Plot Synopsis

Narrated by Michelle Dockery, this three-part documentary series explores Japan's landscapes, which range from snowy mountains to subtropical warmth. They are full of wildlife, where animals' and people's lives often cross as they adapt to these extremes. Each one-hour episode takes a look at a different island (or island chain) of Japan. The central island of Honshu is home to over 100 million people, and its biggest city, Tokyo, is one of the largest urban metropolises on earth. But it has a wild heart, and most of Honshu is mountainous. In the far southwest of Japan, there is a chain of islands stretching towards the tropics -- a place where all life is influenced by the power of the sea, and where volcanoes and typhoons are forces to be reckoned with. The journey begins at an island at the top of the chain and travels south, revealing unexpected stories of isolation, unique wildlife and unsolved mysteries. Hokkaido is Japan's northernmost -- and wildest -- island, a place totally unlike the rest of the country. Every year, it swings from a bitter Siberian winter into the warmth of a Mediterranean-like summer, when the thaw reveals a landscape changed beyond all recognition. It takes tough animals and tough people with real ingenuity to survive, and even thrive, in this ever-changing place. Nine months after this series debuted in the UK with the title JAPAN: EARTH'S ENCHANTED ISLANDS, Nat Geo Wild aired the U.S. premiere of WILD JAPAN on Sunday, March 20, 2016 from 8-11pm ET/PT, showing all three episodes back-to-back.