This program features tuna, the king of fish, traded in Japan's largest food market, Tsukiji, where various kinds of food from around the world are traded. Enjoy the exciting tuna auction where a fish can cost over 100,000 dollars and learn about the world's first complete tuna farm raising site. From unique ways of cooking to state-of-the-art research to protect tuna, a precious resource, learn just what makes tuna so great.

This program features Japan's unique food market, Tsukiji, where excellent food is assembled from all over the world, with a special focus on strawberries. Japanese strawberries are referred to as "fruit jewels" thanks to their red, shiny and perfectly shaped appearance. There are some original strawberries such as white ones and gigantic ones. A researcher cultivating new breeds and a chef who invented the ultimate strawberry dessert along with other specialists tell you what is so fascinating about Japanese strawberries.

This program showcases various Japanese food ingredients. Today's focus is the black paper-like seaweed called Nori which is a must for sushi. The Japanese love it and eat 10 billion sheets per year, making it a kind of Japanese soul food. Check out how they farm it in the sea and how it's enjoyed with many different ways of cooking.

This program features green tea, a popular Japanese drink with 1,000 years of history. The Japanese enjoy green tea in various occasions in their everyday lives: with meals, at tea breaks during working hours, and even when they have visitors at their homes and offices. Our reporter visits traditional tea stores in Tsukiji, a huge green tea field at the foot of Mt. Fuji, and introduces the traditional process of tea making and tea culture, which is deeply rooted in Japanese society.

We focus on"Aji", an extremely popular fish in Japan. Aji can be grilled, fried and even eaten raw as sashimi. Especially highlighted is a type of Aji called Donchitchi, highly recommended by fish specialists. We go to Shimane Prefecture, in western Japan, and discover state-of-the art technologies that monitor and check Donchitchi's fat rate and storage temperature, ensuring the finest quality. You'll also learn various ways in which Aji is deliciously prepared. Come with us on an Aji adventure.

We focus on ume, Japanese plum. Though it is a fruit, it cannot be eaten raw. For more than 1000 years, the people have been in favor of this unique ingredient by processing them such as liquor and jam. Above all, sour umeboshi, made by putting ume in salt, has been their all time favorite. Ume has strong association with seasonal Japanese traditions. People enjoy its scent and flowers in early spring and pick their fruits in rainy season. You will be fascinated by the world of ume.

Our focus is kombu, dried seaweed, a necessity for the dashi soup stock which is a key component of washoku, traditional Japanese cuisine. Our reporter flies to Hokkaido, the far north of Japan, to report on kombu farming. He also learns how to make good dashi and how to cook healthy Okinawan cuisine rich with kombu. The program shows how kombu is deeply rooted in Japanese food culture.

This program is all about sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are used in a variety of delicious ways, from desserts to traditional Japanese dishes to salads, and as the basis for shochu liquor. Yakiimo, a baked whole sweet potato, is a very popular snack in Japan. As a result of repeated breed selection, there are about 90 types of sweet potatoes with outstanding sweetness in Japan. Farmers constantly pursue sweeter potatoes with improved textures. Enjoy the mysterious world of the sweet potato.

In this program, we focus on Ika, squid, eaten more in Japan than any other country in the world. Our intrepid reporter visits Hokkaido, in the north of Japan, to learn about midnight squid fishing, discovers an amazing way to deliver squid live, and eats various delicious squid dishes, including traditional Japanese ones as well as a unique fusion with Italian cooking. Join us!

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Ise-ebi, or "Japanese spiny lobster", the king of lobster, can cost up to $50 at Tsukiji. To preserve the flavor, ise-ebi must be kept alive until just before cooking. Teamwork between fishermen and wholesalers makes live ise-ebi delivery to restaurants possible. It is said that the ise-ebi's long tentacles represent longevity and that its armor-like body symbolizes the vigor of the samurai. As a symbol of luck, longevity and vigor, ise-ebi is a must for times of celebration.

Thanks to its unique form, fugu is popular not just as food but also for ornamental purposes and art motifs. But despite its good taste and looks, fugu is extremely poisonous. Due to its deadly poison, fugu is traded and cooked only by licensed specialists. Despite the danger, its delicate taste and unique texture are a major attraction for foodies, who eat it as sashimi, tempura and hot pot. Find out why people are in love with this poisonous fish and how the Japanese enjoy it safely.

With 70% of its land covered in forest, Japan is rich in various edible mushrooms. Among them, the mushroom that enjoys the largest amount of trading in Tsukiji is the shiitake. It enjoys worldwide popularity for its low calorie count and healthy properties. Shiitake, a must for Japanese cuisine, is cultivated in several ways. We visit shiitake farmers to learn their very unique farming techniques. We also explore various ways to enjoy one of shiitake's most attractive points, its rich aroma.

You've heard of pandas eating bamboo, but did you know the Japanese do too? Bamboo shoots, known in Japanese as takenoko, grow at the incredible speed of 1 meter per day, reaching 15 meters in 3 months. But it's the softer shoots under the soil that are prized by the Japanese. Check out the special techniques of Japan's best takenoko hunters and various ways this springtime specialty is prepared and enjoyed.

The Japanese love to eat crab, and snow crab, a winter specialty, is their favorite. No effort is spared to bring the freshest, highest-quality snow crab to Japanese consumers, with crabs delivered to Tsukiji alive, wholesalers carefully recreating their deep sea habitat, and fishermen sorting them into 100 different grades with an advanced ranking system. We also showcase various snow crab dishes from everyday meals to high-class French cuisine. Prepare to enter the world of the snow crab!

Tokyo's Tsukiji market is a must-visit destination for any food lover. You'll find not only fresh fish here, but everything you need to create a Japanese meal, from all over the country. In this program we introduce some special Japanese ingredients such as Katsuobushi, or bonito flakes. Shaved from rock-hard slabs of fermented fish, the flakes are used in the soup base of almost every Japanese dish, and are the essence of the umami taste. We will show you how they're made, and the secret behind their magical flavor.

The Japanese green onion, or negi, is a must for popular Japanese foods like sukiyaki and ramen. Despite being a staple of the Japanese diet since the 18th century, its popularity only continues to grow. Negi, which takes 10 months to grow and reaches 70 centimeters, is spicy when raw but sweet when cooked and contains as much sugar as mangoes. Raw, boiled, grilled: depending on how it is cooked, negi offers a wide range of tastes. Join us in discovering this mysterious vegetable.

Thanks to its symbolic color, red sea bream, or tai, is a fish for celebration in Japan. Our tai journey takes us to a fishing port where fisherman risk their lives for the catch, to a top-class restaurant in Tokyo where a young chef blends tai into his French cuisine, and to a research institute where scientists have infused tai with the flavor of oranges.

In this show about food from Tsukiji market, we unveil the secrets of "wasabi", a key item in sushi by visiting a wasabi store and an organic grower, exploring how it is grown and eaten in Japan.

The Japanese love shellfish, and their favorite is without doubt the common orient clam, or hamaguri. With each shell having only one perfect match, it's considered a symbol of undying marriage. It's also served at the yearly girl's festival to pray for young women's happy futures and employed in traditional art pieces. Not just delicious, hamaguri is deeply rooted in Japanese culture.