Amazon Orders 'Our Man in…Japan' With James May

The six-part series is the first of the solo projects in the pipeline from 'The Grand Tour' hosts.

Filming for Our Man in…Japan with James May, a new unscripted travel series for Amazon, began Monday as the host headed for the Far East, Amazon Studios unveiled.

Amazon announced in December that it had signed a deal with The Grand Tour hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and May, along with producer Andy Wilman, to develop solo shows with them.

The six-part program will be directed by BAFTA TV Award nominee Tom Whitter for Plum Pictures and see May travel the length of Japan in an attempt to understand the country, people and culture, according to Amazon.

"Japan is the most amazing place I've ever visited. Everything about it is a surprise: a boiled sweet, a bullet train, an unexpected ancient temple and the challenge of eating a single edamame bean with chopsticks," said May. "It's a class A stimulant for all the senses, and an etiquette minefield for the unwary."

"We're incredibly excited to announce this new project with James, which will see him take on an epic 1,000-mile journey across ancient Japanese islands, mega cities and all points in between," said Georgia Brown, director of Prime original series in Europe.