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Trippin' to Japan (via Netflix)

Last summer, a tiny little article in a magazine (I don't even remember which one) suggested the Japanese reality program Terrace House: Boys and Girls in the City as potentially addictive summer viewing. Sure, the article admitted, nothing really happens, but it's completely mesmerizing nothingness. I mentioned it to Mr. Plow, but he was not intrigued, so I retreated to the bedroom television and pulled up Episode 1 on the Netflix. And I was hooked. And within a few minutes, Mr. Plow wandered in, started watching, and also got hooked. This small moment led to a year of binge-watching several Japanese shows on Netflix, all with one common theme - food! - and with several ancillary themes like relationships, dating, working life, daily customs, as well as other aspects of interpersonal connections.

Terrace House: Boys and Girls in the City
Terrace House: Aloha State
Terrace House: Opening New Doors
Konbanwa! Terrace House has enjoyed long-running success in its native Japan and is currently in its third iteration on Netflix. As it often the case, the first season, "Boys and Girls in the City," is the best, probably because the otherness of the entire concept is so engaging. Simply put, Terrace House is a reality show akin to MTV's classic Real World franchise, but with several striking differences. First, while a group of six strangers are picked to live in a house, they also carry on with their actual lives, working or attending college. Second, the housemates all possess some important reason for moving into the Terrace House. Sure, some want romance, but others are simply looking to realize a dream or complete a project. Finally, you watch each episode along with a group of six Japanese celebrities/commentators, so during three segments in each episode, you get in-the-moment feedback from the six folks who are watching along with you.

In "Boys and Girls in the City," the houseguests, including aspiring tap dancer Yuki and successful hair stylist Uchi, live in a fabulous Tokyo townhouse. Over the course of the forty-six episodes, houseguests come and go and viewers learn all about Japanese dating customs (hand holding is serious business, y'all!) and food preparation (a "hamburger" is served over rice and with a gravy, not on a bun).

"Aloha State" is, as you might guess, set in Hawaii (which detracts a bit from the other-appeal of the first season) and features several memorable houseguests, including professional surfer Guy Sato and aspiring model Lauren Tsai. The latest season, "Opening New Doors," finds the houseguests living in a rural house in the snowy mountains of Nagano. It also features one of the best budding romances of any of the three seasons - the unlikely pairing of male model Shion Okamoto and female hockey star Tsubasa Sato.

Samurai Gourmet
Samurai Gourmet is a scripted, fictional series that puts the main character in actual restaurants. The show follows the daily life of newly-retired Takeshi Kasumi, played by the charming actor Naoto Takenaka (undeniably cute in his plaid shirt and New Balance sneakers), as he learns to navigate his new-found free time by enjoying long, leisurely, and delicious lunches. Usually, each episode presents some kind of complication (for example, an unnecessarily gruff yakitori chef who refuses special requests) that requires Takeshi to summon his inner samurai in order to resolve a potential conflict. Throughout the series, Takeshi eats a lot of delicious food (traditional ramen, a mackerel breakfast, a bento box, some hashed beef) and he drinks a lot of big, cold beers. Oishi!

 Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman
Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman is a bit like watching absurdist theater, especially when Kantaro's desserts become anthropomorphized and engage in superhero battles or LaLaLand-esque dance numbers! This series again blends the fictional, scripted world of Kantaro with some of Tokyo's very best (and very real) sweet shops. Kantaro is an underpaid, overworked salesman for a publishing firm, but his true passion is sweets. So each day, he hurriedly completes his sales calls so that he can slip away for an hour to indulge in a decadent dessert. And what desserts - giant, architectural shaved ice treats; chocolate delicacies at a bean-to-bar shop; tons of bowls of syrup and red beans; hotcakes! You're right - it seems ridiculous, but it's also a whole lot of fun!

 Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories
Midnight Diner is a fictional series set in a small Tokyo izakaya that is only open from midnight until sunrise, a haven for those who seek the comfort of food. Each episode features a different customer with a unique problem that can only be assuaged by the delicious, homestyle creations of the chef - known only as "Master." For example, a ham cutlet helps reunite long-estranged brothers, a sautéed yam rekindles an old romance, and a fish corn dog resolves a decades-old dispute between two aging comedians. The result is transcendent: food is nurture and comfort and love and security; food creates bonds and community and family; food can soothe and console and restore.

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