Massan, the NHK drama of 2014–2015, is set in Glasgow, Takehara, Osaka and Yoichi, and is based on the life of Nikka Whisky founder Masataka Taketsuru and his Scottish wife Rita.
The route follows Masaharu and Ellie from Scotland and Japan's early whisky years at Yamazaki to the Yoichi Distillery in Hokkaido, with notes on what the real couple did. Scenes set in Scotland were not filmed there.
Amachan, the 2013 NHK morning drama, is set in Kitasanriku, a fictional town modelled on Kuji, Iwate; this route visits Kuji Station, Kosode Coast and railway stations along the Sanriku Coast.
Aki, a shy Tokyo girl, becomes a sea-urchin diver and a local idol in a small seaside town. This route follows the hometown chapter through five real places: Kuji Station, Kosode Coast, Horinai Station, Tanohata Station and Taneichi High School. Several stand in for places the drama names differently.
