at Inaricho Aizawa rice shop

They sell rice from 24 prefectures

both in shop and online

This is the owner, Toshiyuki Aizawa

Welcome! Thank you for coming!

His shop is full of bag of rice

and he knows a great deal about the subject

and I had a lot of question about Japanese rice

There is a lot more to talk about with AIZAWA san

First, I head to a rice paddy for TAUE

at one of top Japan's SAKE makers, "DASSAI"

"DASSAI"'s rice comes from HYOGO prefecture,

north of KOBE

The area is perfect for rice, used in SAKE

Joining me were area locals, and school children

interested in learning more on the old tradition

of rice planting

A good pair of boots really helps

if you're standing for hours in the paddy

and that paddy is more than just water

Every step you take.....you sink in about

20cm or something like that

So this is where rice grows

gross

The most popular variety of rice used for SAKE is called

and it's pre-grown before being re-planted in the paddy

Pinch off several stems of the root

and submerge the stem into the mud

keeping the top above water

It seems easy to do, but....

It's really a skill when you have to

fill in an entire paddy

How do they do it?

They are way ahead of me

They must have some sort of secret power or

a secret style...

that I don't know about

Their rows are absolutely perfect

What are we doing wrong?

Not many people plant rice by hand these days

It's more of an opportunity to keep the old way

and bring the community together

That's one of the importance of rice in Japan

Rice paddies are teaming with life

From frogs and beatles

to some of the more dangerous looking creatures

A farmer called me to show me one of them

A snake

Japanese snakes aren't (generally) poisonous but...

No snakes were harmed in filming this episode

Here is a policeman trying TAUE for the first time

They are so fast

Planting by hand

A skill the old timers still have

They move with skill and accuracy

Sharing a day together planting rice

was a great memory

So much so, that when I eat rice

I'm reminded of the hard work required

to make each bite

It's also a reminder of the overall importance

of rice to Japan

What a day

As you can see, I got my hand dirty

and that's sort of the point

You get to feel the earth

you get to touch the rice

you put it into the ground and see it grow

and that has kind of a spiritual meaning

These days you don't have to get your hands dirty

We've got machines for that

The rice planting machine is awesome

It's built to weather the deep mud

It gets loaded up,

and plants the rice seedling evenly

without wasting space

What took a full day

with group of people planting by hand

now takes less than an hour

with one machine

I wanted to harness this power

and give it a try

No one is going to turn over an expensive piece of equipment

to a beginner like me

without some training

It's like a car with many levers and controls

Slowly bring the steering wheel back

Step on the pedal and

plant the rice as you advance

ready?

ok!

Let's go!

like this?

My greatest worry was swerving

and not maintaining a straight line

This isn't the Indianapolis 500, but...

It's still a lot of fun!

Using this lever

Now the line starts over there

Did he say speed up?

Let's go!

more?

more??

more????

take the pedal off

Ahhhhh!

Who's in control??

Who's in control???

This is really cool!

I just don't want to crash it

One of the coolest thing I've done in Japan

Rice planting with a machine

I can understand more of the significance of rice

It's part of Japan's soul

in bowls to eat

in the SAKE to drink

grown in the sun

given to gods for worship

and used in ceremony and prayer

This is my neighbor, Mr. SEIICHI

and he's been eating rice, all of his life

He's 94 years old

so that's a lot of rice

How has it changed since the early 1900s?

So, eating a 100% white rice

was a real luxury back then

Rice is harvested

and the product looks like this

It still has the husk on it

loaded with vitamins and minerals

Aizawa san takes 2kg from the bag

Then puts it in a machine

Most people do this

because not only tastes better,

but increases the shelf life

This is the white rice we often see in Sushi

or by itself on the breakfast lunch or dinner table

We weigh it again

and now, it's only 910 grams

Losing more than half of its weight

Cooked in a SUIHANKI, or Rice cooker

It's ready to be eaten

Aizawa-san turns it

then serves it in a bowl

He recommends chewing it 30 to 40 times

before swallowing

because the saliva enhances the flavor

and improves digestion

So, when you come to Japan

and get a bowl of rice to eat

or drink it as a SAKE

don't forget the significance of rice in JAPAN

Every grain is important

Good to the last bite