A global boom in Japanese cuisine has put the spotlight on Japan's super-premium wagyu, literally "Japanese beef". Many acclaim Miyazaki beef as the finest wagyu, and one producer of Miyazaki beef in particular has been hailed as the "god of wagyu": 52-year-old Hidetoshi Kamada. His beef was chosen as the best in Japan at a national competition held every 5 years. Beef cattle farmers across Japan look up to him, and the perfectly marbled meat from his ranch commands 5 times the average price. Kamada scrupulously pampers each one of his 200 cattle. Cows are very sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity, so he goes to extraordinary measures to maintain comfortable conditions for them. "Cows just want to live a good life. I owe it to them to give them everything I have. That is my job".

Kentaro Ishikawa, Hikiya Building Mover In this episode, we focus on a major project to move the tower of Hirosaki Castle, designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government. The task is entrusted to a craftsman who specializes in a traditional engineering technique called hikiya . It has been used for more than 5 centuries to move all kinds of structures in their original form. Many hikiya craftsmen are getting on in years and their numbers are declining.

Hitoshi Ishihara, a chef in Kyoto, has been awarded 3 Michelin stars in 6 of the past 7 years. His 15-course meals, prepared in the kaiseki tradition of Japanese haute cuisine, are a kaleidoscope of the finest ingredients, season by season. Ishihara's restaurant serves only one meal a day and has just 14 seats, so he can offer the most attentive service to each guest. He attends carefully to every detail, from food preparation and presentation to flowers and other decorative details. "Entertaining means more than simply cooking. It's about having guests savor the whole experience", Ishihara says. "That's the essence of Japanese cuisine". We take a close look at one man's single-minded quest to get to the heart of Japanese hospitality.