A Tokyo star chef trades Michelin stars for melon fields. The result? Pure edible poetry.
49 minSeason 1 • Episode 2
LatestChef Otsuka Kenichi creates new seasonal specialties for autumn. The specialty is venison caught by a local hunter. Garnishes include giant shallots, potatoes, cauliflowers, and log shiitake mushrooms. The main dishes are seafood such as sardines and oysters. They work with locals to source delicious ingredients even in the harshness of the northern winter.
In 2016, a famous French restaurant in Tokyo closed its doors. The chef Otsuka Kenichi and his wife Keiko fell in love with the rich local foods in Hokkaido and relocated to Furano city. They collaborate with local producers to make attractive dishes that you could have nowhere else. Unique dishes with local ingredients, such as freshly harvested asparagus and corns, oysters and scallops, also melons and haskaps. Beautiful 4K footage captures the nature of Hokkaido and the colorful cuisine.
Cinematography
4K Hokkaido landscapes that will wreck your wanderlust budget.
Production
Intimate kitchen access without obnoxious reality-TV theatrics.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Furano's 'local production for local consumption' movement reflects a broader Japanese rural revitalization effort, where chefs become accidental ambassadors for dying agricultural towns.
Haskap berries—featured prominently—were nearly extinct in Japan before Hokkaido farmers resurrected them; they're now the region's signature 'blue gold.'
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