Japanland 8x26, 4x54

For an entire year, adventure filmmaker and author Karin Muller immersed herself in Japanese society, traveling from one end of the country to the other, struggling to navigate a notoriously complex and often contradictory culture. Aided by geisha and samurai archers, mountain ascetics and pearl divers, Karin gained access to the most intimate and surprising aspects of Japanese culture. It is a land of contradictions: a place where modern assembly lines churn out cars onto country roads barely wide enough to drive on; where the most modern and punctual train system in the world run by staff that calculate change on an abacus; and where vending machines offer everything from batteries to used panties and condoms that are sold based on the user’s blood type. The result is a rare look at the tatemai, Japan’s public face, to see the honne, the true inner character of Japan.