Japan Railway Journal

Japan Railway Journal is a TV program from NHK World TV documenting rail transport in Japan that started broadcasting on March 8, 2015.

Overview
The program showcases the charm and the cutting-edge technology of rail transport in Japan. New episodes are broadcast 1 to 2 times a month.

At first, many of the talking sections were filmed in a bar with a train diorama, "Bar Ginza Panorama" in Shinjuku. Now, filming these sections on-location at the featured rail facilities is more common.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NHK World has been showing Japan Railway Journal repeats in lieu of new episodes. The combination of studio presentation and on-site reporting makes it difficult for video production.

Broadcast times

 * First broadcast: Fridays 0:30 - 1:00 JST on NHK World TV
 * Rebroadcasts:
 * NHK World TV (JST): Fridays 6:30 - 7:00 ; 12:30 - 13:00; 18:30 - 19:00
 * BS1 (JST): Wednesdays 3:00 - 3:30 (From 2016 - broadcasts may be cancelled due to sports programs)
 * Broadcasts outside Japan will come 5 days after Japan at the earliest, but on weeks with no new programs, older ones will be rebroadcast.

Actors

 * Presenter: Miki Clark (2024-)
 * Presenter: Cathy Cat (2021-)
 * Commentators: Takagi Ryo, Ph.D. (Professor at Kogakuin University) and various female tarento who like railways (see "Guest" column of the episode list)

Previous actors
 * Presenter: Nathan Berry (2018-2020)
 * Presenter: Russell Totten (until 2017)
 * Assistant: Sarah MacDonald (in 2017)

Main topics

 * Special Rail Report
 * Section which features that week's main topic.


 * Railway Topics
 * Short segment which features the latest themes in railways.


 * Hands-on Railway History
 * Russell Totten visits railway museums in Japan and presents railway history.


 * Avid Rail Communities
 * Russell Totten and a female guest showcase a community related to railways in Japan.

Episode list
YouTube Playlist of all publicly available episodes (This is not NHK official playlist. Please read playlist comment.)