Meshiagare! Flavors of Japan

Discover Japan's unique dishes, its foodie culture, its diverse landscape of ingredients, and the makers behind it all

In collaboration with Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries

and 20 more collections

A recap of season 1

Highlights of the Meshiagare project

Meshiagare! 8 Phrases That Explain Japanese Food Culture

What to say before you dig in

A Bitesize History of Japanese Food

Explore a bento box of amazing facts about Japan's iconic cuisine

How the Edo Period Gave Japanese Food its Flavor

The taste that the “Edo-kko” loved

New in season 2

Meet the farmers and makers putting food on the table

The makers

The Sake Breweries Rebuilding After the Earthquake

The makers

Reviving Shodo Island

Meet the people revitalizing the land through the power of fruit!

The makers

Chestnut Culture

A special treat that can only be bought when they are in season

The makers

A Taste Explosion

Discover how crown melons are cultivated in Hamamatsu City

The makers

The Fruit of The Gods

A journey to the Japan's ancient capital to learn the story behind the fruit

Explore the latest chapter

There's more to food than eating

Exploring the culture and history in every meal

NEW: The Makers

The people behind the foods we love

Get stuck in to the first course

Second course

The Culture

The traditions and their evolution

Explore

Third course

The Taste

The unique flavors of sushi, bento, udon and more

Explore

Last Course

The Ingredients

The building blocks of Japanese food and where they come from

Explore

The faces behind the flavors

The secret of how the Japanese food culture maintains its quality and variety

Farming Focus

An Up-and Coming Strawberry Farmer

A young 4th generation farmer takes over the family business

Farming Focus

The Future of Gender Equality Farming

Answering the big questions about the future

Farming Focus

Testing Fruit With A Tap

Discover the intricate, laborious quality control required to consistently deliver delicious pears to the public

Fruits of their labor

Discover more about the innovations behind fruit farming in Japan

Apples and Consumerism

A fruit that cultivates a message

The Winter Watermelon

Watermelon isn't just for summer...

Pure and Simple Flavor

A journey into the hills to find Hagi’s summer mandarins

The Beauty of Grapes

Juicy and sweet with thick flesh and a uniquely refreshing aroma

A Perfect Tasting Peach

Using data and a lot of love to bring consumers the perfect peach

Creating New Citrus Fruit Flavors

Go on a fruity journey through the Ehime Prefecture

The Secret of Juicy Strawberries

Strawberry growing at the Murata Farm in Hokota City, Ibaraki Prefecture

The Queen of the Fruit Kingdom

The delicately soft Shimizu Hakuto (‘white peach’) reigns supreme

The Creamy Sweetness of Figs

n Japan, figs are considered the 'fruit of longevity'

The Strawberry Kingdom

Discover why the strawbettery is Japan's favorite fruit

How many strawberry varieties are grown in Japan?

300

Strawberry farms of "Strawberry Village Farm"

300

3000

Learn more

Take your pick

The different ways you can enjoy Japanese fruit

Freeze dried

Perfectly Freeze-drying Fruit

How peaches and grapes go from farm to freezer

Desserts

Desserts: Then and Now

The myriad of produce available year-round.

Wine

The Complexity of Japanese Wine

How an old grape plantation became the award-winning Domaine Tetta winery

Fruit picking

Discover the Fresh Fruits

Go fruit picking just one hour from the center of the city

Petals to please your palette

Meet the people behind the flowers you can eat

Discover

How Edible Roses Are Sparking a Revolution

A closer look at the edible rose culture of Fukuyama

The food you can't eat

Learn more about the Japanese art of making appetizing artificial food

Online Exhibit

The Art of Making Food Replicas

Discover the history of food replicas and how they're made

A History of Inedible Food

A timeline of Japan's culture of delicious-looking food replicas

Push the boat out

The farmers travelling deep into the sea for the finest flavors

The Hidden Potential of Oysters

The history and culture of oyster production in Hiroshima

Japanese Soul Food: The Unknown World of Seaweed

A closer look at the world of Nori

The Women Divers of Shima

A visit to the Toba Sea-folk Museum to investigate the diving culture

The Unique Seafood Traditions of Minamichita

Find out more about the charms of Minamichita cuisine...

The Art of Cultivating the Perfect Oyster

How one oyster farm succeeded in lowering the risk of food poisoning

The makers go to market

Explore Japan's famous and extensive food markets

A Tour of Japan's Largest Fruit and Vegetable Market

At Ota market there's a commitment to taste, down to a single fruit

Toyosu Fish Market Virtual Tour in VR

Explore the newly opened Toyosu fish market getting ready for the auction

Tour the Toyosu Fish Market

Explore the newly opened Toyosu fish market getting ready for the auction

Creative solutions

Innovating the raw ingredients

Shonan Gold Fruit Keeps Getting Better

The ongoing quest to enhance the citrus fruit's value and find new ways it can delight the senses

Japan's Most Beloved Citrus Fruit

Let’s peel back the history of this ubiquitous orange

The Plum That Means Rainy Season Is Here

Discover the traditional ways to use up 'ume' at home

Discover more about the farmers, makers, and fishermen

Tracing Japanese food from the soil to the stomach

Explore the first course

Every recipe has a history

A historic tour

A Taste of Tokyo's Historic Golden Gai District

Behind the bars of the Shinjuku Golden Street

Rediscovering historical cuisine

Tracing the Tastebuds of the Past

How Food Nippon is recreating Edo food today

Know your basics

Decoding iconic dishes

Sake

How traditional rice wine is made

Wagashi

Traditional sweets that tell a story

Bento

Artfully arranged and perfectly balanced lunch boxes

Sushi

Japan's most recognizable dish

Ramen

The roots of ramen

Tea

The background of Uji-cha green tea

What makes Japanese food so unique?

How Japan discovered a new taste

The scientist

Who Discovered Umami?

There were long thought to be just four basic tastes...

The back story

What is Umami?

The fifth taste that adds maximum flavor

Round the world

Umami Culture in the World

The history of seasoning

Deceptively simple

The Invisible Ingredient You'll Find Everywhere

The secret magic of dashi and umami

How sushi rolled

The origin story of an iconic dish

Roll back

Before There Was Sushi, There Was Narezushi

A dish of fish preserved for several months to several years in salt and rice

Watch

The Evolution of Sushi

From narezushi to edo-mae

Eat like the ancestors

Take a guided tour of seasonal food scenes in ukiyo-e from the Edo period

Spring

Feast on Fish in Spring

Sashimi, soy sauce, sushi and sake

Summer

Enjoy Eel in Summer

Eels, watermelon and rice flour dumplings

Autumn

Slurp Soba in Autumn

Soba noodles, soy, and seaweed

Winter

Munch Mochi in Winter

Mochi, daikon, and glutinous rice

When food meets manga

8 Mangas That Will Make You Feel Hungry

Japanese cuisine from sake, to Ainu food culture, to home taste

Laying the table

It's not just what you eat, it's how you eat it

The culture

Exploring Japanese Tableware Piece by Piece

Learn how to lay a table

The craftmanship

The Chopsticks That Take 6 Months to Make

Each is a one-of-a-kind creation

Traditional lacquerware method

Developed around Wajima

Knives

The blade of a professional sushi Chef’s knives must be re-sharpened every day

Traditional Kettles

Nanbutekki Kettles

Asahi Ware

A ceramic kiln begun during the Keichō era

Miyajima Osuna Ware

Magical ceramics

Mino ware

A site of ceramic production for centuries

White Satsuma Ware

400 years of tradition and innovations

Discover more about the history and culture of Japanese food

The traditions and their evolution

Explore the second course

Japanese flavors 101

Food influencer Sakiko Hirano on the essential flavours of Japanese food

Watch

The Unique Flavor of Dashi

Agricultural Professor Toru Fushiki explains why Dashi needs to be part of essential ingredients for Japanese food.

Watch

How to Pair Sake With Japanese Food

Pairing sake specialist Ms. Marie Chiba introduces how to match sake and other dishes for tasty surprises.

The art of Japanese tea

Even tea is umami...

How to

The Guide to the Perfect Brew

Infuse your mind with Uji-cha

New ideas

Turning Tea Practises Upside Down

A visit to a very unusual tea plantation

A ceremony

Inside a traditional Japanese tea ceremony: Koicha (thick tea)

A ceremony

Inside a traditional Japanese tea ceremony: Usucha (thin tea)

For goodness saké

Sip on the story of how Japanese rice wine is made

Matsui Sake Brewery

The Oldest Sake Brewery in Kyoto

Where tradition meets innovation

Video

Watch How Sake is Made

Inside Kyoto's Sasaki Sake Brewery

Just desserts

Mouth-watering Japanese sweets

Springtime Wagashi

How cherry blossoms are expressed in the world of Japanese confectioneries

What are Higashi?

How Wagashi Reflect The Seasons

The Names of Wagashi, Explained

The Traditional Sweets of Niigata

A visit to a sasadango factory

The methods behind the meals

The intricate steps in Japanese cooking - try them if you dare

How to

How to Make Ball-Shaped Sushi

The Quintessential Recipes of Wakasa

How to

How to Make Dashi

The secret to that umami flavor

How to

How to Make Sanuki Udon

Three ingredients and some foot work

How to build a bento

Opening a lunchbox has never been so satisfying

What is Bento?

The art of food in a small box

Shokado Bento

Based on a traditional Japanese multi-course dinner

Shidashi

Colorfully arranged side dishes

Uni (Sea Urchin) Bento

The speciality of Kuji station

Some like it hot pot

Get to the meat of the matter

Hot pot

The History of Kurushima-style Sukiyaki

How to make Kusumachi-style Sukiyaki just like they used to

Hot pot

What Makes Matsusaka Beef So Luxurious?

Discover the love that goes into cattle rearing for one of Japan’s leading brand names

Discover more about the unique taste of Japanese dishes

The unique flavors of sushi, bento, udon and more

Explore the last course

The geography of ingredients

How Japan's varied geography leads to a range of flavors

The Art of Preparing Mountain Vegetables

Mountain vegetable preservation technology developed through the “No Waste Policy”

The Salt Capital of Japan

The 300 year old tradition of Utazu’s Irihama-shiki salt-making

How Environmental Challenges Led To Some of the Tastiest Rice Around

The evolution of Niigata rice

Why Fishing is So Important in Japanese Cuisine

Life by the Arakawa River

Snow business

What's on the menu when the weather gets cold

The Cuisine Making The Most of Snow Season

Let’s take a look at the charming food of Tokamachi City, a land of heavy snowfall

The Harmony of Flavors and Crafts in Yamanouchi

Everything in Yamanouchi has its place and purpose

The Town Where You Can Eat a Hotpot in a Snow House

In the town of Iiyama, the challenges that climate change bring are an opportunity for reinvention