the travel show. 0h, oh, well. look at the size of this place. this is tokyo stadium and it was home to the foot all, the rugby, and the pentathlon during the olympics. and i'm glad to finally be here. japan's delayed some of sport finally got under way in 2021. my name's steve brown and was supposed to come over the paralympic coverage. not being able to make it out was a huge blow. the whole thing about sport, it's notjust about watching it, it's about feeling it, that immersive experience. before i was a presenter, i was captain of the london 2012 rugby wheelchair team. and when i was in hospital sport was what got me out. it was definitely the building block to the person that i have become. tokyo holds a special place in paralympic history. it was all the way back at the 1954 games that the term paralympic was first used. but being disabled injapan hasn't always been easy. it is often seen as a country that values conformity and fitting in. so, at the end of this paralympic year, finally getting the chance to explore japan and find out what life's late for those who stand out from the crowd. along the way i'll some old opponents, discover a hidden tropical culture, and ride the waves with some inventive surfing. my my journey across japan begins in the capital, tokyo, the world's busiest city, where i am on my way to meet some former rivals. it is excellent sitting here and watching the japanese paralympic team doing the training. wheelchair rugby has this nickname, motorbike, and you can see why. it is the only full contact will chessboard there is. your opponent is going to work very hard to knock you out of your chair, so you have got to work hard to knock them out of this. —— wheelchair sport. the team won bronze at the 2021 games. and i rememberfacing them all the way back out london 2012. so, very nice to see you again. of course it was a very different games because of coronavirus. how did that affect you not having the crowds here? how do you feel people's acceptance and understanding of disability is? do you feel like it's something that may be has been hidden away a little bit? this gym was specially designed for para—athletes and open in 2018. in the buildup to the paralympics the government committed to introducing more barrier free access across the country. we will see how i get on as they explore more ofjapan. here in tokyo, the subway system is said to be almost entirely accessible. even if some of the adaptations are a bit bizarre. so this is going to turn into a wheelchair lift, but they have had to shut everything off to make it happen. so i'd come on... you won't find many of these adapted escalators around the subway. normal lifts are far more common. breaks are on. yes, no problem. and that's probably a good thing. ok. and it's done. thank you, gentlemen. well, that was terrifying. but on the surface there are pockets of tokyo that can still be a challenge to get around. we are in golden city, which is quite a strange name for a place no bigger than a football pitch. the place is just starting to open now. if they had lifted another hour or so this would be starting to get much busier and on these narrow streets i think i would have trouble getting around. see, look, this is a perfect example, there is no room for me now, there is a step to get in and the door is too narrow. a few blocks over there's an area where another group of people are finding their voice. it is said to have the highest concentration of gay and lesbian bars in the world. i've arranged to meet someone who works here. and what is the attitude like to the lgbt community injapan? he works at a club, which calls itself a cross dressing bar. the club welcomes people of all identities. they identify as trans— and was originally a customer here. this pocket of tokyo flourished because it gave people a space outside of the mainstream where they could express themselves without facing disapproval. but tradition still has a powerful hold overjapan, as i will found —— as i will find out in the next stage of myjourney. now it's time for me to leave the capital on board one of theirfamous the capital on board one of their famous bullet trains. the capital on board one of theirfamous bullet trains. so what's happening? we their famous bullet trains. so what's happening?— what's happening? we are lookin: what's happening? we are looking for— what's happening? we are looking for a _ what's happening? we are looking for a wheelchair i what's happening? we are - looking for a wheelchair space for you. looking for a wheelchair space for ou. , ,., for you. some lines saw the number _ for you. some lines saw the number of _ for you. some lines saw the number of wheelchair - for you. some lines saw the l number of wheelchair spaces travel in the up to the paralympics, but it takes a while to find me a space. it's turning out to be quite a fasth, i think, turning out to be quite a fasth, ithink, they turning out to be quite a fasth, i think, they recommend that you book it all up in advance to save all of this —— faff. that doesn't work if you don't know you are travelling until an hour before you need to travel. all sorted. oh, here we go then. i'm on my way to okinoshima island, a thousand kilometres west of tokyo and more than five hours by train. to an area that remains in thrall to centuries old traditions and customs. that's a big flight of steps. whoa. 0k. a big flight of steps. whoa. ok. whoa. oh. here we are. oh. wow. getting up here might have been a bit of an effort, but it was certainly worth it. you don't see many places like this, do you? this is the shrine, it was built in the 18th century to pay homage to a holy island some 50 kilometres off the coast. okinoshima has been worshipped for well over 1000 years, lying betweenjapan and the korean peninsula. this museum tells the story of okinoshima all the way back to its earliest religious ceremonies in the fourth ceremony. the island is a sacred place with a very strict policy. have you seen the island? more than 80,000 artefacts have been found there, which led to unesco naming at a world heritage site in 2017. but the old taboos mean only men can set foot on the island and mickey can'tjoin her male colleagues on archeological expeditions. watching these videos it certainly has got this kind of eerie mystical power to it. i might not be able to go myself, but one way that tourists can experience okinoshima is by trying a ceremony, a special cleansing ritual performed by all the island's visitors. whoa. yeah, it's cold. faze you, yeah, towards you? 0k, faze you, yeah, towards you? ok, i'm down. it feels, now i'm in, somewhat exhilarating, in a way relaxing. but i'd still want to get back out now. is that enough praying? i'm heading out to japan's southernmost spot, okinawa, which is made up of more than 100 subtropical islands. it is a popular holiday destination because of its year—round temperatures and into thousand and seven it was the first place injapan to make a barrierfree place injapan to make a barrier free declaration, a commitment to making travel more accessible for all. i have heard the culture has distinct differences from the mainland so i have come here to find out more. backin back in the 15th century, the kingdom united the islands that now form okinawa. they were trading people and an international influence can still be felt in their art and design, architecture and in theirfood. this looks design, architecture and in their food. this looks very nice. i think i will start with this. what is it? it smells strong. does it have a strong flavour? ok... wow. that is a strong flavour. i need to wash it down. what is this? that's nice and it is quite smooth. fragrant. maybe i am just washing down the fermented tofu... . but ryukyu culture has not always been embraced by the mainland. in the 19th century after it became part of japan there was a crackdown on local customs. next on my tour i am taken 30 kilometres down the road to a castle. it is on the top of a steep hill. so i brought along an extra set of wheels. here we are then. that was a big entrance into an open space. what happened here. i have come through and it is just a construction site. that is the only way i can explain it. that is what i was expecting to see. and it is such a shame. when it was standing the castle drew around 2 million people a year. then, in october 2019, a fire, blamed on a faulty electrical system, or through the wooden palace destroying all the main buildings. the debris has been cleared away and the site is once again open to tourists where they can find out about an ambitious knee reconstruction that is currently under so so this is smoke damage? yes. you can feel — so this is smoke damage? yes. you can feel the _ so this is smoke damage? yes. you can feel the weight - so this is smoke damage? yes. you can feel the weight they i you can feel the weight they are so solid. how many will you need to make? it is not the first time the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt. previously it was bombed in the second world war. it's reconstruction turned it into a symbol of kanawha's resilience. symbol of ka nawha's resilience. it symbol of kanawha's resilience. it is tragic to see all this devastation but with the reconstruction set to open in a few years time, maybe it is a chance for the ryukyu culture to get a bit more attention. here in okinawa, my trip across japan is coming to an end. but there is one more thing for me to try. so... this foot, ok. oh, my goodness! surfing is a year—round act to video on these subtropical islands. and toshi is an organiser for access serve, a local charity that helps people with accessibility needs ride the waves. i have never been surfing before. reassure me, many people have you taken out already? i have the wetsuit on. let's make the most of this, shall we? let's go. well... i have been in for spiritual, now i'm going in recreational i'm ready, let's go. this way around? with me safely on the board the team run through a few basics. so how do i fall down? i go over and push the board away from me? i push away the only thing that i want to grab? well... ithink the only thing that i want to grab? well... i think we have the paddling. let's try some surfing. in myjourney across japan i have seen it is a country that is still bound by tradition. but i have also met people who are pushing those boundaries. and here in okinawa i have seen there is more than just one traditional culture. for me, coming here in my wheelchair there have been a few problems here and there. but opening up is a process, whether it is opening up to foreign travel after a pandemic or opening up to new ideas and experiences. and this has been one experience that i am definitely going to remember. hello there. merry christmas to you. some of us will see some snow during this christmas period, mainly across the hills of the northern half of the uk. further south, it'll tend to be milder, so any precipitation will be rain. and we've got areas of low pressure pushing into the south west and they're weather fronts bringing outbreaks of rain. as these weather fronts slowly push north—eastwards into that stubborn area of colder air which is sitting to the north—east of the country, then this is where we're likely to see some of that rain turn to snow. so, we're starting christmas day morning off on a very cold, frosty note across scotland, the far north of england, but less cold, milder for northern ireland in towards wales and the south west. but here, we have more of the cloud, outbreaks of rain, which will be slowly spilling northwards and eastwards through the course of the day. quite a bit of cloud for most of england but the far north of england, scotland off that cold, frosty start, will be dry and sunny throughout the day. maybe just the odd wintry shower around, some patchy cloud, but it will be windy, particularly across the northern half of the country, as you can see here. these are the mean wind speeds. so, when you factor in the wind with that cold air, it really will feel chilly — colder than these temperatures suggest, 3—5 degrees in the north, seven to maybe 11 degrees across the south and south west. now, as we head through christmas day evening, it looks like the rain will start to push its way northwards and eastwards and overnight, as it bumps into that cold air, we could see a bit of snow for north wales on the hills first and then into northern england, central, southern scotland, mainly over the pennines, across the southern uplands and the higher ground of central scotland. quite a covering here, maybe even some down to lower levels for a time. you can see it's going to be another cold night here, less so further south and west. so, some places on boxing day starting off with that snowfall across the north pennines, into the southern uplands, perhaps into central scotland but through the day, any snowfall will become reserved to the hills of northern scotland as the milder air begins to push its way northwards. quite a lot of cloud generally across the country. we could see some brightness, a few showers pushing into northern ireland, wales and the south—west quadrant of england, where it'll be mild again but still chilly across the far north east. then, as we move out of boxing day to the run—up to new year's eve, we can see some really mild air starts to move in and right across the uk on a south—westerly wind, pushes all that cold air well away from the uk, so, it turns mild or even very mild for a time in places in the run—up to new year's eve. but with that, it will be unsettled, some areas seeing some spells of wet and windy weather. good morning. welcome to breakfast on christmas day. the headlines: the queen will deliver a very personal christmas message this afternoon — her first since the death of her husband, prince philip. merry christmas from windsor. the queen had wanted a big family christmas at sandringham in norfolk because of the spread of omicron, it wasn't possible that she is spending the day here instead. —— so instead, she is spending the day here instead. a return to gathering for midnight mass: the archbishop of westminster says places of worship should stay open. the telescope that will delve deeper into the universe than ever before

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