Washoku (Japanese cuisine) is enjoying international popularity, and currently there are around 118,000 Japanese restaurants worldwide. This series examines where Washoku stands in relation to the variety of food cultures throughout the world, and its prospects for the future. The series will follow the regional qualifying tournaments and the final tournament of the sixth “Washoku World Challenge,” a cooking contest in which non-Japanese Washoku chefs from throughout Europe, North America, Asia and Japan will pit their skills against one another, as they strive in earnest to inherit, pass on and cultivate their Washoku cooking skills.