Fisherman Kazuaki Ida entered the No Borders Cafe in Rausu just as we were finishing cups of hot coffee on a rainy Hokkaido afternoon. He held giant flat-leaved stalks that scraped against each other like hard plastic, garnering appreciative "ahs" of recognition among the cafe's customers. As a first-time Hokkaido visitor and relative newcomer to authentic Japanese cuisine, I remained ignorant. What were these things and why was everyone so excited?

Turns out we were seeing the result of a lengthy process that converts this seaweed called konbu into a much-sought-after delicacy used to flavor soup stocks and enhance Japanese cuisine. Konbu is a mainstay of Japanese cooking, and not only were we in the epicenter of konbu production, but we also were meeting one of the masters of harvesting the seaweed.

Hokkaido produces some 90 percent of all konbu, and high-end restaurants the world over covet its quality. The cold waters and nutrients that flow through the Sea of Okhotsk are responsible for the konbu's superior flavor.