[00:02]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=2) John Daub: Good evening everybody, I'm in Mito City and I'm here to eat some natto cuisine. Natto is that sticky, gooey, slimy food that's quite famous internationally for smelling like somebody's armpit. But it tastes incredible! I started this day streaming with Jennifer here in Mito City. It's a 65-minute trip from Tokyo and we're at this historical restaurant, Sansui. They've been operating for over 70 years. And up there on the second floor, a couple of characters are waiting for us. So let's go inside this restaurant and try some natto ryori (natto cuisine). This place is famous for anko nabe (anglerfish hot pot). But today we're trying some natto's famous cuisine. Wow, this is going to be fun.

[01:02]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=62) John Daub: We've reserved a room on the second floor. We've got to take our shoes off. Alright, they're inside this room. Okay. Oh, yeah, my beer is so lonely. Sabishii (lonely) koko. Hahaha. Iii yo (let's go), iii yo. Mina de (everyone together). Iii yo. Ja, kanpai shimashou (let's toast). Iii yo. Kanpai (cheers).

[02:15]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=135) John Daub: Nebaru-kun, mou nomeru (can you drink more)? Nekoko (kitty), chotto mite age (look a little), nomeru kore (can you drink this)? Sugoi ne (amazing), Nebaru-kun. Nebaru-kun is my hero. Hahaha. That was, it's gonna be a fun night tonight.

[03:13]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=193) John Daub: So we're here in Sansui, this restaurant that's been operating for over 70 years to eat some natto ryori (natto cuisine). Mito is famous for natto. Gaman dekinai desho (you can't hold back, right)? Please wait! Jaa, Jennifer, shokai dekimasu ka (so, can you introduce) natto ryori? Can you introduce to us some of the wonderful natto food? I'm gonna throw a light on this, on natto food.

[03:57]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=237) Jennifer: Yeah, okay, we have, do we start with the hot stuff? Let's take a look. So let's start with number one here. This is... nama tamago (raw egg)? Yeah. I think it's a quail egg on top of natto. And this is iwashi (sardine), yeah, and probably some onion. We're going to mix the whole thing and eat it. Very often in other regions they serve natto with tuna, but with sardine I thought this was interesting because it's the first time I see sardine natto.

[04:48]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=288) Jennifer: This is tempura pepper natto. Yeah. And this is the daikon (radish) to put in. Actually daikon, yeah. And we also have natto tempura! What's this here? This is harumaki (spring roll). Kind of like a deep fried roll. Nemunatto (sleepy natto) harumaki. It's like a natto spring roll, everybody.

[05:41]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=341) John Daub: Can you pick that up? Show me what it looks like on the inside. I'm dying to check this out. Look at that! Wow! Oh! It looks delicious! Oh! It's a strange guy! Where is he? He's eating it! That looks good. You can see the natto inside. That smells so good.

[06:08]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=368) John Daub: We also have more natto over on this side. For me and Nebaru-kun have our own natto. This is Nebaru-kun's natto. And we also ordered some interesting food because in Mito, in Ibaraki Prefecture, natto is very famous. But also anko (anglerfish). Very famous in this area. This restaurant started serving anko 30 years ago when the whole area was serving it because it's very famous in this part of Japan, Ibaraki Prefecture. And Jennifer's gonna open it up. What do we got inside? Ta-da! They put an egg on it. So there is natto... Hold on a second. Natto? This is not the anko. This is natto. What is this? It's like natto. Ibaraki Prefecture wants to eat natto only, so that's ok. But you ordered some anko, right? We're gonna find out what this mystery is. We're gonna get to the bottom of it.

[07:33]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=453) John Daub: So we have the natto spring rolls, the normal natto with the sardines, and this is natto tempura. And that's Nebaru-kun. Be careful. You can do it slowly. Good job. So that's what we got today. And we're gonna be trying all this natto cuisine right now. I've never had anything like this. Because natto for me is just natto to mix and have in the morning. But natto is a food that you can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Actually. This is the first time I'm eating it for dinner. I usually eat natto for breakfast. Nebaru-kun, do you eat natto for lunch and dinner? Wow. So he's eating natto anytime he wants. Whenever he feels like it. That's his natto freedom. That's a good philosophy. Eat what you want anytime you want. I like that thinking.

[08:53]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=533) John Daub: Let's try some of the natto ryori. Okay. Let's start with the natto harumaki. You don't have to mix it up. You should mix it up! Where is he going to eat it? How's he going to eat it? He's doing it. You have to mix it up! He's gonna put it in his natto mouth. Watch out! Be careful! He's gonna lick it!

[10:17]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=617) Jennifer: Explain what it tastes like. Is it good? The outside is crunchy, the inside is nice and juicy. There's a little bit of the daikon taste in it. It's wonderful. I think the beer probably goes well with it. The beer goes very well with it.

[11:06]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=666) John Daub: Let's try some of the other natto. I'm really curious about this sardine and natto thing. I'll mix it up a little bit with that sardine. Neba! Neba! Neba! Wait for it. There's some of the sardine. Got it. Okay. Let's see how it tastes. Itadakimasu! It looks good!

[11:43]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=703) Jennifer: You need more natto on that. You probably got so much neba-neba natto you can't really speak, right? It's okay. How was it?

[12:02]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=722) John Daub: You know the sardine? It has a stronger taste than tuna, don't you think? Sardine? How would you describe that? It's like it has a sharper taste. Tuna is mild, and natto is kind of mild too because it's neba-neba. But with the sardine, as it has a sharper taste, the natto really balances that sharpness. So it's really well balanced. Peaceful in your mouth.

[12:43]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=763) John Daub: Yeah. Natto is really well balanced. Hahaha! Basically, what you have here, natto has a good balance. The sardines are very sharp tasting. The natto is mild, but it has a smoothness to it that the neba-neba surrounds the sharpness and adds complexity that makes it really stand out. And this sardine, it's been grilled, so it's not juicy. The mildness of the natto wraps it. It's just a very good balance. I understand why it's a nice choice to choose a sharp-tasted fish like this. They did this really well. This is one of the natto cuisine dishes. There's five in total at the restaurant. Let's try the tempura next. Yeah, I'm curious about the tempura.

[14:10]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=850) Jennifer: So hold on a second. I have a small bite here, so I'll just take that. It looks good.

[14:25]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=865) John Daub: Eat the natto! Eat it! We're not gonna make this easy for Jennifer. That's the spring roll and this is the tempura. Yeah, sorry. It's this one. Nebaru-kun says whatever you like. Let me see. I can see a little bit of natto in here. Bring it up to the camera. Can you see? Yeah. Up, up, up. Yeah. Hold it there. Turn. Yeah, but we can't see much natto. It's inside. Yeah, I can see a little bit of the natto. Okay. Let's try it now. Bon appétit. Enjoy natto!

[15:30]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=930) Jennifer: I can hear it crunching. Saku saku saku (crunchy). Crunchy and slimy. The natto is happy. Here you can see more natto. I didn't really get the taste of that. I think I need to taste it again.

[15:56]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=956) John Daub: Okay, well, Jennifer is being fed double. They put some negi (green onions) maybe in it. I think it's more than just natto tempura. There's more than just that because if it's just that there is a lot of dough. You can feel that it's fried. And the natto has a mild taste. So it would be heavier on the tongue. Yeah, heavier on the tongue. If they wouldn't put negi leeks in it. It gives a good sharpness to the whole thing. So it's good. And like with beer, oh my god. This is crazy.

[16:58]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1018) John Daub: We're having a really fun time here at Sansui. This is natto cuisine. For those who are joining us right now, Jennifer has tasted the natto tempura, the natto with sardines and the natto spring rolls. I'm going to try it right now. We also have a mystery food in the middle. Mystery natto. And we have Nebaru-kun. We didn't try the spring rolls yet. Oh, we didn't try the spring rolls. Okay. You try it. Didn't Nebaru-kun try it? He said it was crunchy on the outside and so soft. Nebaru-kun, you want one more beer? Who's giving a super chat for more beer? Who's super chatting to feed this guy because he drank that beer in 30 seconds. I'm afraid I'm going to go broke. Okay. I'm going to give Nebaru-kun some. Here you are. Love and peace. Enjoy half my beer? You can see the natto in this. Oh, wait. Nebaru-kun's also drinking the beer! This is so confusing. Should I film Nebaru-kun drinking a beer from a straw or Jennifer's natto tempura? Oh my gosh! He's drinking the foam off of it! Nebaru-kun, you are a party animal! Nebaru-kun said he could taste a little bit of me in that beer. I guess I might have had some backwash in there, but I'm really sorry. Nebaru-kun is very happy to have a beer and a half.

[19:07]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1147) Jennifer: You should have the natto kamameshi (natto rice cooker dish). Oh, natto kamameshi! Okay. Let's try the natto kamameshi.

[19:14]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1154) John Daub: Do you want to film in there? I think we already did. Let's just go ahead and try it. Yeah, but you will see me killing this egg. Oh, the egg. Nice! More in there. Look at that natto! You can't make natto kamameshi at home, can you? It's difficult to make kamameshi at home. Wow, look at the natto in there. That's crazy! That's for you, John. Hold it there. I've never seen natto kamameshi. Wow. That's an idea, actually. This is a really good idea. Thank you. And you know that natto is so good for the health? Right? Natto is good for the skin. Natto is good for your hair. Nice, nice. I'm going to taste it. Wow, Nebaru-kun, you can eat it all? Wow, it's kind of burned a little bit. It's got that okoge (crispy rice) crunchiness. Wow, it's so crunchy. Wow, that's wonderful.

[20:48]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1248) John Daub: So should we try it? Okay. Let's do it. We're going to enjoy some natto. Yeah, because I often have natto on top of white rice. But I guess this is completely different. Itadakimasu. Good. It's nice to have dinner guests. You don't have the neba-neba in this. Oh, there's no neba-neba? Okay. Let's put some in. Nebaru-kun, please invite him. You really can't see the natto. But Nebaru-kun is always eating natto, so I want to eat it there. Ah, this is so good! It's delicious.

[21:44]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1304) Jennifer: Is it good? They cooked it with the natto in it. The natto taste is like infused inside the rice. Do you get what I'm saying? It's not just rice. It's like the natto taste has been infused in the rice giving it a very deep robust taste. This is really good.

[22:03]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1323) John Daub: Do you speak English? I can understand a little bit of English. He can speak a little bit of English. When we say natto and good, he understands. He gets it. But he can't speak French, right? Yeah, but probably if I talk about natto, even in French he would understand. Do you want to eat natto tempura? Don't worry about it! Everyone eat! Nebaru-kun eats natto everyday, so he wants us to enjoy the natto. Because it's not everyday we are here. Japanese zoushinko (pickled vegetables), look! A shinko is like a pickle. It's good! Natto!

[23:00]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1380) Nebaru-kun: But you know that actually natto, sometimes I make other things with natto. Natto only is good, yeah. This restaurant is a part of the Mito Sansei San. Please come and visit us!

[23:16]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1396) John Daub: Yeah, that's right. Definitely come to Sansei. I'm going to put a link in the description. Anko (anglerfish) and natto. If you come to Mito, this is a must stop. You got to come here to try the natto cuisine. How do you say anko in English? Anglerfish. What do you call anko in Japanese? Foie gras. To me, this is the Japanese foie gras. It's very soft. It's the liver of the fish, but it's really delicate. Much more delicate. Natto is the Japanese caviar. Ah, Jennifer said it! Japanese caviar! I don't know if that's true. But that makes Nebaru-kun very happy. Nebaru-kun, neba! How happy are you? Neba! It's amazing.

[24:36]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1476) John Daub: Breakthrough to the third floor. Wow. This is an awesome meal. So thank you very much for joining us on this live cast, this dinner with our guest, Nebaru-kun. Thank you, Nebaru-kun. Yeah, I'll put a link in the description as well. Check out Nebaru-kun. I put his music video so you can dance to his tunes like we did earlier today. That was really a lot of fun. Yeah, so if you're in Mito City, I definitely recommend that you check out the things that we saw today. We saw a lot. We saw the art tower. We saw Nebaru-kun. The Tokugawa Museum. We rode on the Joban Line Express Hitachi. We also, wow, we did a lot of stuff today. So it was a pretty fun one day trip from Tokyo. Only 65 minutes. We had the bento and then we were in Mito City already. It's very quick, it's a really nice day trip. If you're looking for something to do, hit Mito. I want to thank Iwakida TV also very much for this opportunity to come to Mito and to check out a place that's outside of the sphere of Tokyo. Not a lot of people come to Mito as a foreign tourist, but now I think you should. You should come to Mito, right? Please come to Mito!

[26:10]( - る君_7vKaUB2xZpQ.opus#t=1570) John Daub: So I'm going to show you the last 20 seconds of natto cuisine. Natto tempura and natto natto. Yum. Bye bye everybody! Bye bye everyone! Bye bye! He's waiting in your refrigerator! Bye bye! Touch! Never give up!