Goro goes on a business trip to Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu. He arrives in Hakata Ward on a hot summer day. He visits an old friend, Okumura (Nakamura Yuji) the proprietor of a shop in Doll Alley. On a walk, he happens upon "Miyake Udon" and decides to try Fukuoka-style udon. After a long awkward presentation at the Chamber of Commerce, Goro checks in at a hotel in Nakasu. Happening upon a side street he is struck by hunger spots an izakaya called "Kazutomi". Peeking inside, he is spotted by a customer and invited in by the shop's proprietress (Lily). Immediately identified as a Tokyoite and non-drinker, Goro's unease is distracted by the menu of Fukuoka soul food prepared with a unique twist by the shop's Taisho.

It is early in the new year, and Inogashira Goro (Matsushige Yutaka) arrives in snowy Asahikawa, Hokkaido for business. It seems he is having a busy start of the year, and he strives to finish his work on time. As a result, he feels jumpy every time his phone rings and could not relax. So he goes out of his hotel room and go for a little walk on a snowy day around the town. He eventually feels hungry, but before he could attend to his stomach, he buys some boots to use in order not to slip on the icy sidewalks. After looking around for an eatery that gives a sense of "the Hokkaido feeling", he settles on a tasteful izakaya with on old-fashioned and quiet feel, "Lone Drinking, Sanshiro". He is welcomed in by proprietress (Tokoshima Yoshiko). Goro then has a scrumptious and comforting meal consisting of shinkoyaki, omelet, mushroom soup and corn tea. The next morning, Goro goes to dyeing factory and meets with the company president (Morisaki Hiroyuki). Goro would like to order a "big catch" fisherman's flag for a client overseas. He is also given a tour of the workroom. Afterwards, feeling hungry, Goro begins looking for a shop and sees a sign of an eatery called "Jiyuken" just around the alley. Both the attendant (Nishihara Aki) and the Taisho (Hinda Hirotaro) greet him cordially. Since it is a "yakiniku/tonkatsu shop", Goro is torn between ordering meat or seafood. In the end, he chooses the latter: crab croquettes and hokke fry. Plus he orders the shop's famous dish which he finds very unusual: Miso Soup with rice...

This time Inogashira Goro travels to Tohoku. In Sendai, he met with his friend, Kishimoto who referred to him an autumn sales event project in Onagawa, a port town bent on starting anew after being devastated by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami Disaster. Later in the day, Goro ate at a restaurant called "Sui Sui" that sells Sendai's specialty, beef tongue, as well as "tail-yaki", prepared by a grumpy-looking Sui Sui master (Denden). The next day, he traveled via train to Ishinomaki. Upon arriving, he begrudgingly rented a light truck which he used to drive to Onagawa. He arrived at his destination: a new shopping district called "Seapal Pier Onagawa". There, he had a meeting with staff member Makihara (Mukai Osamu) who, along with people from the shopping district, implored him for his help to make the event successful. The relief he felt after the successful meeting for some reason made Goro feel hungry. He drove off in his light truck in search of a diner, and luckily, he found a good one along the way. Its name is "Live Seafood, New Konori". Once inside, he was greeted by the proprietress (Yo Kimiko). Browsing over the menu, Goro had a hard time choosing among the dishes offered: delectable fresh seafood rice bowls, fluffy conger eel tempura, sea urchin and seaweed dishes...

Inogashira Goro stood in the wasteland for some reason. We found one restaurant when we continued walking open land. Duo like robbery runs out as soon as was going to enter; and afterwards man with gun…! Goro exclaimed; woke up in favorite car then. We looked down on plan book and seem to have slept. We still had time until appointment and ran car to put in some stomach earlier. When we approach industrial area of Kawasaki and we remember "string" of yakiniku and go, it is what full. When we gave up and went to warehouse of Edagawa, we remembered "atom" of Edagawa with set meals and we dropped in, but closed a shop this time.

"Kodoku no Gurume 2018: Ōmisoka Special ~Tabe Osame! Setouchi Shucchō-hen~" (31 Dec. 2017, TV Tokyo) is a 90 minute SP, that stars Matsushige Yutaka in his signature role of Inogashira Goro, the foodie merchant, who prefers to eat alone. This time, Goro spends the last two days of the year traveling to Setouchi region in Western Japan, visiting and tasting the cuisine of three prefectures, Kagawa, Ehime, and Hiroshima. This is the series's first special to be shown on the last remaining hours of New Year's Eve. And it is also the first time that it features a live opening segment, with manga author Qusumi Masayuki, plus a surprise at the end! This special also stars Kimura Midoriko, Yamamura Momiji, Dankan, Takehara Shinji, and Emoto Akira

Kodoku no Gurume New Year's Eve SP: Kyoto-Nagoya Business Trip Edition (31 Dec. 2018) is the second SP held on a New Year's Eve that features parts that were broadcast live. This time, Goro (Matsushige Yutaka) goes to Kyoto on Dec. 30. In Kyoto, he yearns to eat unagi dish but fails to find it. Instead, he tries a shop called "Nashimote" that offers quintessential Kyoto cuisine, and enjoys a donabe meal that boasts of Kyoto's light and elegant cooking. He then goes and stays overnight at Nagoya. There, on the morning of Dec. 31, he starts his day at a coffeeshop called "Karasu" where he enjoys the shop's original blend coffee and anko-toast. After work later that day, he again intends to find an unagi shop. However, he is tempted to try a shop called "Hira" that serves the Nagoyan soul food, Taiwan Ramen. Goro couldn't help but dive into this new and spicy cuisine... He goes back to Tokyo that day, where he still has work to do. On the night of New Year's Eve, he meets with his last client, Maeda (Ito Shiro), the owner of a dango shop in Shibamata, Katsushika Ward. Goro who is still hoping to eat unagi on the last day of the year, asks Maeda if a nearby unagi shop is still open. Maeda replies that it is not. Will poor Goro not realize his wish for a Year-Crossing Unagi?

Inogashira Goro visits TV Tokyo for a job request. His client, Nagano Shota, a year-end special producer, makes an unreasonable request to appear on a New Year's Eve program. Exhausted by the absurd end of the year ritual that has become an annual tradition, Goro decides to take a real break this year and escapes with the final line, "Farewell! Tokyo"... Leaving his cell phone and laptop in Tokyo, Goro went on a digital detox vacation trip to Okinawa.