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Island of the Spirits
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Program Overview
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In the far north of Japan, thrust out into the north Pacific, is the remote island of Hokkaido.
It's a land of towering volcanoes and steaming lakes, marshy valleys and fairy tale forests.
Among this magical scenery, where summers are brief and winters are fierce, lives an
extraordinary spectrum of life, found nowhere else in Japan. Here among the coastal
lowlands, grizzly bears plunge into icy streams for salmon, Japanese cranes perform
balletic courtship dances to one another, the rare and enormous Blakistons fish owl
swoops on flying squirrels, and white-tailed eagles scan the rugged ocean cliffs for
unsuspecting seabirds. HIgh on the mountains Asiatic pikas, arctic hares and Siberian
chipmunks gather food, ever-watchful for the predatory sable. We think of Japan as a
highly-populated, ultra modern society, and yet it remains a highly spiritual place
where wildlife is treasured and carefully protected. Weaving Ainu legend with fascinating
natural behavior, this film will follow the lives of Hokkaido's special creatures
through the seasons, to capture the true essence and beauty of this other-worldly place.
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