Actor Yutaka Matsushige attended a press conference for his starring drama "Kodoku no Gourmet Season 11" (TV Tokyo, Fridays at 12:12 AM) held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo) on April 16th. He spoke about how he has been experiencing inflation in the restaurant industry during filming.
Since its premiere in 2012, the series has grown into a popular show, thanks to its appetizing dishes, the bold eating style of Goro Inogashira (played by Matsushige), and his unique narrative style expressed through inner monologues.
Matsushige said, "We are currently in the middle of filming 'Season 11,' and inflation is terrible. The amount of money spent on food and drink is not outrageously high, but it's about 1.5 times what it was a few years ago. Inogashira Goro is a self-employed person, and as you can see if you watch the show, I don't think he has a job that earns that much money (laughs). Can he really spend 4,000 to 5,000 yen on dinner? It's sad that it's becoming so far removed from reality."
When asked the direct question, "Do you really eat all of the food?", he confidently replied, "I eat it all up." He continued, "It's all filmed in chronological order, in a documentary style, so I eat everything. It's been a promise since the beginning (of the drama). So please watch with peace of mind (laughs)," which drew laughter from the audience.
"Kodoku no Gourmet" is a live-action adaptation of the manga of the same name by Masayuki Kusumi (story) and Jiro Taniguchi (art), depicting the blissful time that Goro Inogashira, an import goods dealer, spends "eating freely" at restaurants he finds during his business trips. The new season, "Season 11," is currently airing, approximately three and a half years after "Season 10" which aired in October 2022. Last year, " Kodoku no Gourmet: The Movie," directed, written, and starring Matsushige himself, was released and became a hit, grossing over 1 billion yen at the box office.
