Grade levels: Senior High (10-12)

Pack your bags for another look at the week’s best stories in the one-hour special, China: Rise of the Golden Dragon. Join Daily Planet hosts Jay Ingram and Natasha Stillwell for more science and discovery from the world’s most populous nation. This one-hour special highlights additional footage from Beijing’s National Swimming Centre, shipbuilding, the super fast Shanghai racetrack, China’s manned space program, traffic management in Beijing’s bustling city centre, Sutong Bridge and the autocar.

Faster than a speeding train, Ingram and Stillwell examine the technology that contributes to that accelerated pace of urban life in Japan. Monday’s highlights include: High-speed transportation; Crowded Japan – There are over 30 million people in the greater Tokyo area; Robots – Discover what’s behind Japan’s obsession with robots and Samurai sword making. Mount Fuji – Mount Fuji is Japan’s highest mountain and it’s national symbol. Also in this episode, “Chindogu,” (weird tools and inventions); Robotcam.

Day two of Daily Planet Goes to Japan conquers the mysteries of the natural world – from snow to space – then goes high-tech and test-drives the latest in electric cars. Highlights include: Snow fence – At the Nagoaka Institute of Snow and Ice Studies scientists study severe snow and ice disasters. Subaru Telescope – Ivan Semeniuk, Daily Planet’s astronomy expert, visits Japan’s largest astronomical observatory. Eliica car – Find out what makes the electric Eliica car work. Kobe earthquake – Learn how engineers at Japan’s Building Research Institute are using data from the devastating 1995 Kobe earthquake to prevent buildings from collapsing in a future quake. Ai, the counting chimp – Meet the professor who has been working with Ai, a counting chimpanzee for 25 years. The Science of Sake and virtual studio.

Stillwell and Ingram go quintessentially Japan – but with a scientific twist, of course. Highlights include: Text messaging. Sushi delivery. Kimonos – Stunningly beautiful silk kimonos are traditional Japanese clothing. Sumo – Daily Planet studies the science of sumo. Pedestrian Dummies, a Talking Robot and 3D animation.

From satellites to the space station – the lengths scientists will go to gather data to enlighten the world around us is in the spotlight of today’s episode. Highlights include: Earth Simulator – One of the fastest computers on earth and as large as four tennis courts. Japanese astronaut, Android Science, Reassembling Robot, Tokyo Design, HDTV, Macaques and “Akihabara” (Electric City – Tokyo’s electronics shopping district).

Daily Planet Goes to Japan winds up with a look at what makes the earth move and sushi that only looks good enough to eat. Highlights include: Earthquake Science – Japan lies in one of the most active earthquake regions of the world. Smart Car – Buckle up! Asteroid mission – Semeniuk follows an ambitious Japanese space mission to chase an asteroid. Anime – We visit Production IG, the anime house that produced Ghost in the Shell .Stone Play.Plastic Sushi – This “Behind the Scenes” segment examines how plastic food is made for sushi displays.