00:02 John Daub: Welcome to Saku City in Nagano Prefecture. This is the countryside. There are mountains, clouds, wide streets with not a lot of people. This is what Japan looks like away from Tokyo, and I think we should see a lot more of it. It's kind of refreshing.

00:21 John Daub: Saku City. This is Usuda, a town inside Saku City in Nagano. Beautiful day, kind of windy. The weather has cooled off quite a bit, and we're going to have some lunch. The purpose is to have Japanese sake paired with food created by the chef. Look at the mountains in the distance. That's Nagano. Good morning, everybody. I'm doing fine. Yesterday I showed you the tatami room at a traditional Japanese inn. That was really a nice place. I love the little room and the garden inside it. Definitely check out that live stream from about 12 hours ago. This morning I was making sake at the brewery. I'm going to edit that video and upload it on Only in Japan Go tomorrow, so you're getting a chance to see inside as we finish the process. But I'm here at this restaurant.

01:21 John Daub: Hey, Cobra Bee Bob. Hi from Texas. Hope you're doing well. No hangover—let's talk about that later. Right now, I'm in front of this restaurant called Reimon, and the chef is talking to me. Jeff has made an incredible meal that he believes pairs well with sake, and we're going to find out. So let's go inside. Everybody's on the second floor, and Nagano's known for being a little cooler, so yeah, having a fire is pretty nice. Here's the first floor, and we're going to take you upstairs. Of course, there's sake in the refrigerator down there, as well as in the kitchen. You have kegs of beer—you know this is going to be a really good restaurant when you see that. Let's go upstairs. I'll put a link in the description if you'd like to come here. But Kurabito Stay is who invited me, and I'm really happy for this opportunity. Kurabitostay.com—I'll put a link for that too. If you'd like to stay at a brewery and learn how to make sake by living there, that's pretty cool, unique experience.

02:22 John Daub: Here's our wonderful group. Check it out—this is an amazing kaiseki lunch they've made. You see the bottle of sake being passed around, and here's the chef. Ah, konnichiwa. He's been preparing the food, and I wanted to find a break where he could introduce what I'm going to be eating. Because I've got to be honest, I don't know a lot of the stuff in there. I need somebody to help me out so I can understand why we're drinking certain sakes with certain foods. This is something my friend Jennifer Julian is very good at—being a lady of booze. She knows her booze. But I can introduce what we have here. You see that? That's my table right there, my spot. So I'm excited whenever you get a chance to eat such amazing food. We're going to ask the chef when he has a break in a couple of minutes. But what's so striking about this? Doesn't it look delicious? What's striking is coming out of what looks like a daikon radish is a tree, like a branch. In Japanese cuisine, presentation is everything, and this is pretty impressive.

03:47 John Daub: We have some tempura—looks like kabocha, some potato, as well as some fish. I believe that's carp, koi. And some broccoli and a meatball, some more daikon and rice on top with a bunch of other stuff. Then there's sake right in front of me, which is making me really hungry. We have this leaf here—inside is a mystery we're going to open up. What's inside this leaf? If you'd like to click the thumbs up button and see if we can get to 350 likes, I'll show you everything in there. This is my sake glass, pretty stylish. We're going to have to fill that, but first I have to figure out what's in here. What do you think's in here, everybody? 3, 2, 1. Whoa, that's a clear soup. Keep the clear soup hot—we'll get to that in a second. Ah, here's the chef. Konnichiwa. Can you explain what this is?

05:09 Chef: Yes. This is chirashi-zushi (scattered sushi) in the shape of a kyūtan (gourd). This is renkon manju (lotus root steamed bun). Renkon (lotus root). And daikon (radish), like daikon hanabira (radish flower). All of them are lotus root. This is local tempura. Down here is the black part—the guts of the koi carp fish for aftertaste. Kimpira gobo (simmered burdock root and carrot). Pink no utsua ga karasumi (boto eggs). Egg roll, fish roll, karasumi (mullet roe). Arigato. Ato wa koko wa desu ne? Temae ga sawara no nitsuke desu (mackerel simmered in soy). Oku ga saba no nitsuke desu (mackerel simmered in soy). Sato imo (mountain yam potato). Kore wa sakura desu (cherry blossom tree). And this is daikon. Nande kono ryori kimeta no? Sake to awasu desu ka (paired with sake)? Kyo wa sake wo ishiki shite. Nitsuke nanka mo hijou ni Saku no sake to awau yoni atsuzukete. Kono sake to awaimasu (pairs with this sake). Saisho ni kochira kara itadai te (start with this one). Nande kore karakuchi desu ne (dry sake).

07:38 John Daub: This one's a dry sake, so start with this one. Arigato gozaimasu. That's so cool. Whenever you get a chance to have the chef explain all the ingredients and tell you which pairs well first, that's pretty interesting. But I got a lot of questions like what do you eat first? I'm very curious what's inside this leaf now. At these lunches, I get 1:30 to run a tour, so we have a time limit. Alright, but I'm always really curious like what's inside this leaf. So before I eat, I want to open this up. Do you know what's in here? Nobody knows yet. Let's do this. Oh, wait—we have to get to 350 likes. I can't open that leaf until you, the community, do your job. It's up to you to get to 350 likes because that helps this video. While you do that, I'm going to clean my hands because Kanae said I should wash my hands. It's a good habit to use a shibori (wet towel). Oh, we did it! The community got to 350 likes in like 5 seconds. Alright, you want to see what's in that leaf, don't you? Let's do this—I'm opening up this mystery leaf. What leaf is this? Ooba? Hoba (magnolia leaf)? Okay, we're not quite sure what hoba is in English. Are you ready? 3, 2, 1. Whoa! That's really amazing looking! That looks like miso in there. Looks beautiful. I guess it's butaniku (pork) or chicken. Looks like pork—and this I thought was a stick, but it's part of the leaf. Interesting. Alright, there's a lot of food to eat here. Everybody has the same meal. This restaurant is called Reimon, and the chef is really nice—glad he took the time to describe everything.

10:24 John Daub: Kevin the Kid, yeah, it's time to eat. Let me take off my jacket because we've got to get down and dirty into the food. Check it out—look at the chopsticks. They look like bamboo. By the way, if you use chopsticks, you don't want to hold them here—it makes it harder to pick up. Learn how to hold it here. Alright, itadakimasu (let's eat). First, you have to fill your sake. You're not supposed to do it yourself, but this is casual—don't tell anybody. Alright, this sake is called Hana (flower). You have to look from the other side to see it. That's pretty creative—like, nobody can read this, but from the other side it says Hana. And Hana is also my assistant's name. This is all from Saku City—probably these ingredients too. Typically, when you have kaiseki-ryori (multi-course meal) served in a lacquer box, it's made with local ingredients. Oh, that Hana is good. That's some good sake. Alright, let's dig in. Itadakimasu. I'm gonna try the food for you because you're not here. This renkon meatball is completely made of renkon (lotus root)—it's a vegetable. Wow, look at this—that looks pretty amazing. I can't believe it's not made of any meat. It has a sauce, looks grilled. This feels really special. It doesn't taste meaty—very crunchy. Lotus root is crunchy, but mashed up it's springy. The grilled charred taste and sauce make it pretty darn good. Mmm, I can eat that all day. Kanpai!

15:10 John Daub: It's good. Another round. Let's try some more. I might not see your questions because I'm eating, but I'll try to go back. Danny's in the house—hey John, bon appetit. Have a nice day and you work, so don't drink too much. Yeah, I gotta go home tonight—if I'm wasted, Kanae won't like that, so I better take it easy on the sake. Thanks Danny. Cobra Bebop gives a thumbs up—thanks guys. Morgan Coleman, hey John from Kentucky—hope you have a great day. Thank you, Morgan. This is just decoration, but I think you can eat the daikon. I'm somebody who eats the garnish—I always eat the parsley. This is daikon with a little meat in it. Chefs are really nice, but if it's not meant to be eaten, they won't like it. Is this shiitake mushroom? When you eat Japanese cuisine like this, the chef's goal is to inspire you or make your mind explode with different tastes, usually seasonal things. Not only is it cheaper to use seasonal ingredients, it's fresher and looks better. The chef has done a really good job bringing different sauces and flavors that make your taste buds explode. The natural taste of the ingredients is very important—so a lot of raw vegetables, not cooked all the way. Sauces are not overpowering. In Japanese cuisine, it's more subtle—you want to taste the naturalness, like this leaf staring at me.

18:24 John Daub: Next, I'm going to the sushi on this bowl—he's made it into a leaf shape, very light. In Japan, we can eat just white rice, but this sushi rice has rice vinegar—lightly sweetened. Alright, there's a lot to try—now to the tempura. This is gobo (burdock root) tempura—it looks like shrimp but it's just a root. Eat it like this. That was fish in there, did you see? I love tempura—I could eat it all day. Just keep bringing it out of the fryer. Who doesn't love tempura? So good. Alright, we're gonna try some more sake. This one had a little fruitiness—good to start, clears the palate, pleasant aftertaste. But now let's try this one. Arigato. When you drink sake, hold your cup with two hands. Kanpai everybody. Wow. Whenever sake makes your eyes open, it can be good. This is sweet but has earthy taste—the alcohol melts away. Check the label—this is Asamaoroshi, Junmai Ginjo Nama Sake (raw premium sake). It's alive, 16% alcohol, made in Saku City from Otsuka Brewery. Good. Drinking sake makes your eyes shine. If it's too dry, it can take away from the food—if alcohol lingers, same thing. You have to find alcohol that complements. This sweet earthy one goes good with sushi and fish.

23:15 John Daub: Let's try this saba (mackerel). Hold it up—nice view. When you get a big piece of fish, you can't take it all in one bite. Put chopsticks in the middle, spread it out, cut in half—manageable bite. Fish should never taste fishy—good fish melts in your mouth. Such tender meat, sauce with ginger—goes great with sake. Fish and sake go so well together, not just sushi but marinated in ginger sweet soy. The meat is soft and moist. More sake. When you drink, show appreciation—put on a dramatic ah so people know you like it. Makes people feel good. Seriously, give a little smile. Oh, this is mountain potato—sato imo. Too big for one bite—stab and pull apart. Looks like meat but it's potato. Ah man. I love that potato. Check this eggplant—cut open but not through, marinated juices inside, grilled. Chef's secret, but pretty, gives ideas on presentation. Presentation is so important in Japan. You eat the top. That's so good—slight oil, grilled taste, delicate sauce, not salty. Goes extremely well with sake. There's one more to try—festive label. Judge a book by its cover—this is Yoyoi no Yoi (let's enjoy sake). Awesome label—look at these guys, wasted, cats too, kimono woman stepping on dude. So awesome.

30:24 John Daub: Pour a glass. Arigato. Sake should be clear, though sometimes cloudy like nigori (cloudy sake). Enjoy sake—kanpai. So subtle—slight fruitiness, little bite but dissipates. Perfect with eggplant—the oil sits lightly, alcohol bites and breaks it apart. Wonderful pairing. Sake pairing should be thought out well. Let's try this egg—tamagoyaki (rolled omelet) with wakame (seaweed). Japan does eggs better than anyone—the yolk color is amazing. This is next level omelet. Oh, this is the narezushi (fermented) of the koi—guts of the carp. Oishii (delicious). Good with sake? Sold. Caviar, aged. Oishii—sweet sauce, meatiness, chew, spiciness, maybe ginger. Egg is really good. Tastes great with sake—the alcohol dissolves and melts with flavor. Good pairing is important. You want pricier sake that goes with food, not just to get plowed—like with wine.

36:00 John Daub: Alright, let's try the leaf—you've been waiting. We're almost at 500 likes—you guys are insane. This is succulent chicken—Saku City is famous for chicken. Just went to Big Ben—don't ask why it's called that. This is cooked in a kaki no ha (persimmon leaf) with miso sauce. Miso is really good in Nagano. Looks like karaage (fried chicken). Wow, if I knew it was persimmon leaf, I'd have talked like this. Miso happy. This is the chicken. Really good—gotta be miso. This miso is awesome. So good—the miso penetrates, skin crunchiness. Doesn't matter how cooked—just envelops, juices exploding with salty miso. It's a ride. More—shotgun with green pepper. That was good.

39:34 John Daub: We're just about done. This is another piece of saba, cooked differently—nice sauce. Fish well done, so tender. Last is this potato? All goes really well with sake. Thanks everybody—that was fun. I'm going to come back and eat the rest, but time to end the live stream. I'm here with the tour—they know. Can't be helped. I'll take you outside the restaurant. This is Saku City, restaurant Reimon. I came here to drink sake. Do you guys want to go to a famous shrine after? If interested, I'll live stream it—then from the train to Saku-Daisha station, right after Karuizawa. Smaller Shinkansen station—show you eki-ben (station bento). Each is different. Saku City is big for sake in Nagano—13 breweries. Yesterday drank 7 at dinner—slept well. Nice to drink 3 more. Love the last label—might get it. Came with Kurabito Stay tour—link in description. Happy they invited me—feel like a pioneer sharing this. They're building a hotel in the brewery—genius. Stay, help make sake, drink the water, shower in it. Cool opportunity.

43:02 John Daub: Keep clicking like—let's get 750. If we do, new live stream in an hour to countryside shrine. Reason to visit Japan outside Tokyo. You really start to feel it. Ambulance coming—give respect, hope they get to hospital safely. Let's see 750—Pat Javi! I'll take you to the shrine. Appreciate you joining for lunch—this is sake pairing. Thanks everybody—see you in live stream at shrine in an hour. Have a good day. Beautiful day in Nagano.