On Netflix, there is this short “slice of life” TV series called Samurai Gourmet.  It’s a pretty short show (about 20 min per episode) about a retired Japanese salary man (re)discovering the pleasures of eating out at different restaurants.  The lead actor’s facial expression is clearly exaggerated when he eats at these different restaurants.  But this exaggeration helps drive the nostalgic experiences and memories about eating the food.  This adds to the “slice of life” feeling that drives show.

The interesting twist in this show is the appearance of 18th/19th century wandering samurai.  The samurai motif comes into play at critical junctures in each episode that ends up deflecting the “artificially built up tension” and have it resolved in a positive manner.  It’s interesting to note that I think Japan is the only place where where loud, rude, obnoxious guests would later apologize for their behavior to bring about a happy ending.

If you have Netflix, it’s worth maybe 2-3 hours of your time.  If anything, the food porn isn’t too bad.