This documentary was made for Japanese public broadcaster NHK in 2005, at a point when Bath's millennium project was not looking too promising.

Fortunately, the teething problems covered in this Japanese language film have since been resolved, and Bath's Thermal Spa is now a jewel in the city's multifaceted tourism crown, doing what the city's tourism bosses hoped, as they express in this film.

Most of the documentary focuses on the links between contemporary Bath, and its long history with its hot springs, stretching beyond even the Roman occupation, which has not changed.

At Litmus Films we were often asked how it was that a Japanese broadcaster was interested in stories that domestic national media had ignored. Our answer was usually 'We just pitch the stories, and don't mind who we make them for, so ask them, not us', but this one was easier to explain than most.

Even without the UNESCO -recognised architecture, Bath holds an obvious interest for a Japanese audience as the only place in the British Isles where spring water comes out of the ground hot. Japan's active volcanic geology means natural hot springs are commonplace, but they're still the subject of obsessive attention and interest, whether at home or abroad, making Bath's 'particular waters' of great interest.

NHK's executive producers were amazed that a country with only one hot spring didn't cherish it as a national treasure, but now Bath Therma Spa is a fixture on the UK's top tourist attractions, that oversight may have finally been corrected..