Solitary Gourmet

Our solitary protagonist travels outside Tokyo, this time to Chiba where he has an appointment with a staff from a popular wedding venue. Inogashira-san arrives in Shin-Urayasu, and marvels at the Western American-style lay-out of the town. Later on, his tour of the wedding facilities brings up certain memories for him... the time when he was in Paris with a famous actress. He ponders whether he has regrets about not ending up with her, and yet gets distracted by feelings of hunger. He goes in search for a place to eat and ends up in a stylish restaurant known as "Loco Dish..."

It had been a bad week for Inogashira-san. The lone merchant is in the doldrums after experiencing several set-backs in his dry goods business. He travels to Eifuku, Suginami to get some fresh air and to meet with an old friend. However, his meeting fails to push through and so he ends up whiling away his time fishing alone at "Musashino-en Fishing Pond." He experiences a sudden need to eat, and decides to try out the fishing facilities' own canteen...

Inogashira-san is in Saginomiya, Nakano to see a client who owns a hair salon. After a bizarre meeting with her, he goes off to visit a long-time friend and confidante. But before that, he gets sidetracked by a store that sells confectioneries. Then, finally, he arrives at his friend's store but is taken aback by what he sees. Later on, he seeks for a place to satisfy his hunger. So he decides to partake on a heavy-duty pork meal at a tonkatsu shop called "Miyako-ya"...

The lone merchant who says he can "eat anything," has had a sudden attack of indecision. His inability to decide on what and where to eat begins when he arrives in the casual, vibrant town of Kichijoji. This made him late for his meeting with a client - an owner of a jazz cafe. Afterwards, Inogashira-san finds himself back to his dilemma as he goes around town deciding where to eat. Finally, an odd feeling made him stop in front of a restaurant called "Kayashima." He steps inside and looks over the menu, only to get lost in the maze of varied dishes being offered...

After seeing off a client/friend at the airport, Inogashira-san passes through the Keihin Industrial Zone. Before embarking on a long drive back home, he stops and idly watches the view of steel infrastructure frameworks of the zone's steel mills and oil refineries from a distance. He is hypnotized and impressed by their immense size, towering smokestacks and complex design. And yet, it also somehow, reminds him of... well, food, most particularly, yakiniku. He goes in search of a yakiniku eatery in Hatcho-nawate, Kawasaki and settles for "Tsuruya" which offers solitary dining for individual customers. It's perfect for a ravenous lone wolf like Inogashira-san!

Inogashira-san spends a day-off watching his friend's play in Shimokitazawa. Somehow, he falls asleep towards the end of the play. Later, he learns that the lead actress had run off. He finds her afterwards wandering in the streets and decides to follow her, while tasting the street food along the way. He ends up introducing himself to the young lady, who in turn opens up to him about her troubles. Inogashira-san may not be able to offer words of comfort but at least he was able to give her his take-out food, hoping it would be enough to console her. He leaves and realizes he has yet one more thing to console... his own tummy. He goes off and stumbles upon "Hiroki," a shop that serves teppan-yaki and Hiroshima-style okonomi-yaki...

For his next appointment, Inogashira-san goes to Toshima Ward. He stops and buys from a cheerful fruit vendor who has a knack for telling puns. Then, he meets up with his client from the movie industry who in turn has a propensity to talk using mimetic words. Afterwards, Inogashira-san takes a stroll through a park and happily gazes at hard-working students from a nearby arts college, practicing their required routines. His growling tummy reminds him that it's time to eat so he goes back to a place where a diner had earlier caught his eye. It was "Dining Sekizawa," an eatery that offers a myriad of home-made, affordable set meals...

It's been three years since a friend of Inogashira, a weaving teacher, opened a French goods shop. He visits her and her shop in Nezu, Bunkyo, and was delighted to find her adjusting well. He notices that she is suited to her neighborhood with its warmth and laid-back atmosphere. After he takes his leave, he realizes he needs to go to the bathroom. A bit embarrassed, he had no choice but to use the facility of the nearest shop he could find, a nomiya or a drinking/eating establishment called "Sumire." Since he is feeling hungry, he decides to stay after finding out that not only drinks are being served but real meals as well. But then, an unruly drunk steps inside the shop...