Meals in Japan are not just food items on a table. They go beyond to act as social agents that bring people together. Food culture in Japan often involves mandatory after-work meals with colleagues, get-together dinners among friends, and features strongly in several traditional rituals. Japanese cuisine places heavy importance on seafood and seasonal ingredients, which is what makes it so different and varied across the year. If you've watched any anime or Japanese movie before, you've surely noticed the mouth-watering spread across every table during a scene set in a restaurant or dining room.
While the Oishii Kankei was adapted into a TV series in 1996, it set forward a chain of similar movies that revolved around Japanese food and the protagonists struggle to achieve their dreams of being a chef or owning their own bakery. Adapted from a manga of the same name, Oishii Kankeii was a 10 episode long TV series revolving around a young woman who loses her father and must now support herself. She does so by signing up as an apprentice at a French restaurant. Though she applied for the job on a whim, throughout the series she grows to appreciate the food, its preparation and her respect towards the owner increases as well. The drama was so popular that there was a Taiwanese film remake of it as well, in 2007.
You certainly don't have to be familiar with Japanese ingredients and seasoning to enjoy the close-up shots of rolled sushi, steaming miso soup or the savoury chicken legs sold on sticks in fairs. If you enjoy watching films centering around uncommon friendships, characters running after their dream to open the best restaurant or trying to keep the memory of their grandmother alive via food - we've listed down some amazing Japanese films for food lovers like you!
1. Rinco’s Restaurant
A bad breakup causes Rinco to lose her voice. Not only did her boyfriend leave her, but he stole all her belongings as well. Broke and broken, he decides to go back and visit her mother in their village to recover and to find happiness again. While Rinco and her mother haven't been very close in the past, the two try to mend relationships while cohabiting along with a talking pig. At this mountain village, Rinco decides to open a special restaurant - a place with no menu. Now, if that synopsis didn't throw you off already, there's a reason why Rinco's Restaurant is so special. Rinco aims to only serve one customer a day, dedicating all her energy to the proper and thoughtful serving of their taste buds.
This movie is equal parts dreamy and non-sensical. While it focuses more on the mother-daughter duo rebuilding their relationship, it is also about Rinco rediscovering herself along the way while trying to scrape by and assemble enough money to achieve her dream. Using the secret ingredient in a pot of miso soup left behind for her by her grandmother, she manages to restore an old shed, and begin her business along with the help of Kuma-san, an old family friend. If you enjoy watching movies that advocate living a slow, peaceful life while enjoying every spicy meal, then this is the movie for you. There is also a badly animated pig in the mix.
2. Seagull Diner
The early 2000s saw a huge rise in food-related movies. However, amongst all the big-name releases was a small, low-budget movie, often overlooked. When Seagull Diner was first released, only limited theatres chose to play it. However, after enjoying full occupancy and word-of-mouth advertising, the movie began to gain followers and appear in posters, rental shops, online platforms and more theatres. The film revolves around Sachie, an independent woman in her 30s who decides to open a Japanese restaurant in Finland.
However, no one seems inclined to visit this restaurant and as the months go by, Sachie struggles to make ends meet. However, when the first customer does enter, Sachie and he warm right up to one another. As the customers come in one by one, Sachie talks and connects with them and realises that what's missing in her restaurant is a Finnish twist on her cuisine! She then sets forward to reinvent her menu with local additions and in the process, learns more about the place she lives in. This is a beautiful movie about how two different and jarring cultures can still find common grounds and help one another grow.
3. The Chef of the South Pole
Based on the autobiography of an actual chef, this movie is certainly among the top ten Japanese movies I would recommend to anyone, anytime. Nishimura is a chef. And now, he has been assigned with a humongous task - leave his family for a year and cook for an expedition heading towards the South Pole. The premise of the film invites interesting cinematography. What can one showcase across the white, barren snow? However, the framing of both the crew and the food is exemplary and one particular scene of the cast standing against a sapphire blue sky will always be etched in my memory.
The film is made by the characters. Their harmony, their comedic timing, their chemistry and their reactions to Nishimura's experiments. If you're looking for accuracy, then these expectations will have to take a backseat. There are penguins and seals frolicking around, and characters roaming around in -50 degree celsius with no scarf or face cover. However, this movie is about so much more than that. Shot in Hokkaido, with a limited budget, make sure you watch this movie is you're looking for a night of laughter.
4. Tampopo
Not all food-related movies have to be about top-chefs following their quest to make the most gourmet meal ever! And Tampopo is here to prove that. Set in a local family-run ramen shop frequented by passing truck drivers, it follows the tale of the owner Tampopo, who tries to make the best noodles ever for his customers. The movie contains several small stories with each one being connected to the next one by a single thread. Overall, Tampopo comes across all sorts of characters with a different penchant for food and lifestyle. Each short story heavily features food as its main theme with steaming bowls of ramen being dished around.
The main characters also include two truck drivers - Gun and Goro, who frequently come to the ramen shop, and decide to help the widowed Tampopo achieve his dream. Their efforts are hampered by a rival shop that seems to keep drawing in all their customers. A gangster, a French housewife, a petulant old lady, a competitor who can stoop low - Tampopo is a dreamy mix that can leave you feeling good for hours. Also, who would want to miss out on a younger Ken Watanabe?
5. Jiro Dreams of Sushi
After the funny, loud and sometimes outrageous movies on the list, I've included a sober autobiography based on the life of famous sushi master Jiro Ono. Jiro Ono is a master in his art and has a legacy spanning decades and owner of a sushi restaurant located in a Tokyo subway station that has only 10 seats. Alongside, are his two younger sons who are also sushi chefs, but are faced with the daunting task of living up to their father's legacy.
This movie is a great behind-the-scenes look at the food industry and the amount of hard work one needs to put in to succeed. As the camera pans across Jiro's dexterous fingers, we can see just how elegant the craft is and the amount of perseverance required. He brings the craft to life and serves food based on the taste of each customer - how they sit, which is their dominant arm, how do they speak, how do they savour food - he observes it all. The thing about autobiographical movies is that we often have to like the person themselves, and Jiro Ono is very likeable. He cuts a charming figure and is the very definition of a humble and observant man who has dedicated his entire life to one craft.
Additionally, you can also watch Little Forest, which we've already discussed in another post. Are there any other movies you would have liked to see on this list? Let us know in the comments below.
Author
Nayanika