♪ >> woman: [ speaking japanese ] ♪

♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ ♪ found something good in this beautiful world ♪ ♪ i felt the rain getting colder ♪ ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, la, ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, ♪ sha, la, la, la, la, la ♪ >> anthony: this is the restaurant "masa" in new york city, tucked away on the fourth floor of the

time warner center on columbus circle. it is america's most expensive restaurant. dinner here costs around $600 per person before sake or extra pieces of the most outrageously high quality tuna on the planet. the raw ingredients are unparalleled -- often flown in from japan or grown specially to this man's specifications. this is masa takayama. to call him america's most respected sushi chef would be an injustice, as he is more than that. much more. what was it about him that set him apart, took him from a rather bleak farming community in rural japan to become first the toast of los angeles and later the king of new york? it is a fascinating story. kanazawa is the capital of

ishikawa prefecture on the west coast of honshu island along the sea of japan. it's known for its untouched by time traditional districts -- one of the few cities in japan left relatively intact throughout the war. it's famous for its crafts, for its beautiful ceramics in particular, but also its artistic sensibility. the way it always valued beautiful things, traditions. it's a city that helped masa, then at a crossroads, to discover a whole new world of grace, of aesthetics, of style, that affected him deeply. for most, however, kanazawa is simply a place with great seafood. >> masa: this is the kitchen of the, uh, kanazawa city. >> anthony: yeah? >> masa: this market is. >> anthony: ooh, look at that. lot of crab. >> masa: yeah. sea shrimp, sardine, let's go over there. >> anthony: okay. ooh, look at that. ooh, uni? >> masa: yeah. >> anthony: sea urchin -- one of my absolute favorite things --

has a limited season in japan, from september to april, and it's tastiest in winter. good. from here? >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> worker: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: hokkaido. >> anthony: hokkaido. >> masa: yeah. >> anthony: good deal. another seasonal specialty currently at or near its best, kanogani, or snow crab. juicy and sweet -- and delicious. oh, man. that is good. >> masa: really good. sweet, huh? >> anthony: very. >> masa: we need a sake, huh? [ laughter ] >> anthony: yeah. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> woman: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: good. >> masa: good. really good. thank you! >> worker: thank you! >> masa: thank you, very good. ♪ oh let's eat this one. [ speaking japanese ] >> worker: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: eel livers, grilled on a stick. unagi? >> masa: unagi, yeah. >> anthony: yeah. ooh, hot. [ laughter ] >> masa: yeah. >> anthony: oysters.

these are the size of freakin' clown shoes. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: where are these from? >> masa: shimane prefecture. >> anthony: wow, just one oyster is a meal. it's like as big as a steak. >> masa: yeah, yeah, yeah. thank you! just like that. >> anthony: hold it french style. >> masa: french style. [ laughter ] >> anthony: wow. >> masa: good, huh? >> anthony: mm! >> masa: right? they're the best. >> anthony: wow, that's good. and tender for a big oyster, you know? >> masa: thank you! [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: arigato. >> masa: that's so good, huh? [ laughter ] >> anthony: woo! ♪

>> anthony: the geisha profession, or geiko as it's known in kanazawa, gained widespread popularity in the late 18th century. wearing elaborate kimono costumes and makeup, geikos are paid to entertain by singing, dancing, drinking -- basically making older men, generally, feel good and welcome for an hour, maybe two. ♪ yaeko is the owner of the fujinoya teahouse, one of only 15 or so left in kanazawa. ♪ these teahouses, which at one time numbered in the hundreds, provide a stage for the geiko, of which there are only about 50 left working in the city. yaeko is a retired geiko and an

old friend of masa whom he credits with teaching him many things about culture, life and, presumably, about women. [ applause ] >> masa: nice, beautiful, huh? >> anthony: beautiful. this is a hard thing to do. >> masa: oh yeah, yeah. >> anthony: a lot of -- >> masa: they need to learn a lot of stuff. thanks. >> anthony: play music, tell stories -- >> masa: dance. >> yaeko: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> yaeko: that's ok. >> anthony: a lot of work. >> masa: a lot of work. cheers. >> anthony: so what brought you here first? >> masa: when i was young, i didn't know this kind of world -- colorwise, artist, beautiful -- i've never seen that kind of stuff. big kind, kind of shock. i was a country boy, here is very sophisticated. people are sophisticated. i learned from her culture, what the secret is, spiritual wise. they teach me, you know?

that's why the kanazawa city, this is my second country. ♪ >> anthony: owned and run by four generations within the same family, yamanoo is a traditional kaiseki restaurant that dates back to 1890. kaiseki is a multi-course meal with an entirely new menu presented every few weeks in response to the changing seasons and the seasonality of the products available in the region. everything is considered. the taste, of course, how to best prepare a particular fish or plant at its very peak. presentation. even the ceramic dishes on which each dish is served changes constantly. leaves, flowers, elements from nature evoke the season. wow, look at the package. incredible. the first of eight dishes, preserved in a tightly wrapped bamboo leaf intended to resemble a sword. sea bream served chimaki style over rice slightly sweetened by vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and

sesame. >> masa: beautiful. huh, tony? >> anthony: beautiful. when you first went to the u.s., how old were you? >> masa: 27. >> yaeko: 27? [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: yeah. yeah. >> anthony: did you have a job when you went? >> masa: no. for play golf. [ laughter ] >> anthony: no way. >> masa: yeah. the thing is, when i was a kid -- you know, art class? the teacher told me that american kids, they -- when they draw outside, just flat, straight line, house, tree, sun. huge, huge land. >> anthony: that's true. >> masa: japanese kids will do just mountains first. the house, right? the sun. i wanted to go u.s. to see huge land. that's my, you know, dream, you know? ♪ >> anthony: grilled rockfish made houraku style, steamed in smoking wormwood. >> masa: good fish, right? >> anthony: very good. bamboo shoots and wagyu beef prepared tableside with soy sauce and mirin.

>> masa: mmm! >> anthony: oh, that's fantastic. it's really good. today's sashimi course is cod, salted and pressed between leaves of kelp for two hours, coated with sake cured codfish roe. next to it, flounder. its skin gently rubbed with grilled tomato the day before. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: finally, a super luxurious clam hot pot. rice is steamed with clam and a bonito broth. then topped with plump torigai, plum, and manju clams, as well as creamy sea urchin and a japanese broccolini blossom for good measure. simple. perfect. wow. >> anthony: uni? >> masa: uni. >> anthony: awesome. >> masa: oh the umami hold into the rice. right? >> anthony: right. so, i wanna know -- the stereotypical japanese mentality. the, the salaryman. you join the company, you stay with the company.

>> masa: well, some people go that way. >> anthony: most people go this way, yes. they, they choose security. >> masa: yeah, yeah. maybe. >> anthony: it's an unusual way of thinking. i have to make my own way. >> masa: yeah, i agree with that. older brother, they can take over family business. i gotta do something. went to tokyo, then realized, "wow, this is a different world." what can i do? >> anthony: yeah. >> masa: second brother maybe. >> anthony: second brother syndrome. >> masa: right. maybe, yeah. >> anthony: this was awesome. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] good to see you again. ♪ known for its perfect storm of tiny bubbles, it has long been called the champagne of beers. ♪ if you've got the time welcome to the high life. ♪ we've got the beer ♪ miller beer guests can earn a how cafree night when theypring book direct on choicehotels.com and stay with us just two times?

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♪ >> masa: ishikawa prefecture. it's a very rich country. great seafood. a lot of good vegetables. i came here to learn. this place totally changed me.

mr. izakura, he is my mentor. >> izakura: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: he is an artist, great artist. >> izakura: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: gave me a lot of idea. >> izakura: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: more than 40 years he's doing this kind of art. >> izakura: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: i learned that simple, clean line. >> izakura: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: then we became great friends. >> izakura: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: then i started designing, too. i have an image in my head, i start drawing. [ speaking japanese ] >> izakura: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: then, i come all the way here to talk with mr. izakura.

[ speaking japanese ] >> izakura: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] that passion makes me change. [ speaking japanese ] >> izakura: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: yeah, that's it. good. yeah, beautiful. done. >> anthony: when do you make the drawings for the ceramic that you want? >> masa: when you're drinking. >> anthony: when you're drinking? >> masa: yeah, right. so many times, huh? >> izakura: yeah, yeah. >> anthony: eating and drinking. and drawing. >> masa: yeah, always. he teaches me a lot of stuff. >> anthony: so, when you're in new york, and the ceramics come, do you ever go, "what the --" >> masa: what happened. >> anthony: i don't remember. >> masa: i get pissed. >> anthony: your design, man.

>> masa: exactly. >> anthony: 90 minutes southeast of kanazawa is a mountainous region known as yamanaka onsen, and it looks unlike any place i've ever been in japan. masa's good friend and art advisor haruo konishi has a family hideaway here. a beautiful 120-year-old traditional kominka style home built around an irori -- a sunken hearth in the middle of the living room. it's wild getting up here, the snow, the rocks in the road. >> masa: yeah, right? >> anthony: man, it's -- >> masa: yeah. >> anthony: ooh, pretty. not only does the irori heat the entire house, it becomes the gathering place on nights like these. >> masa: arigato, cheers. >> anthony: konbai. they get together -- cook, eat, drink large quantities of unfiltered, slightly chunky sake, and enjoy the country life. lookin' good. the boys have laid out the makings of a pretty amazing feast -- iwana, or char, were caught today in a nearby mountain stream. enormous hokkaido scallops,

pulled this morning from the sea of japan, sizzle and pucker in their shells over the fire in butter and lime juice and a touch of home-brewed soy sauce. wild japanese boar hangs above the coals, radiating its sweet aroma as it cooks. look at that. >> masa: yeah. >> anthony: so how long have you all known each other? how many years? >> masa: 30 years. right? we know each other. i love this kind of cooking, you know? it's the way i like. >> anthony: wow. >> masa: be careful, though. it's hot, though. >> anthony: oh, yeah. >> masa: mm! >> anthony: wow, it's sweet. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> konishi: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: izura, freshly caught local quail, is rubbed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and lightly glazed with that homemade soy. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: oh, wow. >> masa: how is it, good? >> anthony: that is good. mm. >> masa: this kind of charcoal slow cooking gives this kind of flavor, soft, juicy.

how's the fish? >> konishi: [ speaking japanese ] [ laughter ] >> masa: you know what he said? "before fish, i'm gonna burn up." >> anthony: so him first. [ laughter ] >> masa: don't hurry. good food takes long time. >> anthony: so this big argument with the spanish. big argument. is umami a flavor or a sensation? >> masa: umami is essence. strong essence. >> anthony: so it's a mysterious force. >> masa: yeah, much bigger than the universe. >> anthony: bigger than flavor? >> masa: of course. this vegetable is called fukinoto. under the ground, covered in snow. cold. then, little by little, it opens up like that. this is first sign of spring. we appreciate that. >> anthony: how do you cook this? >> masa: grill, fried, or braise it. i'm gonna grill it, little bit of oil, then a little bit of salt. this is so happy, the phases. so happy. they're going to be cooked this

way. their blood is bitterness, very bitter. you need bitterness to grow. >> anthony: this is italian. agro dolce, at the end of an italian meal. >> masa: exactly. >> anthony: sweet, fat, sweet, fat, at the end of the meal, something bitter to remind you of the sadness. >> masa: this is the umami, too. that kind of sense building, i didn't know that. he taught me this kind of delicacy. he's my maestro. teacher, so. tony, try this. strong, very, right? >> anthony: but you're right, umami. it's deep. >> masa: this is umami. ♪ >> anthony: among izukura-san's many skills, apparently, is a shocking proficiency at making soba noodles. tonight, the soba is paired up

with slices of tender duck and green onion grilled over the irori. >> masa: nice, al dente. >> anthony: mm. >> masa: this soba's the best soba. >> anthony: perfect. then topped by a warm dashi sauce made of soy, mirin, and a touch of sugar. >> masa: i'm so glad we can share with this moment with my old friend, you know? >> anthony: mm. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] you know what that word is? >> anthony: no tell me. >> masa: once in life, this moment, we appreciate, respect each other, enjoy this moment. >> anthony: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: never again. >> anthony: never again. >> masa: yeah, exactly. ♪ it's your paradise perfected with behr premium plus paint. the best you can buy starting under $25. only at the home depot. weeds. nature's boomerang. at roundup®, we know they keep coming back. you never invited this stubborn little rascal to your patio. so, draw the line.

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♪ >> anthony: sushi. and not just sushi. sushi made at one of the oldest, most iconic, respected, best establishments in the world. the place where it all began, not just for masa takayama, but generations of young, predominantly male, sushi apprentices, or deshis, who went on to open their own places all over the world. this is ginza sushi ko in tokyo.

the original. 130 years old, and for all that time, this, in one form or the other, is how the day started. scaling and gutting the fish. prepping the kitchen. >> masa: cleaning bathroom, making sake for customers. >> anthony: right. >> masa: dishwasher. everything. >> anthony: for how long? >> masa: first two years. >> anthony: only in the third year, the rice. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: and if you get that right, eventually, maybe, just maybe, the master will begin to teach you the next phase, how to stand next to him as a wakita, slicing the fish, eventually, eventually, creating pieces of nigiri for guests at the bar. of the dozen young men who work here, not all will make it to become a sushi shokunin. >> masa: oh, it's been a long time. >> anthony: to achieve that status of truly becoming a master chef. how many years? seven years to learn, right? >> masa: yeah. >> anthony: that's a lot of time.

>> masa: a lot of time. >> anthony: a lot of work. a lot of pain. what was it like apprenticing here? hard? >> masa: his father was very tough. >> anthony: yeah? >> masa: very tough. at that time, his grandfather was here too. very tough. >> anthony: young masa was first hired here as an apprentice by shokunin toshiaku sugiyama. this is his son, mamoru sugyiyama, who runs sushiko today. the fourth generation to uphold the standards and family tradition. >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ]. >> anthony: some things should stay the same. >> masa: exactly, yes. >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: aji. >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: mix. >> anthony: seared horse mackerel over green onion and ginger drizzled with house-made soy. >> masa: yeah, i love this kind of stuff.

very simple, right? >> anthony: oh, that's fantastic. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: love it. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] see here's one that marinated in soy sauce. very old style. >> anthony: man, that looks good. >> masa: yeah. ♪ >> anthony: maguro, bluefin tuna prepared in classic zuke style. that's so beautiful. >> masa: yeah. >> anthony: what happened if you did a bad job? >> masa: he didn't slap, but you know, the thing is -- a lot of punishment. >> anthony: yeah, you don't go home feeling good. >> masa: yelling. yelling. >> anthony: yelling. >> masa: yelling. ♪ >> anthony: how does he remember you? good guy, bad guy? pain in the ass? >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: saxophone. >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ]

>> anthony: wait. is he any good at saxophone? [ laughter ] >> sugyiyama: good. good. very good. >> masa: i love jazz. i didn't know anything about it 'til i started working here. on a sunday, day off, taking classes a little bit, then playing here in the bathroom. >> anthony: here? >> masa: after work. i put the cloth in the bell, then play it like that. >> anthony: oh my god, they wanted to kill you. you're a very unusual man. ♪ >> masa: sushi is the best meal. we can enjoy every single small piece, different fish. we can see the chef, right there, he's slicing, wasabi, make it, put it right here, eat. >> anthony: right. >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: japanese tiger prawn, octopus, and fluke sashimi. >> masa: japanese cooking, we care very much about the ki, which is fighting spirits. like this, right? >> anthony: mm-hmm.

striped jack brushed with soy and sake. >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: this moment, do not miss this. then, grab it, right? you eat. see? >> anthony: mm. >> masa: that's why you gotta eat quickly. if 30 second, one minute -- >> anthony: it's dying. >> masa: ki is leaving somewhere. ♪ >> masa: also, the fish, sushis arrive moving. swimming. very fast. done. amazing. this momentum is ended right there. it's very important. >> anthony: anago, or sea eel, a handroll in fresh, crackling seaweed. mm, oh man. wow. >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ]

>> masa: his father told me that, i did a great job for this. >> anthony: this is very difficult. >> masa: yeah. ♪ >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: "please teach my son," what he said. >> anthony: oh, wow look at that. >> masa: this has lots of shrimp eggs, those eggs, and the fish paste is in. >> anthony: really. >> masa: very special stuff. ♪ >> anthony: did he ever think back then that you would be a success in america? or did he think -- bad move? >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: ambitious.

>> masa: exactly, ambitious. >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> sugyiyama: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] ♪ if a denture were to be

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♪ >> anthony: nasushiobara is a town like many others in rural japan. the kind of japanese town we don't see much of in movies or television. a once traditional farming community, slow paced, inward looking, the opposite end of the universe, culturally, from new york and tokyo, even from kanazawa. >> ishi: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: it used to be a five-hour trip from tokyo, now

reduced to two by the shinkansen bullet train. why don't we have these in america, by the way? ask your congressmen. this rather drab, featureless place is where masa was born and raised and could well have stayed. but then, everything would have been different. masa's dad, yoshio, recently passed. but his mom, ishi is still going strong, the center of the family. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> ishi: yeah. >> catherine: nice to meet you! >> ishi: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: thank you! tony, tony. >> anthony: pleased to meet you. ♪ catherine is masa's daughter. california raised, but a frequent visitor to the family home. she and her grandmother are preparing some familiar comfort foods to celebrate masa's

homecoming. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: motsuni is a slow simmered stew of pork tripe, konnyaku, daikon, green onions, and miso. >> catherine: [ speaking japanese ] >> masa: very different food, right? this is the country food. [ laughter ] kanpai. welcome home! >> ishi: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: you don't get this in new york. >> masa: no. mm. [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: this is really good. i see why you love this. catherine, by the way, is a pastry chef at the great restaurant, the french laundry, in the napa valley. so high level cooking seems to run in the family. >> anthony: you grew up sitting in the sushi bar. >> catherine: i did, yeah, sitting on a milk crate with a cheeseburger in front, and i'd watch my dad prepping, and i'd call out, "dad!" and he'd be like, "i'm not your

dad here!" i was like [ gasps ]. >> anthony: oh, that's funny. what did you do for fun back there? >> catherine: i was eating. [ laughter ] >> anthony: well, your father was in the fish business. wholesale -- >> masa: fish business, yeah. no, no. retail. he'd make sashimi, right? >> anthony: mm-hmm. >> ishi: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: masa, his brother, and three sisters all worked for the family business every day after school and on weekends. >> masa: nine, ten years old, we carried the sashimi dish and the special kind of container. and go to all the neighbors. >> anthony: yeah? >> masa: to deliver. >> anthony: you learned how to clean fish very early. how to cut it. >> masa: 10, 11, 12, that time already, i started to grill the fish. >> ishi: [ speaking japanese ]

>> anthony: her opinion, were you a good student? [ laughter ] >> masa: i was, right? >> anthony: a good one? [ laughter ] >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> ishi: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: so, were you surprised that he became a big success in america? >> ishi: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: you were not a lazy kid. you had dreams, and you wanted to do -- >> masa: that's right. i can't sit long. i gotta do something. >> ishi: [ speaking japanese ] >> catherine: she's saying he probably works more here, than at the restaurant. [ laughter ] ♪ >> anthony: oh man, nice wasabi. >> masa: this is great flavor,

so you have to scrape first. have to scrape, then go this way. ooh! >> anthony: yeah, nice. wow, look at that. comfort food is one thing, and damn, it's wonderful, but masa being masa, you'll notice there's a mountain of decidedly luxurious sashimi brought up from tsukiji market in tokyo this morning. >> masa: this we do all the time, you know. pretty simple. easy. >> anthony: oh yeah. that's just a nice, big pile of incredible beautiful uni like that. i do that all the time. some sea urchin roe, or uni, and some high test otoro tuna that any new york sushi enthusiast would cheerfully cut their best friend's throat for. >> masa: good, huh? >> anthony: fantastic. >> ishi: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: bold words. >> masa: maybe better. >> anthony: typical japanese meal. champagne, sancerre. >> masa: that's what we do. >> anthony: country cooking at

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si'm happy for the distraction. i'll be right there. and the butchery begins. what am i gonna wear? this party is super fancy. are you my uber? [ horn honks ] hold on. [ upbeat music playing ] the biggest week in tv is back. [ doorbell rings ] who's that? show me watchathon. xfinity watchathon week now until april 9. get unlimited access to all of netflix and more, free with xfinity on demand. ♪

♪ >> anthony: high school rah, rah rah. high school, sis boom bah -- as the mc5 so notably sang. ♪ but school in japan is different. they didn't give up on physical education, as we seem to have. the 1,000-year-old martial art of kendo, or the way of the sword, is still widely taught. boys and girls alike compete with bamboo swords -- sensible stand-ins for actual samurai

swords -- but the same thing, man. ♪ kendo is scored by strikes against the wrist, head, torso, or throat. each representing a blow that would be bad news if handling an actual blade. >> masa: ha ha. [ applause ] they're fast, huh? >> anthony: the concept of kaizen -- improvement, central to the study of any martial art, it could be said, also applies to cooking at a high level. ♪ so it's no surprise that young masa once suited up for the same team at the same junior high school.

♪ i don't know if he's trying to psych the kid, but i don't think it's going to work frankly. eh, on the other hand -- >> teacher: [ speaking japanese ] [ applause ] >> anthony: you still got it, man. looking good. >> masa: thank you. ah. whoo. ah. [ speaking japanese ] [ speaking japanese ]

>> anthony: awesome, man, fast! an inspiration. >> masa: [ speaking japanese ] >> students: [ speaking japanese ] [ applause ] >> all: yay! >> anthony: masa takayama left nasushiobara. his oldest brother, kazuo stayed. he's been the chef proprietor of local restaurant tsukimura for the last 30 years. kimoyaki -- eel liver dipped in a sauce of sake, soy, and mirin then grilled low and slow over charcoal. >> anthony: say, they could

serve this at the french laundry. right? [ laughter ] >> catherine: i think we do. >> anthony: so back in the days of the family catering business, when he looked at his younger brother did he think, "this >> chef kazuo: [ speaking japanese ] >> catherine: he's like, "no." >> anthony: 'cause your dad said he was a bad, he was not a good student. >> chef kazuo: [ speaking japanese ] >> catherine: it's when he went to high school and then he stopped studying. >> anthony: right, what was he doing instead of studying? >> chef kazuo: [ speaking japanese ] >> catherine: mahjong. mahjong. ♪ >> anthony: next, this insanely delicious custard of eel and egg, jacked with bean curd, bonito broth and kelp -- >> catherine: oh, wow. >> anthony: wow, that is beautiful. >> chef kazuo: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: really good.

of everyone in the family, how'd your dad end up the weirdo? >> catherine: so, after he graduated high school, he didn't have any idea what he wanted to do. my uncle at the time, he was already in tokyo and he was like, "look, come out to tokyo, work at ginza sushiko," and he went to go check it out and he loved it. >> anthony: forgive me if i'm wrong -- that was a tremendous break for an aimless young man from the provinces. >> catherine: you know, my father, being the second son, he kinda had free range to do whatever he wanted. >> anthony: right. >> catherine: [ speaking japanese ] >> chef kazuo: [ speaking japanese ] >> catherine: so, traditionally it's the oldest son who stays to take care of the parents. >> anthony: if he could live his life over again -- >> catherine: yeah. >> chef kazuo: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: a designer? of? >> chef kazuo: a fashion designer. >> anthony: fashion designer? >> catherine: fashion!

really? >> chef kazuo: [ speaking japanese ] >> anthony: then hitusmabushi, eel steamed, dressed and grilled over rice. oh look at this. >> catherine: oh wow. there are a lot of components here. amazing. >> anthony: wow that's good. oishi. >> chef kazuo: thank you. >> catherine: i've never had unagi other than my cle's unagi. but -- >> anthony: really? >> catherine: yeah. oh! >> anthony: good sake. good food. >> catherine: yeah. [ speaking japanese ] ♪

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oh, awesome. >> masa: oh, man. so good, huh? >> anthony: yeah. i feel healthier already. >> masa: yeah. where's the beer? cheers. >> anthony: it is suntory time my friend. it's time to relax. ♪ >> masa: beautiful color, huh? >> anthony: looking good. >> masa: right? >> anthony: get together with some friends and cook up some al fresco, mountain style sukiyaki, bitches. maybe a little tempura made from foraged wild asparagus and fukinoto. yep. >> masa: beautiful. >> anthony: and when it's sukiyaki time, after a whole lot of, shall we say, home brewed

sake -- you just kick back, stir in the maitakes and the shiitakes and some tochigi beef and enjoy the day. >> masa: this is what i do. beautiful, right? >> anthony: oh yeah. this is going to be good. >> masa: yeah, more, more, more, more, more. more, more, more, more, more, more, more -- yeah, yeah. good, good, good. >> anthony: nice eggs. >> masa: beautiful eggs. so good. see? that's what i like. outside, especially outside it tastes better, much better. >> anthony: everything tastes better outside. >> masa: exactly, exactly. >> anthony: so how long have you known these guys? >> masa: uh, since, since high school. >> anthony: high school. >> masa: high school, yeah, which is what? 44 years. >> anthony: 44 years. >> masa: yeah, it's a long time. huh? [ laughter ] >> anthony: how does he remember you in high school? who was the best student, who was the worst student here? >> masa: he's the best student.

>> anthony: best student. >> masa: these guys, the three guys, the three of us were the worst. >> anthony: the three of you were bad students. >> masa: ah, really good. >> anthony: so you do this when you were kids? build a fire? cook something? drink sake? >> masa: always, always we did that. smoked cigarettes. >> anthony: yeah. back then did everybody know that you were not going to stay? like, when you were in high school did you talk about, "when i get old enough i'm going to america? i'm not staying here." >> masa: yeah, we did that. [ speaking japanese ] yeah, i told them. >> anthony: now, you weren't dressed up like john wayne or anything right, when you went to school? no cowboy boots. >> masa: no, no. no, no, no. no. ♪ >> anthony: they say you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy. i don't know if that's true. we all come from someplace, that's for sure. but, new york city, in masa takayama's case, seems far, far away from the little town he

grew up in. ♪ ♪