Solitary Gourmet

Mackerel-Sesame and Young fowl soup-taki of Nakasu, Hakata Ward, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture 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.

Shinkoyaki and Crab Crea~m Croquettes of Asahikawa, Hokkaido

Kodoku no Gurume 2016 SP: Manatsu no Tohoku-Miyagi Shucchou-hen

Our protaganist Inogashira Goro (Matsushige Yutaka) is working at the start of the New Year. It starts with a strange dream while taking a short nap inside his car which reminded him how hungry he feels. He tries to revisit two of the shops where he went before but for reasons, he cannot eat there. He decides to settle for any good shop he can find within the area where he has a job. He found a nearby shop called "Saisai Shokudou" which serves delicious Shanghai home cooked meals. Unfamiliar with the cuisine, he asks proprietress (Miyazaki Yoshiko) to help him choose the dishes. Later he goes to Tsudanuma, Chiba Prefecture where persistent client Sugihara (Kitamura Soichiro) asks him to stay at an office to continue working on a proposal. Before he knows it, it is already late in the night. Feeling hungry once again, he goes off to find some place to eat. He discovers a steakhouse called "Texas"...

a 76 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

In this year's New Year's SP, Goro continues to work and to dine alone. However, the Corona virus pandemic and lockdown have affected shops as well as Goro's business. Despite that, Goro continues to work hard, and eat the food that he enjoys while practicing precautions against the virus. For New Year's Eve, he was tasked to arrange a secret fireworks show for a client. The grumpy fireworks maker agreed to the job but since it's a busy season, Goro himself has to handle all the arrangements and set up. Will Goro be able to pull off a fireworks show by himself? The start and ending of the SP were filmed live! This SP also stars: Takahashi Katsumi, Ohkura Koji, Watanabe Makiko, Ikezu Shoko, Tsuda Kanji

Inokashira Goro (Matsushige) will travel in Hokkaido for two days and one night. He originally went to Tsukiji to work, but was entrusted by a client, hoping that he could help send things to relatives living in Hokkaido, so the story begins.