Original subtitles

I'm Paul Hollywood, and yes, I like my food.

[narrator] And that's lucky, because food is why Paul has come to Japan

for the first time in his life.

-[Paul] Oh, no. -[laughter]

[narrator] He wants to expose himself to all this country has to offer,

although, thankfully that's not his bottom.

Paul's time here is about flexing his culinary muscles.

That's an oyster, not a mussel.

Paul is in Japan to eat.

[upbeat music playing]

[Paul] I've never been to Japan before.

I mean, why would I? I'm a baker.

It's all about rice and noodles, isn't it?

Anyway, I'm told it's now the number one destination for food lovers,

and that's why I'm here.

I'm on a bit of a mission,

to learn why this country is so obsessed with food.

That's mental.

To see if the food here is as good as everyone tells me...

[man] We like the snack food.

[laughter]

...and learn why eating plays such a crucial role

in all aspects of Japanese life.

Three hundred and fifty English pound for that strawberry.

Just think about that for a minute.

[narrator] And, you know, in a land of rice and noodles,

baker Paul may even discover the odd bap or two.

Bread is amazing.

I'm loving it, I'm in heaven.

[man screams] Welcome to Japan, Paul Hollywood!

I'm starting my journey in the biggest city on Earth...

Tokyo.

[narrator] Oh, snazzy graphics.

Greater Tokyo has over 38 million mouths to feed

and eating out is a way of life for the Edokko,

that's what you call people who live in Tokyo

because this was originally a small fishing village called Edo.

[woman singing Japanese]

[narrator] These days, Tokyo is paradise for food lovers.

It has more Michelin stars than any other city in the world

and the Edokko have over 160,000 restaurants to choose from.

Of course, when you find yourself in the middle of the world's

biggest megacity, you could easily get lost.

So, for his first day here, Paul's got a guide,

a comedian called Kilara, who knows and loves this city.

Over there. Look there.

-[Paul] Is that Godzilla? -Godzilla, yes.

The most famous Japanese actor.

[narrator] They'll be hanging out in Shinjuku.

Crammed full of bars and restaurants,

it's one of Tokyo's coolest neighbourhoods.

It's also home to half of the world's busiest railway station.

[Paul] I'm going to be here for a while.

I need to learn some of the day-to-day rules.

So, when you meet new people, just bow.

-Oh, just a bow? -Yes.

-Konnichi wa. -Konnichi wa.

Ah, right, okay. What's goodbye?

Goodbye is sayonara.

-Say-o-nara. -Sayonara.

Sayonara.

-Or you can say bye-bye. -Okay, bye-bye.

[narrator] Paul has three weeks of intensive eating ahead of him,

so what's called for is a crash course in Japanese restaurant etiquette

and how eating out here differs from what Paul's used to back in Britain.

British restaurant etiquette,

learn to use your knife and fork,

spend half an hour looking at the menu

then order what you always have, don't dribble, don't throw food,

pay the bill and leave a big tip.

[narrator] For Paul's first lesson in eating out Japanese-style,

Kilara takes him to a traditional tempura restaurant,

Tempura Tsunahachi.

[Kilara] Lunchtime.

-[laughs] -[Kilara] I'm so hungry.

[narrator] They've been tempura specialists here for nearly 100 years.

Konnichi wa. [speaks Japanese]

[narrator] The chef is Mr Kuwata, or Kuwata San.

-[Paul] So tempura. -Yes, tempura.

I mean, this is one of my favourite things, actually.

So, what's he got on the menu then? What's he got to offer?

I'd like to ask him his "omakase".

-[Paul] Omakase? -Omakase is--

he's going to serve what he thinks best today.

Ah, so we don't pick, it's up to the chef?

Yes. Er, because he is a specialist, he knows best, right?

-Yeah, of course. -[speaks Japanese]

[narrator] So, you avoid the embarrassment

of asking for the English menu

and omakase shows great respect to the chef,

meaning you get the pick of the day's freshest ingredients.

And when I say fresh...

[man speaking Japanese]

[narrator] Let's move on to his batter, shall we?

[Paul] He's not measuring it, is he? He's just putting it in by eye.

He knows what is should be like.

Throwing a little bit of a batter in the fat

to see how it's going to react.

[man speaking Japanese]

[Kilara] Here in Japan, we focus on one thing

and master it and we call the person "shokunin",

So, he is the shokunin of tempura.

[Paul] Is that all he does, tempura, that's his only job?

[Kilara] He's been focused on tempura for 22 years.

Wow.

So, he's a specialist?

[Kilara] Yes, the best specialist.

When I do my trade, I'm a baker, but that's pretty generic.

-Uh-hmm. -I cover a lot of things.

But these guys don't, they concentrate on one particular thing

and master it to the best.

Yes.

[narrator] So, first course, tempura prawn.

Starting with the head.

-[Paul] Shall we start? -Yeah, let's eat.

But before that, wipe your hand with this, yeah?

And some middle-aged guy always wipe their face too,

but please don't do that.

-Middle-aged guy? -[Kilara laughs]

-Yeah, you're young, so... -[Paul] Yeah, yeah.

I won't do that.

All right, can you just pick it up?

[Kilara] Let's use chopstick.

[Paul] It's got a tail, it's already got a handle.

I'm not brilliant with these, but okay.

[Kilara] But before that, let's show our gratitude against the food.

-Okay. -Itadakimasu.

Like, "Thank you for food".

Ita-da-ki-ma-su.

-Okay, itadamimas. -Okay. Thank you.

-[Paul] Okay. -[Kilara] All right, that's good.

Itadakimasu.

Oh, wow.

-[speaks Japanese] -[Paul] That's stunning.

Say "oishi".

Oishi. It's so light.

Melts in the mouth. Wow.

If that's the start, I tell you what, I can't wait for the rest.

[narrator] Now, you may think tempura is Japanese,

but this style of cooking was originally brought here

in the 16th century by Portuguese traders.

As with many ideas from the West though,

the Japanese have made it their own

and turned it into a culinary art form.

I mean, just look at that fish.

[Paul] Did he do that deliberately or is that just the way it happens?

[Kilara] He made it on purpose.

[Paul] Wow, that's amazing.

-[Kilara] Yes. -[Paul] Do you like that?

Yes. I really love fish.

Oh, this wakasagi has babies and eggs in his belly.

-Lovely. -Yeah.

Lovely.

So, he's doing a load more now.

Please stop pointing with chopsticks.

-Why? -It's rude.

-Okay. -[Kilara] Just put your chopstick--

-Ah, back on the block. -[Kilara] Yes.

[narrator] Chopstick etiquette is very important in Japan.

You don't point, you don't leave them in or on your bowl,

you don't stand them up in food,

and you definitely don't stab food with the--oh.

[Kilara] No. It's childish.

Like a five-year-old kid.

[Paul] Yeah, but five-year-old kids in Japan, they're experts, aren't they?

This is--I'm really hungry.

I reckon I can probably lose loads of weight in Japan,

cos I couldn't get enough food into my mouth.

Wow. I could have this every day.

Arigatou, chef. Oishi.

[Kilara] Very oishi.

That was fantastic. Absolutely beautiful.

[narrator] Final course, anago, or sea eel.

And first up, Paul gets to enjoy the eel's spine,

deep-fried and tied in a knot.

[Paul] I was a little dubious about eating spine, but wow.

It's like pork crackling.

That's bizarre.

Great though.

It was like a Michelin-starred pork scratching.

And the eel meat was even better.

Wow. That's beautiful.

How's Japanese fish?

-Fantastic. -Mm-hmm.

[Paul] I did think that my local chippy back home was unbeatable,

but that fried fish was the best fish I've ever had.

Really, really good. Really good.

-[Kilara] Really good. -[Paul] Eel-ly good.

Oh, is it British joke?

-Kind of, yeah. -Okay.

-[Paul] Mm. -[Kilara speaks Japanese]

-I'm a happy man. -Mm.

-Thank you for bringing me here. -Yeah.

This is spectacular.

If it gets any better than this, I think I'll move to Japan.

Oh, yeah?

[narrator] So, a quite fabulous start to Paul's food tour of Tokyo.

And next up, a bit of myth busting.

Apparently, Japan does do bread.

[Kilara] I heard you were a baker

so I brought Japanese most popular bakes today.

-Really? -Breads, yeah.

-Is it popular over here? -Yeah, very popular.

-I'd fancy a loaf. -This one.

It's very fresh bread.

In a can?

[Kilara] Pancan.

It tastes good.

-Well, I'll be the judge of that. -[Kilara] Wait, wait, wait.

Don't eat on the street.

Let's move to around the corner.

-Somewhere quieter? -Yes.

-So, people can't see you? -Yeah.

I mean, to be honest, I'd rather people didn't see me eat this.

So, there's another little etiquette slap for me.

Er, apparently you can't have food while you're on the street,

while you're in the metro, while you're driving.

[narrator] It's not a law, it's just seen as impolite to eat in public.

If you want a snack on the move, you find a quiet corner.

Like this one.

-So, let's eat around here. -[Paul] Okay.

-Nobody sees. -[Paul] I've got the orange one here.

[Kilara] Orange, and I take strawberry.

Oh, it smells sweet.

Do not eat.

Silicon to keep it fresh.

[Kilara] Yeah.

[Paul] What the hell?

[Kilara] How does it taste?

[Paul] It's a little bit chemical-ly.

-You know, the flavour's a bit artificial. -[Kilara] Mm, I see.

[narrator] It may not be the best bread Paul's ever tasted,

but Pancan did originally come to Japan

after the massive Kobe earthquake in 1995.

[Paul] Oh, "for emergency, for snack".

[narrator] I'm guessing flavour isn't the number one requirement

for emergency rations.

[Paul] Does it say anywhere here how long it'll last?

-[Kilara] Three years. -[Paul] Three years?

[Kilara] Yes.

[Paul] Is that the only bread you do in Japan?

[laughs] No. We have more.

Cos if that's the only bread in Japan, I'm in serious trouble.

[narrator] So, Paul's first experience of Japanese bread

certainly isn't winning any handshakes.

But next up, one of Paul's favourites,

fast food.

Love a burger.

Favourite meal, cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milkshake,

or just a big bucket of fried chicken.

Tokyo has more Michelin stars than any other city on the planet.

-Uh-huh. -[Paul] At the same time,

I've seen a lot of the Western franchises

-such as McDonald's. -Yes.

Wendy's, Burger King.

Also, you know, KFC.

[Paul] Is that popular? -[Kilara] Yeah, very popular,

especially for Christmas.

[narrator] Yep, she's right, and this is brilliant.

In 1974, KFC Japan promoted their fried chicken

as the perfect Christmas meal.

[woman sings Japanese]

[narrator] And the Japanese swallowed the idea hook,

line and chicken dipper.

Eating KFC on Christmas Day is now a Japanese national custom,

enjoyed by around four million Japanese families every year.

You need to pre-order your Christmas bucket

weeks in advance to avoid disappointment,

or face hours of queueing on the big day.

[Kilara] A lot of Japanese people think,

"Oh, Western people eat KFC on Christmas Day."

What?

Christmas in Britain you have turkey traditionally, or goose.

-Yeah. -But certainly not a KFC.

My God, it's a little embarrassing.

Do you think I need to reveal it to other Japanese people?

-I--do you know what? -I think that boat's sailed.

[speaks Japanese]

[narrator] Interestingly, the big Western chains

which dominate fast food worldwide

don't have it all their own way in Japan.

This advert is for MOS Burger, a home-grown Japanese chain

that's right up there with Colonel Sanders and Ronald.

-[all speaks in Japanese] -[woman speaks Japanese]

[narrator] MOS Burgers are big in Tokyo,

and their popularity is spreading right across Southeast Asia.

And one of their most popular offerings

puts a very Japanese twist on the conventional burger.

[Paul] I mean, they've replaced the bread with rice,

-to make it Japanese. -[Kilara] Mm-hmm.

Yeah, like a translation.

Smells like sushi.

Oh, yeah? It's a beef.

[Paul] I'm dying to see what this tastes like.

[Kilara] There should be a little soy-sauce taste, right?

-[makes sound] -[laughs]

-It's good. -[Kilara] Yeah.

Don't drop any trashes, please.

[Paul] I know.

It does work as a flavour, it really does. It tastes great.

The quality is all there.

But it's not very practical as an on-the-move food.

The tempura we had at lunchtime, that was a Portuguese import.

But you've done it again, you've got that classic Western food

and turned it into something that's Japanese.

I'm seeing a theme now in Japan.

-Mm. Such a great burger. -Wow. Wow.

-Well, I've had a fantastic day today. -Mm-hmm.

Um, arigatou. Thank you.

[speaks Japanese]

I'll do a West-- I'll do a Western one as well.

Okay.

[Paul] Thank you very much indeed.

-[Kilara] Sweet. Thank you. -[Paul] Enjoy your burger.

Yep. Thank you.

Itadakimasu.

Oh, I'm eating on the street.

[narrator] On Paul's second day in Tokyo,

he's heading upmarket.

His mission today is to find the very, very best high-end posh nosh

that this city has to offer.

Tokyo is the richest city on Earth,

and there are a lot of people here with a lot of money to spend.

And when it comes to buying food gifts,

the Japanese are prepared to spend a fair bit more than us Brits.

Food gifts in the UK.

Well, it's a bottle of something nice and a box of choccies, isn't it?

I sometimes bake a cake.

[narrator] Paul's in Ginza district.

It's like the Knightsbridge of Tokyo,

packed full of upmarket shops

and even more upmarket shoppers.

At its heart, is Japan's answer to Harrods, Isetan.

Isetan's food hall

is where Tokyo's richest residents come to buy food gifts.

And they're not here to grab a bargain.

[Paul] I've just been doing some maths,

and this little box here,

which contains five dried prawns with

one, two, three, four, five, six prawn crackers,

guess how much that costs?

Seventy-five quid.

Wow! Seventy-five quid.

Matsusaka, beef, loin.

Now, let me work this out quickly.

You're looking at...

£75 for 100 gram.

Now, you normally get an eight-ounce steak, don't you?

So, you'd be paying...

You've got to be joking?!

You'd be paying nearly 200 quid, per steak.

Wow!

[narrator] Gift giving is a very important part of Japanese culture,

and the quality of what you give

reflects the respect you have for someone.

And with everybody chasing the most perfect,

the most beautiful and the most exclusive gifts,

prices rocket.

The food-gift business in Japan

is worth a staggering £30 billion each year.

[Paul] You're thinking, I'm going to go to someone's house.

Bit of a celebration, family get-together,

you think, I'm going to go and buy 'em a couple of melons.

Oh, yeah. 230 quid.

I mean, they're beautiful and all that, but...

230 quid?

[narrator] Fruit is where the really big money's at in gift giving.

For up to 600 quid,

you can get a piece of fruit grown in a mould,

so it has an interesting shape.

You want perfect mangos, then you're talking up to £3,600 each.

And the current record is a pair of Yubari melons,

which sold at auction for £35,000.

Of course, if you enjoy paying a lot for your food,

then a Michelin Star or three is normally a good indicator

of a high price tag in a restaurant.

And as I think I mentioned earlier,

Tokyo is home to 230 Michelin-starred restaurants.

That's more than London, Paris, Berlin

and Barcelona put together, and more than any other city on Earth.

What's even more interesting is that Tokyo

can be one of the cheapest places in the world

to eat Michelin-starred food,

unlike our own fair capital.

A Michelin star is a guarantee of high quality,

but it also tends to be a guarantee

that you need to check your overdraft limit

before booking a table.

At my favourite Michelin-starred restaurant,

you're staring down the barrel of 400 quid per person

for a taster menu.

I don't go there that often.

[narrator] While Tokyo does do expensive,

this ordinary-looking ramen shop

is one of the world's cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants.

It's only got 12 seats,

meaning when it's open, there's not even room to swing a noodle.

So, Paul has popped in out of hours.

[Paul] Konnichiwa.

-Saito-san? -Saito, yes.

-Lovely to meet you. -[narrator] Nakiryu's owner is Chef Saito.

Bit of a Japanese Heston, isn't he?

A bowl of his ramen noodles starts at just 850 yen.

That's a Michelin-starred meal for under seven quid!

[Paul] It smells amazing.

-[speaks Japanese] -Smells delicious, yeah.

Fantastic.

For the British person that's watching this at home,

what is ramen?

[speaking Japanese]

[narrator] Don't worry, I can help here.

Ramen is noodles, in a tasty broth,

usually with some meat, seafood or tofu plopped on top.

Think of it like a...

a posh Pot Noodle.

[narrator] The key element according to Chef Saito,

is the broth, or dashi,

which he spends ten hours making fresh every single day.

[Paul] So, what's gone into this dashi?

[Chef Saito speaking Japanese]

[Paul] And how long has this been boiling for now?

[speaking Japanese]

[narrator] Today, the last ingredients to go in are dried fish, wet fish,

and a lot of seaweed.

[Paul] What happens at the end, when you've finished,

to everything in there?

[Chef Saito speaking Japanese]

[narrator] So, all that he'll use from this massive pot is the liquid.

[Paul] Every chef in the world wants a Michelin star.

How did it make you feel?

[speaking Japanese]

[Paul] It smells amazing, and for me to be here,

talking to a Michelin-starred chef,

I can't wait to try your ramen!

[laughter]

[narrator] Ooh, nice noodle action!

And so, to the tasting.

Paul is trying Chef Saito's celebrated spicy ramen with pork.

[Paul] Wow!

[narrator] And how good is it, Paul?

Oh, my God!

-[speaks Japanese] -Thank you.

It is absolutely stunning.

You've got so many things going on in your mouth.

Think of, er, the best chicken soup you've ever had in your life.

This is that, on steroids.

And these noodles look so delicate.

Am I meant to slurp this?

[speaking Japanese]

[Paul] Yes?

I'm useless with chopsticks with noodles.

I'm going to make a real idiot out of myself.

[slurping]

It's the slurping means something,

because the slurping adds a little bit of air.

The addition of the air brings out all the flavours.

It's an absolute delight to eat one of these.

[narrator] Chef Saito's ramen is so popular

that diners are refused a second helping,

so he can get more customers through the door.

And he's even helped design

what must be the poshest Pot Noodle ever.

[Paul] Wow, look at that! Pot Noodle, from Japan,

with the Michelin on it as well.

It might be interesting to try, but I'm not the one to try that.

The sound man here is a bit of an aficionado

when it comes to Pot Noodles.

Ben, come over here, come on. Sit down.

[NARRATOR] Now, because we didn't want Chef Saito

to be the only one not slurping on a ramen today,

Paul's brought along a little treat for him too.

[Paul] This is the British most popular Pot Noodle.

So, Ben could try yours and, if you wouldn't mind,

would you try this one?

[narrator] So, now, we can have

an international Pot Noodle taste challenge.

[Paul] I think he's in for a real treat here, Ben.

-[Ben] Yeah, I do as well, yeah. -I think he'll really love it.

He might have to re-evaluate his whole life.

[Paul] I think he probably will, to be completely honest!

Have you ever seen a Pot Noodle put in with a ladle before?

[Ben] No. I don't think a Pot Noodle's ever been touched

by a Michelin-starred chef before.

[speaks Japanese]

Arigato.

[slurping]

[Paul] He loves it. You can tell.

[Ben] Mmm...

-Good. That's good. -[Paul] Is it?

[Paul] Is it better than the, er--

I'm never eating one of them again!

[Paul laughs]

[Chef Saito speaking Japanese]

[Paul] Well, I think Japan won that one!

-[Ben] Can I have ten, please? -[Paul laughs]

Arigato. Thank you, thank you. Right, come on, Ben, finish up.

-We've got to go. -I'll take it with me.

[Paul laughs]

[narrator] It's no wonder that Chef Saito

has dipped his toe into a Pot Noodle.

Every year, the Japanese eat four billion Cup Noodles,

as they're known in Japan,

and they're obsessed with them.

Annually, millions flock to Cup Noodle museums.

There are four of them across the country,

and the newest is just south of Tokyo, in Yokohama City.

[Paul] And this whole building,

which is substantial, very modern, very cool,

is dedicated to Pot Noodles.

And it's rammed, absolutely rammed.

Who knew?

Look what I've missed all these years!

[narrator] There's even a replica here of the chicken shed

in which Japanese national hero Momofuku Ando

invented the Cup Noodle,

as a way to alleviate post-war food shortages.

That's him again in this collage,

alongside probably the world's greatest ever female scientist,

and the man who came up with an equation to explain the universe.

They really do rate Cup Noodles!

[Paul] There's over 3,000 Cup, or Pot Noodles, in here.

Crazy, innit?

At 95, Momofuku's last gift to the universe

was the invention of a Cup Noodle that can be made in space.

Great day out, you know, for the kids.

[narrator] After the break,

Paul confronts perhaps his biggest fear about coming to Japan.

Japan does make me nervous,

because it's all rice and noodles, isn't it?

They don't do bread, they don't do cakes,

they don't do crackers.

They don't do all the things that I'm known for.

Therefore, it follows they don't do bakers.

In the UK, bread is everywhere.

It's part of our lives.

When something's really good, we say,

"it's the best thing since sliced bread".

In the Lord's Prayer, we don't say, "Our daily rice",

or, "Daily noodles".

We say, "Give us our daily bread",

and we sing, "Bread of Heaven".

I could go on.

[narrator] You know, after a life of baking,

Paul's got a good nose for sniffing out a floury bap.

I've noticed when I've been going round Tokyo actually

that they do have bakeries,

and I saw queues going round the block on some occasions

early in the morning, waiting for these bakeries to open.

Then I discovered that the oldest bakery in Tokyo is actually

just round the corner from the hotel.

[narrator] Paul's hotel and the bakery are in Ginza District, the posh part,

where Paul saw those expensive melons.

All the shops are upmarket here, including Tokyo's oldest bakery,

Kimuraya, opened in 1869.

[Paul] It's taken me aback a little bit, to be honest,

because I thought this was predominantly a rice-based culture,

but I never expected to see that in Japan.

[narrator] And so we observe the Hollywood in his natural habitat.

[Paul] The quality here looks amazing.

It's precision.

It's the crumb structure.

It's the look of it.

I mean, I'm really genuinely shocked.

And there's some stuff in here I really want to try actually

because I've never seen them before.

This one in particular.

Could I try this one, please?

[narrator] Hm. We may be in here for a while.

[Paul] Now, this is melon bread with cream.

Now, I've never seen anything like this.

But what I'm curious to see is melon really has no inherent flavour.

It'll be lost in a bread.

It smells of melon.

I am actually getting melon.

It's like, a gloopy,

blitzed-up melon

inside a bread that's light, it's fluffy, it's crispy.

It's very sweet.

[mumbles] That's delicious.

A lot of the bread I saw, actually, was very familiar to me,

but it did have a slight twist.

Now, if you look at that there,

it's a Danish pastry with cheese inside it.

Actually, I'd prefer that over the custard.

That's crazy. Can I try a scone?

[narrator] "Plane" scones.

Bet they FLY off the shelf.

[Paul] Now, the secret is, with a good scone,

is the shine on the top,

nice and straight at the sides, and a decent amount of raisins in there.

I'm in Tokyo.

I'm eating something

that comes straight from the Queen's afternoon tea menu.

I mean, that is staggering.

Natural split down the middle.

It smells like a scone.

I didn't expect this.

It's a fantastic scone.

[narrator] And next up, the star bake,

a wholly home-grown Japanese obsession.

[Paul] It's called anpan.

An, it's like a sort of red paste thing.

But pan, pan is bread, it's like it is in France.

[narrator] They make and sell up to 10,000 anpans

each day in this shop alone.

And when Paul asked nicely, they agreed to show him the bakery.

Yeah, that fits.

[narrator] The dough for anpan takes 60 hours to make.

Now that's a slow rise.

Then each morning, they do the rest in here, kneading, rolling,

filling them with red bean paste and baking thousands of them.

[Paul] The flour is wheat flour.

-Bread flour. -Bread flour. Ah, Okay.

-[baker in Japanese] -Yeah.

-Egg? -[baker in Japanese]

[Paul] So, it, it is basically an enriched dough,

and the bean paste is going in the middle?

[baker speaking Japanese]

It's a bit like a brioche, and then you egg-wash the top?

[in Japanese]

-And then in the oven. -[baker speaking Japanese]

[Paul] How long in the oven?

-[baker] Eight minutes. -[Paul] Eight minutes?

[narrator] The Japanese eat around five million anpan every day,

and it was in this very shop that anpan was invented

by a retired samurai, Yasube Kimura, in 1874.

And so to the tasting bit.

He's good at this.

[Paul] Wow.

About 20 years ago, I was in this academy of bakers

and we'd get offered jobs all over the world

and jobs were being offered for me in Japan.

And I was thinking, "They don't make bread."

How wrong, was I? I could've been living here now, making anpan.

[laughs]

This is going to be interesting.

I'm trying to identify the flavours.

This is the red bean paste.

It's got the texture a little bit of a kidney bean.

Remember fig biscuits when you were a kid and you got that chew?

That's what it's like inside there.

A hint of cinnamon in there as well.

The bread is brioche-like,

but it's also like the softest floury bap

that you've ever had in your life.

They're really tasty.

They're quite Moorish, actually.

To be honest, I was gobsmacked.

I mean, we've been making bread in the West now for

4-5,000 years and I think we're pretty good at it.

However, the Japanese have only been making it for 150 years or so

and they've mastered it already.

The stuff in that shop was absolutely top drawer.

I'm impressed.

Whatever they touch, they make the best of.

[narrator] So, after placing a big, happy tick next to baking

on his Japanese bucket list,

Paul heads off for dinner in Shibuya.

This bit of Tokyo is most famous

for the world's busiest pedestrian crossing,

where up to 2,500 people cross every time the little man goes green.

It's also home to the other half of the world's busiest railway station.

Paul, though, will be all alone tonight at Ichiran Ramen,

part of a restaurant chain where you eat in solo dining booths.

Massively popular in Japan...

What do you do here?

[narrator] ...but a very alien concept for a sociable Brit like Paul.

Eating out in Britain is all about being with people.

It's a shared experience with family and friends, chatting,

gossiping and laughing about Brexit, religion, or Love Island.

[narrator] The thing is, Japan has a population crisis.

There are a lot of old people, a drastically dropping birth rate,

and over 15 million Japanese live alone.

...that's garlic.

[narrator] In a city where the work ethic leaves little time to socialise,

fewer and fewer young people are finding it possible

to easily make friends or find partners.

[Paul] Go with medium.

[narrator] And so, a whole ecosystem has grown up to cater for them.

This chain alone has over 70 solo dining restaurants

right across Japan.

[Paul] This solo dining place, where you're in a telephone booth.

...oh, yeah, pork, I'll have some of that.

All you see initially is just crotch after crotch.

You can't see anybody unless you, sort of give it, "Who's next door?"

"The sauce might be too spicy for children."

Oh, jeez. I'll go mild.

It's very strange.

[waitress speaking Japanese]

Arigatou.

Oh.

Certainly when they drop the bamboo down...

There goes the blinds, now on my own.

...you're, sort of, going, "pff". It's weird.

Ooh, smells nice.

And I understand why they do it.

The idea, I think, was built on the fact that women wouldn't

want to be stared at eating on their own.

There's no fork anywhere.

They could go into a private booth, enjoy the food on their own

without getting stared at, and then wander off and do their own thing.

[slurps]

[chokes]

[coughs]

It's actually making my eyes water.

[coughs]

It's meant to enhance the flavour of the food

by purely concentrating on what you're eating.

As a Brit, I was more curious about,

"Who's coming in? What's that noise?"

"Ooh, there's another crotch",

rather than saying, "That's nice food".

[melodic ring playing]

[laughs] It's...

It's all these strange noises.

It's just really bizarre.

Eating, for me, is a sociable thing.

So the thought of being in a booth on your own, I'm not so sure.

You know, at the end of the day,

Japan generally has got a problem with its population.

They're trying to get the average births per family from 1.4 up.

Going to a separate solo dining area

is probably not the best thing to do for the country.

You probably need to meet people.

[narrator] And after solo dining,

what better way for Paul to end the evening

than with a bit of solo karaoke.

Yes, they have that too.

Except, Britain's most famous baker apparently hates karaoke.

Come on, Paul.

Get off your phone.

Give it a shot, mate, for your fans.

Just a word.

-Tequila. -[narrator] Brilliant.

You can go now.

Now, you may know that Paul likes his cars, so we arranged

for him to spend his last day driving himself around Tokyo.

In a go-kart.

Dressed as a Ninja Turtle.

It's like I'm in some sort of weird dream.

[narrator] Paul's taking a karting tour of Tokyo.

[Paul] Can you imagine them letting you drive go-karts around

the streets in London or Liverpool?

I mean, the closest thing you've got is an open-top red bus.

Safer, yeah, but no fun.

[narrator] These tours are hugely popular,

and everyone who goes on one gets to dress up

as their favourite cartoon character.

Paul's companion for the day, however,

has come in his own clothes.

He's a man called Ladybeard.

Tailgate, tailgate, tailgate!

Sunday driver!

[narrator] Ladybeard is, as you can see, an excitable crossdresser.

He's also a pro wrestler, a martial arts stuntman

and a heavy metal singer.

[narrator] He came to Japan six years ago to pursue

his stunt and wrestling career and he fitted right in.

Crazy guy.

[narrator] So how come, in one of the most conformist and conservative

societies on Earth, Ladybeard has become such a big star?

Bless you, I love you.

The Japanese are a very special bunch, you see. Yeah.

Because, despite being highly conservative, they have a desire

for the non-conservative in a way

-that I feel no other country really does. -[Paul] Yeah.

So, the Japanese are a hardworking bunch

and living in a society in which you're forced to work 12, 14 hours a day,

they enjoy leisure with everything they've got.

That means that when people bust out, it's on like Donkey Kong.

-There's no holding back. -It's all about letting off steam.

Yeah, that's exactly right,

-cos there's a lot of steam to be let off. -Yeah.

[narrator] And that need to extract maximum entertainment value

from everything the Japanese do, of course, extends into eating out.

Tokyo is home to a lot of quite extraordinary themed restaurants.

And in Japan, "themed"

has a slightly more full-on meaning than it does in Britain.

Theme restaurants in the UK,

sort of American diners in a shiny caravan.

Greek restaurants with plastic pillars

and a man playing a bouzouki.

There did used to be a burger place

on the A1 which looked like a spaceship. Does that count?

[narrator] Oh, yes. When the Japanese do themes, they do themes.

The choice includes sumo, samurai,

Alice in Wonderland, Moomins,

ninjas, sexy topless men,

prison, robots,

vampires, ghosts,

toilets, and even Jesus.

There are hundreds of full-on themed restaurants in this city.

We're heading now to one of these themed restaurants, aren't we?

That's right, mate, that's right.

All right, Paul, let's just pull over here, mate.

[narrator] And at their first stop, they'll have to catch their lunch...

Yeah!

A crazy guy, crazy guys.

[narrator] ...at Zauo, the fishing restaurant.

You might have noticed

we're sitting on a vessel.

Yeah.

This is quite the concept, you catch your own fish.

[Paul] Right.

[Ladybeard] Pull it out, and then the very fish that you caught will be

taken off to be cooked for you to consume.

-Wow. -You have a little thing

of bait right here.

Right, here we go.

[Paul] This is weird, isn't it?

Here fish, fish, fish, fish.

-Oh. -Ooh, ooh. Oh-ho!

-Oh, we nearly had him. -It was a big one as well.

It was a huge one.

[narrator] One rule here,

you can't throw fish back and try for a bigger one.

You catch it, you eat it.

Hygiene and all that.

Yes, mate, yes mate. Good, good.

-I've got you. I've got you, my friend. -No.

Come on. Oh, oh, he's a big fatty.

Oh, mate!

Hey!

[man speaking Japanese]

[narrator] Ladybeard's netted a madai,

or red seabream.

Hello, madam, thank you very much.

Look at that, Paul Hollywood.

Yes!

That was amazing.

[Paul] A few minutes later,

that fish that we caught turned up on a plate as sashimi.

-Holy Moley, that looks fantastic. -That's a lot of fish.

Look at the presentation on this. All right.

-Let's give it a go. -Give it a go. Itadakimasu!

-It's not bad. -Yeah.

-It's fresh. -It's fresh.

I mean, I find that a delicacy

and the fact that you have to fish for it, it's a great idea.

Great fun.

[narrator] Of course, after a massive plate of raw fish, the best digestif...

High five, Paul Hollywood. Yeah.

[narrator] ...is a bit more urban karting.

I feel like you're going to drop a banana peel or something.

I'll toss it over there.

Whoa!

I should add, this has absolutely nothing to do with

that very famous game, Mario Kart.

No relation to Nintendo!

None!

[narrator] Next stop for our costumed crusaders,

Rio, a puppy cafe.

[singer singing in Japanese]

[narrator] And dog lover Paul is clearly in heaven.

Although Ladybeard seems less happy.

What's the gig? What are we doing? Hey, Paul, how are you?

Look at this.

You look like you're in the Kingdom of Doom.

-Hello, how are you? -I love dogs anyway, and puppies.

You're slightly nervous around them, aren't you?

I, um, I--yes, I have an irrational fear of...

Oh, God, this one's--oh, God.

Hello, how are you? Good to see you.

Oh, mate.

Hang on, I'm going to give you a little bit at a time.

Ladybird will stay over here and observe this process.

[narrator] Animal cafes have now spread right around the world,

but it was here in Tokyo that they first took off properly.

And if, like Ladybeard, you're scared of puppies,

you can find cafes filled with bunnies,

micropigs,

hedgehogs, penguins

or owls.

I'm not sure how you would really have this experience with an owl.

[Paul] All the dogs are actually therapy dogs

and they're used in hospitals and care homes.

Although I don't think Ladybeard was finding it at all therapeutic.

You've done really well, mate,

-considering you don't like puppies. -Thank you.

[Paul] So, we didn't even order a cup of tea, we just left.

[Ladybeard] How do I prevent the dogs from leaving?

Oh, God, this one's trying to kill me.

Just going to go over the top, like this.

[Paul] Oh, jeez, what a view.

You didn't pay for that, Paul Hollywood.

Paul Hollywood didn't pay for that.

[rock music playing]

[narrator] For their final stop of the day...

You're crazy, guys.

[narrator] Ladybeard has promised to take Paul

to whole new heights of pleasure.

Ladies and gentlemen, we will be taking off shortly.

-Oh, good. -[woman] Please make sure

that your seat belt's securely fastened.

Thank you.

Ooh, ooh. Oh, my God.

Oh, Holy Moley. Ah, yes.

[Paul] Look out the windows.

Oh, look at that. Oh, yeah.

-It's brilliant, isn't it? -Oh, wow.

The front comes up.

Oh, yes. Ooh.

This is relaxing.

Does your seat work?

Not 100--ooh, it does now!

Oh, it does now! Oh, yes.

Oh, this is--oh, wow.

[laughs]

[narrator] Of course, you've probably guessed

they haven't actually left the ground.

In fact, they're on the upper floor of an office block,

repurposed as the posh end of a jumbo jet.

Excuse me, could you please sit back, please?

-[Ladybeard] This is nice, this is classy. -[Paul] Yeah, it is.

-Place mats! -This is first class though, isn't it?

Thank you. If you're sitting here and you're on a date, for instance...

[Ladybeard] Yeah.

...and you have another eight people sitting in here as well,

I mean, it's pretty strange, isn't it?

If I were brought on a date here, I would be very happy.

"What do you call this?"

I've waited all night for you to say that.

[narrator] Shall we move on to the main course?

Oh, what's happening here?

-This is duck steak. -Dear me, duck steak?

[Paul] Duck steak?

-[Ladybeard] Oh, my God. -[Paul] Wow.

This is the classiest first class I've ever experienced.

-Absolutely. Thank you very much. Wow. -[Ladybeard] Thank you, madam.

It's been a fairly odd time.

I feel like I'm in some sort of weird dream

and I'm going to wake up in a minute.

This is actually the real world, Paul Hollywood.

-I know. -Every meal in Japan

is eaten in a themed restaurant.

I think it's very clever.

I've never experienced anything quite like this before.

-Ah. -It's been a real pleasure, mate.

That makes me very happy.

You've really introduced me to another Japanese culture,

which I think's been fascinating.

Well, I'm very glad that we could share such a wonderful experience.

-Thank you, Mr Hollywood. -Cheers, buddy. Thank you.

[narrator] And that's it.

An extraordinary first week in Japan and Paul hasn't even left Tokyo.

I've learnt a lot and I haven't even left the voiceover booth.

Next week though, all that changes, as Paul hits the road and rail.

He's putting in some serious miles to try and discover

just how much this extraordinary country and its food...

It tastes awful.

[narrator] ...varies from region to region.

Quite delicious.

It's got flour in it, that's my best friend.

How is that any relation to a taco?

Just tastes like corned beef, and I like corned beef.

[narrator] There'll be drunk men hitting him with massive sticks...

the zenith of Japanese fine dining...

I feel a right pig.

[narrator] ...and a beautiful woman with an extraordinary story,

teaching Paul how to make Hiroshima's favourite fast food.

Why are you laughing? I thought it was pretty good.

[laughter]

[music playing]