Konnyaku is an important element of Japanese cuisine. It has long been known as a high-fiber, diet-friendly food, and in recent years it's been shown to offer benefits for health conditions including dementia and diabetes. Outside Japan, its popularity is on the rise, and it has started to appear in dishes like pasta. Konnyaku is a chewy, jelly-like food made from the extremely bitter corm of the konjac plant. How is it processed? And what other uses does it have? Peter Barakan visits Japan's top producing area to learn all about this surprising food.

Ueno, in Tokyo, is visited by 25 million tourists each year. It is home to world-class museums and educational facilities, bustling street markets, important shrines and temples, a zoo, and much more. There are surely few places in the world where so many different cultural elements are woven into the same urban district. An expert introduces Peter Barakan to some of the many faces of Ueno, and helps to explain its enduring popularity with visitors and local residents alike.