70% of Japan is covered in forests. The Japanese have been using wood as a building material for hundreds of years, and the nation is home to the world's oldest wooden structures. Their longevity is a testament to the skill of the people who built them. In the second of two editions focusing on wood, Japanology Plus introduces the tools and techniques used by Japanese carpenters. Our guests are Kenzo Akao, director of the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, and Akinori Abo, a professional carpenter.

Japan offers a huge variety of meat dishes, including sumptuous wagyu beef and casual chicken skewers. But these highlights of Japanese cuisine are recent developments; meat consumption was actually banned in Japan for 1,200 years. This time on Japanology Plus, our theme is meat. Our main guest, Professor Nobuo Harada of Kokushikan University, explains the history behind meat-eating in Japan. And in Plus One, Matt Alt discovers how livestock farmers achieve such wonderfully marbled beef.