02x05 - Yakisoba Dog

Episode transcripts for the TV show "Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories". Aired: October 21, 2016 to present.*
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"Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories" revolves around a small eatery referred to as the Midnight Diner, which is only open from midnight to 7:00 AM. Droves of patrons flock to the Midnight Diner because of the great food and find simple yet profound connections with one another based on the shared love of a particular dish.
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02x05 - Yakisoba Dog

Post by bunniefuu »

When people finish their day
and hurry home,

my day starts.

My diner is open from midnight
to : in the morning.

They call it "Midnight Diner."

Do I even have customers?

More than you would expect.

MIDNIGHT DINER: TOKYO STORIES

YAKISOBA DOG

We don't keep bread,
because we mainly serve rice.

If some customers
really want to eat sandwiches,

they bring their own bread.

Here you go.

Welcome.

Master, make me the usual
with these, please.

You brought so many again today.

Please serve some to everyone
if they want.

Okay.

Here you are.

This is the one!

Mr. Kotani is a successful businessman
who runs cat cafés and dog cafés,

but somehow he always orders
this yakisoba sandwich here.

What's the point of putting
yakisoba noodles between bread?

They both contain carbohydrates, right?

I agree. Just looking at it makes me full.

That's why it's great.

Meat and carbohydrates
are essential to our youth, right?

Our youth.

Mr. Kotani, you seem to be so happy today.

Has anything good happened to you?

Thank you for asking!

My high school will participate

in the Spring National Invitational
High School Baseball Tournament.

For the first time in years!

Congratulations.

Well done!

They did their best.

Were you in the baseball club?

Yeah, as a substitute, though.

One of my classmates back then
is the manager now.

Please give him a glass.

Congrats. Would you like some?

Yes, please.

Ryu doesn't look like it,
but he played baseball in high school.

So I guess he understands very well
how he feels.

That manager promised me once

that he'd make sure to take his students
to Koshien Stadium one day.

He kept his promise for sure.

Yes.

No need to cry.

Let's celebrate!

Master, beer for everyone. They're on me!

Sure.

Mr. Kotani!

Long time no see!

Let's go for a drink!

He must be so happy
that he's been drinking every day since.

He was so drunk.

He stood up and started singing
his school song.

He made a mess at my bar, too.

At your place, too?

That's right.

He kept talking
to other customers persistently,

so I told him off, saying, "Stop it!"

You should've told him off, too, Master.

Next time he comes around.

Give him a break.

He works hard as the head of the company.

He must feel so pleased and nostalgic.

I like high school baseball games.

Young baseball players tickle
my motherly instinct.

I want to treat them with lots of food.

But they're the ones
who achieved the result, right?

Do high school baseball games
make adults get excited so much?

In spring and summer.

Isn't it one of the Japanese traditions?

What's wrong with getting excited
twice a year?

You're consistently excited
throughout the year.

Isn't that so?

What's wrong with Mr. Kotani?

He'd never been that drunk before.

Crap.

Thanks for the other night.

You're good!

Have you played baseball before?

You're so bad.
Is it true you were in the club?

Were you watching me?

I haven't played at all
since I was a high school student.

I've got some blisters on my hand.

But it's so nice
to play sometimes, isn't it?

It reminds me of high school days.

Nice batting!

Your form is not right.

What?

If you keep batting,
you'll get the right feeling back.

You won't easily forget
what you learned kinesthetically.

Here.

I'm sorry for being so drunk
the other day.

I understand how happy you are,

but don't you think
you drink too much lately?

Look at this.

MANAGER YOKOKAWA

"Keep making small efforts.

I want my students
to believe in themselves

and to play their baseball games
to the fullest."

He's a good manager, Mr. Yokokawa.

Right?

We both went to the university here
after graduating from high school.

During summer vacation, when we were ,

he told me to walk home to our hometown
in Kōchi prefecture. So I walked with him.

On foot? Why?

He played baseball in university,

but he injured his shoulder.

I think he was thinking
about his choices ahead.

It was when we were walking
a straight road along Suruga Bay,

if I remember correctly.

We bought a yakisoba sandwich,
the last one at a shop, and we shared it.

Yokokawa!

Let's take a break!

Hey!

Shut up and keep walking!

Then he told me...

"If I can make it home,
I'd continue playing baseball.

As I can't be a professional
baseball player any more,

I'll be a high school teacher
and take my students to Koshien Stadium."

You told me the other day.

He made it home on foot, but I couldn't.

I got diarrhea on the way
and went back to Tokyo by myself.

I see.

But I felt for sure at that time

that I should do something.

Because I couldn't live like Yokokawa.

Do you still see him?

Not at all after he graduated from
university and went back to our hometown.

I haven't paid him back

the money I owe him.

I see.

In that case, why don't you
donate the money to his school?

It'd cost a lot of money to go
to the national tournament, wouldn't it?

Donation.

That's not a bad idea.

Hello?

Are you Kotani?

It's me.

I talked to Yokokawa
for the first time in years.

He called me
because he learned about my donation.

That's great.

Thanks to you, Master.

I didn't do anything.
I just thought of an idea.

He remembered, too.

He said to me on the phone...

I finally kept my promise.

Here.

I wrapped them all up as you told me.
Do you want something to eat?

No, thank you.
I'm going somewhere far away.

Here. I don't need the change.
Please keep it.

Okay. Thank you.

Master, thank you.

By the way,

when I walked past Mr. Kotani's cat café,
it was closed.

Really?

I thought it was popular, wasn't it?

I heard so, too,

but according to the note, a new Taiwanese
tapioca shop will open next month.

Tapioca? What's that?

Don't you know? Tapioca.

Tapioca?

Tapioca.

Welcome.

Has the guy called Kotani been around?

Mr. Kotani?

I haven't seen him lately.

I see. That's fine.

What was that about?

A loan shark.

They're not very nice.

Kotani, come out!

You're there, aren't you?

According to Ryu, Mr. Kotani...


OVERDUE PAYMENT REMINDER LETTER

...his business had gone bad,

and he borrowed one million yen
from the company

and disappeared.

Come out, you! Hey!

Looking back at how drunk he was getting,
he might have felt desperate.

He looked so happy when he talked
about his donation to his school.

Maybe the money also came from...

Probably.

He can't come back to this town.

It must be nearly the end
of the hay fever season, right?

I'm allergic to Japanese cypress,
not to Japanese cedar.

I'm fed up with this.

Welcome.

Good evening.

Are you, perhaps...

I'm Yokokawa. Nice to meet you.

This is the classmate of Mr. Kotani
and the manager he was talking about.

Is that so?

I learned about the donation from Kotani.

He told me this diner's Master
had suggested he do it.

Yeah.

Thank you very much.

Is beer okay for you?

Yes.

It's on me.

To celebrate the participation
in the tournament.

Thank you, but...

Excuse me.

That was a close game, wasn't it?

We lost badly.

We managed to hit back and score
in the last inning at least,

and avoided a shutout game.

It's wonderful
just to participate in the tournament.

That's right.

Thank you.

I wish Mr. Kotani were as honest
as you are, even % as much as you.

You know about...

his debt, is that correct?

He came all the way to the stadium.

Did you see him?

Yes. He told me about the debt
at the time.

I haven't seen him since then.

We made a promise to meet up here.

Meet him? Here?

Yes.

Ryu!

Master, make me the usual
with these, please.

Sure.

This is Mr. Kenzaki.

He helped me so much
with the recent event.

This is Yokokawa.

The manager of my high school team
I told you about the other day.

I wish your team good luck
for the summer tournament.

Thank you.

I thought about k*lling myself by jumping
off a cliff after watching their game.

He told me off, saying,
"It's so silly to die because of money."

That's why I came back here.

Then I bumped into him in a batting cage.

Then, he sorted things out for you?

Yes, he did.

After Mr. Kenzaki talked to them,

they postponed the due date

and they even reduced the interest.

Thank you so much for saving my life.

You should choose your friends.

For your students, too.

I'll make sure
that he keeps his promise to you.

Hey...

Yokokawa, what do you mean by that?

Mr. Kotani...

you're so clueless.

If you miss paying back your debt,

Ryu also needs to take responsibility,
as he protected you.

Ryu is too nice.

I was so happy about your donation.

I'd be happier if the money
wasn't from the loan company.

Here you are.

Mr. Kotani always orders this.

When I was in university,
we tried to walk to our hometown.

We shared this on the way.

Yes, he told me about it.

At first, he said, "I won't eat it.

I don't get hungry, because I don't play
sports as much as you do."

A weird theory.

But his stomach was rumbling.

So, I asked him to cut it in half,
and then he did...

Like this.

It's not even at all.

He looked at me like a puppy.

He gave me...

the bigger one.

That's a nice story.

That's the time when you were depressed...

because you couldn't
play baseball any more.

At that time...

when I saw the wistful look on your face,

I felt so much better.

I felt like thinking
about my future a little, like,

"Even not as a player,

I can be involved
with baseball in different ways."

You made us go to Koshien Stadium.

I'm sure you can get over this.

It's my turn to support you.

Eat this.

THIS STORY IS A WORK OF FICTION
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