ON THE COVER Getting To Know… Joanna Lumley
Visiting Japan to film a documentary was an absolute dream come true for avid traveller Joanna
◆ Japan was just awesome, it was a real eye opener the whole trip. We were on the road for six weeks in two chunks. We wanted to do Hokkaido, the very north island, in the peak snow because it has magnificent powder snow and this immense winter season which has the Sapporo snow festival and all these ice buildings and the great red crested cranes dancing in the icy rivers. All of that had to be done in snowfall. Then we went back again to catch the cherry blossom in Kyoto. ◆ Getting to see the rare red cranes was sensational. The light came up and there they were preening, calling and dancing with each other. We were unbelievably lucky. It was thrilling. The birds themselves are beyond fabulous. To see a whole mass of them, it was just magic. ◆ It was amazing to see an old factory making sake just the way they used to. We didn't manage to bring much back to England as we managed to absorb it on the trip! ◆ I met some fb fabulousl olderld ladies. They take each day as it comes, they try to be optimistic, they mix with each other, they never sit at home alone, they dance which means they keep fit, they keep their houses spotlessly clean, they eat well, they try to say, "Isn't today great and let's live life," and that, I thought, was wonderful. ◆ Tokyo is really full-on. I adored Nagasaki because you can see mountains all around you and that's lovely. Tokyo is unbelievably huge, 38 million people. But nevertheless it has quite a villagey feel about it with temples everywhere.
“WE DIDN’T MANAGE TO BRING BACK MUCH SAKE…”