★It’s already been a year since DEEPER TOKYO... A Chinese friend who watched the program kept asking me “Where are you going next? When will you air another episode?” He really likes japan and visits often, but doesn’t care for popular spots like Asakusa and Shinjuku. Instead, he immensely enjoys when I take him to run-down bars that people normally wouldn’t set foot in or to little-known bathhouses deep in the mountains. He might be a little strange. However, Aichi prefecture was unknown, even to him.

★Aichi prefecture is known for Nagoya, a city with unique culture located between Tokyo and Osaka. It’s known as an unusual city, which is pretty accurate, but only in a general way:) Nagoya’s renowned food is surprisingly normal, but delicious. At the Centrair complex in Chubu airport, you can see foreign visitors enjoying miso pork cutlets and hitsumabushi eel rice bowls. On a side note, the staring noodle shop on the platform of the bullet train is always crowded. Still, it’s fast, cheap, and tasty, so I always stop by.

★So what about the people? Is it true there are some odd characters? I haven’t known them very long, but the people we met on this trip were all very kind and fascinating. The director of the Takeshima Fantasy Museum was always smiling and full of energy!

The owner of the pub restaurant 1,000,000 Dollars was soft-spoken, but loves to joke around. The proprietor of the Tatsuki onsen bathhouse is reserved, but sits up straight at her post. These three just happened to all be the same age: 77! Incredible!

Their faces make me smile, and I want to see them again.

The people who aren’t in the show from the doll Kabuki theater, the Momotaro shrine, and the Antarctic exploration vessel were all very accommodating, and I’d like to express my gratitude to them.

★Finally, I can’t forget to mention Jun, the owner of Rock Bar Terazo.

A 72-year old active musician! There’s nothing ordinary about him. Whenever I see him, he has on a cool outfit and hat, smoking and drinking away! Hearing him sing and play guitar is always a knockout performance. He says that his artistic sense is the result of his encounter with aliens... and I believe him.

★I hope everyone reading this has the chance to visit Aichi prefecture and Nagoya’s mysterious hidden gems. It takes a little courage, but will leave an impact your heart will remember for the rest of your life. You’ll discover unique kindness unlike the kinds in Tokyo or Osaka.

