I have been watching Mr. Bourdain's travels for a LONG time...since it was on the "other channel", to be exact.

He seems to LOVE Asia, and I think most fans would agree that Japan comes close to his favorite spots, probably after Vietnam and Thailand.

But being Japanese, it always bothered me that while he goes to small towns and villages of everywhere else he goes, he only sticks to main cities in Japan. Tokyo and Osaka...maaaayybeeee Kyoto.

He has no trouble exploring and introducing the diverse cultural heritage of small-town Laos, but doesn't seem to care for all the different nuiances in Japanese cuisine - which actually differs greatly from area to area. For example, Tokyo steams it's Unagi, Osaka grills it's Unagi, and Nagoya does something in between - steam first, grill second, chop them up really small, and sandwich it between layers or rice.

He loves introducing small farmers of Chile, but won't even talk about the small artisan chicken growers that specialize in local heritage breed of chickens in Japan. Have you ever heard of Shamo? If you love Yakitori, there's more than just using Binchotan. Different heritage breed of chickens will have different texture and flavors.

He seems to understand the cultural and tribal backgrounds in India and Sri Lanka, but never even talked about the peoples of Ryukyu (hey they make amazing PORK dishes) nor has he ever ventured up North, to Hokkaido's Ainu culture.

I want this show to bring in more of what is out there - beyond your "amazing sushi" and "artisan tempura" - because there is MUCH more to Japan. Those things are great in it's own right, I get that. It takes years of training to make the perfect sushi or tempura. But we've all seen that.

It bothers me that he's had life-changing meals with EVERY OTHER GRANDMA but a JAPANESE ONE. Really, now. What's wrong with this picture? Isn't it time to really explore Japan?

And if you need pointers, I've got plenty of them.