[sitar plays in bright rhythm] (Rudy) I'm wandering the streets of a city that's taken the world by storm with-- a bowl of noodles!

I'm here to uncover the culinary secrets and scenic spots on this rugged, wintry, northernmost island of Japan: Hokkaido.

(woman) "Rudy Maxa's World" is sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries-- committed to bringing authentic Japanese food products to the world.

Additional funding provided by United Airlines, serving more than 330 destinations worldwide.

United-- fly the friendly skies.

And by... [marimba and percussion play in bright rhythm] (Rudy) Enormous national parks, dense forest, and rugged coastline-- this is Japan's wild, untamed island.

Volcanoes puff, and hot springs bubble under a layer of pure white snow.

Hokkaido is Japan's frontier, a mountainous, remote island largely unknown to the Japanese people until the 1800s.

These days, people from all over flock here for the powdery snow, the hot spring resorts, and the celebrated cuisine.

Hokkaido makes up about 20% of the land mass of Japan but only around 5% of Japan's population inhabit this wild country.

There are more than 100 volcanoes in Japan, 10% of all the active volcanoes in the world, so it's no surprise the ground is constantly bubbling.

Hokkaido is the hot spring or onsen capital of Japan.

My friend and restaurateur, Daisuke Utagawa is leading me on an epicurean excursion into this wild land, but the first stop is an onsen.

Daisuke tells me it's the only way to begin a trip here.

Arigato.

Welcome to my Hokkaido, Rudy.

Good beginning.

Yeah well, big nature, big food.

As a matter of fact, Hokkaido is the breadbasket of Japan.

(Rudy) Really?

(Daisuke) Yeah, adding to that, plenty of fish because of the ocean currents, and they're delicious also.

And Sapporo ramen, of course.

(Rudy) I gather a lot of these onsens in this region?

There are plenty.

This is one of my favorite ones.

Did you arrange for this lovely, light spring snowfall?

As a matter of fact, I did.

It did cost a pretty penny, but for you, why not?

It works.

I love the snow.

(Rudy) Out of the bath into the frying pan.

Sapporo: Capital.

Population: around 2 million.

Its pastime: ramen.

There are hundreds of ramen shops in this city.

People support their ramen like a baseball team.

Are people in Sapporo as crazy about ramen as I understand they are?

Yeah.

It's part of their identity.

Actually, all 3rd-grade students are taken to noodle factory.

as a field trip?

Yeah.

This is where I would have liked to have gone to the 3rd grade.

(Daisuke) Me too.

(Rudy) There's a toughness to the people of Sapporo but also a warmth born out of living together in a harsh environment.

The sense of being a frontier town still lingers at the Tanukikoji arcade.

In the 1870s, merchants set up shops here in this wild undeveloped town.

Today the arcade keeps the weather out and the shoppers in.

Outside it's freezing-- no wonder that Sapporo takes to soup.

Daisuke's favorite ramen shop is outside of the city proper.

The chef at Oshou is a genuine shokunin, Daisuke tells me.

Shokunin means artisan or craftsman, but there's a lot more to it, the deeper meaning.

(Daisuke) This is the owner, and this is his next generation.

Oh my goodness, his son!

You're both the chefs.

They're both the chefs.

That's right.

All right.

Should we have some ramen.

I think that's a great idea.

Let's go sit over there then.

[Daisuke speaks Japanese] (Rudy) The shokunin feels both a spiritual and social obligation to prepare the food for us.

He respects the material.

He pays very precise attention to the ingredients.

It's a way to respect all the producers-- the flour mill workers; noodle makers; the farmer who grows the vegetables for the toppings.

They are the unsung heroes of Japanese cuisine.

There's another Japanese term I've learned, kodawari, which means the effort and knowledge that goes into making something.

Chef Ohkubo practices that kodawari when making ramen.

(Daisuke) Oh, ho-ho!

Look at that!

[speaks Japanese] (Rudy) Arigato.

This is beautiful!

(Daisuke) Smell this.

Oh my god!

(Rudy) It's very, very rich.

(Daisuke) Oh yeah!

(Rudy) So tell me about this ramen.

No no no, Rudy.

Wait.

We eat first.

It's all about you and the bowl of noodles right now.

Just you two.

[Daisuke noisily slurps] It's alright to slurp, right?

Um-hum.

Okay.

(Daisuke) You see how the noodles are curly?

(Rudy) Um-hum.

(Daisuke) It's made to slurp.

So when you slurp it takes the right amount of soup with it.

But make sure you look down.

Because if you do it like this, it will flap about and be all over your face.

Right.

[noisily slurping] So in ramen shops, when the ramen arrives you stop talking, you stop doing whatever you're doing and you just start eating ramen.

It's just between you and the ramen.

It doesn't taste like any of that dorm ramen.

[laughs] I hope not!

Now you'll notice the first bite is different from the second, third, and so on and so forth.

And it should taste different until all the way to the bottom.

[slurping] (Rudy) Ramen is one of the few Japanese dishes that's not traditional.

Noodles and meat-based broths came from China in the 19th century, and flour to make the noodles came from the U.S. after World War II.

The worldwide phenomenon that is ramen started in the 1950s.

Why are we in a flour mill?

(Daisuke laughs) You see, there is kodawari in milling also.

For instance, this place, from same grain they will make 70 different kinds of flour.

Then they will use the combination of them for ramen, or different noodles or bread.

(Rudy) The milling technology is highly developed here.

It's the grade of flour that's key to the taste of the noodles for ramen.

(Rudy) Here it is.

(Daisuke & Rudy) Konnichiwa.

I'm Rudy Maxa.

My names Nishiyama.

Nice to meet you, Nishiyama-san.

Nice to meet you.

Welcome to our factory.

Thank you.

[Mr. Nishiyama speaks Japanese] Hai.

70 years ago his father started from here.

This cart?

This cart.

This is a restaurant, a mobile restaurant.

And his father was really well-known for his noodles, so a lot of people started asking him to sell his noodles to other restaurants.

And this empire grew from that.

[speaking Japanese] (Daisuke) Whoa.

Hai.

He sells to 19 different countries.

(Rudy) 19 different countries.

Well, I can't wait to see the factory.

(Rudy) The noodles are the most important part of ramen.

Four sheets of noodles are pressed together and then cut.

Something happens at the molecular level when you gently press the noodles for a long time.

The molecules of protein bind in a way that gives it a distinct texture-- "a mouth feel" or a chewiness.

(Daisuke) Check this out, you gotta taste this water.

200 meters under this factory is a well, and all the factory water comes from that well.

Mighty good water.

Yes!

And all the noodles made here are made from this water.

(Rudy) Daisuke's business partner, chef Katsuya Fukushima, is here to work with Master Ishida to develop recipes for their Sapporo ramen restaurant in Washington DC.

Tell me about ramen generally, for someone who might never have tasted it.

The 4 essential components of ramen are stock, noodles, tare, which is the sauce or flavoring, and the aromatic oil.

We begin with the stock, we have pork bones, pigs feet.

(Rudy) Ok, pigs feet.

Literally.

(Katsuya) Whole chicken.

Some aromatics, onion, ginger, garlic.

(Rudy) Is this sort of what I think it is?

Is this like a chicken foot?

(Katsuya) That's what it is.

(Rudy) So you got foot of pig, foot of chicken.

(Katsuya) Oh yeah.

(Rudy) Is this pretty common in ramen around the world?

(Katsuya) Oh yeah, oh yeah.

That's flavor right there.

(Rudy) That's flavor.

(Katsuya) Everything goes in that pot.

(Rudy) How long does it cook?

(Katsuya) It goes about 16 hours.

So tare is the flavoring, or the sauce that distinguishes the different types of ramen.

So we have shio tare, which is a salt ramen.

shoyu tare, which is a soy sauce.

And the miso tare, which is the miso...

These are all different kinds of ramen you can order in a restaurant?

(Katsuya) Correct.

(Rudy) You have a secret ingredient that you use?

(Katsuya) Of course, of course.

(Rudy) What is it?

I can't tell you that, otherwise it wouldn't be a secret.

(Rudy) That's true.

What are these other toppings here?

(Katsuya) So what we have here is chashu, which is the roasted pork.

sliced very thin.

We have the menma.

(Rudy) What is this?

(Katsuya) Menma, this is bamboo.

(Rudy) That's been marinated obviously.

(Katsuya) It's been marinated.

And this, one of my favorites, is the marinated egg.

(Rudy) Marinated in what?

(Katsuya) It's another secret.

(Rudy) Another secret.

Alright.

Okay.

(Katsuya) What we here are bean sprouts, sliced onions, pork, and garlic, and these are what get woked.

Right at the last minute?

Right at the last minute.

Then put on top.

And put it right on top.

This is what makes it unique to Sapporo style ramen.

What Ishida-san is doing here is fluffing the noodles.

(Rudy) Why do we fluff noodles?

(Katsuya) Because otherwise it's one big clump, and when you throw it into the hot water, it just congeals into one ball.

(Rudy) What makes these noodles so special?

Because I know different ramen shops get different noodles.

(Katsuya) You can specify length, the curliness, the thickness.

(Rudy) Where do your noodles come from?

Ours come from Nishiyama-san.

(Rudy) Right here?

Right here.

Rudy, so this is where everything comes together.

Everything's going to happen really fast.

[Mr. Ishida speaks Japanese] (Katsuya) Hai!

Ishida-san is dropping the noodles.

I got the aromatic oil.

(Rudy) How long does it take noodles to cook.

(Katsuya) A minute, 30 seconds.

(Rudy) A minute, 30.

Alright, (Katsuya) So that's our tare right there.

That's my pork.

(Rudy) And you're doing the bean sprouts and the oil right now?

Along with garlic?

No?

(Katsuya) And I got the soup right here.

(Rudy) Ahhh, there goes the broth.

Here comes the broth.

(Katsuya) Here we go.

We bring it back to a boil.

(Rudy) And does it generally take 2 chefs to do this?

Somebody doing the noodles, somebody doing the other?

(Katsuya) It takes 3 chefs.

(Rudy) 3 chefs.

(Katsuya) You're our third.

(Rudy) Yeah, I'm a big help.

Alright, there's the broth.

The noodles are ready.

That's the old, old style way of doing it.

(Rudy) I like it!

Noodles go in.

Bean sprouts.

(Katsuya) So there's the topping that we had prepped earlier.

(Rudy) Alright.

Here comes the eggs, secret eggs.

(Rudy and Katsuya) Pork.

(Katsuya) That's the Tokyo negi, the scallions, and seaweed, and a little tuft of finely grated ginger.

It's really beautiful, it's pretty to look at.

And delicious.

Arigato chef, thank you very much.

And thank you chef.

Thank you!

[Daisuke speaks Japanese] (Rudy) Arigato.

(Daisuke) Thank you.

(Rudy) Oh my goodness!

Alright, I think I got this-- head over the bowl, let every noodle bring the soup to my mouth, taste every sip, and notice the difference.

No talking.

And no talking.

That's the hardest for me.

(Daisuke) A bowl of ramen is a contradiction.

You have the fresh and the aged all there.

And that's why it's so addictive.

Also, because every bite is different, our mind is always working, it's always stimulated.

Then ramen is highly nutritious with lots of amino acids, in soup form, which is easiest to digest.

Your body recognizes that it's good for you.

And all that comes back to nature-- ramen warms you up in the cold spring in Hokkaido.

(Rudy) Siberian winds dip into the Sea of Japan and dump heaps of powdery snow all winter long here in Hokkaido.

The number of words for snow in Japanese constitute a blizzard in themselves.

There's a word for first snow, a word for light snow, flying snow, a snowstorm, even a word for the sunny morning after a snowstorm.

You may not think of Japan as a destination ski area, but Niseko, located southwest of Sapporo, is one of the most popular ski resorts in Asia with deep snow that people call "champagne powder."

A trip down the slopes of Niseko takes in the glory of the perfect volcano, Yotei, across the way.

Ski, onsen, ramen, ski, onsen, ramen.

Whiskey.

Hold on.

Scottish whiskey in Japan?

Oh yeah.

The world discovered Japan's whiskeys some time ago.

In fact, Japan regularly wins top honors in international competitions for its Scottish style whiskey.

Japanese whiskey production largely comes down to one guy, Masataka Taketsuru.

He was sent to study whisky in Scotland in 1918.

He even enrolled in the University of Glasgow to study chemistry.

When he came home, he brought the secrets of making whiskey and a Scottish wife.

(Daisuke) And he finds this land not too far away from Sapporo, here in Yoichi.

Now, he was looking for a climate similar to Scotland, of course availability of high quality water, and peat.

And then he sets up his company, Nikka.

Well, this is the crux of it.

(Rudy) Here it is.

This is what we came here for.

(Daisuke) Exactly!

Konnichiwa.

[speaks Japanese] So I like this one.

They only have this here.

They don't sell it anywhere else.

(Rudy) Really?

(Daisuke) Yeah.

Look at that.

That's a generous pour right there.

(Rudy) The extra pour is a little generosity.

I love that about Japan.

(Daisuke) Domo arigato.

(Rudy) Arigato.

Umm!

I imagine some kodawari is involved here?

How'd you guess?

(Rudy) I'm learning, I'm learning.

These people are experts at blending.

They are the shokunin of whiskey making.

(Rudy) This is as spectacular as any whiskey I've had anywhere.

Yeah, and they have a deep respect for their own craft, you know.

So do I.

(Rudy) Adjacent to Yoichi, the town of Otaru reflects the glory days of herring fishing.

In its heyday, Otaru was rolling in money.

The sea teemed with fish, and banks, many of them made of stone, teemed with cash.

The herring wealth was so great that the neighboring town of Otaru was called Zenibako, literally, the money box!

But the herring moved on and so did the money.

All of Hokkaido was originally inhabited by the Ainu people, hunters and gatherers with a tradition of tattooing.

The lovely Shakotan Peninsula and its misty shores evoke Hokkaido's distant past.

Nature is good to Hokkaido.

We're headed south to experience the rich seafood.

There are onsen everywhere and volcanoes loom large.

We're encamped at the Hotel Windsor.

Look one way and you're looking at Lake Toya, a caldera.

Look the other way and there's the wild sea.

These volcanoes aren't dormant, either.

They're constantly having minor eruptions.

In fact, Japan leads the world with more than 1200 eruptions, since anyone started counting.

In 1943, after a series of earthquakes, a lava dome, called Mt.

Showa-shinzan suddenly burst up in a farmer's field.

Showa-shinzan means "new mountain in the Showa period."

I wonder, does it put an extra spring in your step, or make you live a little more fully to constantly be in the presence of these steaming giants?

Maybe you enjoy your ramen just that much more, knowing that life could be fleeting.

It's very clear that seafood is huge here in Hokkaido.

Oh yeah.

As a matter of fact people travel here, just to eat seafood.

Sea urchin, crab, salmon roe, live scallops.

(Rudy) These crabs are amazing, they look beautiful.

They don't even look real they're so gorgeous.

(Daisuke) It's a big thing here.

(Rudy) Unbelievable.

(Daisuke) The water here is really nice, the cold water, nutritious so they get really plump and tasty.

(Rudy) A-ha!

(Daisuke) As a matter of fact, I'm getting really hungry myself.

(Rudy) You are always hungry.

(Daisuke) What can I say, I'm a greedy eater.

(Rudy) Two coastal currents collide in the waters here, a cold, nutrient-rich flow and a warm, highly saline current.

These waters are perfect for seafood, especially sea scallops.

(Daisuke) Ah there he is.

Konnichiwa.

(Rudy) Konnichiwa.

(Daisuke) Rudy, this is Mr. Uchiumi.

He just went scallop fishing this morning.

And was it a good catch?

[Daisuke speaks Japanese; Mr. Uchiumi speaks Japanese] (Daisuke) Best conditions, he said.

So 8 to 10 hours a day out in the water, sometimes longer.

But when the sea is rough it takes a little longer to reel them in.

(Rudy) It could be snowing, right?

It's winter.

(Daisuke) Just the two of them.

(Rudy) Just he and his wife go out in this boat?

Every night at like 2:00 in the morning?

In the winter, it could be snowing.

(Daisuke) Yeah, yeah.

That's it.

Of course, unless when it's really rough and you can't take out the boat.

He's out there every day.

(Rudy) Scallop fishing, I gather, is a big industry here?

(Daisuke) Over here more than 90% of the fishing is the scallops.

As a matter of fact, this area has the majority of scallop culture and fishing in Japan.

(Rudy) Amazing.

Amazing!

I'm in awe of him, you can tell him.

[Daisuke speaks Japanese] Hard work.

(Rudy) Clearly.

(Daisuke) It's all about passion.

(Rudy) Clearly, clearly.

[Shiho speaks Japanese] (Daisuke) Look at this!

This is from this morning.

(Rudy) Well, I know these are scallops.

(Daisuke) That's right.

(Rudy) And what are these?

(Daisuke) They're all parts of scallops.

This is the roe.

(Rudy) Ah the roe.

(Daisuke) This is the gasket part.

It's all edible.

The only part you don't eat is that black part.

Every other part of scallop is edible.

This one is shashimi.

(Rudy) It's ready to go.

(Daisuke) It is, yeah.

It's so sweet.

That is great.

(Daisuke) Oh my god this is amazing.

He says the season to eat the roe, when it's this good, is only about a month.

Which is now.

Now is the season.

So now she's going to do grilled scallops for us.

(Rudy) Ah, okay.

[Daisuke speaks Japanese] (Rudy) Ah, we grill the whole thing.

And it pops open at some point?

(Daisuke) Yeah, It's very simple.

(Rudy) And it took 2 years for these to get to this size.

They're beautiful.

Look at this, look at this open up.

Open sesame.

Here it comes, here it comes.

[Daisuke speaks Japanese] [Shiho speaks Japanese] (Rudy) Then she flips it over.

(Daisuke) Ah!

So there's a secret to this.

You're supposed to put the flat part first.

And then you flip it.

This was all the juice stays on that rounded part.

(Rudy) Makes perfect sense.

Oh, that looks terrific!

That looks so good.

There are 3 scallops on the grill, there are 4 of us.

This could get very, very ugly.

A little butter on top now.

Oh, my goodness.

(Daisuke) Domo arigato.

(Rudy) Do you put the whole thing in your mouth at once?

(Daisuke) No, no.

You sort of bite off bits and pieces.

Different parts taste different, but you can eat the whole thing.

(Rudy) Right right right.

I get it.

[Daisuke speaks Japanese] The king of all scallops.

The finest scallop I've ever eaten in my long, long life of eating fish.

And the work that they put into make this, it's just incredible!

(Rudy) Well, it's an honor to be in this home.

(Daisuke) Domo arigato.

(Rudy) Thank you very much.

(Rudy) From the surf to the turf.

East of Sapporo lies a vast flatland, unusual in this mountainous country.

Daisuke tells me the finest vegetables in the world are cultivated here.

We're in search of the nagaimo, a large yam.

It's early spring and the farms are covered in snow, but before long this area will be a cornucopia of wheat, potatoes, beans and sugar beets.

The climate's harsh, but the soil is rich.

Underneath the snow the nagaimo is ready to harvest.

A local farmer, Fujita-San, showed us what they look like.

(Daisuke) Domo.

(Rudy) Konnichiwa.

What's going on down here.

(Daisuke) Well these are nagaimo, and as you can see, they have to dig this trench to harvest it.

You can't just yank them from the ground, they're over 3 feet long.

Therefore, these trenches are dug, they go down there and by hand they dig them out.

Sort of like an archaeological dig.

They pull them almost out from the side?

That's right.

(Rudy) As so to harvest this whole field, they've got a dig a trench along every single row.

(Daisuke) As far as you can see, as far as you can see.

And he's the man to do it.

(Rudy) How long has he been doing this?

Is it a family thing?

[Daisuke and Mr. Fujita speak Japanese] He's the 5th generation, and he's been doing it for 20 years.

5th generation.

So that goes back, I don't know, what, 150 years or so?

Possibly?

That's amazing!

Is there going to be a 6th generation?

[Daisuke and Mr. Fujita speak Japanese] (Rudy) Okay!

(Daisuke) There will be 6th generation.

(Rudy) All right!

Would you ask him if he would be kind enough to pull a nagaimo out of the ground?

I'm sure he will.

Let me ask.

[Daisuke and Mr. Fujita speak Japanese] (Rudy) Oh my goodness, I can't believe the size of this thing, this is enormous.

This is huge.

I had no idea it was this large.

(Daisuke) That is some delicious nagaimo.

(Rudy) At the farmer's collective, we get a chance to taste the results of all this hard work.

(Daisuke) Nagaimo are highly nutritious.

You can eat them raw, or you can eat them cooked.

Both are great.

Oh, look at that!

(Rudy) So we have nagaimo.

What is this?

(Daisuke) This is called yamakake.

It's grated nagaimo, and it's tuna inside.

It's delicious.

So it's used as a sauce on the tuna.

(Daisuke) Um-hm.

Taste how sweet this is?

(Rudy) It's very pleasant.

(Daisuke) It's boiled nagaimo, then they make it into a mash.

They add a little bit of potato starch, they knead it, and then they make it into that shape.

(Rudy) Okay, and they're going to fry it up.

(Daisuke) A little bit of butter.

Mmmm!

That smells good.

Arigato.

(Rudy) Arigato.

[speaking Japanese] I see we got a little fork here.

They call it dumplings of nagaimo.

Dumplings.

Mmmm.

This is like dessert.

It's a combination of pancake and custard.

Mmm!

Arigato.

That's so nice.

[Daisuke speaks Japanese] (Rudy) Thank you.

Now that I can say nagaimo, does that mean anything by the way, in English?

Well, the literal translation would be "long potato."

But what's particular about this place, there's actually a collective of 250 nagaimo farmers.

Just in this area?

Yeah, and their aim is to make the best nagaimo possible which they would export all over the world.

Well, it's worth exporting.

I'd say.

I wish they'd export a little my way.

Absolutely.

(Rudy) Back in Sapporo again for one last bowl of ramen.

Daisuke's right-- I've been craving ramen.

In fact, I'm addicted.

(Daisuke) You're going to love this place.

(Rudy) Smells good.

(Daisuke) Let's take this one.

(Rudy) So everybody knows miso soup, right?

Well, miso soup and ramen were two different things entirely.

But back in the 1950s, in a ramen restaurant, the staff would eat miso soup for lunch and sometimes, they threw ramen noodles in it.

When the customers saw this, they started demanding it.

But the owner didn't want to put it on the menu because he didn't think it was good enough.

An American diplomat living here encouraged him to do it, and finally he relented.

The rest is history.

(Rudy) Here it comes.

(Daisuke) Domo.

(Rudy) Arigato, arigato.

(Daisuke) Oh, look at that!

(Rudy) We have here miso soup and ramen noodles.

Let me ask you something about... Rudy, time to eat!

Right!

[slurping] (Rudy) Time to concentrate.

As I explore every corner of this soup, I can taste the mountain water, the fine flour, and the perfect noodles.

It's steaming, like the bubbling onsen, and fiery hot, like Hokkaido's majestic volcanoes.

And like all the cuisine from Hokkaido, it's rich with the kodawari of the unsung heroes; the artisans who never stop striving to be better.

Nature is good to Hokkaido.

And the people of Hokkaido are good to nature.

Whew!

Can I speak now?

Yeah sure.

Well, you're lucky, because I'm speechless!

[laughing] Okay!

(woman) For more information on the places featured on "Rudy Maxa's World," visit... To order DVD's of "Rudy Maxa's World," visit... (woman) "Rudy Maxa's World" is sponsored by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries-- committed to bringing authentic Japanese food products to the world.

Additional funding provided by United Airlines, serving more than 330 destinations worldwide.

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