[sitar plays in bright rhythm] (Rudy Maxa) I'm navigating the biggest city in the world to taste my way through the land of perfection.

I'm here to unravel the systems, secrets, and synergy that create the most celebrated food in the world-- Japanese cuisine.

(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... [rhythmic electronic dance music plays] (Rudy Maxa) Tokyo is the heart of Japan and its exquisite cuisine.

With 37,000,000 people and an uncountable number of restaurants, it's no surprise.

From the lowliest convenience store to the hautest of haute cuisine, Tokyo strives for perfection.

Just look around-- the department stores display strawberries like jewels, the shop windows are works of art.

A cup of tea is ritual and poetry, a tuna sells for 60 grand.

It's not a whim, this food fixation, it's a way of life.

It's history, it's effort, it's being the best and then getting better.

From its people to its cuisine, Tokyo is one of the most exciting cities in the world.

On previous visits, I've only scratched the surface of the culture of its food.

This time, I've got a secret weapon.

And that weapon is Daisuke Utagawa, my longtime friend and Washington, D.C. restaurateur who travels the world introducing people to food.

Daisuke.

Rudy, you made it!

And this time, I'm the lucky guy.

We're exploring Japanese culture and lifestyle through the country's cuisine.

So where are we right now?

Well, we're at Ochiai, my favorite sushi restaurant in Tokyo.

This place specializes in what we call Edomae sushi.

Edomae means in front of Edo, Edo is the old term for Tokyo.

And originally, it was the fish that was taken from the Edo Bay or Tokyo Bay.

Today it means a particular technique has gone into preparation of sushi.

(Rudy) So what will be begin with?

[Daisuke & the chef speak Japanese] What's good, what?

Well, he's got tuna, he's got what's called saori and he has what's called kohada.

(Rudy) And he's serving it as sushi?

(Daisuke) Oh yeah.

When the sushi is served, you have to eat it straight away, because from that moment on, it's going to go downhill.

That's why you should sit in front of the sushi chef.

(Rudy) I think we're in excellent position for that.

Can't get much more in front of the chef than this.

And this is the reason he's doing this place, there's only 8 seats here.

He could be serving more, but he just wants to make sure that each experience is very special and proper really.

How long do you suppose he's been a sushi chef?

[Daisuke & the chef speak Japanese] (Daisuke) 21 years.

This is tuna, it's a bit of vinegared rice, wasabi, but it's really something special.

Oh, that's the tuna, that's good.

So this is fresh wasabi he's scraping off here.

(Daisuke) Yup, not only is it fresh wasabi, it's called Mazuma wasabi, Mazuma wasabi has a lot more floral quality, and you can really tell it's a plant, it's a beautiful plant, you'll see it very soon.

(Rudy) How many people work in the kitchen for these 9 seats?

[Daisuke & the chef speak Japanese] This is just him.

Just him.

Yeah.

Runs the whole place.

That's right.

You know, he's not doing this for show, he has to kind of put an air pocket in the center, and what air pocket does is when you put it into your mouth, it makes that rice sort of fall apart.

Then you'll feel the vinegar, the vinegar goes up your nostril, and it gets so you really, really taste the fish when you chew, as you chew the fish and the rice, that sweetness of the fish will just sort of come out.

[the chef speak Japanese] Look at that!

Umm.

What kind of fish is this?

This is anago, it's sea eel.

Oh, sea eel; I love eel.

Mmmm!

See, this is poetry right here, this is like haiku.

It's simple but there's a whole universe in it.

There's a Japanese word called "kodawari," and that means the effort you put in and also the knowledge that you have of your craft to make it really good.

The pursuit of perfection-- "kodawari," new word to me.

There are all these people who are in the supply chain that has this kodawari, did their part of work, these unsung heroes, if you will, so I suggest we take a little trip around Tokyo, go see their work, and by the time we're finished, you might taste this a little bit differently.

I am perfectly ready to get my Ph.D. in kodawari.

Great, but before that, should we have some more of this?

Absolutely.

Yeah.

[speaks Japanese] [speaking Japanese] (Rudy) Our first stop, naturally enough, is the massive city of fish, Tsukiji Market.

Mr. Ochiai, whose restaurant is called Ochiai, is going to introduce us to his favorite fish mongers.

I love coming back here.

Well you know, without Tsikiji, there'd be no sushi as we see it today.

I mean, it's all about these fish mongers.

They really strive to get the best from all over the world really.

And then, they want to make sure the fish they've gotten is sold to the best guy who know how to pull it out.

(Rudy) They really care who buys it?

(Daisuke) Absolutely.

It's not just a business for them, it is their kodawari, so the work that they have done, they want to pass it on to somebody who understands it and who puts their own kodawari and then goes to the customers.

Here's our chef.

[speaks Japanese] Does the chef come here every morning?

Every morning, I mean he has to, the fish has to be fresh.

Watch out for these carts, okay, they have absolute right of way here.

When you get broadsided by one of these, you must apologize.

Rudy, think deli, go with the flow.

(Rudy) Okay here comes an opening, here comes an opening, now they're coming from the other side.

My god, they're like swarms of bees these little guys.

Alright, across, I'm across to the other side.

Amazing.

(Daisuke) Well, you have a long way to go before you become a sushi chef.

(Rudy) Well, I mean come on, it's rush hour here!

Do you think he generally buys all his fish from this one guy?

He goes to several places, but this is one of the places that he likes to come to.

It's all about the relationship, they know he's a very good chef, so they will sell him something very special.

(Rudy) They're pleased to have him offering their fish.

(Daisuke) Of course, yeah, because these are wild, it's not manufactured goods, sometimes you get really exceptional fish, and that, you save it for the person who can actually really bring out the goodness of it.

Well, all these fish look the same to me.

How does anybody decide which one to buy?

There's a Japanese word called mekiki, it means being able to grade just by sight, 'cause you can't eat them obviously.

But just by sight, you're supposed to be able to tell whether it's good or better or amazing.

So we're going to the clam store now.

(Rudy) Clam store it is.

(Daisuke) Yup, remember the clam we had last night?

I remember that clam from last night.

Very special clam.

(Rudy) This is the only guy who sells it.

Right?

That's right, the owner of this place is essentially a clam nut, so whenever this particular clam comes to the market, he goes straightaway and he buys them all.

So as a sushi chef, you have to know where to go to because these are specialized people.

Right?

That's the clam king right there, and he has specially 5 kilos for the entire market, so you have to know that.

Arigato, thank you very much for your time and for your lovely dinner the other night.

[speaking Japanese] (Rudy) He's one great guy, he is a great guy.

It never hurts to bolster your mekiki with some divinity.

Just outside Tsukiji, a small Shinto shrine draws market men and fishermen, who offer sake to the deities.

It's name is Namiyoke-jinja, Shrine to Protect from Waves.

It's a serene bubble amid the chaos.

After the frenzy of Tsukiji, it's a nice change of pace to travel to the front of Edo, the waterfront, on the ferry from Hamarikyu to Asakusa.

It's a serene trip along the waterways of a city that was once crisscrossed with canals.

Tokyo began as a fishing village and it's waters teemed with all kinds of sea life.

Sure Tokyo is crowded and jumbotrons, neon, and high-rises dominate, but neighborhoods like Asakusa are among my favorites.

You can wander amongst local shopping and get a vibe for their way of life.

This is a pretty lively block.

(Daisuke) Yeah, and it's not all about high end, this kodawari.

Like this one, I mean why is this one busier than the other ones, so on and so forth, it's also competition.

Right?

And these are clearly locals here.

Oh yeah, and it's very affordable.

The fragrance, it makes me hungry.

Are you hungry?

I'm hungry, yeah.

I am too.

In the late 1500s, a rising feudal lord named Tokugawa leyasu, established a new headquarters in a swampy fishing village on the east coast of Honshu Island.

The city he founded was called Edo, later Tokyo.

Leyasu forced samurai from across Japan to come live in Tokyo.

(Daisuke) These guys, samurais and workers, they were given a place to live, but it wasn't big enough for them to cook.

They did have money, so they would be out in the streets looking for something to eat.

And because of this, street vendors came about.

What happened was, the sushi, they wanted to sort of simplify the sushi, so these guys came out, they put together vinegared rice with fresh fish that you found on the bay and that's the beginning of Edomae sushi as we see it today.

So Edomae sushi began as street food in Tokyo.

Exactly, and rice is so important to us, the word gohan, which is rice, also means the meal.

Ah perfect.

Have some street food.

Sure, can I peel off some of those shrimp there?

That must be Edomae shrimp.

(Rudy) Rice is everything in Japan.

Back in the old days, rice was a commodity, people were taxed in rice, rice equaled wealth.

Along with the soil and the water, it takes a lot of hard work to produce great rice.

So this is the rice meister's place?

(Daisuke) That's right, you're going to know everything you need to know about rice here.

[speaking Japanese] Could you ask him how many generations the rice shop has been in the family?

[speaking Japanese] Fourth generation.

Fourth generation.

He's the third, and his son is the fourth generation.

And does the family live here?

[speaking Japanese] Yeah, he lives right here.

That is great.

Yeah, it's wonderful.

It seems like there's so many kinds of rice here, how does anyone know which one to pick?

At this point it's not so much about the best anymore, because the fact that it's here, it already means that it's in the very high level.

We have a rice meister here, he's a 5-star rice meister, which means he knows every characteristics of all these different rice, and he might blend them.

So this is the back of the store, and this is where they polish the rice.

This one is freshly polished rice.

I want you to look at each grain of rice.

You see how they're all even?

And also it's almost translucent.

(Rudy) They look like jewels, like little jewels.

(Daisuke) Absolutely.

And then the smell, well to me the important smell is that unmistakably sweet, faint, that comforting rice smell.

And the fresher the better.

[speaking Japanese] He just told me that he knows the farmer works so hard to make good rice, that he has to be part of the process and he has to make sure that he pulls the best from this by polishing it the right way.

God, this is just so comforting, especially for us Japanese, this is really the heart of Japanese food.

(Rudy) Tokyoites frequent any number of rice ball vendors called onigiri shops.

This onigiri shop is run by the son of our rice meister.

(Daisuke) With onigiri you use different toppings, either toppings or you put something in the center.

But what separates this place from other onigiri shops is how good their rice is, and what I want you to try is shio onigiri, which has no toppings, it's just rice and salt.

[Daisuke speaks Japanese] Take one, before you eat, I want you see that each grain of rice, I mean, look at that, see how glossy it is, and you can see it all apart.

That's really important, have it.

Ah!

This is the smell.

How does one eat it, right off the top?

Just like this, you bite into it like a hamburger.

Okay.

Just taste that lingering sweetness; it's still in your palate?

I mean, that sort of faint, sweet, very comforting sweetness?

That's really where it's at, I mean when I was growing up here in Tokyo, my grandmother would not let me leave a single grain of rice in the rice bowl.

And it was very difficult to work the chopsticks to take each grain off the bowl because it was quite sticky.

Right?

So after I'm done, she would pour hot water into my rice bowl and this way I can eat every single grain of it.

She said, a lot of people worked very hard to make this rice and you're not going to waste a single grain of it.

And you did what your grandmother said.

(Daisuke) Even today.

(Rudy) There seem to be a lot of family-run businesses in Japan.

(Daisuke) Yeah well, you know, if your family has been in the same business for generations, and perfected and kept working on making things better, why don't you pass it on?

It's the passing on, the kodawari to the next generation.

The next generation can even further it-- that's the whole point of Japanese cuisine.

(Rudy) If you want a few chopsticks or any kitchen utensil conceivable, there's a whole neighborhood for that in Tokyo called Kappabashi.

(Daisuke) Well, let's check out this chopsticks store.

(Rudy) This is all chopsticks?

(Daisuke) I suppose, yeah, it is.

(Rudy) All chopsticks all the time.

Oh my goodness.

Wow, they have some beautiful ones here!

These are arranged like eyeglasses or jewels.

(Daisuke) Yeah, it's like a museum of chopsticks.

Oh, I like this one.

Now, what makes these special compared to the less expensive ones?

Well, obviously aesthetic is one, the way it feels, the balance, and the craftsmanship.

Look at that, this is wabi-sabi right here; Sort of an indentation.

And when you have these light chopsticks, you can really feel what's at the end of it; it's sort of a touchy-feely sort of thing right?

It enhances your... You can feel what's at the end of it?

Yeah, you can.

Oh I guess.

You can, try it.

You can use a fork and feel what's on the end of it.

You cannot!

Not with a fork-- try picking this up.

Doesn't it tell you what you're about to eat?

Yeah, it tells me it's a very slippery little nut that's hard to pick up.

Can't you feel what's at the end?

I mean, anticipation what's about to happen?

Only you can make chopsticks that sexy.

(Rudy) The sun is setting and the Neon City is coming to life.

The best time of day in Tokyo is about to begin.

One of my favorite stories involving Daisuke took place years ago in Washington, D.C. We'd gone to a movie, it let out very late, we were hungry, there was a restaurant across the street.

It was a chain restaurant, but a pretty good chain restaurant and I said, hey they have good salads there, let's go have dinner there, and he said, Rudy, you only have a finite number of meals in your entire life, you really want to spend one of them there?

And of course, we didn't.

You can bet we won't waste a meal in this city.

Sushi, yakitori, soba, tonkatsu, tempura, shabu shabu, udon-- the list goes on and on.

Lines spill into the streets and everywhere restaurants compete to be the best; to specialize in one thing and make that one thing perfect.

For a trip back in time, I'm riding on the last streetcar of its kind in the city from Waseda to Minowa.

It's a look at lived-in Tokyo, the tram practically runs through peoples' backyards.

Minowa is small town Tokyo, a quaint little gem in a swirl of Tokyo satellites, far from the glam and glitz, this is Tokyo of the past.

In 1641, the reigning Shogun shut off contact with the outside world, and so Japan remained largely isolated for the next 200 years.

With no new materials or ideas, the Japanese set about to specialize and perfect what they had, and you can taste that perfection in every one of the traditional foods.

One of the subtle but important ingredients in sushi is the vinegar that gets mixed with the rice.

Edomae sushi uses a particular form of red vinegar.

It's made from the leaves of sake-- the residual yeast and other particles left over from sake production.

Alright, so behind me is the leaves, which is a beginning (Daisuke) That's right.

(Rudy) And this is the ending.

(Daisuke) That's right.

Ooh, that's rich, ooh!

Beautiful smell.

Now, this is just an ingredient.

Right?

To become sushi, you need this, but this has to be perfected.

To make this ingredient perfect, you have to have another layer of ingredient before this that's perfect.

So ingredient upon ingredient upon ingredient, and at each step, people are working to make it perfect and this is going to go to Ochiai-san, who's going to make sushi rice with this.

It really, this is like elixir of vinegar.

Lot of umami.

Wow!

A lot of umami.

Yeah, a lot of flavor, exactly.

(Rudy) For all its refinement of culture, Tokyo adores all things kitch.

If the people revere the steady perfection of every ingredient, every stroke of calligraphy, every line of haiku, there's another side that adores the immediate, the gigantic, the now.

Sushi actually sprang from that vitality, impatience, and love with the new.

Sushi on the streets of Edo was fast food, grab-and-eat fare for the laborers and Samurai on the go.

Imagine sushi and the thrill of gambling combined and you have Kurazushi.

(Daisuke) This is not exactly Edomae sushi, but it's fast, it's cheap, and it's a lot of fun.

How does it work?

Well, you take what you want from here, just kind of lift it up and plop, there you go.

Or you can use one of these and order what you want.

(Rudy) I'll have apple juice.

(Daisuke) One and order.

And they just bring it right over.

They're not going to bring it, you're going to see it right here.

The drink's going to come on another conveyor belt?

Sure, sure, it'll stop right here.

[Rudy laughs] That is incredible!

Let's take this before it runs away.

That is incredible, kids must love a place like this.

(Daisuke) Yeah, kids love it, it's easy to come here with family, you know, you just sit here, you take what you want, you eat, you play the game.

Before we came here, you were telling me about the plates, what's the deal with the plates?

Well, what you do is, when you're done with it, you sort of slide these plates in there, and every 5 of them will trigger sort of a slot machine things here.

If you hit the right combination, you will win a little prize.

Like a Toyota?

[laughs] That would be nice!

Not a Toyota?

No, go ahead just slide it in.

There you go.

So that's one plate down.

Yeah, you've got to get 4 more.

Here it comes again.

There it is.

Unbelievable!

Yeah.

All right, Daisuke this one's yours, I can't possibly eat another bite.

Listen, we gotta win with this many plates.

I sure hope so.

Should we start feedin' it in?

Let's do it.

All right, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

All right.

Baby needs a new pair of shoes, come on.

Oh this doesn't look good, this does not look good.

Does that mean I won?

You won.

I hope that's what it means, what did we win?

What is it?

You're a big wiener.

You know what this is?

No, I have no idea what it is.

This is ikura eraser.

Oh hey, I'll trade ya', I'll trade ya'.

I don't think so.

All right, we've got 5 more plates.

You keep eating!

I can't eat any more.

(Rudy) We've traced the source of the fish, the rice, and the vinegar and witnessed the kodawari of the unsung heroes in action.

Now we head to the countryside in search of the final ingredient, wasabi.

A couple of hours' drive outside of Tokyo, on the lush Izu Peninsula, wasabi farmers cultivate this fickle plant.

Wasabi is in the same plant family as horseradish and mustard.

It's harvested year 'round, but spring wasabi is the best and most flavorful.

It takes a ton of kodawari to nurture these slow-growing plants.

(Daisuke) This is some major irrigation work.

(Rudy) It's very, very impressive.

Is it difficult to grow wasabi?

[man speaks Japanese] (Daisuke) Well he's being very modest, he's saying it's really working with the nature or sometimes fighting with the nature, so I wouldn't say it's easy.

The most important thing about wasabi farm is actually the water and certain quality of water.

(Rudy) It seems it has to be moving as well.

(Daisuke) All the time; essentially we're sitting on a creek.

Number 2 is the environment, that includes actually the farm that he actually made, and the third important part is human work.

His work.

(Daisuke) His work.

He's a fourth generation.

Oh my goodness.

He's been doing it for 10 years himself, but it came all the way from his great grandfather.

(Rudy) So this is a mature plant, Daisuke?

(Daisuke) Yeah, 2 years.

(Rudy) Right, and this is a particular kind.

How do you pronounce it, mazu...?

(Daisuke) Mazuma wasabi.

(Rudy) Mazuma wasabi; it's a particular kind of wasabi.

(Daisuke) Well, it's considered the best wasabi.

(Rudy) And this is the actual wasabi here, correct?

Well, this is the part that you grind, but you can eat the whole thing.

When I go in the average Japanese restaurant anywhere in the world, I get this wasabi that's made from green powder and mixed with liquid, is that coming from a plant like this?

It has nothing to do with this.

This is the real thing; the green powder is really not real wasabi, it's really horseradish.

(Rudy) Is it time to taste the real thing?

(Daisuke) I sure hope so, I can't wait.

This is sharkskin.

(Rudy) That's sharkskin on there?

Have to get one of these.

[speaking Japanese] Oh!

Take a little bit and-- oh come on, pick it up, there we go.

Is that too much?

No, that's... More, more.

Like so?

Yeah.

[coughs slightly] Wow!

That is wasabi.

Whoo, and right to the top of the head.

It's beautiful, the flavor is great.

Oh my god.

Thank you so much Mr. Asada, that is-- it's good?

[Rudy & Daisuke laugh] [Rudy & Daisuke laugh] He's faking it, he's used to it.

Daisuke says that knowledge informs the palate, and it's true.

I can really discern now the flash of vinegar flavor on each glossy, hard-earned grain of rice, the fish that the fish monger only sells to someone who understands it, and the spark of wasabi that comes from the Izu Peninsula.

I've always loved sushi, but now that I understand the kodawari behind each element, I'll never eat sushi the same way.

So that was terrific.

It was, wasn't it?

So now you've taken this sushi journey around Tokyo-- what do you really taste?

Well, I taste the sea, I taste earth, I taste the rivers, I taste human pride.

That's haiku right there.

I've been telling you, sushi is poetry and frankly, I'd like to have some more.

We can do that.

Right on time.

(Rudy) Arigato.

(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.

United-- fly the friendly skies.

And by... [synthesizer fanfare]