Document 72 Hours: 2018
Season 9 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Document 72 Hours Season 8.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 9 Progress Shield
Shinjuku Hanazono Shrine: Dreams Come True at Night
Jan 12, 2018 · 25 min
Hanazono Shrine is located near Kabukicho in Shinjuku. In late November, just before the end of the year, the shrine grounds are bustling with activity. This is the “Tori no Ichi”
Christmas at a 24-Hour Bakery
Jan 19, 2018 · 25 min
In a residential area in Koto Ward, Tokyo, is a bakery open 24 hours a day. Their Danish Bread, rich with butter and fresh cream, sells over 1,000 loaves each day. Many people come
Heading Home on the Strait Ferry
Jan 26, 2018 · 25 min
It's midwinter at Tsugaru Strait, where a huge ferry connects the 120 kilometers between Aomori Prefecture and Hakodate, Hokkaido. With showers, a game center and even suite rooms
Legendary Game Center: Adults' Battles
Feb 2, 2018 · 25 min
In Tokyo's Takadanobaba district, there is a game center known as “the gamers' holy land.” On weekdays, 500 people visit, and on weekends, up to 1,000 game enthusiasts gather. What
COOL! Downtown Asakusa Batting Center
Mar 2, 2018 · 25 min
Just a short walk from Asakusa's Kaminarimon Gate, there's a new hotspot that's been getting more and more visitors over the past few years. It's a batting center with a giant glov
Shibuya: Spring Flowers and Bartering
Mar 16, 2018 · 25 min
What kind of people and things will you encounter if you take a single flower into town and continue bartering with people you meet by chance for three days? This time, we challeng
A Park Where Dreams Take Wing
Apr 6, 2018 · 25 min
Located near Narita International Airport, Sakuranoyama Park offers visitors close-up views of planes arriving at and taking off from this major gateway to Japan. At times, several
Metropolitan Rat Patrol
Apr 13, 2018 · 25 min
We followed a rat extermination company in Tokyo. In early spring, they receive as many as 1,000 requests per month and work around the clock to exterminate rats. Calls come in fro
Lives Along Route 45
Apr 20, 2018 · 25 min
Route 45, a national highway that snakes along the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region, is a vital link between areas devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Starting o
Street Corner Legal Consultation Office
Apr 27, 2018 · 25 min
This time, the setting is a “legal consultation office.” People with problems they cannot solve on their own rush to the consultation office in Shinjuku, Tokyo. From serious concer
Traveling Beauty Salon
May 11, 2018 · 25 min
“Beauty salon delivery” is rapidly expanding. “Visiting beauty services” provide haircuts and perms at the homes of people who find it difficult to go out, such as those in nursing
The Traveling Library Truck
May 18, 2018 · 25 min
For 3 days, we follow a library truck stocked with 2,800 books. In Matsuyama City, a public truck service has been delivering books to the surrounding mountains and islands for 45
A Spring Miracle: The Firefly Squid of Toyama
May 25, 2018 · 25 min
For a few days in spring, the normally quiet fishing town of Toyama Prefecture becomes festive as people gather from throughout the country. Their goal: to await the firefly squid.
Osaka, Nishinari: 24-Hour Family Restaurant
Jun 1, 2018 · 25 min
Nishinari, Osaka, is undergoing redevelopment. In one corner of the town, there is a restaurant that has been open 24 hours a day for over 40 years. The restaurant's selling points
The Joys and Sorrows of 1-Yen Pachinko
Jun 8, 2018 · 25 min
Along the national highway near Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, there is an area densely packed with pachinko parlors. Inside, rows of low-cost pachinko machines, such as “1-yen pac
The Women on the Cosmetics Floor
Jun 15, 2018 · 25 min
Sales at department stores have been sluggish in recent years, but the stores' cosmetics sections are providing a ray of light with their robust growth. In 2017, sales at these sec
People Gathering at Akita's ‘Hot Spring of Life’
Jun 22, 2018 · 25 min
Akita's secret hot spring, Tamagawa Onsen, is said to heal various illnesses. Upon entering, a barren landscape of rocks unfolds, with steam and hydrogen sulfide gas emanating from
Flipping Backward, Looking Forward
Jul 13, 2018 · 25 min
A gym in a residential area of Tokyo offers classes for a slightly unusual activity where going backward is actually a sign of progress - doing backflips. These lessons are becomin
The Race Before the Japanese Derby
Jul 20, 2018 · 25 min
The Japanese Derby is an annual race that draws over 100,000 spectators. Many fans start lining up near the entrances to Tokyo Racecourse several days – the first ones more than a
The Great Hospital Move
Jul 27, 2018 · 25 min
We cover an old hospital, built in the year of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, as it moves to a new building. The new hospital is only 250 meters away, but to ensure treatment is uninterr
Goodbye! My Beloved Department Store
Aug 3, 2018 · 25 min
In June, a long-established department store beloved by the local community in Nagoya closed its doors after 75 years of history. Once the largest department store in western Japan
Hooked on Fishing in Tokyo Bay
Aug 24, 2018 · 25 min
In a corner of a major industrial zone on Tokyo Bay sits a park from which people can fish at any time of the day or night. More than 20 kinds of fish, including horse mackerel and
The Sight Beyond the Undersea Tunnel
Aug 31, 2018 · 25 min
It is 780 meters long, dead straight and has few distinguishing features, but the undersea pedestrian tunnel running 60 meters underneath the Kanmon Straits in southwestern Japan a
Coast Guard Academy
Sep 7, 2018 · 25 min
Coast Guard officers protect Japan's maritime security. They enforce regulations against illegal fishing and sometimes rescue people from danger, acting as the “police of the sea.”
Surviving the Summer With Fresh Juice
Sep 21, 2018 · 25 min
Shimbashi, Tokyo, where office workers thrive. When they need refreshment, they head to a local, long-running juice stand. Ingredients range from peach and watermelon, to turmeric
From the Remittance Office with Love
Sep 28, 2018 · 25 min
Our stage this time is a remittance office in Okubo, Tokyo, where 40% of the population is international. Foreign workers visit this office in an endless stream, where money can be
To Shibuya, the ‘Holy Land of Amura
Oct 5, 2018 · 25 min
On September 16, the “Princess of the Heisei Era,” Namie Amuro, retired. At the fashion building in Shibuya once known as the “holy land of Amura,” a special shop opened, attractin
Hakodate's Hamburgers of Happiness
Oct 26, 2018 · 25 min
About 5 million people visit Hakodate in Hokkaido Prefecture, but in recent years this picturesque northern city has become known for another down-to-earth attraction: a hamburger
Tokyo Station: Meet Me at the "Silver Bell"
Nov 2, 2018 · 25 min
Each day, more than 1.8 million people pass through Tokyo Station. For 50 years, the Gin-no-suzu (silver bell) waiting area inside the station has been a popular landmark and a fav
Farewell to Tsukiji Market: At the Usual Standing Soba Noodle Shop
Nov 9, 2018 · 25 min
Last month, Tsukiji Market closed its doors after 83 years of history. The setting is a standing soba noodle shop located on a street outside the market. Despite the early morning
3333 Stones: Japan's Longest Flight of Steps
Nov 16, 2018 · 25 min
In a quiet mountain town in Kumamoto Prefecture, there's a flight of 3,333 stone steps. Measuring 2.1 kilometers, it's the longest in Japan and takes the average adult about 90 min
Shiga/Kusatsu Giant Parking Area
Nov 30, 2018 · 25 min
One hour by car from Osaka toward Nagoya and Tokyo. The stage is the Shiga/Kusatsu Parking Area, which boasts the largest parking space in western Japan. With facilities such as a
The DIYers of the Suburban Home Center
Dec 7, 2018 · 25 min
Our stage this time is one of the largest home centers in Japan, located in a suburb east of Tokyo. From daily necessities to building and gardening materials, every product imagin
Hiroshima Workwear Store
Dec 14, 2018 · 25 min
The stage is set at a workwear store in Hiroshima frequented by craftsmen from various industries. The store offers sturdy, user-friendly tools and denim workwear, which is current