6 Must Try Foods on Japan's Most UNDERRATED Island

0:00 [music] Here we are, Heaven's Gate in Kagawa,

0:03 a beautiful place overlooking the plains [music] of Shikokia.

0:06 About to begin a road trip across

0:07 four amazing underrated prefectures with one man,

0:11 one man alone joining us because you will need me,

0:15 our resident [music] cultural expert.

0:17 We need him.

0:17 We need him.

0:18 Exactly.

0:19 All right, come on.

0:20 Shikoku is the smallest of Japan's four

0:22 main islands and is perhaps the most underappreciated.

0:25 Despite being slapbang next to Kyoto and Osaka,

0:28 it often gets left out due to its lack of [music] bullet train connection.

0:32 But Shikoku punches well above its weight for its mouthwatering dishes,

0:36 diverse culture, [music] and spectacular scenery.

0:39 And we're off on an epic road trip to unearth one must

0:42 try dish from each and [music] every one of the island's four prefigures.

0:45 With Riotro at our side,

0:46 we're stuck with a man who actually knows [music] the region fairly well.

0:49 He may be the devil,

0:50 but it begrudges me to admit this time around he might be the perfect guide.

0:54 And it all begins with a jaw-dropping view with the devil

0:57 himself as we gaze down from above in heavens.

1:00 I've always wanted to come here to heaven's gate.

1:01 Well, see, this is the first time I came.

1:03 I didn't know about this place.

1:04 How did you find out?

1:05 I'm just a genius.

1:05 I saw a guy book.

1:07 But what I will say is it's one of those places

1:10 you look at photos and go, it's no way.

1:12 It's no way it's actually that [music] good, right?

1:14 And then you get here and you go, okay.

1:17 Seriously good.

1:17 It's very if you can make it up here.

1:19 There's a big walk [music] to get up here.

1:20 We might have driven.

1:21 Um, but [clears throat] there's there's a big walk to get up here.

1:24 Take one last look at the view and then let's go and eat all of Shikake.

1:28 All of it.

1:29 All of it.

1:30 Having traveled all the way to Shikoku.

1:32 Naturally, we want the best godamn dishes we can get our grubby hands on.

1:36 And to help us track down the top restaurants across all four prefectures,

1:39 we've teamed up with Japan's largest restaurant reservation platform,

1:43 Tabalong, who is sponsoring our epic journey around the island.

1:47 And now finding the best places to eat in Japan

1:49 has never been easier with the brand new Tabalog app.

1:53 With over 890,000 restaurants and 85 million reviews,

1:57 it's just made the process of getting delicious

2:00 chicken into my hands faster than ever before.

2:02 If you're unsure what you're in the mood

2:04 for, [music] search based on your current

2:06 location and save bookmarks for later if you

2:08 pass by something delectable that catches your eye.

2:11 Spend less time wandering aimlessly in the streets of Shabuya and more

2:14 time stuffing your face with the finest Japan has to offer.

2:17 Check out the new Tabalog app on iOS and Android.

2:20 And do let me know if you find somewhere that serves up a mountain of cheese.

2:24 The search continues.

2:26 [music] Our first stop is Tokushima on the eastern edge of Shikoku.

2:30 Home to the island's most iconic bowl of ramen.

2:33 Decadently thick tonkotu broth with thin slices of deeply marinated pork.

2:37 It's the perfect fuel for those tackling Japan's

2:40 largest pilgrimage [music] of 88 temples here in Shikaku,

2:43 which we'll get back to a little bit after lunch.

3:14 and try it.

3:14 We shall.

3:18 So, this is tokosushima ramen.

3:21 I've never had it before.

3:22 It almost looks like sukiyaki, like a hot pot, right?

3:24 I know it's pork, but usually it's sort of beef on top that looks like this.

3:27 But the egg as well, nestled carefully in the middle.

3:30 The soup looks ridiculously thick.

3:32 What's in the soup?

3:33 So, it's a chicken and pork mix soup.

3:36 Blend of it.

3:37 Blend of it.

3:38 You can smell the tonkatu broth when you walk in the front door.

3:40 Like tonkatu has quite a thick almost sour smell.

3:44 And I don't like the smell of it, but I love the taste of it.

3:46 It's a weird sort of paradox [laughter] to it.

3:49 What are your thoughts?

3:50 Well, it's good.

3:50 I mean like this Tshima is quite special because you don't really see

3:53 the raw egg in like in the men in the center of ramen.

3:56 This is like only place you actually see it in tokosima.

3:58 And also this is like a uh belly meat, pork belly meat

4:03 and it's marinated with like a sweet, you know, the soy sauce.

4:06 It's like you know like a siki really.

4:08 So that is why I ordered the bowl of rice.

4:11 You know like how suk goes really well with like rice, right?

4:15 Cuz the sauce is quite thick.

4:16 Yeah.

4:16 And you didn't order it.

4:17 We just you just ordered the big one.

4:18 No.

4:19 I'm clever.

4:20 Absolute savage.

4:21 I just got the biggest bowl there was.

4:22 I don't even know where to begin.

4:24 Usually I I start ramen with the soup and I take a sip of the soup with this.

4:28 So I almost want to start with the pork.

4:29 In my case, I actually break the egg.

4:32 And we on the wrong side again.

4:35 A crap.

4:36 10 years still [laughter] making the same mistake.

4:40 Exactly.

4:43 Oh, it's so It's like gravy.

4:46 Yeah.

4:45 You can run a jet engine on it.

4:47 Look how thick.

4:48 True, true, true.

4:49 I mean, I knew it was going to be good.

4:50 This shop is like the pride of Kushima City.

4:53 Very rustic.

4:54 The noodles like soak up all that nice chicken flavor.

4:57 The rich sort of chicken broth,

4:59 the tonkatu pork, the noodles absorb it beautifully.

5:02 As you drink the bowl,

5:04 the smiling dog mascot reveals himself beneath the surface of the soup.

5:10 My cardiologist is going to hate me for this trip, but my god, it was worth it.

5:14 __] good.

5:16 And now we're fueled up on ramen.

5:18 It's time to begin the Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage,

5:20 [music] or rather poke around the first temple of the journey.

5:23 The 88 temple Shikoku pilgrimage traces the footsteps of Kukai,

5:27 the Buddhist monk who founded Shingong Buddhism in the 9th century.

5:30 Legend has it he trained across Shikoku,

5:32 leaving behind sacred [music] spots that later became the official route.

5:36 Pilgrims walked for over a thousand km,

5:38 seeking everything from enlightenment to a good excuse to eat noodles.

5:43 Count me in.

5:44 So, this rather spectacular temple is Venji Temple number one

5:49 because it's the first stop on the Shikoku 88 Temple pilgrimage.

5:54 Something you guys have been asking me to do

5:55 for many years and which I think you should do first.

5:58 I don't want to do it because it's got 1,228 km total.

6:03 Oh my gosh.

6:04 So, what people do is that they actually do one

6:06 part and then go home and do the other part.

6:08 That's that's what you can do.

6:10 And some people should go around even by driving as well.

6:13 That's cheating.

6:14 Don't do that.

6:14 Don't do that.

6:15 I will do it.

6:15 I'll do it one day.

6:16 I promise.

6:17 I swear I will get on it in 20 years time.

6:19 I will say coming here to the end though, this temple's beautiful.

6:22 We've got incredible lanterns.

6:23 We've got koi carp swimming in the rivers,

6:26 weathered statues around in the forest.

6:28 It's a really magnificent, almost mysterious temple.

6:30 It's made me want to go and do it.

6:31 Oh yeah, definitely.

6:32 I mean, that actually made me want to do it, but I won't do it.

6:36 With our pilgrimage officially put on hold for the next 20 years,

6:39 we head over the border into the second prefecture of our trip,

6:43 Kagawa, and into the majestic shadow of Shikoku's very own answer to Mount Fuji,

6:47 known as Sanuki Fuji.

6:49 Sanuki being the historic name for the region.

6:52 While it may be Japan's smallest prefecture by surface area,

6:55 Kagawa is the birthplace of Sanuki Udon.

6:57 Satisfyingly chewy square noodles.

6:59 And who needs 88 temples when you can have

7:02 88 toppings on a bed of the freshest udong?

7:05 And there's no better place to try it than the legendary Yamagoy udon,

7:08 where the noodles are freshly prepared by hand each and every day.

7:12 So the udong is pretty cheap, right?

7:14 500, 600 yen a bowl,

7:15 but it's the toppings where it gets expensive

7:17 cuz I'm going to get all the toppings.

7:20 We use this system where you come in, get your tray,

7:22 you get the bowl that you want, then you add the toppings there after.

7:26 So it's like a a sushi conveyor belt sushi.

7:29 But you move, but you are the conveyor belt.

7:32 It's so fresh.

7:33 You can see them like making the noodles in the back.

7:36 They're freshly cutting them, boiling them,

7:37 washing them, and serving them into a bowl.

7:41 Very slick operation.

7:42 And yet the kitchen and factory workspace is actually kind of small.

7:46 That was so aesthetically pleasing when they they

7:48 wrapped the noodles up into like a bundle.

7:54 Quite a lot.

7:55 Insane.

7:57 There you go.

7:58 And now it's time to choose tempuras.

8:02 Everything.

8:02 Everything.

8:03 Look at that.

8:04 I was just taking a look at the the reviews in the tablo.

8:06 And this jagimo, the potato is the the really most popular tempura here.

8:12 And cheese mochi for the road.

8:13 Oh my god.

8:14 For the road.

8:15 This for breakfast for god's sake.

8:16 My purchase has got very expensive breakfast.

8:20 Exactly.

8:22 Thanks.

8:21 And with our fully topped out udon,

8:23 we head into Yamagoya Udon's [music] famous and impressive outdoor garden.

8:28 We're on holy ground here.

8:30 This is incredible.

8:32 Look at that bowl.

8:34 I mean, look how many deep fried or whatever I brought.

8:36 I bought two.

8:37 How many have I got there?

8:39 Lost count after like three things.

8:41 But it's the udong that we came here for.

8:43 Of course, specifically your one, right?

8:44 Yes.

8:45 Tell us about this udong.

8:46 This is like what we what they call kamatama.

8:49 Kamatama.

8:49 And it's like a udong mixed with like egg.

8:51 Right.

8:51 Right.

8:51 Right.

8:52 Yeah.

8:52 With some soup underneath.

8:53 So you kind of mix it.

8:54 And this is one of the most popular dishes in the [music] Udong world.

8:58 In the Udong world.

9:00 Yeah.

9:00 In.

9:00 And then this is the place where they invented.

9:03 That's incredible.

9:04 I'm not surprised.

9:04 It does feel like we're at like the palace of something very special.

9:08 Like if you look around, this isn't your usual dining environment.

9:11 We are [music] in a truly spectacular garden.

9:14 The bowl itself was what 500 600 yen something like that.

9:18 The toppings are all reasonably priced.

9:19 Like udon is a very [music] costefficient meal.

9:22 It's extremely hearty though and very filling.

9:24 And look at these noodles.

9:25 My [music] god, these are freshly made.

9:28 And I saw them being made in the kitchen.

9:30 Okay.

9:30 Anyway, let's dive in.

9:31 Let's do them.

9:36 Oh wow.

9:37 Oh man.

9:38 That's such a satisfyingly chewiness to the udon.

9:42 I won't lie.

9:42 I My favorite thing about udon is often the toppings.

9:45 Dipping them in the sauce.

9:45 Right.

9:46 Yeah.

9:47 Really?

9:47 The dashi.

9:49 Disgusting.

9:50 [laughter] You dip it in.

9:51 Don't you do that?

9:53 M.

9:53 No.

9:54 Savage.

9:56 When would you typically eat udon yourself?

9:57 Like [music] when do you seek it out?

10:00 Lunch.

10:01 Lunch.

10:01 Yeah.

10:01 Lunch.

10:01 So lunch dish.

10:02 But in Kagawa Prefecture, people like eat udon every day.

10:06 I'm I'm I'm talking serious here.

10:08 Right.

10:08 Right.

10:08 Right.

10:08 Like there are like [music] many udon shops that are

10:10 open like really early in the morning like 7:00 a.m.

10:12 or so.

10:13 So people before they go to office, right?

10:15 Many people actually drop by at udon place and have a little ball and then go.

10:19 Yeah, it's a good thing we got in here early cuz the moment the doors open,

10:23 it was like Black Friday when the doors open at everybody rushed

10:26 in and now half the town is uh is currently here in the garden.

10:29 It's seriously like 100 people just queuing on and like

10:33 and yet now we know why they queue.

10:35 Not only is it the cheapest food on the most delicious Japan

10:40 back in the shadow of Sanuki Fuji and our second dish in Kagaw is nearby.

10:45 far meteor dare I say the tantalizing

10:47 honksidori bone in chicken Ikaku in Imarugame

10:50 popularized the dish back in 1953 serving up two variants of chicken oya is

10:56 older mature chicken which is chewier

10:58 and tougher and the beginner's mode hina which

11:00 is a younger juicier chicken and I'm

11:02 getting hungry just talking about this my god [music]

11:38 Yes.

11:38 Nice moth.

11:41 Baby chicken.

11:42 Oh, look at that smell.

11:43 So good.

11:44 Barbecue chicken smell.

11:48 Wow.

11:48 Wow.

11:48 So, you've got older bone and chicken.

11:51 Just don't call me older.

11:52 For an older man.

11:53 Mature.

11:53 Mature chicken.

11:54 Mature chicken.

11:55 For mature baby.

11:58 Younger.

11:57 Bone and chicken.

11:58 It's called.

11:59 Yeah.

11:59 This is the more it's more popular, but yours is more expensive.

12:02 So, I'm wondering.

12:03 Just a little bit.

12:03 Just a little bit.

12:04 Why?

12:04 Cuz it's mature.

12:05 More experienced.

12:08 It says your one is popular with connoisseurs for its chewy texture.

12:11 [music]

12:12 Yeah.

12:12 Chewy texture.

12:12 Yes.

12:13 And this one it says a classic chicken with a bone

12:16 that can be enjoyed by everyone from children to the elderly.

12:19 It's very tender.

12:20 Actually, that's what it is.

12:21 Tender like the man who holds the chicken.

12:23 And look, you get a napkin and you wrap it around here.

12:27 And away we get Oh my god.

12:29 Look at that.

12:29 Look at that.

12:30 Look at that.

12:32 The oil looks really good, right?

12:33 It's kind of like garlic and soy sauce.

12:35 Anyway, shall we go in one go?

12:37 Yes, let's do it.

12:37 Here we go.

12:38 Three, two, one.

12:38 Turkey.

12:42 Oh my god.

12:44 M.

12:45 It's so good.

12:46 The sauce is like garlic, soy sauce, chicken.

12:50 It's so rich.

12:52 Like beautiful satisfying

12:54 outer crunchiness of the skin.

12:57 This really does put KFC to shame.

12:59 Yeah, that's what's happening in Kala Prefecture, right?

13:02 M

13:03 you know like how we celebrate our Christmas with KFC in Japan.

13:07 So it's official thing.

13:11 Yeah.

13:10 But here in Kreure, many people

13:12 actually celebrate Christmas with this thing here.

13:15 When I got the um KFC Christmas bucket,

13:17 which I've done more than I care to admit,

13:19 one of the things that come with it is bone chicken.

13:21 Oh, no kidding.

13:22 Um this style of chicken.

13:24 This style.

13:24 They microwave it.

13:25 You have to put it in the microwave.

13:26 Say, this is way better.

13:27 You get you get a little it comes in a box and there's like a it

13:30 says like letter from the colonel and you're

13:32 like oh wow letter from the colonel he's dead

13:35 and it just says it says put it in the microwave.

13:37 It's like it's what the colonel would have

13:39 wanted even though he is indeed dead enough.

13:42 I do a dead kernel sandwich.

13:44 Can't enjoy my chicken.

13:45 [laughter] Um this is really cool.

13:47 What they've got here is the uh ongiri and the idea

13:51 is you take the oniri and you dip it in the sauce.

13:54 It's it's a little bit spicy actually, isn't it?

13:56 It's a little bit of chili oil in there.

13:58 So, it's got garlic,

13:59 chili, pepper.

14:00 So, we just take one of these.

14:03 Yep.

14:02 And then we dip it.

14:04 Dip it in there.

14:05 Mop up that juicy goodness.

14:11 How's that?

14:11 That's how on Let me try again.

14:14 Oh my god.

14:15 M.

14:15 It's amazing.

14:15 It's all the best bits of a rice dinner.

14:18 M.

14:18 I just love the the simplicity of it.

14:20 Right.

14:20 It is the s the sauce is the secret.

14:22 The oil they've got here.

14:23 The chili, the garlic, the oil, the pepper.

14:25 Beautiful.

14:26 Beautiful.

14:27 And this is

14:28 even more beautiful.

14:29 Bone and beer.

14:30 [laughter] Bone and beer.

14:32 It's so heavy.

14:33 Oh my god.

14:33 Cheers.

14:35 [laughter] Just shattered in his hand.

14:40 It's like[ __] Hagrid's beer glass.

14:43 Yeah, that is that is [laughter] huge.

14:47 Heading south across the border, next up is Kchi,

14:50 land of untouched mountains and rivers.

14:52 On route to [music] Kochi city, we swing by the breathtaking Latu Gorge.

14:57 I never seen water so turquoise as this.

15:00 This is insane, man.

15:01 They call it Neodo Blue.

15:03 Neodor blue

15:04 because we are in Neodogawa town,

15:07 right?

15:06 And Neyoga is a river, right?

15:07 So Neodo blue.

15:09 This is a blue.

15:10 They actually change by the the weather actually.

15:12 This is my enduring image of like lots of kind of beautiful ravines like this.

15:18 Lots of gorgees.

15:19 Yeah.

15:19 clean, pristine water,

15:21 mountain villages on the kind of peaks of these mountains.

15:24 It's a really beautiful striking place and uh

15:26 for me that is my main image of Shkoku.

15:28 [music] When it comes to Kochi,

15:30 there's no dish more iconic than Katsur tataki, sear bonito.

15:34 And we've come to the restaurant that helped catapult the local

15:37 specialty to national stardom with their unique flame grill technique.

15:47 [music]

15:53 I won't lie, this is the single best

15:55 smelling restaurant that I've ever set foot in.

15:58 It's a kind of mix of a heady mix of wood

16:00 smoke of charred fish oil and sort of ocean breeze.

16:04 Just don't naked poetically.

16:06 He's poetic, but it's like well I I just felt the same though.

16:08 Like once I came into this and it just the smoky smell was amazing.

16:12 That actually gave me so much appetite.

16:14 I kind of feel like that sense of tradition as well, right?

16:16 Cuz fish is the main staple food of Japan.

16:20 Yeah.

16:19 And you walk in, you've got this roaring fire.

16:21 It's very visceral, isn't it?

16:22 And seeing the the straw being like shoveled on fueling that fire.

16:26 Why do they use straw?

16:27 Is it rice straw?

16:28 Right.

16:28 It's a rice.

16:29 I mean, actually, it gives like a right temperature

16:31 to actually burn that that's a bonito at the right,

16:34 you know, right level

16:35 because it's extremely hot.

16:37 Exactly.

16:37 Exactly.

16:37 And it sort of seals in the flavor.

16:38 And also, obviously that those like rice straws

16:40 are something that's left out after [music] making rice.

16:43 So, let me just explain you what I ordered for you.

16:47 Sure.

16:46 Okay.

16:46 So, this is the uh salted salted uh seared ponito.

16:51 And that's where it gets its name from like katon or tatakei.

16:54 Katon tataki.

16:54 Is it tataki means to hit something and they hit it with salt?

16:58 Salt or sauce.

16:59 Yeah.

16:59 Right.

17:00 Yeah.

17:00 So, so that it soaks in into the fish.

17:03 It's also worth saying that katso is one of the most used fishes in Japan.

17:07 You might actually have already eaten it or drink it before uh with miso soup.

17:12 Yeah, cuz he's also using fish flakes, isn't it?

17:14 And what did you get?

17:14 You got like a bowl with an egg.

17:16 Yes.

17:17 This is also a bonito.

17:18 However,

17:19 it's very photogenic.

17:20 Yeah.

17:20 This is been marinated.

17:22 Oh, wow.

17:23 With with a special sauce like a soy sauce.

17:27 Do you know something?

17:27 I don't.

17:28 Is there a reason you chose that one over this?

17:30 Is that

17:30 Well, cuz you I thought you just want some simple this and I

17:33 want some complex this [laughter] for someone

17:36 who can understand more deeper in things.

17:40 Order this one.

17:40 And all right.

17:41 for you.

17:42 Well, I'm ready for a simple meal.

17:44 Yeah.

17:44 Uh, turkey mas.

17:45 Tak.

17:45 Let's dig in.

17:46 I have to say this is a really cool restaurant as well.

17:48 Uh, you can see him like intermittently like roasting [laughter] the fish.

17:52 Brilliant.

17:53 Just What do [music] I Where do I begin?

17:55 So, uh, okay.

17:55 So, there's a ritual, right?

17:57 A ritual.

17:58 Ritual.

17:58 You You take the a slice of um seared bonito

18:02 and put a slice of or a slice or two of garlic.

18:06 Garlic.

18:05 Raw garlic.

18:06 And then it's all been salted.

18:08 So, put that maybe Yeah.

18:09 Just uh take a bite first.

18:13 Wo wo.

18:15 That smokiness feels your mouth.

18:18 Isn't it my water?

18:22 This is the best dish of the trip so far.

18:24 Yeah.

18:24 Everything's been good, but this is next level.

18:27 Wow.

18:27 It's got like a medium rare steak.

18:31 Yeah.

18:30 As you can see, the outside is nice and sort of grilled

18:32 and got a sort of nice almost crispness [music] to it,

18:35 but you get inside a juiciness of the fish.

18:39 That's what's their whole point.

18:40 I understand now why you've been here 40 times.

18:42 [laughter] This is some of the best food be I've had in Japan.

18:46 Just the the richness of the flavor, the smoky fish.

18:49 This is such a well-rounded meal and such a cool environment.

18:52 Kochi is it.

18:53 This is it.

18:54 This is the coolest place in Japan.

18:55 I don't want to leave.

18:56 I want to stay in Kochi.

18:57 Oh,

18:58 next maybe.

18:58 You You left Sai now.

19:00 You know, you left and that's a time to leave Tokyo then.

19:03 Ki Yeah, I would gladly to be honest.

19:06 I would gladly move.

19:07 getting getting far and far from me.

19:10 One more border crossing takes us to our final prefecture of Eheime.

19:14 Perhaps the prefecture I know the best in Shikoku

19:16 that lies on the shores of the Stoland Sea.

19:19 Its capital Matsyama is the largest city in Shikoku

19:22 and features my favorite castle in all of Japan.

19:25 It's also known for Mikan oranges and Dorggo Onansen,

19:28 which looks like a prop from a Hayal Miazaki movie.

19:31 Before our final day of food though,

19:33 we've checked into a truly bonkers [music] hotel high in the mountains

19:36 that looks like something out of Scarface or in Riotro's case, awful face.

19:41 Good morning, guys, and welcome back to Japan's most

19:44 excessive hotel room with Japan's most excessive [music] man.

19:49 Hello.

19:50 [laughter] Look at that view, man.

19:52 That is incredible.

19:53 I can't get through there.

19:58 Wow.

19:58 Look at that pool.

19:59 Yeah.

20:00 Infinity pool.

20:02 Infinity[ __] pool with noise.

20:05 That's what they call cameraman pool.

20:07 Oh, is it infinity pool?

20:09 What did you call me?

20:10 Get out of my way or I'll do you.

20:12 The sad truth about Japan and swimming pools is they never get used.

20:16 They're more like decorative kind of items that are

20:19 just there to make the hotel look excessive, but nobody ever swims in them.

20:24 Uh, which is a terrible train.

20:25 I know.

20:26 Just Just a big sink with water.

20:28 Big sink with water.

20:29 Yes, Ariato over the elegant poet.

20:33 And with that, we head into the city

20:35 of Matsama to try our first dish, the robata grill.

20:38 Robata is a traditional technique, a bit like a barbecue,

20:41 where food is arranged carefully around a charcoal fire.

20:44 Each ingredient precisely positioned to cook at different

20:47 temperatures to keep everything perfectly [music] moist and juicy.

20:50 But why take it from me, a man who can barely toast a slice of bread,

20:54 and we've got the expert to fill us in.

21:11 Yes.

21:22 Oh, it's good to be back in Matsyama, land of oranges.

21:25 I just love the the sheer theatricality of rails.

21:29 There's a binam over there, a pile of charcoal,

21:32 the highest grade charcoal in not just Japan, but the world, right?

21:36 Yeah.

21:36 From walk.

21:37 Yeah.

21:38 It has a really high burning point and it

21:40 it doesn't impart a smoky flavor on the food, right?

21:42 So, you can enjoy the food.

21:44 So, for example, this fish doesn't taste like it's come off a barbecue.

21:46 It tastes as God intended.

21:50 Yep.

21:50 I don't know where to start.

21:50 I'm probably the most excited about this.

21:52 Look at this glistening fish.

21:54 We got uh tuna, salmon, and Thai.

21:57 Thai.

21:58 Seabbing.

21:58 Yes.

21:58 I I went behind the kitchen with Paul to film and it triggered my aspir.

22:03 I don't know how they do it.

22:04 It was like my eyes are watering.

22:06 It's like being stuck in a forest fire.

22:08 It's pretty hardcore.

22:09 So, fair play to the team.

22:10 All right.

22:11 So, dig into try first.

22:13 Um, let's try some tuna.

22:14 M.

22:14 Salt or soy sauce?

22:15 Kind of want some salt before.

22:17 I want to try it.

22:18 Yeah.

22:18 Let me get simple.

22:19 Give me some.

22:19 Give me fresh off the grill.

22:21 Give me some.

22:24 [music]

22:26 Oh[ __]

22:28 Oh, okay.

22:29 I didn't think the fish could be topped in ki,

22:31 but I think it might have just been topped.

22:33 I'm sorry.

22:34 Oh my god.

22:35 I'm sorry to the people of Ki.

22:37 Shikoka's whole.

22:38 It's been good.

22:39 Right.

22:39 All right.

22:39 Let's put it that way.

22:40 This is really fatty tuna, right?

22:42 So, if you grill it on the outside,

22:44 it still remains sort of buttery and oily within.

22:47 And see this pink and [music] this pink.

22:53 I'm so This was This is the single best thing.

22:56 Holy

22:58 cow.

22:59 What is going on here?

23:00 I thought CI had won.

23:02 I really did.

23:03 But that tuna on the grill bin pan charcoal.

23:06 I want one.

23:07 I need to [music] get one in my apartment.

23:09 Might be a fire hazard, but it'll be worth it.

23:12 We finish off our culinary tour with what might be the classiest place

23:16 on our list with our very own personal

23:19 chef trying out some highquality creative sushi dishes.

23:23 Welcome to Sushi Kawanaka, the best sushi restaurant in Masama City.

23:27 Let's go.

23:28 Let's go.

23:28 I'm so ready for this.

23:29 Come on in.

23:30 Come on in.

24:06 It's a fatty tuna.

24:07 Mashed fatty tuna with uh pickled radish.

24:12 Wow.

24:12 Don't talk, just eat.

24:15 Yeah, that that's my impression I have.

24:16 It's like the best ongiri in the world.

24:20 It's so good.

24:21 Premium.

24:21 I don't know.

24:22 I I don't know if you want to use the word on sounds so cheap, you know.

24:25 [laughter]

24:26 What's the What's the up market version?

24:28 What would you How would you call it?

24:30 Um oni [laughter] the same word said in an unsettling manner.

24:35 It's somehow up market.

24:36 Like it's I always feel weird eating sushi with fingers.

24:40 I know it's like designed, but

24:43 I just feel like my fingers might contaminate perfection.

24:46 Like your fingers will definitely contaminate this beautiful dish.

24:54 How is it?

24:55 I'm lost for words.

25:01 M.

25:01 It's kind of got a nice meatiness to it.

25:03 A sort of satisfying meatiness to the flavor.

25:05 I I just I just love the subtleness of the vinegar.

25:08 M they put not too much.

25:10 And also the fish, the red snapper baby, it like torn apart.

25:14 Red snapper baby.

25:16 That's why he says the name of it.

25:17 [laughter]

25:17 Even though he didn't say it like red snapper baby like you did,

25:22 but taste it nice.

25:24 [music] He has actually aged uh this grunt for like 9 days and he actually he

25:31 changed the rice [music] from the uh

25:33 the rice with red red vinegar to white vinegar.

25:36 M.

25:36 Now we can't see it because you've eaten it.

25:39 That's exceptional.

25:40 Oh my god.

25:42 Oh my god.

25:44 Omg.

25:45 It's food like that that makes you believe in God cuz God knew that

25:50 became so specific or something.

25:51 Well, you knew God God knew that fish had to go with that rice.

25:54 When did that in Japan like it become

25:55 [music] some like kind of religious [laughter] channel?

25:58 When do you have sushi that's this good?

26:00 Just to get that right amount of vinegar

26:02 in the shi in the rice to grill the fish to the right amount.

26:05 Wow.

26:06 prepare it, slice it.

26:07 There's so many factors that go into it.

26:09 It must be some sort of divine intervention to make [music] food that good.

26:13 Look at this E.

26:14 This is not the usual AB that you expect from a sushi place.

26:16 I mean, yeah, people think shrimp, you get a shrimp,

26:19 stick it on top, drop that down.

26:20 Here, this is next level.

26:23 It's rolled around the rice

26:26 and he just said that this is the way he likes to eat.

26:29 So, that's what he does, right?

26:30 It's not only like he just serving to the customers,

26:33 but he just doing things that he likes to eat.

26:35 He's a man who knows what he's doing.

26:36 Yeah,

26:36 he's a smart man.

26:37 Let's do it.

26:38 Oh, nice.

26:39 Very smart.

26:40 I like that a lot.

26:42 I don't like the problem with ebie typically is the way it's sort of on the top.

26:46 It never feels like it's quite with the rice.

26:49 It's sort of doing its own thing on the top, right?

26:51 This time, it really isn't just an aesthetic quirk to be different.

26:55 It actually enhances the flavor of the fish and the rice.

26:58 I want to become a sushi chef now.

27:00 This meal has inspired me.

27:02 I'm going to ask you again in a week.

27:05 Uh, I get bored easily and I'll probably [laughter] give up.

27:10 Eat that and I'll be like, "No, I'm going to carry on." Is this it?

27:14 What more can I say?

27:15 Every dish we've had here has been a 10 out of 10.

27:19 Definitely.

27:19 And also like not only like, you know, just the the the flavor, the taste,

27:22 the the sushi really been really good,

27:24 but I just got watching the preparation of it.

27:26 There's been so many unique dishes.

27:28 Yeah.

27:28 And then you want to talk about it to someone else.

27:29 I know you're going to be like in your business meeting tomorrow.

27:32 like and he took the ebie and he rolled it around.

27:36 Hello.

27:37 And so we're going to walk away from this with our own unique moment.

27:42 Yes.

27:42 Unique moment

27:43 that uh that you don't find at a lot of a lot of sushi restaurants.

27:48 And that concludes our epic [music]

27:49 cholesterol speedrun at Shikoku's best restaurants.

27:53 Many thanks to Tabalog for making this trip possible.

27:55 Be sure to download their handy app when you're in Japan.

27:58 And while we're here in Eheime, it would be an absolute crime not to finish

28:02 things off at my favorite castle in Japan.

28:04 All this eating is thirsty business.

28:06 If only there was unlimited orange juice [music] on tap.

28:09 But wait, there is orange juice from a faucet.

28:14 What a dream.

28:15 Is this cool?

28:16 There's a tap with orange juice.

28:18 Yeah.

28:18 Isn't it like a bit strange though?

28:20 I mean I mean [music] we're at Matsyama Castle overlooking the city.

28:24 One of my favorite castles,

28:25 if not my favorite castle in Japan in terms of the view.

28:28 And it's not just a view.

28:29 It's orange juice.

28:30 Orange juice from my forces.

28:32 They should make the castle orange in honor of

28:34 Yeah, it's like making that the black wall orange.

28:38 Your first time up here?

28:40 Yes.

28:39 Oh my god.

28:40 You're in for a treat.

28:41 The [music] view is amazing.

28:42 Oh, it is.

28:45 No.

28:43 Drink up.

28:43 I'm going to scout the castle.

28:48 Down in one.

28:48 Down in one.

28:51 Here we are 200 m above Matsama.

28:57 What a view, right?

28:57 Sweating.

28:58 It's your first time to see this view.

29:00 Yeah.

29:00 So, this is the first time in Mats Castle, actually.

29:02 I love [music] the how the grounds of the castle like lay out before

29:05 you in the sort of mountain and then you've got the entire city surrounding.

29:08 It's quite unique, huh?

29:10 Yes.

29:10 [music]

29:11 I can't think of any other castle in Japan that has a view quite like this.

29:15 True.

29:14 That is why this is my favorite castle in Japan.

29:16 Oh, is it really?

29:17 Okay.

29:18 But we've eaten a lot of food.

29:19 Too much food some would say.

29:21 [laughter] What has been your favorite dish

29:23 and your favorite restaurant of the trip so far?

29:25 H it's really hard.

29:26 I mean the sushi we had in [music] Matsyama was really good.

29:30 Really really good.

29:30 It's super good.

29:32 But like you might think you know I just but but yeah well that the katu

29:37 that s bon cult was really good but so

29:39 if I [music] have to choose one restaurant

29:40 or one dish and then well maybe from the same

29:43 restaurant it would be [music] maru theoreing culture.

29:48 Yeah.

29:48 So, I'd say my favorite restaurant atmosphere [music] was the sushi restaurant.

29:52 Kawwan Nakasand was so warm and inviting.

29:54 The restaurant was beautiful and the food was so original.

29:57 As for my favorite food, it's tough.

30:00 The Tokushima ramen was something special.

30:02 Very heavy, very gravy like, very popular.

30:05 You know, it was, but I have to admit the single greatest moment

30:10 of something going in my mouth in this fit.

30:13 Yeah.

30:12 Sounds right was the Magaroy yesterday.

30:14 The barbecue magaro.

30:15 Right.

30:15 Is that [music] the fatty tuna?

30:16 The fatty tuna.

30:17 Smoky grilled fatty tuna.

30:19 The taste of like the smoke, the oil, the butter, the richness.

30:22 Oh my god, that was next level.

30:24 Yeah, cuz I Well, I was surprised if you going to say that cuz I mean,

30:27 guys, cuz I saw you like kind of almost like painted.

30:30 [laughter] It was that good.

30:33 But let us know which food that you thought looked the best on this trip.

30:36 Where do you want to go, guys?

30:37 Let us know in the comments.

30:38 But thank you so much for joining us and thank you for joining us.

30:40 Thank you.

30:40 Oh, thank you.

30:41 Thank you.

30:41 And let's do this again.

30:43 Let's do this again.

30:44 And eat more.

30:44 We eat.

30:45 [laughter] We do.

30:46 We have we do have like this rivalry, but uh it's always fun hanging out.

30:50 So, it's been fun.

30:51 It's been fun driving around Chicago now.

30:53 I hope we get to do it again.

30:56 He's just silent, so that's great.

30:57 [laughter] She's Yeah, maybe I regret my my kind words.

31:01 See you later, guys.

31:02 See you.

31:02 Have a good one.

31:03 See you.

31:07 Do you know what the story behind this dish is?

31:10 Like, why Tokushima embraced this style of uh ramen?

31:16 Not [laughter] the best cultural expert in the business who is brought nasty.

31:22 One sec.

31:23 Zoom on the fish and I'll come up to you.

31:25 And now you're in focus.

31:29 Yeah.

31:30 [clears throat] Let's go.

31:32 Let's go.

31:33 Let's go.

31:37 You didn't [laughter] You just trashed the restaurant.

31:40 You You're a monster.

31:45 Oh, I got it in my eye.

31:48 How did that even happen?

31:50 How did it happen?