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 indulge in all this country has to offer

and he's got some rather good moves, hasn't he?

His time here is about exposing himself to the country's cuisine.

Paul is in Japan to eat.

[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.

[indistinct]

[laughter]

[Paul] And learn why eating plays such a crucial role

in all aspects of Japanese life.

350 English pound for that strawberry.

Just think about that for a minute.

Welcome to Japan, Paul Hollywood!

[narrator] Paul's first week ever in Japan was spent in the country's

megacity capital, Tokyo,

where he learned the basics of Japanese restaurant etiquette.

Please stop pointing with chopsticks.

-Why? -It's rude.

[narrator] Ate at a Michelin Star restaurant for seven quid

and discovered that, in the capital at least, the Japanese do do bread.

[Paul] I never expected to see that in Japan.

[narrator] Now though, it's time for Paul to move on

and explore the rest of the country.

And that exploration is starting with a short day trip

north for dinner.

It's a trip Paul's getting very excited about,

because today he fulfills a lifelong dream.

[Paul] When I was a little boy, I was a bit of a train spotter,

and I used to sit at the end of the platform collecting

numbers of all the trains.

But there was one train I really wanted to see and it was in Japan.

And it's the bullet train.

[narrator] Well, he's had to wait 40-odd years,

but now Paul's trainspotter dream is coming true

as he finally rides a bullet train.

Or what the Japanese call the Shinkansen.

[Paul] And we were on the fastest of the bullet trains,

capable of 200 miles an hour.

[narrator] After two and a half hours of high-speed happiness,

Paul's stopping off to pick up his dinner

before his return trip to Tokyo.

And it promises to be a very different experience

to eating on British trains.

You get the lovely buffet trolley on British trains,

chocolate bars, crisps,

terrible instant coffee,

inedible white bread sandwiches,

the worst muffins known to man,

and if you fancy something hot,

microwaveable hamburgers.

Yummy.

[narrator] To learn about what the Japanese eat on trains,

Paul's meeting up with Japan's most famous trainspotter.

-Hello, Kan. -Hi, Paul.

-Paul, lovely to meet you. -Nice to meet you.

[narrator] Kan Sakurai has travelled the world photographing trains

and he's so famous here in Japan they made a 50-episode anime series

following his exploits.

But those exploits weren't trainspotting,

they were Kan chasing his true love, ekiben.

I'm here to learn a little bit about ekiben.

Ekiben. Oh...

-Train. -Yes.

A very fast train.

Can you explain what it is?

Ekiben is a lunchbox.

[narrator] Right.

"Eki" means railway station and "ben" is short for bento box,

which is a traditional Japanese lunchbox.

Ekiben are said to be the best fast food you can get on trains

anywhere in the world.

And, according to Kan,

this shop sells the best ekiben in all of Japan.

So, you recommend this one to go onto the train with?

[narrator] Interesting name.

[Paul] What's in this?

Can we take two, please?

Yes.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Come on, Kan, we've got a train to catch.

Wow.

That's a beautiful flavour of the rice and the fish together.

Very traditional Japanese food. I like ekiben, ekiben.

-And this one is the best for you? -Yes, yes.

[Paul] Kan said ekiben is very regional

so, wherever you are in Japan, you eat those regional dishes

and it's a great way of learning a little bit about Japanese food.

[Kan] And this is rice sandwich.

-A rice sandwich? Yes, of course. -Mm, yeah.

[narrator] The Japanese eat their way through up to 12 million ekibens

every week, and Kan is doing sterling work in keeping sales figures high.

How many ekiben have you ever had? A lot?

Mm, maybe...

5,000.

-5,000? -Yes, yes.

-5,000 ekiben? -Yes.

Where do you put it, Kan?

[Paul] No-one knows this, Kan, I'm only telling you this cos no-one's here.

I used to go to the trains and get the numbers of the trains

and tick them off when I'd seen them all.

Is this something you've done, Kan?

No, no, I'm only--

-Only photographs? ---photoshoot.

That's not a real, that's not a real trainspotter.

It's about dedication, Kan.

[laughter]

[narrator] After a quick night's sleep

back in Tokyo, Paul's off on his travels again.

His destination is Japan's ancient capital, Kyoto.

And despite the crew minibus not quite having the excitement

of the bullet train,

a stop en route manages to give Paul a bit of a baker's buzz.

[Paul] I was feeling a bit peckish and I actually sit with the crew,

and we saw this bakery so I wandered over to have a look

and you'll not believe what I saw.

Nat, Nat.

Come in here, mate.

Mm.

Just gone in for my breakfast, right?

Middle of Japan.

Look at that.

The most freshly baked sandwich bread sold in 24 hours

and they did just under three and a half thousand loaves.

They sold in 24 hours in the middle of Japan.

Guinness World Record.

Honestly, you want to go and have a look at that place.

The bread is amazing.

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

That place was a revelation.

It had cakes, it had bread.

It was absolutely incredible.

In fact, I bought a sandwich loaf just to take in the van.

It looks a little bit like a brioche.

[narrator] Shokupan is Japan's favourite loaf.

[Paul] It's incredibly soft.

Feels like a fluffy cloud.

[narrator] And even in this rice-based culture,

the Japanese buy and eat millions of shokupan loaves every single day.

That's a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very,

very impressive loaf.

I'd have a sandwich with that any day.

[narrator] Having enjoyed a good bread hit, Paul's now arriving in Kyoto.

Kyoto means capital and for 1,000 years this was the capital of Japan.

And look, it's still very beautiful.

Lots of lovely old buildings

and people everywhere in kimonos.

[Paul] Don't be fooled.

Those people in kimonos are probably Chinese tourists.

They've hired those kimonos, go wandering around the streets

taking selfies of themselves all day.

[narrator] One of the reasons Kyoto attracts so many tourists, kimono-clad

or otherwise, is that it's home to over 2,000 shrines and temples.

This one's the Fushimi Inari, a Shinto shrine.

And Paul's come here to meet Diane Kichijitsu.

Give a little bow at the door.

[narrator] She adopted the surname when she came to Japan.

It means lucky day.

[Diane] The mountain behind is actually what you're worshipping.

The building is just in the front of it.

[narrator] Diane's lived in Japan for nearly 30 years,

but grew up a few miles from Paul's childhood home.

So tell me, Diane, I come all the way to Kyoto

and I end up meeting a Scouser.

-I know. -I mean, what is going on?

What's your story? How come you're here?

No, I just came here as a backpacker.

It was never a plan to stay,

but I just kept finding things that I fell in love with.

So why, you may ask, am I hooking up with a fellow Scouser in Japan?

Well, sadly, it's because of her diet.

-I'm vegetarian. -[Paul] Oh, are you?

Do you find it easy to be a vegetarian in Japan?

[Diane] No, no.

Cos I see they use stock, whether it's fish or beef,

but you don't very often see vegetable.

[Diane] No.

[narrator] So, maybe veggies are better off back in the UK.

I think veggie food is pretty good in the UK these days.

A lot better than the days when the only choice was a nut roast,

Linda McCartney sausages

or just eat the vegetables.

All restaurants do vegetarian options these days,

and even Greggs famously

do a vegan sausage roll.

[narrator] So, what's Diane's go-to veggie option in Kyoto?

[Paul] I mean what is Kyoto known for?

-Well, tofu. -Is it just the--oh, is it?

Yeah. Yeah, tofu.

It's well known for tofu, which I adore.

-Sorry. -I love tofu. If you get good tofu--

-Do you? ---yeah.

I don't see the point of it.

[narrator] And cut.

To a local tofu restaurant.

Yes, Paul has come to Kyoto for conversion therapy.

Five delicious courses chosen by Diane,

designed to make our Paul fall in love with tofu.

It was as part of the vegetarian diet of Buddhist monks

that tofu became so popular in Kyoto,

and most Japanese now eat tofu every single day.

So, what is tofu?

-[Diane] It's made from soybeans. -[Paul] Soybeans?

[Diane] Yeah. So, there's very soft, like, silky tofu--

-Yeah. ---and then there's the harder tofu.

-Is that the rubbery one? -[Diane] Yes.

So, I've ordered a little assortment for you.

-Do you want to start with the hot one? -[Paul] So, what is this then?

[Diane] So, this one is, yudofu, just regular tofu, just heated up.

[Paul] Oh. Cubes of tofu in water?

-Yes. -Oh, delicious, thank you.

I know, aren't you glad you came?

-[Paul] Oh, look at that. -[Diane] Before we eat, itadakimasu.

-Itadakimasu. -Itadakimasu.

Trying to read the reaction.

That doesn't taste of anything.

-It does. -So, what's the point?

It's like a beany flavour.

-A beany flavour? -Yeah.

[Paul] It has no flavour.

Yes, it has texture of a slug.

-What's the next one? -[Diane] Well, this one's sesame.

[Paul] Ah, okay.

Similar consistency.

[Diane] Mm.

It's creamier, isn't it?

[Paul] I mean, you can taste the sesame.

-Are we selling you on it? -No.

-[Diane] Oh, come on. -No, I don't.

Now, this one, what's this? That looks like chips.

[Diane] Yeah, that's the closest to junk food.

It's fried tofu.

[Paul] The fried one, I mean,

it was like you were just eating batter with nothing in it.

Mmm.

But we're getting there, I got an "mmm" there.

[Paul] Really? It's a sarcastic "mmm".

-[Diane] Are you sure now? -Absolutely.

No, you just don't want to admit that you like it.

And look how nicely presented it is as well.

[Paul] I know. What's this one?

[Diane] This is just a basic tofu, like the smoother one.

[Paul] Oh.

Lovely.

[Diane] Are we going backwards or forwards?

Oh, jeez.

-That's rank. -[Diane] Okay, this is my paradise.

I'm, like, so happy here right now,

so it doesn't matter what you say, I'm still going to enjoy it.

So, this is my favourite.

I love yuba, I eat it loads.

[Paul] And it, this is made from what?

[Diane] The top of the tofu.

It's taken off layer by layer.

Mmm.

I don't like it.

None of it?

Well, to be honest, I was pretty neutral before this,

and now I really don't like tofu.

I mean, the only one that is palatable would be the sesame.

Oh, okay.

That doesn't mean it's good, it's still really, really bad.

It's healthy.

So is running, but I don't do that either.

[narrator] Japan is fast becoming the number one destination

on Earth for food lovers.

[narrator] But, right now, in Kyoto,

he's pretending to be a ninja.

Paradoxically, as well as being rammed

with ancient temples and shrines,

Kyoto is home to many of Japan's most cutting-edge tech companies.

And this place, Ninja VR,

is one of the city's most popular techy tourist attractions.

Yeah! Congratulations!

[narrator] Still got it, Paul!

Right, back to the food.

And not just any food,

because Kyoto is home to possibly the poshest way to eat,

not only in Japan, but in the whole world.

This is Kikunoi, a three-star Michelin restaurant

which specialises in the art of kaiseki.

Eating here feels like you're worshipping the food.

Ah.

[narrator] This is where dining becomes a ritual.

Are there elements of ritual in the way that we eat in the UK?

Well, you've got to wear a tie at the Ritz,

some people say grace,

my mum always made us fold the napkins

at the end of the meal.

But I thought that was silly because she then picked them up

and threw them in the washing machine.

[narrator] So, what exactly is Paul getting for dinner?

Well...

he'll be served 11--yes, 11 courses

of the most beautifully prepared food he's probably ever seen.

After whetting his whistle with a bowl of warm sake.

That's the best sake I've ever had!

[narrator] Kaiseki is all about small but perfectly presented dishes,

using the best seasonal ingredients.

And it requires over 20 chefs to produce every meal

under the watchful eye of Yoshihiro Murata,

holder of seven Michelin Stars

and one of the most respected chefs on Earth.

This is your appetiser.

[narrator] First course for Paul is pickled plum in fish semen.

[gasping] That's sharp.

[narrator] In kaiseki, presentation is just as important as taste.

The Japanese believe you eat with your eyes first,

and Paul's second course, a selection of appetisers,

could hardly look more beautiful.

It has two steps.

[Paul] Fascinating.

Considering the first course, this feels really sweet in comparison.

Third course, sashimi.

That's raw fish.

It's so big!

[narrator] Raw lobster, to be precise.

[Paul] Now, I normally like lobster...

[laughs] I'm not so sure about this.

[narrator] The next two courses feature more raw fish...

and tofu.

[Paul] Oh, this is wasted on me. I'm such a peasant.

My God, I'm getting stuffed already.

Not even hallway through.

Next, I did get some cooked fish.

It's warm, which is nice.

The fish is cooked beautifully.

[narrator] After a palate cleansing sorbet with a wasabi hit...

Oh, the heat's kicking in.

Oh, yeah.

That's not helped.

[narrator] Paul's onto course eight--

That's better.

--a selection of extraordinarily beautiful salads.

[Paul] It's a fava bean. That's quite delicious.

Cuttlefish.

Number nine. Yes!

A lovely piece of beef.

Do most people, when they come here, eat everything?

-Yes. -Wow.

I can eat everything.

-[Paul] Really? -[woman] Yeah.

-[Paul] There's nothing of you. -[woman] Don't worry, here it's really--

-You're tying it in? -Yeah, like that.

[Paul] I mean, the meat dish was incredible.

[narrator] Inevitably, after course nine, comes course ten.

[Paul] Kyoto-style karachi sushi--

that's sushi rice topped with mint shrimp, anago sea eel,

egg thread, salmon roe, grilled nori seaweed, ginger petal,

shitake mushroom, green peas, kinome herb, mushroom soup,

nameko mushroom and black pepper.

Yeah, that's just one course.

Those last few dishes have been amazing.

[narrator] The final, eleventh course is right up Mr Hollywood's boulevard.

-[Paul] Can you see that? -[narrator] A sponge cake pudding.

[Paul] That's amazing.

That meal was a lot of things, and all of them were superlatives.

It's absolutely delicious.

The most complex, the most interesting,

the most fascinating food.

But some of the raw seafood dishes that came in the first half

were very challenging.

Oh, dear me.

Chef's finished me off.

I could sleep for a week.

But the last six plates I had there were some of the best food

I've ever had.

[narrator] And, in real time, that meal took two and a half hours

for Paul to finish.

I can't believe how dark it is. I've been here for hours.

It was light when I got here.

[narrator] After a big sleep, it's time for Paul to leave Kyoto behind him.

Back on the bullet train...

and heading for perhaps the most ill-fated city on Earth.

On the sixth August, 1945, the most devastating bomb

that any human had ever seen exploded above Hiroshima.

The fifteen-kilotonne atomic bomb was dropped by the Americans

with the avowed intention of forcing the Japanese to surrender

and ending the Second World War.

An area of five square miles was destroyed.

More than 80,000 people were killed outright,

and, in the days and months to follow,

the death toll rose to over 140,000--

nearly half the city's population--

many dying as a result of radiation poisoning.

One of the only buildings left standing

was a commercial exhibition hall--

the Genbaku Dome.

Now known as the A-Bomb Dome,

it's been preserved as a monument in the Hiroshima Peace Park.

Today, radiation levels here are on a par

with the extremely low levels of natural radioactivity

present anywhere on Earth.

Paul's visiting the park with a Japanese member of the TV crew

Mai Nishiyama.

[Paul] Mai's our fixer, and, basically, she organises everything for us in Japan.

And she's fantastic at what she does.

[Mai] I came here when I was 16, as a school trip,

and we visited here, and also we visit the museum.

When I saw it that day I couldn't sleep,

because all the images I saw were just so powerful.

And, when I imagined that that's what happened to human beings,

that was just too much.

I was told that this river was full of dead bodies,

because people were really thirsty, and also they're completely burnt,

so they just dive into it and you can see a lot of bodies floating.

It was chaotic.

[Paul] There was that debate, wasn't there, whether to keep this building?

[Mai] Mmm. I'm so glad that the Japanese government decided to keep it,

because, when you actually see it, you can see how powerful it was.

[Paul] It's an amazing symbol of what happened.

[Mai] Yes.

[Paul] What's this? "We dedicate the bell as a symbol

of 'Hiroshima aspiration.'"

-So, we've got to ring the bell? -[Mai] Hai.

[Paul] Around the world, Hiroshima's known as that city

-that was destroyed by the bomb. -[gong rings]

[Paul] But, in Japan, Hiroshima's getting a name for its food.

[narrator] The region produces the very best oysters in Japan,

and, throughout the season, people queue daily

at the numerous oyster shacks along the coastline.

And we're not just talking raw oysters with a glug of tobacco.

Hiroshima's oysters are massive,

and one of the most popular ways to eat them is grilled

with a cheese sauce.

Little taste of the sea.

It's unbelievably meaty, though.

It's quite delicious.

[narrator] Hiroshima's signature dish, though, is something

which became popular as a direct result of the atomic bomb

being dropped.

Survivors, known as the Hibakusha, suffered terrible food shortages

in their devastated city.

Occupying US forces provided millions of tonnes of flour,

and, to use it, the Hibakusha borrowed a dish

which originated in Osaka,

a deep-filled pancake called Okonomiyaki.

Hiroshima's version of Okonomiyaki has become so popular

that, now, one whole neighbourhood of the city, Okonomimura,

is an Okonomiyaki theme park,

with 25 restaurants serving their take on this iconic dish.

So, how do you make Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki?

Well, Paul's about to get a cookery lesson from the owner

of possibly Hiroshima's smallest restaurant.

-Konnichiwa. -Konnichiwa.

-Konnichiwa. -[narrator] Toshiko Kajiyama.

It's very small.

It is very small.

[Paul] There's no messing around with Toshiko.

Wallop, straight in.

I hadn't even taken my coat off and she's already cooking.

I'll make a bit more room in the kitchen.

Oh. Ooh.

[in Japanese]

So, what's in Okonomiyaki?

Well, first off, it's wheat noodles doused in a special Okonimimura sauce.

[in Japanese]

[Paul] Then a simple flour and water pancake.

-[in Japanese] -Okay?

[in Japanese]

Wow, that's got a smell. Okay.

Then put the noodles on the pancake...

[in Japanese]

[Paul] ...add cabbage and beansprouts...

...and pork...

...then flip.

-[in Japanese] -Oh, lord.

[in Japanese]

-Get underneath it? -[in Japanese]

Why are you laughing?

I thought that was pretty good.

[in Japanese]

So, tell me about this dish, then.

Is yours the best one?

[in Japanese]

[Paul] She's nearly 80 now, which means she was born near

the start of the Second World War.

So, you were alive when the bomb came to Hiroshima?

-[in Japanese] -You were four? Did you see it?

[in Japanese]

Wow.

Then, after telling me this heart-breaking story,

she's straight back into it again, making Okonomiyaki.

[in Japanese]

[Paul] Yes, she was involved in the bomb, but life moves on.

And that's the thing that really got to me.

She's happy, cheerful.

And your happiness, I--it's infective.

[in Japanese]

What would make me even happier. Can I try some?

It's delicious.

Really good.

-Oishi. -[in Japanese]

It fills you up.

Was that what the intention was?

[in Japanese]

Tell me what you think of mine.

[in Japanese]

You like it?

[laughs]

You're telling me now, I can have a job here on a Saturday morning.

So I'll fly from England.

[in Japanese]

Arigato. I love her, she's great.

I'm staying.

I've found a new mum.

Kanpai.

[narrator] Paul has flown 800 miles south, to Okinawa,

a collection of Japanese islands

known for being one of the very healthiest places to live on Earth.

Okinawa does have a lot of very healthy, very old people.

This lot, all of whom are in their '80s and '90s,

get up every morning at six, rain or shine, for Radio Taiso,

the nation's morning exercise class.

♪ Hi, hi, hi, beautiful Sunday ♪

♪ This is my, my, my ♪

♪ Beautiful day ♪

[narrator] And it's not just regular exercise

that accounts for their longevity.

Okinawa is home to some ridiculously healthy produce.

[Paul] This is the goya. It helps fight type two diabetes,

psoriasis, eczema and acne.

This is great for bowel movements.

It's fantastic for your digestion.

It's also great, apparently, as a hangover cure.

Who knew?

[singer] ♪ Hey, hey, it's a beautiful day ♪

Purple sweet potato.

It fights cardiovascular disease and cancer.

It's a good source of copper, vitamin B, fibre, potassium and iron.

[singer] ♪ Hey, hey, it's a beautiful day ♪

This is Ozuku seaweed.

It reduces cholesterol, it supresses tumours,

it cleanses intestines,

it fights bacteria-causing ulcers, it ups metabolism,

it reduces fatty tissue build up around the organs,

preventing heart disease.

But it tastes awful.

[singer] ♪ Oh, my, my, my, it's a beautiful day ♪

Am I the first English guy to join you on this?

-No. -No?

James.

Jamie Oliver.

-What? Jamie Oliver was here? -Yeah.

[narrator] So, this is an island paradise where they eat the healthiest diet

on Earth and everyone lives to be 120.

Yes? Well, no.

Not any more.

You see, at the end of the Second World War,

the Americans invaded Okinawa.

And they've never left.

Tens of thousands of US troops are still stationed on Okinawa.

So, that's the base over on the right there, with the barbed wire.

[narrator] And with them, they brought the American love of fast food.

[Paul] McDonald's, KFC.

[narrator] Okinawa got the first Western-style fast food outlet

anywhere in Japan.

[Paul] Coco's Restaurant over there. Burger King!

[narrator] And the effect of all that junk food

is succinctly explained by Japanese fixer, Mai.

[Mai] Lots of Okinawan friends of mine are quite chubby!

[narrator] When you see the home-grown junk food

that's pretty much become Okinawa's modern national dish...

[Mai] So, this is where taco rice was born.

[narrator] ...it's not hard to understand

why this island's waistbands are getting wider.

I don't understand what taco rice is. I've had a taco before.

Yeah, but it's, instead of having a shell, they have rice instead.

[Paul] You better show me.

-It doesn't make any sense to me. -Okay.

[speaking Japanese]

I've got some facts here.

Okinawa, once the healthiest region of the healthiest nation

on Earth now has an obesity crisis.

-600 yen, please. -600?

The generation that grew up eating American food is now reaching

middle age, overweight and at risk of diabetes.

Ah. Arigato.

And almost a third of Okinawan men now die before they reach 65.

Bloody hell!

How is that in any relation to a taco?

Why can't they call it chilli con carne,

'cos that's what it looks like? With cheese on top.

And a lot of cheese on top.

I mean, it's delicious.

-And hot. -Is it?

-Spicy. -More?

-What is that, salsa? -Salsa sauce.

I'll try a little bit.

-Ah, that looks like taco. -No, it doesn't.

-This is taco. -That's not a taco.

-This is. -No, it's not.

[Mai] Yeah, by Japanese standards.

No, even by Japanese standards,

-that's not a taco. -Okay.

I can't believe it's got the audacity to call it King Tacos.

King Taco, yeah.

[narrator] These chaps are the Shima Bananas,

a group of middle-aged surfers

who could all do with shedding a few pounds.

But they've attempted to do their bit to fight obesity

in Okinawa by recording a song called Meat Tech.

[singing in Japanese]

Meat Tech is what they call the extra bit of insulation

that the Okinawan men carry around their waists.

And the song encourages Okinawan men

to get active and lose their meat tech.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,

I'm happy to watch.

However, watching the Shima Bananas perform their song,

it's clear that they weren't taking their own advice very seriously.

[cheering]

[narrator] A day's surfing often ends with a beach barbecue.

Okay, everybody, cheers!

-Salut! -Cheers!

[narrator] And that's where the Shima Bananas'

healthy lifestyle philosophy abruptly ends.

[Paul] I wanted to bring something Okinawan,

I was going to a barbecue and I thought,

"I'll bring something that I know is healthy,

'cos they're all keep fit and surfing."

-Guys? -Yeah?

You should be eating this so you haven't got the belly, yeah?

Ah.

[narrator] At Paul's end of the table, goya, seaweed,

purple sweet potatoes, fresh fish and a host of other traditional

Okinawan food that'll probably make you healthier just by looking at it.

What do they do? They bring a load of meat

and start eating like a Western barbecue,

and not one from Okinawa.

What about this?

No, this is Okinawa soul food.

Why aren't you eating this then?

Oh, we--we like the junk food.

[laughter]

We love junk food, you know?

No-one touched any of the food from Okinawa,

they all just tucked into the ribs and the--the pasta.

So, when you were a little boy, did you eat this junk food, fast food?

Well, not much.

-We eat the fish, you know, vegetable? -Yeah.

-Then the culture is changing, you know? -Mm.

You blame the Americans for you eating this?

-Yeah. Yes. -Yeah.

I think that barbecue encapsulates everything in Okinawa,

I think that's what Okinawa is now.

Yes, you have all the vitamins there and all the healthy food

if you want it, and certainly the older generation eat that way,

but the next generation down all eat the Western stuff,

and that's down to the Americans, the GIs bringing it in,

and it's changed their culture.

Okinawa, I hope,

is not the new face of the rest of Japan,

but I can see it seeping in.

[narrator] Since he arrived here, it's become clear to Paul

that there's one food the Japanese are more obsessed with than any other.

Almost every meal you will ever have in Japan involves rice in some way.

You get it served with, in, on, after or before everything.

This is rice sandwich.

[narrator] Because of rice, Paul's now travelled a long way north

to finish his second week in Akita Province

and the small town of Misato,

which spends every winter under a few feet of snow.

In the summer though, this place is a sea of green,

and most of the town's 20,000 inhabitants

make their living through rice farming.

Paul's come during the snowy season for one very good reason.

He's here to take part in an extraordinary rice festival,

which apparently predicts whether the year's rice crop

will be a good one.

It's called the Takeuchi Matsuri

and it's a festival that promises to be a whole lot more hazardous

than anything Paul's experienced back home.

British festivals?

Well, there's the harvest festival,

of course, where we put the fruit in the church.

Book festivals,

done a few of those selling books.

Does Glastonbury count?

[Saku] Look at that, Paul.

These are rice paddy fields. All of them are rice paddy fields.

[narrator] Joining Paul for the festival is Saku Yanagawa.

[Saku] I grew up in really countryside of Japan.

-Yeah. -[Saku] Like, surrounded by rice paddy

fields, like that.

[narrator] Saku is a Japanese comedian who, like every child growing up

in Japan, was left in no doubt about the importance of rice.

[Saku] All our mothers told us if we cannot finish

every single piece of rice, we will go blind.

[narrator] On average, every single Japanese person

will eat four and a half tonnes of rice in their lifetime.

[Paul] And there are a lot of different types of rice.

[Saku] Yeah, 300.

-300? -Yeah.

I only know two, a brown and a white.

[narrator] So, to the big festival.

And it's not a generalisation to say that the Japanese

love their festivals.

And they have some very weird ones.

There's one where sumo wrestlers

are paid to try to make babies cry,

to ward off demons.

There's one where 10,000 near-naked men fight

to get hold of a pair of sacred sticks,

to ensure good luck for the year.

But they also like them dangerous.

Onbashira, for example,

is a festival where Japanese men try to ride a massive log down a hill.

Multiple fatalities are common.

Lots of them involve burning stuff or fighting,

and the good news is

that the festival Paul's come to participate in involves both.

As night falls, we rejoin Paul and Saku,

already dressed for battle, arriving at their team's headquarters.

Arigato.

Turned up with Saku to a sight which I wasn't expecting,

to be honest, they were all drunk.

[laughter]

[Paul] Drinking sake, wine, beer.

Was that bottle full an hour ago?

[in Japanese]

That was a little bit worrying.

[narrator] So, what exactly has Paul let himself in for?

[Paul] Can you ask what's going to go on?

What does he want me to do?

[Saku speaking Japanese]

[conversing in Japanese]

Oh, never mind.

[speaking Japanese]

Only down, okay.

[narrator] And there's the night's first injury.

[Saku speaking Japanese]

[conversing in Japanese]

[Paul] I thought, "What have I let myself in for?"

[laughter]

[narrator] The battle is between the north and south of the town.

Appropriately, Paul's joined the north

and if his team win, it'll be a great harvest.

If the south win, the price of rice will go up.

It's what you might call a win-win.

[all] Ay-ay-oh.

[Paul] I felt quite proud to do it, until we were given our bamboo sticks.

[Paul] I mean, these things are heavy, dangerous, they whip.

-Where we going, this way? -[Saku] Yeah, this way.

[Paul] And I thought, "I don't think I'm going to be able to lift one up,

let alone batter someone over the head with it."

The way we were all marching through the road, you know,

like, "Wahey!" like we were on the way to a footie match.

I think wearing all the kit as well, feel like the warriors, you know?

We were fighting for the north.

Even the police were all bowing as we walked past.

It was special.

Me and Saku were feeling a little bit nervous.

[horn blows]

[tense music playing]

[Saku] That's amazing.

-Yeah, absolutely, yeah. -[chuckles]

[Paul] The amount of people that were there

and then the rattling of the bamboo sticks.

[men shouting]

[Paul] I saw the ambulances across the way, I thought, "Ah."

[narrator] The aim of the fight is to be aggressive

and push back the opposing side.

Then judges decide which team's done best across three rounds.

What am I doing?

I nearly backed out, if I'm honest.

It's was like baying for blood, you know?

I thought, "I shouldn't be doing this."

And then it just went mayhem.

[men shouting]

[Paul] You had 100 plus on one team, 100 plus on another.

Within four seconds of me running into this group like a lunatic,

I did get slapped.

I thought, "Oh-ho-ho-ho."

And all of a sudden,

it moved from being a bamboo fight into a rugby scrum.

Pushing, trying to get this team back.

[men shouting]

[narrator] Across the first two rounds, Paul gets properly stuck in,

and takes a few big hits in the process.

[Paul grunts]

[men shouting]

And then it was over.

[chuckles] I need a beer

and a lie down!

-Jeez! -[man speaking Japanese over P.A.]

[narrator] Because rounds one and two were clearly far too safe,

a massive bonfire is lit in the middle of the battlefield

before the final round.

And while Paul and Saku enjoy yet another cup of courage,

pieces of paper tied to bamboo poles are dipped into the fire.

They're wishes for good fortune in the year ahead.

The higher they rise, the more likely the wish is to come true.

[Paul] Look at that.

[Saku] It's huge, wow.

Wow, look at that one.

[man speaking Japanese over P.A.]

We need to get our stick.

[Saku] Yeah, yeah.

[Paul] The third one was the one they say everyone gets hurt in.

This is the scary one.

I'm now partially deaf in this ear.

It's the fire as well.

You've got the heat.

How come their numbers seem much bigger than ours?

[Saku] Yeah!

[narrator] Then, after some more aggressive pole rattling,

the final fight kicks off.

[Paul] So, I ran in again, got the bamboo stick down.

The next minute, I'd locked in and then poles came

in and around my legs.

I couldn't move.

And then two poles started coming towards my face

and I thought, "If I fall over, I'm in a world of trouble."

And the whole scrum started rotating.

It actually encroached onto where the audience was,

and our cameraman, Nat.

Thank goodness it didn't go the other way towards the fire,

cos that would've been ridiculous.

It was then that they called it.

They realised it was getting a little bit dangerous,

so it was called off, and that was the end of it.

[bells dinging]

[Saku] Oh.

That's...That's a lot.

That was--that was actually quite dangerous. Yeah.

Both my legs are beginning to creak.

[Saku] Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got caught.

-[Paul] It was quite scary, actually. -[Saku] Exactly, yeah. It was like a jail.

All of this for rice, I mean...

Yeah, yeah, for rice, yeah.

But actually to hope they have a good yield.

In fact, they've just wiped out half the farmers already.

So, what we can do is to wait for the result.

Yeah, I think we know the result.

[Saku] Yeah.

The northerners lost.

It's cos the southerners just have more money.

[narrator] Paul's northern team did indeed lose.

But that does apparently mean the price of rice will be high this year,

which has to be a good thing for everyone here.

And it doesn't stop his team heading back to the village hall

for a celebratory feast

and a few more drinks.

Arigato.

[in Japanese]

[Saku] Yeah. From England. Yeah.

[Paul] There was a little bit of a celebration.

There was a bit of a drink.

-This is... -Oh, is that chicken?

Fried chicken, Japanese fried chicken. It's good.

[Paul] You were doing something special

and you just fought for a part of a town.

[Saku] I really enjoyed it, actually.

That was a fun festival.

[Paul] Yeah, it was an experience that you'll remember.

-Yeah. -[Paul] This is part of their culture,

this is a big thing and it's a big family occasion

to watch everyone getting pulled off to A&E.

[in Japanese]

[Paul] But sitting down at the end of it and we all had the food,

it was magic.

Ah, the chicken's lovely.

And I felt part of this team. I was fighting for them.

It was a really special night.

-Thank you very much for today. -[Saku] Thank you very much, thank you.

[in Japanese]

[narrator] So, a spectacular end to Paul's second week in Japan.

And next time, Paul spends his final week here digging even deeper...

That's mental!

[narrator] ...as he discovers some of the weirder aspects

of the Japanese obsession with food

and the part it plays in sport...

-...television... -[laughs]

[narrator] ...tourism...

Now tell me that's not the best meat you've ever had.

[narrator] ...and even education.

[Paul] I'm really happy with that.

[rock music playing]