Document 72 Hours backdrop
Documentary

The Best Episodes of Document 72 Hours Season 5

Every episode of Document 72 Hours Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Document 72 Hours Season 5!

An unusual documentary series that delves into human dramas through chance encounters with ordinary people at selected spots. Filmed over 72 hours in a single location, the show captures glimpses into people's lives as they

Airs on
NHK G
BestEpisodes
WorstEpisodes
BestSeasons
AllEpisodes

Seasons17

All1234567891011121314151617

Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 1 - Wrestlers on the Road
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #1 - Wrestlers on the Road

    S5:E1

    As the recession continues to hit Hokkaido, Japan, a small pro wrestling group fights an uphill battle to energize the prefecture. The group was started about 10 years ago by a pro wrestling-loving salesman who became saddened at the plight of his home prefecture. Since then, the wrestlers have toured Hokkaido to conduct morale-boosting events, even as they have struggled to make a profit. It is now December, and the group is preparing for its 3-day winter event. They will tour Yubari where the local government has gone bankrupt and 2 other cities. This program captures the wrestling group as it travels from town to town, raising the spirits of a local population that actively supports each other so that they can all get by.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  2. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 2 - A 260-Person "Sharehouse"
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #2 - A 260-Person "Sharehouse"

    S5:E2

    In 2013, one of Japan's largest "sharehouse" or shared-living apartment houses, opened in Tokyo. It can accommodate 260 people. Open to men, women and couples, it instantly reached full occupancy. There are aspiring artists, foreigners on short-term stays for work or study...people with all sorts of ambitions. In the evenings, in the common spaces, strangers lend each other a sympathetic ear. Parallel lives, intersecting lives: we encounter a variety in the course of 3 days spent getting to know the denizens of this remarkable establishment.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  3. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 3 - The Fierce Battle! Entrepreneur Contest.
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #3 - The Fierce Battle! Entrepreneur Contest.

    S5:E3

    An “Entrepreneur Contest” was held last year under the auspices of a global IT company to discover talents who can give shape to innovative ideas more quickly. The duration of the contest was three days and two nights. Participants were divided into teams and worked frantically to come up with new ideas, and then worked tirelessly to brush up their ideas for a presentation on the final day of the contest. The contest not only tests the participants' ability to come up with ideas, but also their ability to coordinate and execute their teams. If they win the competition, they will advance to the world competition and can expect to receive funding from sponsors. This is a coming-of-age story of young people struggling to achieve success.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  4. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 4 - Japan's Northernmost Bus Stop
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #4 - Japan's Northernmost Bus Stop

    S5:E4

    The far north of Hokkaido, with a view of Sakhalin in the distance. At Cape Soya, where a severe snowstorm blows, there is "Japan's northernmost bus stop. In winter, there are few visitors to the bus stop, and the only view is of the Sea of Okhotsk, but for a few days during the year-end and New Year's holidays, many people gather there. Company employees rethinking their lives, cab drivers returning from migrant work, motorcyclists who have traveled hundreds of kilometers in the snow...these are just a few of the people who gather at the bus stop. For three days, they put aside their usual titles and huddle together as "travelers. What are they seeking in their journey to the north?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  5. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 5 - Okinawa: The Barbershop that Never Sleeps
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #5 - Okinawa: The Barbershop that Never Sleeps

    S5:E5

    In downtown Naha City, there is a barbershop that is open 24 hours a day, a rarity in Japan. Customers include children with shaved heads, employees of nearby restaurants, and office workers who can only get their hair cut at night due to their busy work schedule. The three days leading up to the coming-of-age ceremony in particular draw crowds of newcomers who want to enjoy a one-day hair style. Some have returned to Okinawa after having broken their dreams of working outside the prefecture, and others are bidding farewell to their teenage years of wild fun... What are the true feelings of Okinawan men that cannot be experienced on a sightseeing trip?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  6. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 6 - Fukushima: From a Super Market in Early Spring
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #6 - Fukushima: From a Super Market in Early Spring

    S5:E6

    Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. Along the road to the nuclear power plant, there is a supermarket that has seen a significant increase in sales since “that day”. The main products are boxed lunches and side dishes. In the evenings, many workers at the nuclear power plant and decontamination workers come to the supermarket on their way home from work. The city is said to be conversely bustling with people who have come to the area since the accident to help with reconstruction. The program looks at Fukushima today at a supermarket where “local housewives buying ingredients for dinner,” “people who evacuated from villages near the nuclear power plant,” and “workers helping with the recovery” pass by.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

    7. Trending NowTRENDING NOW

    The 20 BEST Episodes of Document 72 Hours

    READ
  7. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 7 - Printing Handheld Memories
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #7 - Printing Handheld Memories

    S5:E7

    With the ubiquity of digital cameras and smart phones, we live in an age of easy photographs. It's easy to print them out, too, using machines at a home electronics store. One patron prints daily photos of meals he's made; another prints a picture of his deceased father; and a long-distance couple exchange photos of each other to mark their love. This is the story of people who treasure time they've spent with special people and capture irreplaceable memories in the form of printed photographs.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  8. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 8 - The Voyage of Life on a Giant Ferry
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #8 - The Voyage of Life on a Giant Ferry

    S5:E8

    For people with time, car ferries are an inexpensive mode of travel in Japan, which is surrounded by water. Each year, about 200,000 passengers ride one ferry line that connects Nagoya, Sendai and Hokkaido. All kinds of people board the ship, such as laborers going to booming Nagoya to find work; college students taking economical and easy graduation trips; and temp employees seeking relaxation. What will we learn about present-day Japan through the people we meet onboard over a 3-day period?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  9. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 9 - A 24/7 Discount Store
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #9 - A 24/7 Discount Store

    S5:E9

    A giant discount store in Shinjuku, Tokyo, has 40,000 items for sale. It pulls in customers around the clock. This episode shoots during the 3 days just prior to a near-doubling of Japan's consumption tax, so the store is inundated with "rush-demand" shoppers. People loading up with daily necessities. Others losing perspective and buying items they don't really need. The guy who rushes in on the final night, and... We are prompted to consider the meaning of "shopping" and of "consumption".

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  10. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 10 - One Tower, Many Lives
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #10 - One Tower, Many Lives

    S5:E10

    The Tokyo SKYTREE opened in 2012 as Japan's tallest structure. Each day 100,000 people flock here to try to take photos of the giant radio tower. They come from all walks of life, including a poor student hoping to save enough to go up to the observation deck someday, and an Indonesian couple marking their golden wedding anniversary. At night, the tower is also a favorite destination for young people. This program documents 3 days at the foot of the SKYTREE, Tokyo's new tourist attraction.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  11. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 11 - Youth "HelloWork" - A Job Agency
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Youth "HelloWork" - A Job Agency

    S5:E11

    Over 80% of Japanese college grads landed jobs last spring, the main hiring season. However, in Shibuya, an area of Tokyo known for its youth culture, more than 200 young jobseekers a day paid a call on Youth "HelloWork", a special division of the government's job-matching program. Some say they want satisfying regular employment, not temporary work. Some, entering their 30's, hope the favorable economic climate can help them transition into a different job. But 30% of newly employed college grads quit within 3 years. What, then, do young people want? We listen in and find out.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  12. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 12 - Ueno Park, Under the Cherry Trees in Full Bloom
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Ueno Park, Under the Cherry Trees in Full Bloom

    S5:E12

    Ueno Park is a huge park representing Tokyo. Surrounded by offices, downtown, and residential areas, people spend their time in this vast park. During the cherry blossom season, the park is said to attract 2 million visitors from all over the country. This program closely observes the three days of the weekend when the park is at its busiest. Some locals do exercises while watching the cherry blossoms every morning, some businessmen put all their energy into their company's cherry blossom viewing event, and some people look back over the flowers and think about their farewells in the old days.... Various lives intersect amidst the dancing snowstorm of cherry blossoms.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  13. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 13 - An All-Night Eatery
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #13 - An All-Night Eatery

    S5:E13

    Uguisudani is one of the least-frequented stops on Tokyo's Yamanote mass-transit loop line. But it's well known for its nightlife. The transition is a stark one, from sparsely traveled daytime sidewalks to a garish neon nighttime of "love hotels" and other establishments of the adult services industry. This episode focuses on an all-night eatery that for 3 decades has provided a welcome sanctuary for the weary, the hungry, the thirsty and the lovelorn. An intermission from the dramas of their lives.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  14. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 14 - Self Storage: Secrets and Memories
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Self Storage: Secrets and Memories

    S5:E14

    Recently, all across Japan, there has been a sharp rise in the number of people turning to self-service storage to keep things they have no room for at home, or to keep "treasures" away from other family members. This episode interviews clients of a huge self-storage facility in Osaka, over the course of 3 days. The facility contains over a thousand units, large and small. In these rentable units, accessible 24/7, clients keep everything from treasured family mementos to secret collections. Getting people to display such private possessions on camera was far from easy, but what they showed us was...

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  15. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 15 - Mt. Osore: Between Life and Death
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Mt. Osore: Between Life and Death

    S5:E15

    When people die, they go "to the mountain". So holds the folklore in the Tohoku (northeastern) region of Japan, referring to Mt.Osore, in Aomori Prefecture. During the national holidays in May, pilgrims travel to this holy place from all over the country. Some, like a couple who lost a child, go there ritually. Others try to communicate with deceased loved ones via a necromancer. Still others are tourists, there to collect a certificate. The bleak landscape matches the emotional desolation of many of the visitors. We spend 3 days with folks on the borderline between life and death.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  16. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 16 - On the Road: “Happiness Theory” on Route 16
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #16 - On the Road: “Happiness Theory” on Route 16

    S5:E16

    Yokosuka - Machida - Hachioji - Kasugabe and "National Route16" connects the Kanto suburbs. The townscape where there are only large shopping malls and chain stores is attracting attention as "a landscape that symbolizes modern Japan". It took three days to run on the 250km ring road. Listen carefully to what people you meet on the road are happy. A young man who does not want to leave his comfortable hometown, and a homeless man walks silently on the way late at night. What is the happiness of Nippon seen from the 16th Line?

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  17. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 17 - The 24-Hour Supermarket: Just Another Day
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #17 - The 24-Hour Supermarket: Just Another Day

    S5:E17

    Akune city is located in rural Kagoshima Prefecture. More than 40% of its population is over 65 years old. Its famous 24/7 supermarket is stocked with 390,000 items, from groceries, cars, tombstones to hoof trimming tools. 80% of the locals visit the supermarket each day including the elderly who come to socialize and young people who hang out there at night, lamenting the lack of job opportunities. While big cities thrive, people living in the countryside get a lot from simple pleasures.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  18. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 18 - Shonan, Reasons to Gaze at the Sea
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Shonan, Reasons to Gaze at the Sea

    S5:E18

    In June, the Shonan coast overlooking Enoshima Island. On a clear day, people who cannot wait for summer to arrive come to see the sea. Families frolic in the water by the waves, couples huddle together. Among the happy people, there is one figure that stands out: a solitary person staring at the sea. Tired office workers, women in love. Even at night, people with various circumstances appear one by one on the quiet beach.... What do people think about on a beach where there is nothing but the sea and the sky? A story of three days waiting for summer. 　

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  19. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 19 - At a Gas Station in a Downpour
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #19 - At a Gas Station in a Downpour

    S5:E19

    It's a June weekend, and the rainy season in Japan's central Kanto region is being inaugurated with an apparently endless deluge. But in spite of the drenching, people must travel. Where are they all going in the pelting rain? At a 24-hour gas station, we meet a soaked construction worker obliged to cease work because of the rain, a traveler going to meet a child living elsewhere, a man working a night job to support his family...As they pause at the gas station to fill their tanks, they tell us their stories. Then, hoping for the rain to cease, they resume their journeys.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  20. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 20 - What Dreams I Have at the Fishing Pond Late at Night
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #20 - What Dreams I Have at the Fishing Pond Late at Night

    S5:E20

    Along a national highway in the suburbs of Saitama. There is an indoor fishing pond where men dangle their fishing lines until late at night. Twenty species of fish, including carp and Hakurei, swim in the 20-meter-long pool. You can rent a Saomote, but it is not easy to catch the fish, as they are used to being caught. Visitors include businessmen looking for new jobs, young people discussing their future, and mysterious men in sunglasses who appear late at night. What are the thoughts floating in the minds of these men as they wait patiently for the float to sink? Three days in which life can be seen beyond the fishing line.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  21. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 21 - A 24/7 Animal Hospital: When a Pet Needs a Vet
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #21 - A 24/7 Animal Hospital: When a Pet Needs a Vet

    S5:E21

    In Shibuya, Tokyo, there's an animal hospital taking emergency cases 24/7. It was founded 46 years ago. Doting pet owners from all over Tokyo take their beloved charges here when sudden need arises: the dog mauled by a feral cat; the hamster with a broken leg; the cat injured in a traffic accident; some 100 cases daily. We meet a couple caring for a dog with dementia, an elderly woman whose cat has lived with her for 23 years.... Pets and owners can forge bonds that transcend even family ties.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  22. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 22 - Kabukicho Nail Salon: Behind the Scenes of a Woman's Dressing Room
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Kabukicho Nail Salon: Behind the Scenes of a Woman's Dressing Room

    S5:E22

    The glamorous world of women spreads out in a room of a building in Kabukicho. It is a nail salon that stays open all night until 8 am. Some are cabaret girls who go there to “please customers,” while others draw pictures of the sea or sunflowers to "give their nails a summery look. Their goal is to enjoy “girl talk that you can only talk about here” in addition to having their nails done. During the three hours it takes to get their nails done, they enjoy chatting about everything from work complaints to relationship advice, which they would not be able to talk about in front of a man. The true faces of the women are revealed through their beautiful nails during these three days.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  23. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 23 - At a Train Station in Fukushima
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #23 - At a Train Station in Fukushima

    S5:E23

    Within 20km of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant - site of the 2011 nuclear disaster - is the town of Naraha. The train line that passes through the town was closed after the disaster, but was reopened in June. Although residents are not legally allowed to stay in Naraha, a variety of people come and go from the town's Tatsuta Station. The program captures these visitors - who include residents making short visits, staff at the nearby Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant, and travelers coming for their own reasons - over 3 days.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  24. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 24 - “On the Shore with a View of the Atomic Bomb Dome
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #24 - “On the Shore with a View of the Atomic Bomb Dome

    S5:E24

    It was August 6 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. While the familiar annual solemn peace ceremony is broadcast live on TV, people from all over the world flock to the area around the event site, making their own arguments and performances. Young people singing songs about the atomic bombing, religious groups offering prayers, foreign tourists in a tourist mood, people shouting radical ideas.... Sixty-nine years have passed since the end of the war. In a corner of the park overlooking the A-bomb Dome across the river, three days were spent looking at different forms of peace.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

  25. Document 72 Hours Season 5 Episode 25 - General Hospital Store: Where Shopping Meets Healing
    0.0/10(0 votes)

    #25 - General Hospital Store: Where Shopping Meets Healing

    S5:E25

    In southern Chiba Prefecture, a 24-hour convenience store opened 3 years ago in a huge general hospital. It offers everything from reduced-sugar snacks to loose clothing, and it's busy all the time. One young customer narrowly escaped death. Another patient comes first thing in the morning to buy a newspaper. Doctors working late at night slip in between surgeries to buy instant noodles. Get a unique look at the human condition in this "oasis" at a hospital isolated from our everyday lives.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

    Be the first to start the conversation for this episode

Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Wrestlers on the Road" is the best rated episode of "Document 72 Hours" season 5. It scored /10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/10/2014. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "A 260-Person "Sharehouse"".