Solitary Gourmet

Tanmen and Pork Sukiyaki of Shimonita, Gunma Prefecture (7x4)

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Inogashira Goro (Matsushige Yutake) is in Shimonita, Gunma for business. He arrived too early so he strolled around a neighborhood that seems preserved in the Showa era. He decides to eat at a Chinese diner called "Ichiban" that boasts of its delicious tanmen and handmade gyoza, served by an elderly couple and their young apprentice Numata (Tozuka Junki). Next, at the request of city hall, Goro inspects an old brick warehouse that is being planned to be refurbished and reused. After business was done, he tries to head back to Tokyo but falls asleep at the station while waiting for the train. He blames station conductor (Masana Bokuzo) for not waking him up. Instead of staying at the station, he decides to eat for the meantime, and heads for a restaurant he saw earlier in the day. It was a sukiyaki shop known as "Columbia". The proprietress (Yamamoto Yoshie) tells Goro that pork is commonly used in sukiyaki in Shimonita, so Goro orders it. It is Goro's first time to have pork sukiyaki...