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Private Notes
In Fukuoka Prefecture, southern Japan, Mr. Sonoda runs a company that installs and performs maintenance on mechanized parking structures. A few times a month, he cooks up lunch for his hard-working staff, as he knows that their job is rarely, if ever, one they get thanked for.
In another segment, we go to Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan to visit a company that develops aromatic therapy oils from scratch. When they go out to gather ingredients for their oils, they always have bento lunch right out in the wild.
Auto Race is professional motorcycle racing in Japan. We go to Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, to visit the Auto Race academy, where potential riders go through rigorous training to become professionals. Surprisingly, students are not allowed to talk when they have lunch, but there's a good reason for that.
In another segment, we visit a factory that makes customized lighting fixtures and streetlamps for shopping streets across Japan. We take a peek at the bento lunches of the workers there.
We visit the largest food industry trade show in Japan to not only look at the latest technologies and services in the industry, but more importantly to check out what food pros are having for lunch on such a big day.
In a different segment, we visit Gifu Prefecture, in central Japan to meet Junko, who sent us a message saying that her husband no longer needs her homemade bento because the cafeteria at his new workplace serves such amazing food. We dive into the cafeteria in question to investigate.
The cafeteria at the Ueno Campus of the Tokyo University of the Arts goes back to 1937. Mr. Kitazawa, the head chef of the cafeteria now is the son-in-law of the original head chef, and he's kept the kitchen running for 48 years straight since he married. From early in the morning till late at night, Mr. Kitazawa works hard to provide hearty, healthy dishes for students and faculty. But more importantly, he has the talent to make them smile with his humor and charming personality.
We visit a prison in Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, where about 500 inmates engage in prison work programs every day. We take a look at the bento lunches of the correction officers who keep watch over the inmates 24-7.
In another story, we cover a man who works for a company that manufacturers emergency rations. To know more about his trade, he eats only emergency rations for lunch every day, and the insight he's gained from that lunch style has turned him into a trusted voice in the industry.
An IT company in Shibuya, Tokyo, treats its employees with a canteen where they can eat for free. Although the canteen only offers one meal, the daily special, the employees just love the organic cooking. Just before the canteen opens for lunchtime, we wait to see which employee comes to eat first.
In another segment, we visit a group of ladies who are harvesting Nozawana greens, which are used to produce a very popular kind of Japanese pickles.
We visit the canteen of a taxi company in Tokyo to meet Hiroko Kawano. She's 77 years old but younger than ever, continuing her 34-year stint as the chef there. She acts as a mother figure for the taxi drivers, praying for their safety and cooking meals for 50 people.
We then visit Niigata Prefecture, the largest producer of knitwear in Japan. Take a peek into the secret techniques behind the clothing made here, and relish the tasty lunches that people bring to the factory.
Lunch for Rie Tamakoshi, a ward office employee in Shizuoka Prefecture, is far from conventional. She eats rice balls on the run! She's too busy balancing work and raising her kids to sit down and enjoy lunch. During her lunch break, she runs home while she eats, and once at her house, she does the laundry, cleans, and preps dinner before running back to her office again.
In another segment, we visit the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa to meet a public health nurse who has a surprising lunch of her own.
We go to Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, to visit a theme park that has more giant pandas than any other place in the country. In order to keep their aging pandas in good health, the panda keepers think of ways to take the pandas' blood pressure and X-rays.
In another segment, we meet a husband and wife who together produce Negi, or green onions. When we sit down for lunch with them, we learn their secret to growing good produce, and also how they maintain such a good relationship.
We visit the Tokyo office of a global IT company to learn about a special lunch the employees enjoy. Every other Friday, 3 chosen employees must work together to cook lunch for all 20 people at the office. The great thing about this lunch is that everyone gets their turn to cook without exception.
In a different segment, we visit a restaurant that serves classic Japanese-style Western dishes. But we don't just stay in the shop; we follow them to where they deliver their food!
We visit a ski resort that is among the largest in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan. As the staff who operate lifts and gondolas are stationed at different places across the gigantic resort, the commanding officer of the ski lift team personally drives a snowmobile to deliver bento to his people!
In another segment, we go to a different part of Iwate to visit a soy sauce brewery with a history of over 200 years that has had to rebuild their plant after the terrible tsunami of 2011.
Mr. Kobayashi made a bold decision in his life by quitting his job to become a craft cola maker. He started making cola as a hobby, even importing the main ingredient of cola nuts from Africa, but things soon turned serious. He keeps his lunch very simple, eating only plain rice balls so that he can discern the delicate flavors of the spices that go into his cola.
Stardust Revue is a popular band in Japan that has been performing for 38 long years. On the Tokyo leg of every tour they play, it is tradition for the band's percussionist to prepare curry lunch for his bandmates and the entire staff. The staff that have supported the band over decades are close like family, and it shows when they all sit down for their favorite curry lunch.
We go to Niigata City, situated by the Sea of Japan, to visit a jewelry shop that offers engagement and wedding rings. Most of the staff working there are women, and the chair of the company, who is also a woman, is passionate about nourishing her staff with the homemade lunch she cooks for them every day.
In another segment, we go to Saitama Prefecture, which neighbors Tokyo, to visit a small factory that makes most of the chocolate curls in Japan.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force Shizuhama Air Base is where young aspiring pilots learn to fly. Once a month, the cafeterias at all the self-defense force air bases serve their own version of fried chicken; we find out what Shizuhama has to offer.
A man who runs a restaurant with his wife in Japan applied for the chef position of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. It's a role that involves careful planning, as he must order just the right amount of food for the expedition to get through the 16-month stint in Antarctica; no additional food can be shipped there, and it is the rule for an expedition to leave none of their food behind. Tune in to see how the chef at the southernmost place on the planet gets to work in the kitchen.
Japanese artist Shu Kubo is world-renowned for the Kirie Japanese papercutting pieces he crafts. As he loves making pieces that depict seasonal foods, he frequently goes out to shop around for good-looking seasonal foods. After he finishes sketching the foods, he uses them to cook lunch.
Bjorn Heiberg is a Canadian man who runs a popular shop in Osaka Prefecture, Japan that sells Japanese kitchen knives. Mr. Heiberg's success is owed to how he runs his business: with heart and passion. Instead of just forcing craftsmen to sell knives for cheap, he invites them to do in-store demonstrations to give customers a thorough understanding of how the knives sold at his store are special and worth the money. And at lunchtime, Mr. Heiberg reveals a unique way of eating natto fermented soybeans!
Ms. Seki works in Tokyo as an editor for a manga magazine. The magazine is for girls in elementary school, and to win their hearts, Ms. Seki and the team must come up with good ideas for the Furoku, which is a little gift that comes with the magazine. It's a hard job as she must offer kawaii, or "cute" items that excite her young readers while minding the budget. Her days are all about checking the latest trends among young girls and recharging herself with spicy curry for lunch.
Mr. Shiozu of Nara Prefecture, western Japan, runs a nursery where he grows trees for bonsai use. Although he was himself an acclaimed bonsai artist, he opened the business as he began wanting to grow plants from the seed. For lunch, his wife makes the simple salt rice ball, but to it she adds on a special paste that lets the family enjoy the taste of spring all year round.
