Skip to main content

Up Next

The Heart of the World

The Heart of the World

Season 2025 Episode 1
54:45
Stopping the Desert

Stopping the Desert

Season 2025 Episode 2
54:23
Saving the World's Forests

Saving the World's Forests

Season 2025 Episode 3
54:20
Reclaiming Peru’s Glaciers

Reclaiming Peru’s Glaciers

Season 2025 Episode 4
55:08
Episode 5: The Calling

The Calling

Season 4 Episode 5
53:05
When Whales Could Walk

When Whales Could Walk

Season 51 Episode 1
53:31
Back to Show
Sacred Planet with Gulnaz Khan

The History and Folklore of Omiwatari

Omiwatari, or "Crossing of the Gods," is a sacred phenomenon on Lake Suwa, Japan, where ice forms crack-like patterns. This event, linked to Japanese folklore, symbolizes divine power. It is believed that the god Takeminakata, protector of Suwa, walks across the frozen lake, leaving divine marks. Revered for centuries, the phenomenon is now disappearing due to climate change.

Support Provided By
Reclaiming Peru’s Glaciers
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:08
Follow Catholic and Quechua traditions confronting Peru’s climate crisis.
Saving the World's Forests
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:20
Venture to Japan, where 500-year-old climate records reveal how global warming is upending ancient t
Stopping the Desert
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:23
Travel across Africa’s Sahel, where Muslims and Christians unite to fight desertification.
The Heart of the World
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:45
Journey to the sacred world of the Arhuaco people, carriers of a vital message for humanity.
Active loading indicator