern hotels are touched upon as well. He then goes full swing into currently technology, including toilets that can be operated by remote, and briefly mentions anime and manga.
Maxa next visits Kyoto, about a two hour train ride from Tokyo. The entire topic of his visit is wabi-sabi, the Japanese view of finding beauty within. His first visit is to a zen garden in the Ryaon-ji temple, which focuses on harmony and relaxation. Maxa also interviews a textile artist who specializes in kimonos, , showing us the time and effort that can go into each one, and even the cost, charging $30,000 for each one!
In The Story, Maxa samples a kaiseki meal (a dish where the focal point is color, texture, and appearance) in Gion. He also provides a succinct backstory of geishas and meikos. The next chapter is very brief, titled Crafted Goods. Maxa inverviews an owner of an incense store and mentions how Kyoto is the center of craftsmanship in Japan, showing artisans at work making fans, umbrellas, and lamps. Nishiki Market is up next, highlighting the various teas, egg rolls, sushi, and color dishes that can be found there Maxa mentions that if it's edible, you'll find it there. This chapter also touches upon the topic of traditional tea ceremonies and ritualization.
Spring was one of my favorite chapters on this release. Maxa interviews a shakuhachi player and artisan. Also shown here are bamboo forests in Arashiyama and mentioned is the "philosophers walk", a 2km walk under gorgeous cherry blossom trees.
The final chapter, titled Temples & Shrines, shows amazing architecture around Kyoto, starting off with the Kiyomizu-dera temple and expanding upon the Higashiyama district. Maxa checks into Yoshida-sanso, a ryokan, or traditonal Japanese inn.
You may ask what kept me from giving this a perfect score. There are two things that I must bring up regarding the documentary. First and foremost is that the feature is very short, at only 50 minutes total. Maxa touches upon key areas of Tokyo and Kyoto but very rarely goes deeper. Secondly, the chapters order is entirely random and changes abruptly, going from Tokyo's nightlife and pachinko parlors to diving right into Tsukiji's fish market.
A side note as well: This very own website, Blu-ray.com, is quoted on the back cover of this release - "A beautiful visual experience", but not attributed to anyone specifically.
Video: The video transfer here is near flawless. Beautiful Japan was shot with HD cameras and encoded using MPEG-4 AVC. Right from the start, with cherry blossoms glowing a neon purple, I knew this release would be gorgeous. Colors are extremely vivid and vibrant, and saturation is never overused. One particular scene that stood out to me was the gorgeous geisha outfits in Kyoto: The Story, where the geisha's deep blue kimono and neon green accents contrasted the dull streets perfectly. Another standout was also in the same chapter, where I paused on Maxa's stunning kaiseki meal to appreciate the colorful selection of the various foods.
Audio: Don't let the 2.0 audio track fool you as it did to me. I was concerned that this would be a dull track and it is far from! Since this is a documentary, the center channel is primarly used. Maxa's voice is clear and powerful, but what impressed me the most was the use of traditional Japanese instruments including the koto, shakuhachi, and shamisen throughout most of the journey. The shamisen could also be heard battling between the left and right channels. Surrounds can also be mixed with DD PLxii and provide a good soundstage with the right setup.
Extras: There are no extras on the disc itself, only a DVD and digital copy are provided with the release. The popup menus are done very nicely as well as the intro. The score is based upon the bonus disc and presentation of the feature.
Overall: This particular Best of Travel release is a first for me into the Travel series, and I must admit it was a long awaited one. I've been fascinated with the Japanese culture and lifestyle since I was a teenager, leading me towards studying the language and history for the past ten years. Beautiful Japan is a fantastic release on Blu-ray, giving a brilliant HD picture, fairly good 2.0 audio track with exceptionally clear tone from Maxa as well as a background musical track that sucks you into the Japanese cultural mindset. For fans of the culture of Japanese, this is a must own release. For travel aficionados, this comes highly recommended.
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