Vienna has always held a special fascination for the Japanese, who celebrate the New Year with Strauss waltzes and lieder as much as they do with mochi (rice cakes) and otoshidama (New Year gift money). A prime influence in this regard is the 1931 German movie "Der Kongress Tanzt" (Congress Dances), a lush musical that for the Japanese has defined Viennese culture to this day.
The movie was obviously the inspiration for the title of the two-hour TBS travel special "Geijutsu ga Odoru Miyako Wien" (Vienna, the Capital Where Art Dances; Tues., 7:55 p.m.). Actors Yoshino Kimura and Masaya Kikawada explore what the show's producers call "the most comfortable city in the world."
Kimura takes the high end and spends a good deal of time at the State Opera, where she talks to music director Seiji Ozawa and singer Eijiro Kai. Kikawada gets down with the Austrian people, visiting an open-air market and enjoying homemade treats and local delicacies. Yoshino Kimura pops up again later in the week to host the business-related dramatization series "Rubicon no Ketsudan" (The Rubicon Decision; TV Tokyo, Thurs., 10 p.m.). This week's program addresses conservation and ecological concerns by focusing on the development of a household item everyone can appreciate: the toilet bowl.