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Private Notes
It has been 3 months and counting since arriving at his wife's family home in Tokyo. Bryan is struggling with the cultural norm of allowing his 6-year-old daughter Alice to walk to school by herself, but his wife Itsuki brushes his protests away because “Japan is so safe!” Expecting Tokyo to be full of high-tech robots, Bryan is a little disappointed with the calm reality but, as he takes to the streets, he soon notices that something entirely less advanced safeguards the city: good ol' fashioned kind-heartedness!
Bryan is doing his best to master the art of being a Japanese homemaker, but his days more often end in failure than not. Seeing Bryan at a loss, Itsuki suggests he heads down to the local sento (public bath), a favorite spot of her father's. His first ever sento experience begins with trepidation, but he slowly relaxes into the warm waters, relaxing and loosening up for the first time since he arrived in Tokyo... unfortunately his tongue loosens up a bit too much...
Alice is the new kid in her grade 1 elementary school class. With the school canteen out of commission, parents must prepare lunchboxes for a while- and, unfortunately, Alice knows exactly what this means! The lunchboxes that Bryan makes are vastly different to those of her classmates. Her pleas to her father to make her a cute Japanese lunchbox fall on deaf ears, with Bryan seeing his sandwiches as representing their British heritage. A family crisis looms until Itsuki has an interesting idea...
This newly formed family head out for a special dinner on the night of Bryan and Itsuki's wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, the venue for this meal happens to be the very same restaurant that Bryan visited 8 years ago and got a rather shocking baptism into the extreme end of Japanese cuisine. Back to the present day, over the backdrop of Japanese table manners and food, a battle of male pride takes an unforeseen turn...
When Bryan sees his daughter Alice practicing Japanese calligraphy with a brush and ink, he is struck by how outdated it all seems… When do you need to use a pen nowadays, let alone a brush?! Whilst claiming computers to be more convenient, he is encouraged by Itsuki to try a calligraphy class held by a well-known, yet eccentric, teacher.
In Bryan's view, Valentine's Day in Japan has gotten out of hand: so many chocolates, given to so many people? with so many different meanings! Furthermore, his excitement at receiving his first Valentine chocolates from Itsuki is tempered by a growing doubt about her secret crush! A cultural misunderstanding looks to spiral out of control in a mystery that takes Bryan from the baseball batting cage to a soccer (ahem, football) pitch…
Bryan loves Japanese horror films… or at least he thought so, until he somehow found himself as the star of his own scary movie! What was supposed to be a nice birthday trip to a mountain hot spring with his wife and daughter takes a mysterious turn, when he learns way more about Japanese ghosts and yokai than he ever wanted to!
When Bryan's possessions arrive from the UK he just cannot get rid of anything - so much stuff with precious memories! While having his living room covered in moving boxes is an annoyance for Tsuneo, it also pushes him to tackle some tidying up he has been avoiding since the death of his wife. How do you tidy up, the Japanese way?
July 7 is the Tanabata Festival, marked by yukatas, wishes - and baking summer temperatures! While Bryan tries to find the best way to cool down during the Tokyo heatwave, Alice is trying to come to terms with her friend Touya moving away. Perhaps Bryan can find a way to cheer Alice up and bring his temperature down at the same time!
The Japanese business world has long been a mystery to Bryan with its late-night socializing and after-hours meetings over drinks, so he relishes the chance when Itsuki invites him to her office to advise on the mascot character for the company's global expansion. He gets more than he bargained for when he comes face-to-face with some old-school decision making and an even more traditional Japanese drinking establishment.
When a Japanese tea ceremony master with a connection to Itsuki's late mother shows up, the family goes on a journey that takes in a busy work schedule, missed dance recitals and a bizarre English afternoon tea party! Throughout it all, the Japanese phrase "Ichi-go Ichi-e" keeps popping up, which Bryan is told means "once in a lifetime." When the family finally slows down enough to appreciate a quiet moment, he realizes that it has a far deeper meaning than he first thought.
With his wife Itsuki on a business trip abroad, Bryan and Tsuneo set about preparing the Matsuyama-Jenkins household for an incoming typhoon. However, nothing could prepare them for the arrival of Tsuneo's great-niece, Setsuko. Having spent time in the US, "Sets" is not the quiet little girl that Tsuneo remembers and Bryan starts to feel jealous of Alice's "new best friend"! To bring the family together, they dust off his box of Japanese games, but this just brings out everyone's competitive spirit!
With new-arrival Setsuko taking over cooking and baby-sitting duties, Bryan is enjoying life! That is until Alice starts to miss her mum's special ramen dish and is forced to confront a previous traumatic noodle experience! With the help of a grumpy ramen shop owner and his wife, Bryan learns that there is more to ramen than meets the eye, that slurping is encouraged and that, above all in Japan, the customer is a god!
Tsuneo is none too happy that Setsuko's focus has shifted from job-hunting to her new boyfriend, Sho. Especially as his style is a little too funky for Tsuneo's tastes. His overreaction causes a rift in the Matsuyama-Jenkins household, so, while Setsuko does finally attend an interview, Bryan and Tsuneo head to Sho's hometown to repair the damage. Bryan discovers a new local side to Japan, and Tsuneo learns not to judge a book by its cover - nor a boyfriend by his funky jacket!
As the traditional spring equinox approaches, Bryan learns what Oni (Japanese demons) are, but Alice and Setsuko have to face up to real-life challenges far scarier than an angry, red mask. With some inspiration from the tale of Momotaro (The Peach Boy), and some symbolic soybeans, the Matsuyama-Jenkins family come together to drive their demons out and keep their good luck in!
