"Journeys in Japan"

We're in the middle of the sea.

Uh-huh, this is Tokyo Bay.

Our destination this time is Isumi in Chiba,

voted most popular rural place to live in the Tokyo area.

Oh, "amore."

Husband and wife Alex and Binderiya,

who call Tokyo home, will hit the road.

Dreaming of moving to the countryside,

they can't wait to explore all Isumi has to offer.

I love this place.

- It's so nice, huh?
- Nice!

Isumi Shines as Liveable City

Isumi faces the Pacific Ocean on the beautiful Boso Peninsula.

It's just over an hour across the bay from Tokyo.

So nice.

Wow!

It's so beautiful.

Yeah, this brings back so many memories.

For you?

Because I used to go with my family to the sea.

When I was a kid.

Alex is an Italian actor.

Binderiya is a Japanese language researcher from Mongolia.

The two met and married in Japan.

We like living in Tokyo. It's a great life.

But you know, sometimes I kind of feel lonely

despite having so many people around.

I don't know why.

I guess it's because everybody's so focused on work

and there's not a big community here.

So, it's really hard to take it easy and to slow down.

And we found out about Isumi,

which won "the most popular place to live in Japan."

We thought we wanted to check it out

and see why people want to go and live there.

Hey, look, look there. It's like they're doing something. Some event.

Yeah, maybe.

- Do you want to go check?
- Yeah.

Wow, nice. There's a market.

Cool.

It's so active in the morning.

Yeah.

This morning market at the Ohara fishing port is held every Sunday.

Oh, it's alive!

You never saw like a live fish.

Oh, my God.

I'm from a landlocked country. So, seafood is rare for me.

We have all kinds of fish.

They congregate around here.

The sea off Isumi is a rich fishing ground

where the Kuroshio and Oyashio currents intersect.

It nurtures the prized "ise-ebi" spiny lobster.

Oh, this is so good. Oh, so good!

Try, try, try! No, it's really good.

It's like a soup.

- Nice!
- Yeah, it's good, no?

Yeah, it's so delicious and tasty.

It's sweet.

The houses are cute.

Shall we buy one?

This area is great.

Look here. It's all like a Japanese-style village.

Yeah. So, a traditional Japanese look, right?

Isumi is well known for its quality rice,

which flourishes in the fertile land and mild climate.

What's that?

What's that?

I don't know. Do you want to check?

Yeah, I want to. What is that?

What is this?

Look at that. What is that?

It's so big.

It's like a ball.

- You want to go see?
- Yeah, yeah!

I don't know what it is though. Can we go in?

Oh, look.

Wow, look at that.

- Let's ask.
- Yes, yes.

Hello. Is it OK to come in?

Sure.

What are you doing?

That Japanese cedar ball over there is called a "sakabayashi."

We display one on the gate when our new sake is released.

Since our new sake is ready, we are making a fresh one.

- Oh, your father?
- Yes.

I handed over the reins to him eight years ago.

Now, I do odd jobs.

The 150-year-old brewery is celebrating the season of its new sake,

made of course with local rice and water.

How are you all connected?

They are fans of our sake.

- So, they don't work here?
- No, they don't.

So, they just come to help out. Wonderful.

I'm from Tokyo.

I'm a local.

I'm from Kanagawa. I come every year.

We meet here every year. We only meet here.

I look forward to the sake evolving every year.

The flavor changes depending on the brewer.

His sake has a sharp finish.

Would you like to see our sake?

By all means. Thank you.

This is the yeast mash - the source of sake.

Look inside.

It's fermenting.

Our method is to use only water, rice and koji mold, nothing else.

We adjust the temperature and concentration to nurture an environment

where micro-organisms thrive.

Fascinating.

It's like wine. Fruity.

It's like a fruit liquor.

But we only use rice.

It was made with the rice my dad cultivated.

- It's good?
- Yes, so good.

Can I smell it?

It's like fruit.

It doesn't smell like it's from rice.

Yeah, yeah. Amazing.

Well done!

Thanks to everyone, we could hang our new sakabayashi.

Thanks for showing us the process. We enjoyed it.

What a cute train. I want to get on it.

So cute.

Bye-bye.

Incredible.

The rice fields are beautiful.

I wonder what they are doing.

Hello.

- Hello.
- Welcome.

Is everyone here taking care of the flowers?

We are supporters of the Isumi Railway.

We want to attract more visitors.

The line has been threatened with closure many times

due to declining passenger numbers.

But the people along the route keep it going.

We can't lose this railway.

That's why locals rallied to start this support group.

I want it to be carefully preserved.

Have a nice trip.

We are planting flower beds to support Isumi Railway

and bring some joy to passengers.

High school students are volunteering too!

Yes.

We're all in it together for the passengers.

Glad we helped out.

There's somebody harvesting.

- Hello.
- Hello.

What are you picking?

I'm harvesting winter vegetables.

Daikon radish, "kabu" turnip, and spinach.

Do you grow them all here?

Yes. Seasonal vegetables.

Would you like to look around?

I would love to.

Can you hear that crunchy sound?

This is seaweed from Isumi's sea.

Seaweed? Why here?

In summer,

I help with spiny lobster fishing and receive the seaweed.

I mix it into the soil as a fertilizer.

Isumi's ocean, rivers, fields and mountains are all connected.

I've never heard of seaweed fertilizer before.

This is a spiny lobster tail.

It also makes great fertilizer.

Wow. This is crazy.

It's the first time that I've seen it.

Using lobsters to give nutrition to the vegetables,

I've never heard of it. It's so cool.

Where are you from, Alex?

Italy.

You are Italian. OK, here's some rucola.

I love it.

Here you go. A salad bouquet.

Salad bouquet. Excellent.

This is so good. I want it on my pizza.

I'll give this to my wife when I meet her.

It's like, there you go.

She likes salad and vegetables, so she'll probably be happy.

Or complain because it's not flowers. I don't know.

A salad this good...

It's nice, huh?

Yeah, it feels good. I like cycling.

We should do it more often.

Yeah.

Oh amore, look at this. Look, look.

Amore, SUP? Here?

SUP? Really? Do you want to check it out?

- Yeah.
- Okay, let's go.

It's okay. Hold on to your oars.

Keep smiling.

Amore, how are you doing?

I can do it!

A little bit, bending the knees.

The Isumi River extends 68 kilometers to the sea.

Wide and gentle,

it's great all year long for river fun, like stand-up paddling.

I love this. I want to do it every day.

It's like a form of meditation almost.

You just sit here and it's all so silent.

All you can hear are nature sounds.

- This is so nice, huh?
- Nice!

It's spectacular.

The Isumi River carries nutrients from the mountains to the sea.

It's a river of life.

I'm so impressed. Nature is so beautiful.

Is this okay?

It's so tiny.

If we had a bigger car than this, we couldn't go here.

Yeah, yeah.

A gate.

Oh, man.

I'm Alex. I have a reservation.

Welcome to Kishu ann. Thank you for coming today.

This has such a traditional Japanese look.

This auberge was converted

from a 190-year-old home.

My ancestors lived here.

So, this house has 190 years of stories.

Layers of Isumi life endure here.

This is the Spring Room.

I came here with my father in the summer

when I was a kid.

I liked to nap here.

It was nice to sleep listening to the birds and insects.

That's nice.

It's narrow.

This is the Summer Room.

You can enjoy the garden from here.

This used to be used as a desk.

At night you could write here by moonlight.

I wonder if this is how people wrote here. Lovely.

Oh, it's fancy.

Yeah.

A kaiseki feast celebrating local, seasonal ingredients...

a perfect culmination of a perfect journey.

Chef Tokutake Shinichi liked Isumi so much that he left Tokyo behind.

His table is a canvas for painting the four seasons with Isumi ingredients.

Sashimi.

All from Isumi. This is "torafugu," tiger blowfish.

"Ainame" fat greenling.

Spiny lobster.

It's quickly fried on the outside, tossed with shrimp miso and shoyu,

and drizzled with a little nut oil.

Delicious.

Next, we have the vegetable course.

Beautiful.

They are all from Isumi.

I call this the Isumi Special.

This steamed egg custard has rice, octopus, turban shells and spiny lobsters.

So, this is the mix of everything you can find in Isumi.

Because in Isumi, there are the mountains and the sea.

So, basically, I think this is the combination of both kinds of tastes.

And I think it's a good summary for what Isumi is.

You can get a lot of really fresh food,

but it doesn't have to be only one type of food.

So, if you prefer fish, you can get that.

If you prefer vegetables, you can get that too.

And the fact that you can mix them

and get such a good result is really amazing.

Thank you for the perfect meal.

Everything was excellent.

So, it seems like our trip to Isumi is over.

I had such a relaxing time surrounded by nature, right?

And the people here are very friendly

and I tried so many things for the first time.

I always wondered why Isumi is so popular to live in.

I think the main reason, as you said, is the people.

It's the community here.

They are really friendly and welcoming.

It doesn't matter where you come from,

they don't care if you're a foreigner or not,

which is great.

And then the other thing is

because I think here is so close to the city

that you can actually live in the nature and work in the city.

Which I think is amazing.

You have the sea, you have the mountains, so you have everything.

Well, we'll come again, right?

Yeah, there are so many people I want to see again.

From Tokyo to Isumi,

it's a 100-minute drive

or a 70-minute express train ride

to Ohara Station.