NHK's documentary program "Document 72 Hours" (General) will air the episode "Winter at the Water Pumping Station in Nagano's Mountain Pass" from 10:00 PM on January 30th. This episode is set at a water pumping station at Wada Pass in central Nagano Prefecture. Located at an altitude of about 1,300 meters, there is a constant stream of people coming to draw water, even when it's snowing or below freezing. Why do they go to such lengths to get water?
The program features a couple who travel two and a half hours from Gunma, and a man who fills a large tank with water and loads it into the back of his car. There is also a nurse who makes a habit of visiting once a month with her grandfather. Why would they go to the trouble of drawing water from a tap in a place where temperatures drop below freezing in winter? The program observes them quietly for three days.
This documentary program focuses on a single location each time, observing the various human dramas that occur there over a period of 72 hours. It listens to the stories of people who meet by chance, capturing the current era.
