Lunch ON!

The 2016 earthquake damaged Kumamoto Castle, leaving its stone walls crumbling. We meet the stonemasons carefully restoring each stone to its original place and discover what they do for lunch.

We visit a Hakata ori textile manufacturer with over 160 years of history and explore the kimono sash designs created by their youngest worker, who is in her third year with the company. In another segment, we tour a laptop factory in Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, discovering the various processes involved in laptop production. During lunchtime, we also take a look at the bento lunches that keep the workers energized.

This episode features a collection of onigiri rice balls that fuel artisans across Japan. From a roof tile artisan who loves rice cooked in a clay pot to beat the summer heat, to gardeners managing the Japanese garden of a museum—what kind of onigiri keeps them going? We also visit workplaces of other masters of their craft, including ink makers and metalworkers, showcasing their unique and carefully made onigiri.

Mr. Masuki is a fisherman in Hiroshima. On weekends, his son joins him at sea to catch conger eel, and after a morning of hard work, the two enjoy lunch at their favorite spot.

Photographer Abe Satoru visits a workshop in Yamagata that makes kendama, a Japanese toy, and takes a look at the artisans' bentos. We also visit the late singer-songwriter KAN's favorite lunch spot.

We meet a 10-year-old boy and his father, who have been living together since his parents' divorce. The boy has been cooking since he was four, and now, he makes bento every day for his father.

In Marunouchi, Tokyo, we dive into the thoughts and unforgettable lunch experiences of new employees! We also meet new employees at both a supermarket and a workshop that crafts metal cooking pots.

In this special episode, we meet new employees working in various fields and hear their most memorable lunch stories, including a man from a sporting goods company running his first full marathon.

In Shizuoka, we meet a six-generation mikan tangerine farming family, with four generations still active. During harvest, the family and friends work together, then enjoy a delicious outdoor lunch.

A woman in charge of staff lunches at a Tokyo design company cooks in the morning and works as an assistant designer in the afternoon. Tune in and check out the amazing lunches she cooks up.

In Fukuoka City, household trash is collected at midnight. Join us as we take a look at the garbage collectors' late-night meal break, their daily challenges, and their dedication to the job.

Two women farmers in Ibaraki who live together make dried sweet potatoes from scratch. From cultivating to processing, they handle it all themselves. For lunch, they head to their favorite diner.

We visit a lacquer artisan rebuilding Shuri Castle in Okinawa, which was destroyed in a 2019 fire. He leads a team of young craftspeople, and for lunch, enjoys a delicious bento made by his wife.

We visit a farm run by a couple and their three sons in Chiba Prefecture that produces a vegetable called "okahijiki." Come lunchtime, the whole family sits down together for a tasty okahijiki meal!

We head to a well-known theme park in Osaka Prefecture to explore the cafeterias serving a staff of 10 thousand. We chat with staff members handling diverse roles to delve into the delightful lunches they enjoy.

A special episode on Toyama Prefecture. Photographer Abe Satoru captures the lunches of glass shrimp fishers. Also, meet a temple bell artisan, and lastly, take a ride on the Kurobe Gorge Railway.

The craftspeople at a golf club factory in Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture, produce quality golf clubs for players across the world. At lunchtime, almost all the employees have tasty meals at the cafeteria.

In this special episode devoted to the lunches found in the prefecture of Gunma, we visit a daruma doll factory, a national park and an old-school theme park that the children just love!

Itsuki, a third-grade boy, loves his swimming school coaches. He wrote to us wishing to join them for lunch. His wish came true; he had lunch with them after a special tour of their room.

This episode features two new recruits at places known for delicious food: a trainee at a renowned Chinese restaurant in Tokyo and a chef at a hotel buffet!

We tag along with a soba shop delivery person to ask if we can do a lunch story on the people who order in for lunch in the busy Higashi-Ginza district of Tokyo.

Take a trip to Kakegawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, home to one of the world's leading piano factories, where skilled artisans carefully craft each instrument through specialized processes.

In Shizuoka Prefecture, a unique workplace serves spicy curry as staff meals three times a day. This practice started for the Indian employees at the Japanese subsidiary of an IT company headquartered in India, but it has since become a favorite among the Japanese workers as well. Curious about the taste? Watch and find out! In the Lunch ON! Overseas segment, we have correspondents from Mozambique and Benin in Africa, and the Republic of Fiji, give us a taste of the lunches they enjoy.

Falconers are people who breed and train hawks for hunting. The ancient art of falconry is now being applied to combat pest birds such as crows and pigeons. Receiving requests from farms, factories, golf courses, etc., falconers regularly release hawks to drive away these pests. Tune in to check out the work of falconers and what they do for lunch. In a different segment, we follow the delivery bike of a soba noodle shop in Kamata, Tokyo, to meet the working people who order in for lunch!

In Okayama Prefecture, seaweed is harvested from winter to early spring. We visit a couple who farm seaweed and enjoy okonomiyaki savory pancakes and fun stories at a local eatery.

In Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, we explore a salt production plant damaged by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January 2024. We then visit a bakery in Tokyo loved by musician Sakamoto Ryuichi.

A confectionery in Omihachiman, Shiga Prefecture, has a history that goes back some 150 years. The premises of its headquarters feature an incredible garden and forest maintained by an in-house team of gardeners. We check out what lunches they have to keep their stamina up! In another segment, we visit a factory that manufactures hearses to meet the demands of today. Tune in to discover the techniques involved in making hearses and find out what the professionals do for lunch!

We visit Sado, Niigata Prefecture, to meet a renowned taiko drum performance group that plays concerts worldwide. The 67 performers and staff members live together at a training facility, immersing themselves in their practice. Their meals, prepared by three dedicated women, are infused with the unique flavors of Sado, including local wild plants. Additionally, we pay tribute to the late comedian Sakata Toshio, who enjoyed a special rice omelet at a local café he frequented.

We hop on a dredging ship that removes sediment from the seabed to allow large ships to navigate in the Port of Nagoya. The crew's biggest joy is the delicious meals prepared by the onboard cooks!

An auto repair shop in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture serves a rice bowl once a week. Ms. Kuroda, who helped run the company for years with her late husband, started making these meals at the age of 70.

We begin the Ehime Prefecture Special at a mikan orange farm where a young man is diligently growing mikan and avocados on land inherited from his grandparents. He and his grandparents don't work together, but they share delicious lunch daily. In another segment, we visit Matsuyama to check out their tram system and the lunches that make it all possible. Lastly, we feature a man who devotes his life to the exciting sport of bull wrestling, and take a look at the tasty lunch that keeps him going.

This episode features a selection of lunches enjoyed by people working in various railway jobs that we've covered so far. We'll see how workers responsible for railway signals enjoy dandan noodles prepared by younger team members. Also in this episode are: the lunch of a new attendant at Echizen Railway in Fukui Prefecture, Wakayama Electric Railway's famous "cat stationmaster," a maintenance crew in Hiroshima, and the rare Doctor Yellow bullet train that brings joy to all who see it!

We visit the Echizen Matsushima Aquarium, where, for some reason, many staff members eat instant noodles for lunch. Join us as we explore the work they do and the reason behind the instant noodles.

We go to a town in Niigata Prefecture to visit a craft beer brewery that was established as part of a project to revitalize the local economy. The owner of the brewery works together with her only employee to do everything from brewing, packaging, delivering, to selling their excellent beers. They are particularly busy when they begin preparing a new batch, so to save time, the owner brings a hearty lunch that she's cooked up for herself and her employee. Tune in and join the yummy fun!

Mr. Sengoku is the chief editor of a vegetable gardening magazine, but he does much more than just edit articles at his desk; he actually goes to the field to conduct some of the farming experiments he writes about. Although he was not at all into vegetable farming when he started, he soon came to love it so much that he sold his apartment in Tokyo to move to the countryside where he can farm more. His wife prepares delicious bento for him every day using the vegetables he grows!

This episode is dedicated to highlighting the delicious lunches found in Niigata Prefecture. First, we meet a farming family that grows exquisite soybeans and delicious rice. We then head to the factory of an internationally-acclaimed manufacturer of cutting tools, whose employee cafeteria serves exceptionally delicious lunches for free to its crafters and staff every day. We finish off with a story about a young man training to become a crafter of blades for hand planes.

Kagawa Prefecture is famous for udon noodles! We visit Mr. Onishi, who crafts exceptional rolling pins used to make udon. As it is a cherished tradition in this region for people to make their own udon at home, the demand for these rolling pins, which ensure perfectly formed dough, has been steadily increasing. Renowned for their straightness, Mr. Onishi's rolling pins have become highly sought-after, with sales managed by his wife, Misako. And for lunch, the two have a wonderful udon meal!

Mr. Torii lost his eyesight at the age of two, but he didn't let that hold him back. He currently works for a pharmaceutical company, primarily from the comfort of his own home, where he also prepares his own lunches. He started cooking in middle school but was constantly faced with numerous challenges, such as burns and other mishaps. Nevertheless, he's developed a unique cooking style by relying on his sense of touch, keeping his ingredients and utensils within easy reach, and measuring seasonings with his hands. Today, Mr. Torii's cooking serves as a refresher during his work breaks.

In Koga City, Fukuoka Prefecture, lies Japan's number one company in the glow stick industry. The founder and current president, Mr. Harada Shiro, is still actively involved in product development at the age of 78. Glow sticks are a must-have for pop idol concerts in Japan, and they also produce light-up bobbers for night fishing. Their headquarters boasts a pizza oven in the garden, where the employees enjoy a special lunchtime treat featuring the president and staff's signature dishes under the blue sky.

For our Miyazaki Prefecture Special, we meet Mr. Komura Wataru, the second-generation president of a plant company that cultivates and sells around 30 types of palm trees and other tropical plants. Join us as photographer Abe Satoru reports on the lunch enjoyed by the company's gardening pros. We also head to a shochu liquor manufacturer that has been operating for over 130 years. The company produces shochu's raw ingredients such as barley, rice, and sweet potatoes through organic farming. Tune in to find out what the shochu artisans do for lunch!

Mr. Asakawa, who works as a curator at a museum in Iwate Prefecture, restores the items of his museum that were damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. When we take a peek at his bento lunch, we find out that the food inside was sent to him from his grandmother and mother in Tokyo! It turns out they send him a box full of home-cooked dishes once or twice a month. But the food care package is not only about the food; it's also a means of communication and connection with his distant family.

This episode is dedicated to bringing you stories from our correspondents all over the world! We hear from a production coordinator/videographer in Mexico who cooks Japanese cuisine with local ingredients. And then, we check out the Lebanese lunch enjoyed by a doctor from Osaka Prefecture who is spending two months inside a refugee camp in Lebanon to provide medical training to other doctors. We also check out stories from Los Angeles and the Italian city of Brescia. Don't miss it!

Awaji Island is known for ornamental roof tiles called "onigawara." The artisans who make these tiles are known as "onishi." Okitsu Naoko is an apprentice of the craft who trains daily to become a full-fledged artisan. She and her husband, the onigawara workshop's president, eat udon noodles for lunch virtually every day. The quick and easy lunch allows for Naoko to spend her time honing her skills. We also visit a forestry academy to see what the trainees eat for lunch outside in the snow.

Muay Thai is recently gaining popularity in Japan not just as a martial art, but also as a method of exercise. We visit a Muay Thai gym in the city of Nagoya where all the personal trainers are professional fighters. Whenever a fight nears, they have to go through the grueling process of cutting weight, but luckily, they have delicious, yet healthy low-fat-low-carb staff lunch every day that makes it all a little easier.

On March 18, 2023, a new train route started between the Sotetsu Line, which provides its service around Yokohama City, and the Tokyu Line. We'll take a look at how the drivers train and how their dedication to safety is rewarded with some hearty lunches at the company cafeteria. We also visit a manufacturing company in Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture, a location famous for its lacquerware. They leverage the latest technology to create one-of-a-kind plates used in conveyor belt sushi restaurants.

This episode focuses on the work of the Inspection Institute of Weights and Measures. Did you know that there are professionals who inspect the precision of devices such as taxi meters, gas pumps and scales found in schools and supermarkets? Accurate measurements are crucial in our daily lives, and these civil servants make sure that everything is in order. Come see the lunches that the inspectors enjoy during their busy schedule.

This episode features a college professor who loves pork cutlet curry so much that he made a database of every version of the dish he ate around the city, numerically detailing the taste, color, spiciness, amount of rice, etc., of each one. He also keeps an image database of each bento lunch he makes for himself, and through analysis, has established the ideal format in terms of how much room is afforded to what type of dish in the box. Let's get scientific about lunch!

Come and meet an 18-year-old rookie carpenter who just started training at a construction company that specializes in shrines and temples. He lives in the company dorm, and as part of his training, he must cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner for eight people in under 30 minutes. This is an especially important task as it teaches the workers how to plan out their work. We take an in-depth look at a young man's carpentry training and lunch.

Japan's oldest general weekly magazine ended publication in 2023. Every week, for roughly a century, the Shukan Asahi kept going strong, even when print media had turned into a thing of the past. What do the people at the editorial team get for lunch as the end draws near? To find out, we follow the lunch stories of three people of different generations: a 27-year-old journalist, a veteran designer in his 60s, and the editor-in-chief who is also a mother of three.

The Yasuda family all live apart from one another across the globe. The father is a director of a clinic in Miyagi Prefecture, the mother is working as a Japanese language teaching assistant in Vietnam, the eldest daughter works for the UN in Uganda, the younger daughter lives in Osaka working as a pediatrician, and the son lives in Hokkaido working as a general practitioner. But they all share what they had for lunch every day in the family's group chat!

We visit a small fish taxidermy workshop in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture. The workshop receives requests from aquariums, museums, and fishermen for display and commemorative purposes. The workshop is run by Mr. Ogawa, who skins the fish and colors them himself. Mr. Ogawa is always in a hurry to finish his lunch so he can devote his time to his latest creation! In another segment, we check out the lunch of Ms. Makino, a viola player in the BBC Philharmonic.

In this special episode, we present a heartwarming drama of how a factory worker fell in love with a woman working at the company cafeteria and how the two eventually got married!

Our story is about a woman who has two very different jobs at two very different locations, with two very different lunches! Tune in to find out more!

At the summit of Mount Ontake, which soars 3,000 meters over central Japan, there are construction workers hard at work rebuilding a lodge that was devastated by an eruption. That work involves carrying tons of material to the summit, and that is a feat no car can achieve. That's why there is a transport helicopter team putting their lives on the line to safely navigate heavy cargo through the treacherous skies. When they safely finish up for the day, a fun picnic lunch awaits them!

Doctor Suzuki is a director of a dialysis clinic in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. He's 83 years old, but is as healthy and as energetic as can be. Whenever he moves from one floor to another, he always takes the stairs, but he never runs out of breath. One reason he is this healthy and strong is the lunch that is cooked fresh in the kitchen every day. The meals are the same as those prepared for dialysis patients, but are loved by the hospital staff too because they are full of flavor and variety.

We go to the prefecture of Aichi in central Japan to visit a factory that manufactures bullet trains. The factory has made bullet trains from the very beginning of bullet train services in Japan, and has produced more bullet train cars than any other factory in the country. There's a lot of physically demanding work that goes into making the state-of-the-art train cars, and the workers are able to perform well everyday thanks to the employee cafeteria that serves delicious, hearty lunches.

We visit a bookbinding company in Tokyo that mainly makes picture books for children. As picture books come in all sorts of materials, shapes and sizes, and often have unique features like fold-out pages, each work demands special consideration. No one machine is capable of making all picture books, and that is precisely why the craft often involves a lot of careful handwork. And at lunchtime, the picture book crafting professionals charge up for the afternoon with the bento lunch they bring.

For the first time ever, we go to Tottori Prefecture to check out the homemade lunch at the prefecture's association of forestry cooperatives. A senior member of the association cooks up delicious lunches on special occasions, and we visit on the day he makes curry from local game meat as well as spicy condiments and pickles too! Tune in to see how they are keeping local forestry alive and well, and of course, check out the great smiles of the foresters when they have the excellent curry!

We visit a Japanese paper lantern workshop in Kyoto Prefecture. In charge of handcrafting lanterns are a father and his two sons, but there's also Shinya, a close family friend who works to expand sales outlets. With vast experience in international business and the ability to effectively utilize social media, Shinya has been able to bring in orders from all over the world. For lunch, the team goes to their favorite restaurant to have local comfort food: savory pancakes, grilled offal and fried noodles.

Tottori is a prefecture that is famous for its sand dunes, but we cannot ignore the fact that there's also a lot of deliciousness going on in this wonderful prefecture. So, we dedicate this entire episode to highlight the yummy lunches of Tottori. We start off with the game meat curry at the prefectural government office cafeteria. And then, we visit a fountain pen workshop to check out a one-of-a-kind rice ball. To finish off, we report on the lunching situation of the prefectural police band!

In this episode, we visit a company in eastern Japan that rents out ballet costumes. They have a whopping 100 thousand costumes stocked in their warehouse, but what's even more impressive is the fact that all of the outfits are designed and handmade in-house. We closely examine the detailed work that goes into designing a costume and actually sewing one together. And of course, we don't forget to check out the delicious lunches of the costume making professionals.

In this episode, we go to a marketplace in Tokyo to visit a shop that sells spices and imported Asian foods. The couple who runs the shop takes time to offer consultation on spices to not just professionals in the food industry, but also to folks who just want to cook up something tasty at home. With their sincerity, the couple has built strong friendships. And for lunch, they show us how to make a quick, easy, but absolutely delicious green banana soup!

On this episode, we visit a post office in Kochi Prefecture to get a taste of a homemade curry cooked by the former postmaster. All the workers in the office look forward to this special lunch—and the former postmaster's visit—that comes around just once a month or so. We also head over to Atami City to visit a teppanyaki restaurant that was frequently visited by the famous Japanese screenwriter Hashida Sugako, known for her globally acclaimed drama Oshin.

In the heart of Tokyo stands a distinguished hotel that has entertained guests from around the world. In August 2021, they began managing their employee cafeteria in-house in order to reduce food waste and present new opportunities to employees. Come see how Chef Matsuura works together with rookies to cook up tasty dishes for the hard-working hotel staff. In another segment, our crew travels up north to a supermarket in Hokkaido Prefecture to meet a 78-year-old woman who cooks bento for a young colleague.

Ms. Morito Yuko runs a matchmaking service in the city of Kashiwa in eastern Japan. Her job is to help clients find a spouse. Ms. Morito explains that the COVID-19 pandemic has really made people want to connect with others, and that has resulted in a spike in membership. Because of the increase in business, she finds herself very busy on days when she meets clients in person. Tune in to find out what kind of lunch gives her the power to keep bringing her clients happiness, day after day.

In Japan, the bullet train is used for both business and pleasure. In this episode, we hop on one to see what it's like to be a vendor who makes rounds in the train with a cart that is fully loaded with all sorts of goodies, from gifts, ice cream, to alcoholic beverages. More specifically, we follow a young woman who just started in 2021 to see just how much preparation and hard work go into the job, and also what she eats for lunch to help her through the physically demanding workdays.

We visit a glassware factory in Koga City, Ibaraki Prefecture, where a team of elite artisans handcraft custom items. Ms. Suzuki is a rookie just months in on the job who asked to be a part of this special team. It's no easy task to be a newbie among some of the best glassworkers in the country, but with her passion for the art and the hearty lunch at the staff cafeteria keeping her strong, she is getting closer and closer to her goal to one day be a master glassworker.

This entire episode is dedicated to featuring amazing lunch stories from our viewers across the world, and seriously, we are all over the world on this one. We start off on the ever-so beautiful Canary Islands; dive deep into the mountains of the Amazon to visit Chachapoyas, Peru; go over to a hip district in Seoul, South Korea; and finish off with some Finnish fun in the nature-rich town of Mikkeli, Finland. Tune in to join us for this delicious tour of the world!

A type of eggplant called mizunasu has traditionally been grown and enjoyed in western Japan. In this episode, we visit a family-run mizunasu farm in Osaka Prefecture that also makes pickles. The farmers explain that the water and soil of the area they farm on is just perfect for growing mizunasu, but since the eggplants lose freshness quickly, everything they do—from harvesting, sorting, pickling, to shipping—must be done swiftly. And that's why their lunch is always simple but yummy mizunasu dishes!

We visit Ms. Nakazawa, who handcrafts traditional wooden bento boxes called magewappa. After honing her craft for almost 20 years at a magewappa studio, she recently opened her own business to realize her dream to make and sell new, unconventional products with magewappa crafting skills. She's got a rough road ahead of her, but she has the full support of her mother; Ms. Nakazawa's studio is right next to her mothers' house, so she gets to eat mom's delicious cooking every day for lunch!

We visit the vocational school of a major house manufacturing company where new recruits spend a year comprehensively studying everything related to wooden house construction. The curriculum is hard and the training is rigorous, but the students are able to keep going thanks to the hearty, delicious lunches made from scratch by the head chef, who is an astonishing 86 years old! Join us for a delicious taste of the lunch that nurtures the next generation of house-making professionals in Japan.

We set up a video camera in the cafeteria of a company in Tokyo that makes all kinds of educational products. With the camera, equipped with a mic and speakers, we remotely interview the workers who sit down to eat lunch. First, we talk with a group of ladies who work from home a few days a week. Then, we talk with a man who used to travel across the country all the time for work. Since the pandemic, he's been unable to travel at all, so he eats an Okinawan dish to at least travel in spirit!

In the district of Tomonoura, Hiroshima Prefecture, there is a company that offers a golf cart taxi service. Even though the carts are slow, they have many advantages: their small size allows easy passage through narrow alleyways, and since there are no windows, it's easy to greet neighbors when passing them by on the street. We follow a man who drives this taxi, and discover where he always has delicious lunch.

Echizen Railway is a third-sector train company in Fukui Prefecture, a prefecture located on the coast of the Sea of Japan. Since with limited funds, it is difficult to rebuild stations and trains to make them more accessible, or make new facilities, the attendant program was introduced. Yamazaki Nanami is an attendant fresh out of high school, and even though the work is tough, she gets through it all with a smile thanks to the tasty bento her grandmother cooks for her every day.

The pandemic has been keeping our crew from filming, so we've been asking people to send in lunch reports they've filmed themselves instead. The thing is, we realized that there is an entire group of people in Japan who would be perfect for such reports: former TV directors. In this episode, we feature an excellent report by former TV director Ms. Yasuda, who now runs a company with her father that produces spicy cod roe. For lunch, Ms. Yasuda's father cooks up a wonderful meal for the staff.

Mr. Honma is a cheesemaker in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost prefecture. Originally from a different part of Japan, he decided to establish his creamery in Ashoro Town, Hokkaido when he found the perfect milk to make cheese with there. And now, he lives next door to the dairy farmer who produces that perfect pasture-raised cow's milk. When it comes time for lunch, Mr. Honma uses his cheese with fresh scallops he traded his cheese for to make a pasta dish with a delicious, cheesy sauce.

The city of Amagasaki in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan is home to the leading wrapped sake barrel manufacturer in Japan. The traditional barrel they make is called Komodaru, and it is often used for celebratory occasions. Each barrel is handcrafted carefully with rice straw. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for the barrel has plummeted, but even in such a difficult situation, the crafters are able to work hard, thanks in no small part to the delicious bentos they have for lunch.

Mr. Takahashi is a salesman who works for an insurance company in Tokyo. After he appeared in an episode of Lunch ON!, his performance at work has skyrocketed, and now, he is the top earner at the branch office he works for. Hearing about this incredible case from the head of the branch office, we decide to go visit Mr. Takahashi at work to find out more! And of course, we get a peek of the delicious rice balls his wife makes for him.

We visit a bus company that has been in business for over 100 years in the city of Ina, Nagano Prefecture, in central Japan. The company was hit hard in 2020 by the pandemic, and they were forced to cease all of their bus tours for several months. However, the bus guides didn't waste their time just sitting around in self-isolation. They instead got together to think of all-new, Covid-safe bus tours that would be appealing for local customers. Their hard work paid off, and after 6 months, the company was able to resume bus tours. We look at the hearty food served at their cafeteria.

Tsurumi, Osaka Prefecture, in western Japan is home to one of the country's biggest soap factories. Since the factory's establishment 112 years ago, they have made soap bars in gigantic vats through the same process. The old-fashioned method requires the professionals in charge to fully put their 5 senses to use to detect the slightest things that even high-tech machines cannot. And when it comes time for lunch, we join the professional soap makers at the company cafeteria to check out what they eat!

For 2 years, Miura Akiko, who works at a nursing home for the elderly in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, enjoyed the bento lunch her mother made for her every day. However, Akiko will have to say goodbye to her mother's delicious bento, as she got married and will be moving out. As a way to thank her mother, Akiko asked the show to do a report on her mother because Akiko's mother is a huge fan of Lunch ON!In another segment, we report on the last day of work for a university cafeteria cook who has dedicated 50 years of his life serving students delicious lunches, every day.

Mr. Sugimoto is a 67-year-old man who lives in Saitama Prefecture, eastern Japan. A year and a half ago, after his wife passed away, he began making bento lunch to take to work, every day. On the weekends, he sits down, cookbook in hand, to plan every bento he will make for the coming week. Every morning, after he cooks his bento, he sends a picture of it to his daughter who lives with her family in a faraway city. His daughter then sends an extremely detailed review of each bento. It is how the aging father who lives alone communicates with his beloved daughter, and the relationship they have is just beautiful.

We visit a tavern in Chiba Prefecture, eastern Japan, after hearing that the owner cooks delicious meals for his staff. The tavern is run by a couple, and they've been in business for over 20 years. However, business is now more difficult than ever due to the government's issuing of the state of emergency for COVID-19. Despite this, the couple has kept their doors open to not only make their regulars happy but to also keep business going for their trusted suppliers.

In this episode, we highlight the meals working people have late in the night. We first visit Haneda Airport in Tokyo to tag along with a cleaning crew that washes entire aircraft with hoses and mops. And then we hold our breath as things get extremely hectic at a TV shopping channel's call center during its busiest hour. We wrap up with a team of creative professionals who fight against the clock to set up an impressive display for a shop window at the heart of Tokyo before the morning comes.

We visit a veterinary clinic in Kyoto Prefecture, where once a month, healthy homemade lunch is served to the staff. Preparing the meals is a cooking instructor who used to be a veterinarian herself, and that is why she knows all too well how hard it is for busy vets to eat right. And the thing is that although the healthy staff lunch only comes around once a month, it has motivated many of the veterinarians to generally eat healthier, all the time!

We visit a liquor shop in Tokyo to find out about the staff lunch that has been tradition for 105 long years. The current company president's grandmother was the first chef of the company cafeteria, and today, the sixth chef to take charge, is a seasoned veteran who used to be head chef at a Chinese cuisine restaurant of a hotel. Although the company has been hit hard by the pandemic, the hearty lunch served at the cafeteria keeps the employees going strong.

A brewery in southern Japan that has traditionally produced sake and shochu is now developing gin to be added to its lineup, and it all began when the brewery started making high-concentration ethanol in 2020. There was a dire shortage of sanitizing solution in Japan at the time because of COVID-19, and the company used its shochu-making knowledge to meet the demand. Sometimes for lunch, the gin development team goes out to a café nearby. There, they enjoy good food and talk about gin!

A book distribution company in Tokyo moved into a new office, and with that, a new company cafeteria was opened in the new office building. We follow the in-house team tasked with handling the opening of the new cafeteria, as they set up thermometers and install acrylic dividers as countermeasures for COVID-19. After the lunch rush passes on the hectic first day of the new cafeteria, the leader of the cafeteria opening team finally sits down for a well-deserved, delicious tempura bowl.

Professional cellist Mr. Aso is just about to retire after spending 40 years playing for the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra. For lunch, he has always brought bento that he packs. Now, it's important to note that he does not do any of the cooking, as his wife does that for him, but he greatly enjoys arranging the food in his bento box, even getting a kick out of sprinkling too many sesame seeds over everything and the particular way in which he closes the lid at the very end!

In Japan, there is a type of restaurant called "ryotei," where you can enjoy traditional Japanese cuisine and geisha entertainment. We visit one in Tokyo that has been unable to provide dinner service due to the pandemic. In such a difficult situation, the "okami," the Japanese word that refers to the woman in charge of a restaurant or inn, decided to sell takeout bento. And the bento service has allowed the restaurant to keep in touch with their regular customers during this difficult time.

We round up stories from the past to present a special episode on people who work on boats. Join us as we first hop on a ferry to check out the hearty meal the chef on board cooks for the crew every day. Then, we visit a fishing town where the local women get together to make heartfelt bento lunch for the fishers to take out to sea. To finish off, we go to a shipyard where the company president supports his workers by cooking up an all-original fried noodle dish for them during the busy season!

Every day, Hitomi a midwife in Osaka Prefecture, Japan, takes the bento packed lunch to work that is made by her husband Tomohiro. Tomohiro wakes up early every day to cook his wife's lunch and also breakfast and dinner for his wife and daughter. How is this possible? Well, Tomohiro is actually a teacher at a night high school, so he has a little bit of time in the mornings. Tomohiro does all this to of course support his hard-working wife, but he also has another reason. Tune in to find out what it is!

Mr. Matsumoto will in a few days retire from the Japanese company he's worked at for 41 long years. For the last few years, to watch his weight, he's been having the bento packed lunch his wife makes for him, but on the very last day on the job, he has a plan to eat a very special lunch that is perfect for the occasion.In another segment, we meet a type designer. The task of designing Japanese typefaces is extremely arduous, but she gets it done with the healthy lunch she makes for herself.

We go to Nagano Prefecture, central Japan to visit a secondhand store that is known for handling timber reclaimed from old buildings. But they don't just buy such materials and then put them on their shelves. Instead, they go to sites where buildings are being torn down to salvage each piece of material themselves. Then, they dress the materials and sell them, providing details of where the material was taken from. For lunch, the workers enjoy a staff meal made by an employee who is quite a skillful cook!

Racehorse Almond Eye recently won the biggest horseracing title in Japan, but she didn't do it all on her own. There is a whole team of horse trainers who made it happen, and we go to eastern Japan to visit the team's boss. For him, every single day is about gathering information and data from his crew and observing the horses to spot even the slightest changes. And the lunch that always keeps him going is either curry udon noodles or a ham and cheese toast topped with fermented soybeans!

We go to Toyama Prefecture, central Japan to visit a factory that makes fishcake called "kamaboko." Although "kamaboko" is eaten all across Japan, those made here are especially decorative, as the local culture is to give them to guests who come to weddings and other celebratory occasions. Fresh fish is ground down to paste at 5 in the morning, and the product is shipped out in the evening. As the workers start so early, lunchtime comes at around 8. We look at the bento lunches of the fishcake makers.

We go to Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan to visit a helicopter life flight team. The team consists of doctors, nurses, pilots, mechanics and dispatchers. They stand by at all times, ready to provide emergency care to patients in remote areas. For them, there's not a single second that can be wasted when a call comes in about a life that needs to be saved. When it comes to lunch, they eat when they can, but as soon as that call comes in, they jump right back into action.

We visit an ironworks situated in Yamagata Prefecture, northern Japan. At the factory, there is a monthly lunch day wherein the staff take turns cooking soups from other countries. The task wouldn't be that difficult if they were allowed to use a recipe and have access to the right ingredients, but since the aim of this lunch tradition is to train the workers' ability to use their imagination to make things, the staff do just that, improvising as they go along.

We visit a coffee plantation in Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture. The plantation is run by a family, and what is surprising is that they only recently began growing coffee. They used to mainly grow flowers, but after suffering much damage from a typhoon, the father decided the switch on his own, without even running the numbers! To stay afloat, the son has to work hard, but he has no complaints because the coffee they make tastes great, and his father is having the time of his life!

We visit a restaurant of Okinawan cuisine, not in the tropical prefecture of Okinawa, but in Niigata Prefecture, a snowy region by the Sea of Japan. The restaurant manager, who is a huge fan of the program, cooks lunch for his staff every day, and does so using "mentsuyu," the standard noodle sauce of Japan. Whether it be meat sauce or curry, he always uses noodle sauce. In fact, he's so into cooking with noodle sauce that he dreams of one day publishing his own cookbook of his ingenious noodle sauce dishes.

We visit a factory in Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan that processes and cans seafood. Their most popular product is their canned mackerel. Every morning, 2 purchasers from the factory go to the market to buy fresh mackerel, which are canned that very day. Although their factory was destroyed by the terrible tsunami of 2011, their mackerel cans miraculously survived, and that story gave the local people hope right when they were faced with the daunting task of rebuilding their community.

We stake out in a soba noodles shop in the busy city of Ikebukuro, Tokyo for delivery orders to come in. Then, we tag along for the deliveries and visit the people who ordered lunch. We meet a priest at a Buddhist temple, teachers at a cram school for high school students, a man in his 80's who looks extremely young and fit, and a couple of frank ladies who work at a company that handles sales for newspaper companies. There's no shortage of interesting characters, so make sure to tune in!

We go to Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan to visit a factory that handcrafts scissors for hairstylists. Scissors for cutting hair have to cut extremely well, and the process to customize scissors so that they can do just that demands unthinkable exactness. At this factory, they even handle repairs of scissors that are decades old, but that task can only be carried out by the best, most experienced technicians. Tune in to find out the detailed work of scissor crafters and also what they do for lunch.

To cheer up fans, Montedio Yamagata, in the second division of Japanese professional soccer, has been posting pictures of the food their players cook for themselves at home during the coronavirus pandemic. We get an inside look at one player's expert cooking skills as he films himself preparing and eating his own lunch at home.In another segment, we visit an inn with over a hundred years of history to hear about the lunch loved by the late world-renowned film director Imamura Shohei.

We visit a family-run silk textile factory in Fukushima Prefecture, northern Japan. The textiles produced at this company have been featured in a famous designer's Paris Collection. Currently, in this time of the coronavirus pandemic, they are concentrating on making masks. Although the silk masks they make are not cheap, they are in high demand as they offer excellent quality. For lunch, the family sits together to enjoy the food cooked by the current president's grandson, who is an aspiring chef.

The Hondas are a married couple in Tokyo who have been running an event planning company together for 10 years. They used to eat out 3 times a day, every day, but ever since the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down, Kae, the wife has been cooking healthy bento lunch for the 2 of them. And although her cooking is not so tasty-looking, that effort has produced amazing results: in just 2 months of their bento life, the husband has already lost 5 kilograms!

There is a hospital in Kyoto that has been open for almost 120 years. Seeing the restaurants and inns of the community suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the director of the hospital decided to regularly order lunch for the hospital staff from local establishments. That's 200 meals a day, 6 days a week, and since the hospital partially paid, the staff got to eat tasty lunch for very cheap. That project has now come to an end, but it reflected how much this hospital valued the community.

Artist Takahama Hiroko works at a Shinto shrine in Kobe, western Japan, as a caretaker. In return for her services, she uses the shrine office to produce artwork. Although now she is able to make a living and continue her passion, there was a time when it was becoming increasingly difficult for her to keep pursuing art, but the bentos her mother made for her every day during that period kept her spirits up. And now, Hiroko is coloring the illustrated bento diary she kept back then.

The Nakamura family in Tokyo produces square, copper frying pans that are made especially for cooking excellent Japanese rolled omelets. The father is the boss, and under him, his 3 sons work, manually making the superb frying pans one by one. 2 of the sons are already married, and as such, they bring bento to work on most days, but on some special days, the mother of the family cooks lunch for everyone, and that's when they sit together and eat like the family they are.

Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, and at its summit, there is a shrine. The man who cooks for the shrine priests 3 times a day is actually a total amateur. However, he does have a lot of experience as a mountaineer, and that's what landed him the job. And it's okay that he's not the most experienced chef, because he is armed with recipes written by his beloved wife. Plus, if even that is not enough, he can always call her to ask for emergency cooking advice!

We visit Chiba, the prefecture that neighbors Tokyo, to go to one of Japan's largest mushroom farms. At the farm, they grow massive amounts of mushrooms but surprisingly, each mushroom is harvested by hand. To feed their hard-working employees, the farm renovated what was formerly the home economics room of a school to set up their very own bento kitchen. At the kitchen, they cook up delicious dishes that feature a whole lot of mushrooms, every day!

The Shinshu Buddhist Otani-ha Sect Namba Betsuin Temple in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, has been loved by the local people since it was founded in 1595. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the local people had been unable to go to their beloved temple during spring this year, but in summer, the temple decided to hold memorial services for the local people during the Obon Festival, a period when Japanese people honor the spirits of their ancestors. Behind the scenes, one of the senior monks cooks up a filling vegetable curry so that the hard-chanting monks can charge up on energy!

In Fukuoka Prefecture, southern Japan, Mr. Sonoda runs a company that installs and performs maintenance on mechanized parking structures. A few times a month, he cooks up lunch for his hard-working staff, as he knows that their job is rarely, if ever, one they get thanked for. In another segment, we go to Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan to visit a company that develops aromatic therapy oils from scratch. When they go out to gather ingredients for their oils, they always have bento lunch right out in the wild.

Auto Race is professional motorcycle racing in Japan. We go to Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, to visit the Auto Race academy, where potential riders go through rigorous training to become professionals. Surprisingly, students are not allowed to talk when they have lunch, but there's a good reason for that. In another segment, we visit a factory that makes customized lighting fixtures and streetlamps for shopping streets across Japan. We take a peek at the bento lunches of the workers there.

We visit the largest food industry trade show in Japan to not only look at the latest technologies and services in the industry, but more importantly to check out what food pros are having for lunch on such a big day. In a different segment, we visit Gifu Prefecture, in central Japan to meet Junko, who sent us a message saying that her husband no longer needs her homemade bento because the cafeteria at his new workplace serves such amazing food. We dive into the cafeteria in question to investigate.

The cafeteria at the Ueno Campus of the Tokyo University of the Arts goes back to 1937. Mr. Kitazawa, the head chef of the cafeteria now is the son-in-law of the original head chef, and he's kept the kitchen running for 48 years straight since he married. From early in the morning till late at night, Mr. Kitazawa works hard to provide hearty, healthy dishes for students and faculty. But more importantly, he has the talent to make them smile with his humor and charming personality.

We visit a prison in Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, where about 500 inmates engage in prison work programs every day. We take a look at the bento lunches of the correction officers who keep watch over the inmates 24-7. In another story, we cover a man who works for a company that manufacturers emergency rations. To know more about his trade, he eats only emergency rations for lunch every day, and the insight he's gained from that lunch style has turned him into a trusted voice in the industry.

An IT company in Shibuya, Tokyo, treats its employees with a canteen where they can eat for free. Although the canteen only offers one meal, the daily special, the employees just love the organic cooking. Just before the canteen opens for lunchtime, we wait to see which employee comes to eat first. In another segment, we visit a group of ladies who are harvesting Nozawana greens, which are used to produce a very popular kind of Japanese pickles.

We visit the canteen of a taxi company in Tokyo to meet Hiroko Kawano. She's 77 years old but younger than ever, continuing her 34-year stint as the chef there. She acts as a mother figure for the taxi drivers, praying for their safety and cooking meals for 50 people. We then visit Niigata Prefecture, the largest producer of knitwear in Japan. Take a peek into the secret techniques behind the clothing made here, and relish the tasty lunches that people bring to the factory.

Lunch for Rie Tamakoshi, a ward office employee in Shizuoka Prefecture, is far from conventional. She eats rice balls on the run! She's too busy balancing work and raising her kids to sit down and enjoy lunch. During her lunch break, she runs home while she eats, and once at her house, she does the laundry, cleans, and preps dinner before running back to her office again.In another segment, we visit the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa to meet a public health nurse who has a surprising lunch of her own.

We go to Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, to visit a theme park that has more giant pandas than any other place in the country. In order to keep their aging pandas in good health, the panda keepers think of ways to take the pandas' blood pressure and X-rays. In another segment, we meet a husband and wife who together produce Negi, or green onions. When we sit down for lunch with them, we learn their secret to growing good produce, and also how they maintain such a good relationship.

We visit the Tokyo office of a global IT company to learn about a special lunch the employees enjoy. Every other Friday, 3 chosen employees must work together to cook lunch for all 20 people at the office. The great thing about this lunch is that everyone gets their turn to cook without exception. In a different segment, we visit a restaurant that serves classic Japanese-style Western dishes. But we don't just stay in the shop; we follow them to where they deliver their food!

We visit a ski resort that is among the largest in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan. As the staff who operate lifts and gondolas are stationed at different places across the gigantic resort, the commanding officer of the ski lift team personally drives a snowmobile to deliver bento to his people! In another segment, we go to a different part of Iwate to visit a soy sauce brewery with a history of over 200 years that has had to rebuild their plant after the terrible tsunami of 2011.

Mr. Kobayashi made a bold decision in his life by quitting his job to become a craft cola maker. He started making cola as a hobby, even importing the main ingredient of cola nuts from Africa, but things soon turned serious. He keeps his lunch very simple, eating only plain rice balls so that he can discern the delicate flavors of the spices that go into his cola.

Stardust Revue is a popular band in Japan that has been performing for 38 long years. On the Tokyo leg of every tour they play, it is tradition for the band's percussionist to prepare curry lunch for his bandmates and the entire staff. The staff that have supported the band over decades are close like family, and it shows when they all sit down for their favorite curry lunch.

We go to Niigata City, situated by the Sea of Japan, to visit a jewelry shop that offers engagement and wedding rings. Most of the staff working there are women, and the chair of the company, who is also a woman, is passionate about nourishing her staff with the homemade lunch she cooks for them every day. In another segment, we go to Saitama Prefecture, which neighbors Tokyo, to visit a small factory that makes most of the chocolate curls in Japan.

The Japan Air Self-Defense Force Shizuhama Air Base is where young aspiring pilots learn to fly. Once a month, the cafeterias at all the self-defense force air bases serve their own version of fried chicken; we find out what Shizuhama has to offer.

A man who runs a restaurant with his wife in Japan applied for the chef position of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. It's a role that involves careful planning, as he must order just the right amount of food for the expedition to get through the 16-month stint in Antarctica; no additional food can be shipped there, and it is the rule for an expedition to leave none of their food behind. Tune in to see how the chef at the southernmost place on the planet gets to work in the kitchen.

Japanese artist Shu Kubo is world-renowned for the Kirie Japanese papercutting pieces he crafts. As he loves making pieces that depict seasonal foods, he frequently goes out to shop around for good-looking seasonal foods. After he finishes sketching the foods, he uses them to cook lunch.

Bjorn Heiberg is a Canadian man who runs a popular shop in Osaka Prefecture, Japan that sells Japanese kitchen knives. Mr. Heiberg's success is owed to how he runs his business: with heart and passion. Instead of just forcing craftsmen to sell knives for cheap, he invites them to do in-store demonstrations to give customers a thorough understanding of how the knives sold at his store are special and worth the money. And at lunchtime, Mr. Heiberg reveals a unique way of eating natto fermented soybeans!

Ms. Seki works in Tokyo as an editor for a manga magazine. The magazine is for girls in elementary school, and to win their hearts, Ms. Seki and the team must come up with good ideas for the Furoku, which is a little gift that comes with the magazine. It's a hard job as she must offer kawaii, or "cute" items that excite her young readers while minding the budget. Her days are all about checking the latest trends among young girls and recharging herself with spicy curry for lunch.

Mr. Shiozu of Nara Prefecture, western Japan, runs a nursery where he grows trees for bonsai use. Although he was himself an acclaimed bonsai artist, he opened the business as he began wanting to grow plants from the seed. For lunch, his wife makes the simple salt rice ball, but to it she adds on a special paste that lets the family enjoy the taste of spring all year round.In another segment, we visit a company president in Kyoto Prefecture who cooks lunch for his employees every Monday. Tune in to find out why.

Tokachi, in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, is the number one producer of wheat in all of Japan. Every year in July, the wheat that had been planted in the fall of the previous year must be harvested at once, since rain during harvest season could cause the wheat to germinate and become ruined. To harvest quickly, giant combine harvesters owned by the community are put to work non-stop around the clock, and the combine operators take turns working 24-hour shifts. Find out what keeps the men going all day long! In another segment, we meet an 83-year-old lumberman who has long dreamt of appearing on NHK. Tune in to learn about the amazing work he does and the heart-warming bento lunch his wife has made for him for 59 long years

We visit the staff cafeteria of a publishing company in Tokyo, where every day, lunch is prepared for 280 employees. Although the cafeteria only offers the very inexpensive daily special, it comes with a variety of all-you-can-eat side dishes. The hungry employees can't help themselves from piling on huge portions on their plates, and many testify that the cafeteria has made them gain weight! In another segment, we visit a plant near Tokyo that produces traditional Japanese socks called tabi. An 18-year-old rookie is now training to master the most difficult part of the sewing process, as the plant feels the urgent need to pass the skill down to the youngest generation. The rookie lady makes her own bento, and so does her coach, who is 40 years older than her.

Onisasa is a popular meal on Okinawa Prefecture's Ishigaki Island in southern Japan. Since onisasa consists of a rice ball, onigiri, and some chicken tenderloin, sasami, pressed together inside a bag, it is the perfect quick meal for people on the go. We go to the island and spot a man who is just about to have onisasa for lunch, and follow him back to his workplace, a cattle ranch, to check out his first task of the afternoon. In another segment, we visit a company in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo that makes lining for jackets and coats. Twice a year, the workers here have to take on the daunting task to do inventory, but their efforts are rewarded with a delicious lunch and another bonus lunch at 3:00 p.m. as well!

In Kawasaki City, just south of Tokyo, Japan, an 18-year-old girl fresh out of high school has just joined a local tombstone shop. She had always thought that the tombstones on display at the shop were pretty when she used to walk by them on her way to middle school, and for that reason only, she decided to join. Her seniors and bosses think highly of her enthusiasm, energy and good work ethic, and she's getting on at the company really well. Although the workers usually have lunch from convenience stores, we visit on their once-a-month potluck lunch day! In another segment, we visit an old fishing town in Kyoto to meet a 17-year-old boy who has moved out to the town to pursue a fishing career. The impressive young man works hard and cooks for himself every day, but never forgets to play video games at his house, where he lives all alone.

Photographer Satoru Abe goes to Fukuoka Prefecture, southwest Japan, to visit a factory that manufactures rice ball machines. Convenience store rice balls are extremely popular, and 80% of the machines that make them in Japan are produced at this factory. The rice ball is a simple food, but the machines that make them are developed with a whole lot of ingenuity, love and thoughtfulness. In another segment, we visit hospital chefs who cook requested meals for the terminally ill every week. We witness the care that goes into their work and also what the chefs do for lunch.

We visit an editor at a long-standing magazine publisher in Tokyo, Japan. Her job is to actually test out the recipes as explained by chefs before they are published. She follows recipes word for word to evaluate how they should be adjusted for the average reader at home. In a different segment, we meet the president of an established manufacturer of ramen noodles. His style of quality control is to visit the shops that use his noodles and taste what's going on.

We hear that a particular restaurant is about to close in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan. When we visit on the eatery's last day after serving the community for 33 long years, we find many locals in line for one last taste of the restaurant's hearty servings of home-style cooking. In another segment, we go to a company in Tokyo that offers translation and interpretation services. Every day at lunchtime, the male workers from a variety of countries get together to fully enjoy their hour-long lunch break.

A famous festival of snow sculptures is held annually in Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan. We visit the site of a giant snow sculpture being created and talk to the team's supervisor, Mr. Morioka. As he knows just how cold it can be to work outside in Hokkaido during winter, he has a pub owner cook warm lunch for his team.We also visit a family-run Somen noodles plant. Winter is the best time to make Somen, so it's very cold inside the factory. But the family has a frugal lunch to warm their bodies up.

Mr. Brailsford is an American who works in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan. He was so impressed with a certain sake that he began working at the brewery that makes it. The employee lunch at the brewery features hot miso soup with sake lees in it, and Mr. Brailsford just loves it as it reminds him of the stew his mother used to make for him in the States. In another segment, we visit a funeral company with an employee cafeteria. The chef there backs up hard workers with tasty dishes and a warm personality.

We go to Ibaraki Prefecture, eastern Japan, to a research facility of a national museum. Mr. Kawada makes animal specimens there. Although some specimens are for display, most are used to preserve information on animals for future generations. For lunch, Mr. Kawada eats instant noodles because the containers are perfect for drying specimens! In another segment, we visit a fu wheat gluten factory where a young man learns the art of fu making to one day take over his father's role as the company president.

Setsuko Mizuno is the owner of a cookware shop in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, in central Japan. For 30 long years, she has cooked lunch for her staff 5 times a week, and she decides what to cook after she checks what's in her fridge. She tests out all the cooking utensils by using them to cook the staff lunch, before they are sold at the shop. In another segment, we go to Muroto City, Kochi Prefecture in southwest Japan to visit a factory that produces quality charcoal called "binchotan".

At an aquarium in Toba City, Mie Prefecture in central Japan, we find an animal that can't be seen anywhere else in the country: the dugong. They are extremely hard to care for, and this aquarium and another in Australia are the only 2 in the world that keeps dugongs. Ms. Handa, the dugong's caretaker, says the most important thing is their diet, which consists of seaweed. In another segment, we have a man take pictures of the lunches he eats during his business trip in Europe.

Service members of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force's Toyokawa Camp in Aichi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, hold a cooking contest. 5 units cook up 50 servings each, and are judged based on taste, presentation, hygiene and cooking time. This may sound strange, but cooking is an important job of theirs as they hold cookouts in times of disasters. In another segment, we visit an apprentice bag-maker working in Tokyo. His master ordered him to cook staff meal for lunch after seeing his poor eating habits.

We visit Hiroshima Prefecture in western Japan to meet the president of a tire service shop who loves camping so much that he even built his own grill to hold barbecues for his staff. He starts prepping from the day before and even cooks the rice in a messtin, just like how you would while camping. And then, photographer Satoru Abe travels to Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan to look at some beautiful cherry blossoms. Come learn about "Cherry Blossom Guardians" who work to preserve the precious trees.

We go to Kawaguchi City, near Tokyo, to visit a company that boasts the biggest share of cardboard boxes in Japan. Cardboard boxes come in a variety of types, as different clients demand different features. Designers at the packaging technology department work restlessly to develop boxes, but when they get hungry at lunchtime, they eat heartily at the cafeteria. In another segment, we go to Fukuoka Prefecture, southwest Japan, to meet a group of men who are farmers by day and handball players by night.

We visit a major information services company near Tokyo Station. And come lunchtime, we go to their cafeteria to investigate who or what is number one in a variety of categories. Who gets to the cafeteria first? Which meal is the most popular? And who is the last to come to the cafeteria? In a different segment, we go down to Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, to see how a seaweed called mozuku is farmed and harvested. For lunch, the fishermen eat homemade, tasty mozuku rice balls on their boat.

79-year-old Mr. Kondo hunts varmints in the mountains of Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. To kill game, he takes hunting dogs equipped with GPS tracking devices with him. For lunch, he has bento his wife makes using locally grown food and the meat Mr. Kondo hunts; he never forgets to respect the life he takes, so he always eats what he hunts. On another segment, we wait at a soba noodles shop for delivery orders to come in. And when they do, we follow the food to the customers and watch them have lunch!

At the Consumer Affairs Agency's office in Tokushima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, the counselor and two of his men together cook and eat hot pot lunch! The trio is adventurous with their hot pot, cramming in whatever ingredients pop up in their minds. But with zero cooking skills and no will to cook anything right, they've had quite a few disasters! But they make it a rule to always eat everything up. In a different segment, we visit a toy workshop to check out the lunches of the workers there.

We go to Oregon to meet Mr. Yoshida, who leads a group of 18 companies. He moved to the US as a young man, developed a barbecue sauce from traditional Japanese condiments, personally appeared in ads, and ultimately made a fortune from his delicious invention. For lunch, he has raw egg on rice, a simple, classic Japanese dish. In a different segment, we learn that there is an international conference to define exactly how much a kilogram should weigh. Tune in to find out what that's all about!

We visit a company near Tokyo that produces cold pastries and sweets. The staff must sample loads of sweets throughout the day for quality control and product development. And that's why for lunch, the ladies only eat salad. In a special segment, we visit a woman who just loves the part of our show where people mime what they had for lunch. To show our gratitude, we show up at her workplace unannounced so that she can appear on her favorite segment. How does she do? Tune in and see for yourself!

We go to an expressway rest area in Japan to find workers we could follow to their first task of the afternoon. Luckily, we find 2 men chowing down on big lunches who let us do just that. Their job is to apply markings on road surfaces and parking lots, and we follow them to examine their superb skills. In a different segment, photographer Satoru Abe visits one of Japan's biggest envelope manufacturers, established in 1954. Each worker exhibits extraordinary skill to carry out their assigned phase in envelope making. When the employees gather round for lunch, we are surprised to see that they all are treated to hearty homemade soup, cooked by the company president every day.

The coastal city of Toba, in Mie Prefecture, Japan is home to female ama diver fishers, most of whom are in their 60's or 70's. In the morning, Ms. Matsui puts on her wetsuit, goes out to the sea to dive for abalones, and then has lunch with her fellow women divers. After that, she drives to a pub owned by her sister-in-law, where Ms. Matsui spends her evenings satisfying customers with the dishes she prepares as the pub's chef. In a different segment, we visit Ms. Makino, who is in charge of designing the taste rice cookers in development will ultimately provide. As her job demands her to sample rice all day, Ms. Makino has about 5 bowls' worth of rice every day, but she still chooses to bring rice in her bento for lunch!

We get on one of the largest crane ships in Japan to see what the operators of the massive crane do for lunch. Mr. Yamada, the head chef on board, explains that he cooks meals placing utmost importance on not boring the crew with the same meals all the time, as there are times when the crew must stay on the ship for 3 months straight. Jump aboard and discover the meals that keep the heavy-lifting personnel pumped and fueled. In another segment, we travel to a grape farm in Yamanashi Prefecture, run by 2 bachelors who used to work together as government employees. We sit down for lunch with the duo to learn what they emphasize most when growing grapes.

The kumade is an auspicious item said to rake in good fortune, sold during a November festival at certain shrines and temples in Japan. We visit a company run by 5 brothers that crafts and sells this lucky item to find out how the siblings get along, and to see what they have for lunch on the day of the big festival. Then, we go inside a gigantic freezer warehouse for storing food, where it is 25 degrees below zero! As the extreme subzero environment gives workers the chills, Ms. Ito, a veteran worker of 30 years, continues her lunchtime tradition of cooking warm soup for her colleagues every day. However, when it comes time to eat, we find Ms. Ito eating all alone in a small room. Check out this episode to find out why.

The Sapporo Clock Tower is one of the best-known landmarks in Hokkaido, Japan, telling time since 1881. Mr. Shimomura is in charge of its maintenance, and he winds up the weight that keeps the clock running manually. When it is lunchtime, he eats the bento lunch he makes for himself, and in a very particular way at that! In another segment, photographer Satoru Abe visits a factory in Hiroshima Prefecture that produces beads for use on accessories and clothes. You'll be amazed to see the craftsmanship that goes into making beautiful, quality beads. Satoru checks out the bento lunches of the hard-working craftspeople there!

America's Cup is the oldest international yacht race. We visit the edition held in Fukuoka Prefecture to tag along with Team Japan. Mr. Sofuku, the team's manager, is also a part of the team as a sailor. At age 50, he is the oldest competitor in this edition of the competition, and even if he is not as physically strong as his teammates, he brings a wealth of experience to his team of international stars. And Mr. Sofuku is particular about the lunch he chooses for his crew! In another segment, we visit a boarding agricultural high school where the students actually raise and produce about 70% of the food they eat. We take a look at their school lunch wherein the students eat with appreciation towards the food they produce.

We tag along with a bus tour guide in Miyazaki Prefecture, southern Japan, to see what her job is all about and also what she does for lunch. While the tourists are busy enjoying local delicacies, the veteran tour guide often orders delivery lunch and has it with the bus driver. In another segment, photographer Satoru Abe visits a factory in Ibaraki Prefecture, central Japan that produces 100 thousand utility poles every year. Inside the factory, we get an in-depth look at the skilled craftsmanship that makes it possible to create safe and reliable poles. When it's lunchtime, we take a look at the homemade bento lunch people bring from home.

Once a week a special lunch event is held at a university in Okinawa Prefecture, southern Japan, and its participants are students and researchers of the university from across the globe! The event is organized by a woman who usually teaches the participants Japanese, and the lunch is actually a session wherein students practice their Japanese while enjoying the food they bring.In another segment, we go to Saitama Prefecture, which is situated near Tokyo, to visit a foundry that produces manhole covers. The craftsmen work in unimaginable heat as they cast molten metal to craft durable and reliable manhole covers. At lunchtime, the entire staff gathers to have catered lunch together. And on some very special days, they are awarded with curry!

At a hot spring facility in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, 2 brothers work as fire knife dancers! That had been their dream since they were little, but the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 forced the facility to close for a long time. Yet, the brothers kept training, and their dream came true. Although they love their job, it demands a lot of energy. Find out what they charge up on at lunch. In a different segment, we visit a seafood processing plant in Iwate Prefecture, in northeastern Japan. The company president's son used to live in Tokyo alone, but the disasters of 2011 made him want to move back to his damaged hometown to help revitalize his father's company. The bento his grandmother cooks for him keeps him going.

We visit an insurance company in Fukuoka Prefecture, southern Japan. The all-women team of sales representatives has it tough, as its members mostly have to visit clients during lunch hours. So when they finally come back to the office, the reps are very hungry! To reward such hard workers with a nice, homemade meal, a whopping 200 servings of staff lunch are cooked several times a year, by the 10 ladies who work as office workers. In a different segment, we drop in on a farming woman in Chiba Prefecture, which neighbors Tokyo. Not only does this incredibly strong and healthy 83-year-old woman work out on the field all alone, she also eats lunch alone, and has been for the past 30 years, since her husband passed away. But on the day of our visit, we join her for lunch to hear her secrets for staying so healthy.

We visit a soy sauce manufacturer in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan. Once a month, the company president cooks a hearty lunch for his staff all by himself, using only the company's products to season dishes. He organizes this lunch to give his young staff the chance to actually taste what they make and sell. In a different segment, we visit a seafood processing company that has quickly recovered from the earthquake and tsunami of 2011, thanks to its passionate and loyal employees. The chairman's wife -- affectionately called Bappa, meaning "old lady" -- cooks staff lunch to show appreciation towards the workers.

We visit Iwate Prefecture in northern Japan to meet up with Mr. Saito, who works as a salesman for a company that sells a high-speed seaweed salting machine. At a glance, it only seems like he goes around from harbor to harbor to chat and eat delicious seafood lunch with his fisher clients, but whenever someone has an issue with their seaweed salting machine, he rushes over to save the day! In another segment, we meet a young lady who works as a baker in her hometown of Kitakyushu, southern Japan. Every morning, her father wakes up at 3 in the morning to prepare bento for his beloved daughter. However, as he can't really cook, the bento features a heavy serving of sausages every day.

Twice a week at the staff cafeteria of an industrial mixer manufacturer on Awaji Island, western Japan, employees have to sit at the table determined by a drawing. This unique lunch system was devised to encourage communication among employees of different ages and departments. We visit the company on such a drawing lunch day, which coincided with the first day of work for the 8 new employees who joined this year. Will the rookies be able to speak with the people they are seated with, or will they be too nervous? In another segment, we talk to a weather forecaster who utilizes the program he personally developed to release forecasts every year of when cherry blossoms will bloom in Japan. Will his forecasts prove to be accurate? Tune in and find out!

We go to Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo, to visit the home/studio of Yasuo Otagaki, a popular manga comic artist. Using the latest computer technology and his fulltime staff, Mr. Otagaki produces his manga with efficiency. Come lunchtime, the children's room is changed to the lunch room, and the staff members all gather to enjoy the lunch prepared by a veteran cook hired specifically to make everyone a healthy lunch every day. In a different segment, we follow photographer Satoru Abe as he visits a tea field in Shizuoka Prefecture, in central Japan. The tea field spreads over a very steep hill, but a group of tough elderly women hit the field to harvest the first tea of the season. At lunchtime, the women have a good time sharing the homemade dishes they've brought.

For our segment "First task of the afternoon", we stop at a rest area in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan. At the restaurant there, we meet 2 interior renovators who are kind enough to let us tag along on their first task of the afternoon to conduct renovation work on an apartment room. We watch carefully and find out what the energy they stocked up on at lunch is used for! In another segment, photographer Satoru Abe goes to Kumano in Hiroshima Prefecture, western Japan, to visit a calligraphy brush production studio that has been around for more than 100 years. There, he sees the delicious bento lunches of local craftswomen.

The workers at a waste management company in the city of Niigata, Japan, all look forward to the pork soup day that comes around once a month. Office worker Ms. Horikawa cooks this soup for the men who go out every morning, despite any weather. They gather garbage from more than 100 collection points, scattered across the city. The soup not only warms up the workers' bodies, but their hearts as well. In another segment, we visit a factory in Osaka that produces windows and doors. The factory hires Vietnamese interns. 3 times a week, the company president's mother-in-law cooks staff lunch for all workers. And she does so with a hint of Vietnamese cuisine, to treat the interns with a taste of home.

Ryu Uchiyama, who lives in Wakayama Prefecture, south of Osaka, Japan, is an unusual type of underwater photographer, as he specializes in shooting freshwater wildlife. He's loved rivers since he was a child, and today, he spends over 6 months every year diving in rivers. Since the best time to take photos is around noon, when the sun is directly overhead, Mr. Uchiyama always has lunch past 2 o'clock. But before he eats, he goes into the river again to catch his lunch! In another segment, we visit the Wakayama Electric Railway's Kishigawa Line. The feline stationmaster of the line's Idakiso Station does an excellent job of charming customers. When the train company's employees have lunch, they always discuss new ideas to vitalize the areas around their line.

The patent office in Japan receives more than 300 thousand patent applications every year, and those applications are reviewed by examiners. There are about 1,900 examiners, and each one goes through about one application a day. Although the job is naturally tough, as it demands a thorough understanding of some very scientific and technical things, the examiners seem to be enjoying their job. In fact, they enjoy it so much that they get together to watch technology-related videos during lunch break a few times a month! In another segment, we visit the Minato City Hall in Tokyo. As we hang around in the cafeteria, we get to talk to city hall employees of various sections, each with different tasks.

We visit a famous whisky distillery near Sendai City, in northeastern Japan. There, we look at the work conducted by a team of 9 workers that together craft 10 thousand whisky barrels every year. What's interesting is that they don't actually make new barrels from scratch. Instead, they fix up and build barrels by combining different parts taken from old barrels. Since the quality of barrels greatly affects the taste and aroma of whisky, this is a profession that calls for a discerning eye. At lunchtime, the hungry barrel crafters go to the staff cafeteria where the rice is all-you-can-eat. In a different segment, we visit a public library in Aichi Prefecture, in central Japan to meet a librarian who has put up a special feature section there titled "Read ON!", which is obviously inspired by "Lunch ON!" The library users all seem to enjoy this section, but do they know the origin of its name? Tune in and find out!

We go to Ishigaki Island of Okinawa, the southernmost prefecture of Japan, to visit a pineapple farm. The island's pineapple farming industry once flourished, but today, it is faced with tough competition. However, the pineapple farmer we meet keeps producing tasty pineapples. Harvesting the fruits under the scorching sun is extremely hard work, but the farmers keep going as they hydrate themselves with the juicy pineapples they grow! When they sit down for lunch, we see the farmers all eat a unique local specialty. In a different segment, photographer Satoru Abe visits a mosquito coil plant in Wakayama Prefecture, which is located south of Osaka. For 120 years, the plant has produced mosquito coils, and although much of the production processes are today automated, there are still some things that are done the old-fashioned way: with gentle human hands. And at lunchtime, the break room is full of smiles and delicious-looking bento lunches.

Sky Bento that Keeps BusinesspeopleFull We document a company that produces 15,000 "sky bentos" a day to be sold at Haneda Airport. Sky bentos must taste good without being heated, plus they must last for a while so that people can buy them as gifts. The people who develop the bentos cook all sorts of dishes and taste them day in, day out. The lunch they have every day is an assortment of cold bento dishes in development, so their wish is to be able to have warm dishes like soba noodles and ramen noodles every now and then. Lunch on Overseas!Working adults sometimes have work to do overseas. This is a segment where we look at the photos and listen to the stories of the lunches and the work a businessperson experienced during their business trip abroad. Before a certain company employee sets out on a trip to Europe with his bosses for a week, we listen to him talking about the expectations and worries about his upcoming mission. And after he comes back, we sit down with him for lunch and listen how happy he is to be back, and also some stories from his time in Europe… We take a look at the realities of overseas business trips.

The Unknown Worker at Izumotaisha ShrineMr. Yamasaki is a photographer commissioned by Izumotaisha Shrine to take official photographs of weddings and official events at the shrine. For lunch, he goes to a Chinese restaurant he frequents. As he once used to take photographs for a cooking magazine, he cannot help but take a snapshot of his lunch before he digs in. We take a look at the work and lunch of the unknown worker at Izumotaisha Shrine. Lunch for the FerrymenThere is a company that provides regular ferry service connecting the Oki Islands with Japan's main island. Throughout the year, 3 ferries and a high-speed ship are operated by the company. The crew is always served lunch on the ferry, and the men who prepare it always go to buy ingredients before the ferry heads out. And then, they cook meals in the rocking kitchen on the ferry. The Contemporary Master Craftsman Who Crafts AbacusesIzumo has always been an area that has produced abacuses. Last year, Mr. Uchida was chosen as the first abacus craftsman to be named Contemporary Master Craftsman, an honor awarded by the government. An excellent abacus is marked by how well its beads move. The abacuses Mr. Uchida crafts feature beads that move and stay in place like magic, and are therefore sold at high prices. At lunchtime, he eats together with fellow craftspeople and his wife, who manages the exhibit at the factory.

Lunch for the Cruise Ship Restaurant StaffThe Moby Dick is the only cruise ship in Okinawa Prefecture that provides dinner, and as such, many choose the ship as the place to celebrate special occasions and the stage to make marriage proposals. Most of the servers at the restaurant are young people in their 20's from a variety of countries, including Japan, Thailand and the Philippines. Server Ms. Tomoyo Gushiken teaches a woman from the Philippines important Japanese, and in return, she learns English from her Filipina colleague. Every day is a chance for the young workers to improve as professionals who provide comfort to the guests. Come lunchtime, staff members all gather in the break room, and those who are far away from their homeland are served employee lunch cooked by the chefs. Lunchtime on the ship is a fun one, where the multinational staff all talk to one another in both English and Japanese. We take a look at the lunches of the young staff members who work hard to provide a magical and happy time to guests.The Cafeteria with a Breathtaking View of Mt. HakkaiMr. Shigehisa Miyasaka, who changed his job from one at a large electronics manufacturer to one at an electronic parts manufacturer in Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, sent in a message saying that the lunch he has with the breathtaking scenery of golden rice plants with Mt. Hakkai in the background is like nothing else. With his family in Tokyo, Mr. Miyasaka lives in the company dorm for single employees. Living in the country brings him many surprises, such as discovering vegetables at his door left by local farmers, and running into a swarm of grasshoppers. Mr. Miyasaka cooks his own bento, using the locally-grown rice, and absolutely savors lunchtime, when he can have his meal while quietly admiring the view of Mt. Hakkai. We take a look at the "bento with a view" which keeps him going.

The "Bicycle Squad" that Supports the Car FactoryHonda's plant in Yorii, Saitama Prefecture is a state-of-the-art factory that began operating in 2013. The unsung heroes who keep the factory running and able to manufacture 250,000 cars every year are the 17 employees at the facility maintenance department. It is their job to distribute electricity, water and gas to all corners of the factory, and to perform maintenance on related facilities. Whenever there is a problem somewhere, the team must head over to that spot immediately. That's why they are the only team permitted to ride bicycles on the premises. Team member Mr. Takashi Machida explains that his job isn't appreciated much, as for most workers, it is a given that the factory is always functional. Mr. Machida looks forward to eating the curry udon noodles at the cafeteria, which is deliberately served on Fridays so that employees can wash off the curry stains on their white work clothes over the weekend. Every day, when the bell that signals lunchtime rings, he hops on his bicycle and pedals hard straight towards the cafeteria.Onigiri of Different Seasons and Regions: Black Bean Rice Balls of SasayamaIn a village deep in the mountains, Mr. Yoshihiko Ogura grows black edamame, the area's famous produce. After his son quit his job as a Web designer to inherit the family farming business, the harvesting work has become one conducted by Mr. Ogura, his wife Yaeko, and his son. For lunch, they look forward to the rice balls Yaeko rolls with rice cooked with just black edamame, konbu kelp and salt. She explains there is no need for additional seasoning as the black beans offer rich flavor. We look at the family's onigiri rice balls that feature local autumn blessings.

On November 23, right after the harvesting of new rice, the Niinamesai, or Harvest Festival is held at Kasugataisha Shrine in Nara Prefecture to show appreciation for the rich autumn harvest. We follow 2 young rookies at the shrine who busy themselves preparing for the big event as we look into the lunch on the job at the shrine, and take a behind-the-scenes look at the big event.In the next part of the episode, we visit a hot spring inn deep in the mountain of Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture. To get there, one must ride a train for 25 minutes from the foot of the mountain, and then walk the mountain path for another 15 minutes. All necessities at this inn such as food and other supplies are brought up the mountain by carriers. We follow the carriers on the inn's last business day before winter break, to see what they do for lunch, and to see how tough their job is.

There is a staff cafeteria-cum-tavern in Osaka, run by an IT company that has an average employee age of 28. 2 years ago, the president rented property near the office and opened a staff cafeteria so his employees can eat healthy. At night, that cafeteria is opened to the public as a tavern. We visit this unique dining space which is treasured by employees as it is where they hold parties and dine with clients. In "Let's go see a bento", photographer Satoru Abe visits a plant in Arida City, Wakayama Prefecture that has exclusively produced grilled eel for 50 years. At the plant, we witness the extraordinary skills of masters who process eels. What do they eat for lunch? Do they eat eels? We visit them during lunch.

When in winter, humpback whales migrate to the waters around Okinawa Prefecture, veteran whale watching boat captain Mr. Masuda and rookie captain Mr. Kamada set out to sea to guide guests to the breathtaking view of wild whales. It's serious business, as if they fail to spot any whales, they must give the guests a 100% refund. Let's see what these two do for lunch on their boat. In a different segment, we meet Mr. Sato, a company president who cooks lunch every day for his employees and the clients who come to the office for meetings. We visit the company's dining hall to sit in on their family-like lunch.

We crash in on the lunch of a family-run seafood wholesaler in Fukui Prefecture. In "Onigiri of different seasons and regions", we visit Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, which was once a production center of sumi inksticks. Today however, Mr. Kido Ito and his son Harunobu are the only ones there upholding the tradition. As the craftsmen's hands are all black from kneading ink, they always have rice balls in plastic wrap for lunch. Our new segment "Lunch IN Entirety" attempts to peek into people's lives by watching them eat lunch. Why? Because the way a person eats lunch says a lot about who they are!

Mr. Mitsuoka, an employee at an IT Company in Nagoya City, is given the job to produce a staff cafeteria that would provide employees healthy meals. His task is extensive, as he must lead his project team to design the cafeteria's interior, atmosphere, menu and even the taste of its dishes.Photographer Satoru Abe visits an established wooden furniture plant of a city long known for its wood crafting, and discovers that the craftspeople there tend to eat alone in silence, and quickly at that.

The first winery in Miyagi Prefecture has recently opened. As the only unmarried man at the winery, Mr. Takane, in charge of wine making, only brings rice balls he makes for himself for lunch, but the other men always share their bento dishes with him.Although Miyagi's seaweed farming was devastated by the 2011 disasters, it is recovering fast. When seaweed harvest begins, work is hard. However, it is also the time when seaweed farmers get to fully enjoy the goodness of what they grow for lunch.

We look behind the scenes leading up to the summer tournament of professional sumo wrestling, which is enjoying newfound popularity recently in Japan. Sumo ushers are the unsung heroes of sumo, as they usher wrestlers to the ring, build the ring, and on the day before the tournament, go around to sumo stables in a ritual to notify wrestlers and others that the big tournament is about to begin. We follow the protectors of sumo traditions to look at what they do, and what they eat for lunch.

In our "Taxi Lunch" segment, we go to Kanazawa City, which is now bustling with the opening of the new bullet train line. We assume taxi drivers must know where all the delicious spots are at, so we join them for lunch to find out what lunch in Kanazawa is all about. In another segment, we are surprised to see the extremely skillful portrait bento sent in from Ms. Kitamura in Hokkaido. She deftly crafts seaweed cutouts and puts them in her husband's bento. How does he feel about it?

The Gion Festival is the main summer event in Kyoto, Japan. It features many hoko floats, and the most noteworthy one, as tall as an 8-story building, is assembled with just rope, without the use of even a single nail by a team of carpenters. Mr. Hirose, who leads that team has bento cooked by his wife for lunch. In another segment, we talk about eel. Since the expensive fish isn't something people usually consider for lunch, we ask eel lunch eaters the reason they're having eel lunch.

We visit a family-run workshop that produces traditional Nishijin fabric in Kyoto, Japan. The wife in charge of preparing lunch for all at the workshop cooks healthy dishes with local vegetables, and the family of 9 all sit around the table to eat together.In a different segment, we follow workers as they go back to work from lunch break. In this episode, we find 2 men scarfing down a gigantic plate of fried rice. We follow them to their workplace to see what all that energy is used for.

We kick off this episode with Ms. Aoki, an office worker at a trucking company in Nagoya, Japan. A few times a month, she makes bento lunch for 10 young men who work as truck drivers, and she just loves watching them chow down! In another segment, we go behind the scenes of the famous Tanabata Star Festival wherein local shops of Hiratsuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, compete to craft the best festival decorations. We observe a crafter with decades of experience get to work, and also what he does for lunch.

We begin this episode with Mr. Suzuki, who works for a beverage company. He analyzes water quality by examining the condition of the mountain whose water his company uses. So it's his job to climb up the mountain for research, but what does he do up there for lunch? We follow him and find out. In another segment, we visit rock band Chatmonchy while they are cooped up in the studio rehearsing for a very big show. The staff who handle stage direction and lighting nibble on bread or rice balls whenever they get the chance, but what do the rock stars eat for lunch behind the scenes? Come rock out with the band, and find out!

In Japan, each fire engine is custom-made and delivered to local governments. We visit a factory that builds about 300 fire engines each year to check out its cafeteria, which is used mostly by men.In another segment, photographer Satoru Abe goes to Gojo City, Nara Prefecture. The city is Japan's top production area of persimmons, shipping out up to 200 tons per day. There, he visits a fruit sorting center, where most of the predominantly-female workers on the sorting belt bring bento for lunch.

Every day, a few young people walk with food through the allies of a posh Tokyo shopping district. The food they carry is lunch for the staff at a hair salon. Stylist Mr. Yamamoto personally cooks lunch for everyone at the salon's storage flat. We visit him to witness just how particular he is when it comes to cooking. In another segment, we go to the seas around Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, to meet Mr. Aramaki, who gave up his successful career at a major corporation in Tokyo to become a professional fisherman. At first, he couldn't stand being scolded as the lowest-ranking member of the crew, but now he has become to enjoy his new job and the delicious seafood meals that come with it.

Mr. Hirao, who handles publicity at a railway company, has the job to write a lunch blog on the company website. Each restaurant featured in his blog is one he can go to, eat at, and come back from in his hour-long lunch break. Despite his limitations, Mr. Hirao has gone to about 3,000 restaurants so far, all in hopes of vitalizing the communities around his company's lines. In another segment, we go to Akita Prefecture, northern Japan, to visit a company that develops and sells fungi, which are essential in producing fermented foods. We observe how the fermentation professionals develop fungi, conduct quality control and also what they do for lunch.

We go to Fukuoka City, southern Japan, to visit a bus company's team that designs and updates control diagrams, which determine the schedules of bus routes. To combat traffic congestion, team leader Mr. Ishibashi personally goes to bus stops, observes the flow of people and buses carefully, and heads back to the office to fine-tune the diagrams based on his findings. And at lunchtime, he enjoys the bento lunch his wife prepares for him. In a different segment, we sit down for face-to-face lunch with Ms. Eri Nishida, who is a prosecutor. Through the conduit of lunch, we take a peek into the judicial world.

We visit busy sesame farmers during the peak of harvest on the island of Kikaijima, situated 1,200 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. Farmers there eat a unique rice ball that is absolutely delicious.In the 2nd half, we visit an IT company where male employees have a potluck lunch in the office. Let's look at the lunch that is turning the male employees into cooking enthusiasts, one after another.

From Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan's main island, we bring you the lunches eaten by people in the fishing and apple production industries, which are things Aomori is famous for! We take a look at the unique bentos eaten by craftsman who produce traditional wooden boxes to put the apples in. At Aomori City's central wholesale market, we discover the seafood lunch eaten by seafood specialists.

The shochu spirit blender who preserves the taste of a traditional shochu brand must fight his urges during lunch to keep his tongue in good condition.In the 2nd half, we look at the heart-warming bentos eaten by the employees of an amber museum in Kuji, Iwate Prefecture, one of the world's biggest amber producers.

We look at the homemade bento of a woman whose job is to protect the Imperial Family as an imperial guard.In the 2nd half, we look at the delicious lunch served at the cafeteria of a dairy products manufacturer in Shimane Prefecture. Most of the vegetables and rice in the lunch are grown by the employees!

There are professional bento deliverymen in Tokyo Station, which recently celebrated its 100th year. What is the lunch they most look forward to?In "Onigiri of different seasons and regions", we look at the delicious onigiri rice ball eaten by a bus driver who drives through mountains on the longest non-highway bus route in Japan.

2 coworkers of a certain company in Tokyo always go out to have lunch together, but it seems there's a set of rules they must follow in doing so. What is the secret to how they choose where to eat?In "Onigiri of different seasons and regions", we look at big, black onigiri rice balls eaten at a family-run steel processing factory in Yokohama.

Kumano City, Mie Prefecture is known for its whole-dried sanma, or pacific saury. The Hamaguchi family, who process the fish, top off their lunch with sanma rice tea porridge.In the 2nd half, photographer Satoru Abe visits the operators of a cable car line on Tokyo's Mt. Mitake, and takes a look at what they have for lunch.

Satomi Watabe is the head of an agency based in Aomori City that staffs many corporations and organizations in Aomori Prefecture. Ms. Watabe, whose motto is "You can tell a lot about a company by looking at its cafeteria", sits down for lunch with her employees to hear what they've got to say.Kenichi Nagao of Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, is a decorated master shiitake cultivator. What kind of lunch do Mr. and Mrs. Nagao have?

The restaurant next to a driving school in Iwate Prefecture provides vital support for workers in the area. We visit an aquarium in Fukushima Prefecture that had lost many of its animals by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. With the effort of employees and the support of many, the aquarium's exhibits have now been restored. We take a look at what the workers there do for lunch. Following the 2011 disasters, the staff cafeteria at an electronic appliances factory has provided the chance for interaction among employees.

We visit a master and his pupil who conduct the meticulous job of cutting vinyl records, which are regaining popularity.The head nurse at a general hospital in Ibaraki Prefecture prepares playful rice balls for her staff on night shift.

Fusao Ito, who performs balloon art as a clown, is actually a balloon crafter. Together with his wife and a part-time worker, he produces 6,000 balloons every day. We take a look at the lunchtime that the balloon-making couple has shared for 40 years. Hirotaka Fujimoto is learning the art of towel production as a worker at a towel manufacturer in Imabari City, Aichi Prefecture, established 60 years ago. We take a look at the lunch he cooks for himself in no time.

60 km Northwest of Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture is the island of Tonakijima. The only hair salon on the island is open for just 10 days each month, as Takatoshi Fukuda, the hairstylist usually lives in mainland Japan. We look at the lunchtime Mr. Fukuda shares with his friends on the island, whom he had to work hard to befriend.Elementary schoolchildren in Japan use a leather backpack called randoseru. We visit a factory that produces the bags, and check out what the employees there do for lunch!

Vitalizing the Office with Shuffle LunchAn IT company in Osaka carries out a special event called shuffle lunch in an attempt to get employees to communicate more with each other. Once a month, voluntary participants are shuffled into groups of people from various departments and positions, so that they can all have lunch together. Since this event started, many employees feel that it has become easier to communicate with other employees about work. We follow a few nervous new recruits go out to lunch with senior employees.The Seafood Bento at the Mock Crab Meat FactoryPhotographer Satoru Abe visits a seafood processing factory in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture to take a look at the bentos the employees there eat. Kanikama mock crab meat sticks have now become a popular food internationally. Kanikama is made by stretching out and forming ground fish paste into the shape of crab legs. We look at the bentos - all made with plenty of love - that the employees there eat.

The railway safety maintenance team exclusively conducts maintenance work on train signal lights, which support the safe operation of trains. As the team conducts maintenance work near the tracks on over 200 light signals and railway crossings while trains are in operation, the team members depend on each other for safety. The lunch they have is one they cook in the office kitchen. To bond as a team, the members all eat lunch together. We watch the team enjoy their lunchtime, which is the only time when they can relax.Face-to-face Lunch at the Shizuoka Tea FarmIn this episode of face-to-face lunch, where we usually join people in the city for lunch, we sit down for lunch with tea farmers in Shizuoka Prefecture, the number one producer of green tea in the country. At a time when they are very busy picking the first tea of the season, we join the farmers in their home-cum-processing plant to have lunch with them, and to hear them out about tea.

The Lunch of the Pros Who Make You Say "That looks tasty!"There are professionals who film foods for commercial videos and product packages! The experts who specialize in shooting foods display their finest skills in the photo shoot of a particular instant noodles product. We see handmade devices used to make dried food look great on photo. For lunch, the staff members deftly cook with the ingredients available in the refrigerator of leftovers from photo and video shoots.Viewer Message: Living Alone for Work LunchA man from Singapore who lives alone in Japan for work keeps a rice cooker at his workplace. We take a look at the lunch meeting held at his workplace, which all started with the man's fluffy, just-cooked rice!

Curry 3 Times a Day is Business as Usual! The Lunch of the Curry DeveloperMr. Kazuhiro Funakoshi, who works as a developer of ready-made curry products at a major foods manufacturer, eats curry for work, curry for lunch and looks for curry restaurants to eat at when he goes away on business trips. He's so committed that as soon as he leaves a curry restaurant, he always immediately documents his meal on his computer. His accumulated knowledge is frequently passed on to the curry researchers at the company. We follow Mr. Funakoshi through a curry-filled week! Viewer Message: Authentic Curry for Workers at the Goat FarmEvery day at a goat farm in Okayama City, workers cook lunch for themselves. Mr. Perera, the Sri Lankan head of the farm is frequently the one doing the cooking, as the authentic curry he makes, rich with the aroma of spices, is the most popular dish among workers. We check out the hot lunch time shared by those who work with goats every day!

Viewer Message: Why Does a Husband Pass Out Bento His Wife Made to People at His Workplace?Seiko Taninaka makes up to 8 bentos every day, including one for herself, another for her husband, and the rest for her husband's coworkers at a company that produces mobile games. Seiko started doing this not because her husband asked her to, but because she wanted to take "adorable bento photos". She thought that the bento pictures she uploads onto a photo-sharing Website would look more adorable if there are multiple bentos lined up, so she offered to make bentos for her husband's colleagues. The guys eating the bento are also happy too, as Seiko makes them nutritious bento, tailored to suit each eater's health condition and preferences. Let's Go See a Bento: Oigawa Railway in Shizuoka PrefectureThis time, we go check out what the staff who keep a steam locomotive in operation eat for lunch. The operator and his assistants spend 3 hours for preparation, which includes the tasks of starting up a fire at 7:30, and then filling up the train with water. During the trip, the crew in the cabin sweat ferociously as they work right near the burning coal. We look at the bentos eaten at the Oigawa Railway, a beloved tourist destination.

Ground Handling Staff Haneda Airport's busy schedule, which involves over 1,200 flights a day, could only be made possible with the efforts of staff members who provide all sorts of support on the ground. A plane that has landed in Haneda Airport sometimes must be back in the sky again within less than an hour. In that short amount of time, aircraft must be guided into its place, and cargo must be unloaded and loaded. In the summer, the job calls for physical labor in the intense Tokyo heat. That's why eating lunch properly is the basic necessity to carry out operations. We look at the lunches of such ground personnel. The Weather Station at Haneda Airport: The Stronghold of Safety The weather station at Haneda Airport forecasts the weather around the airport 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With 27 years of experience, Mr. Horikawa leads the team as a chief forecaster. It's his job to make final decisions after he listens to the forecasts his team makes. To keep all aircrafts safe, Horikawa constantly pays attention to how the weather changes. We join him during his hectic lunchtime.

Grilled Mutton that the Beer Craftsman Shares with Hops FarmersMr. Hideki Kayaba, the head of brewing at the Sendai plant of KIRIN BEER, usually has the cafeteria's daily special for lunch. However, he looks forward to the special lunch he has once a year in Tono City, Iwate Prefecture, known as one of the nation's top production site of hops. Hops determine the taste and aroma of the final product: beer. About 10 days prior to harvest, Mr. Kayaba goes around and visits the 10 farms in Tono that provide hops to his plant. After he checks the aroma of the hops at the farms, he has the local specialty of grilled mutton together with the farmers.The Bento of the Lacquer Tapper Who Used to Be an Office WorkerNinohe City, Iwate Prefecture is a major producer of lacquer, as it supplies 80% of lacquer in the nation. Masayuki Igari quit his job as an office worker 7 years ago, and moved to Ninohe, where he has been working as a lacquerware craftsman during winter, and in summer, as a lacquer tapper, extracting lacquer from trees that grow in the mountains. The lonesome task of lacquer tapping requires Mr. Igari to carefully cut into trees just a little bit, so as not to kill the trees, and to gather the lacquer that oozes out patiently. Mr. Igari explains that he can relax the most when he sits down to eat the bento his wife makes for him every day.

Lunch of the National Census Team50 Million Households Nationwide! Conducting a Survey at the Heart of the National CensusThe Population Census Division of the Statistics Bureau of Japan is in charge of carrying out the national census, which is held every 5 years. In the spotlight of this episode of the survey is the nationwide online census, the first of its kind in Japan. As it is predicted that 10 million households will send in responses online, it is vital that a system that can withstand that much information is constructed. As head of the online census project, Mr. Hisachika Tanaka has been going through a series of trial and error for 3 years. At 12 a.m. on September 10, when the massive system goes online, Mr. Tanaka and his team wait anxiously. We conduct a lunch survey on the people who make the national census happen. The Annual Summer Gift Lunch Party!We visit an event planning company with 50 employees. Since 3 years ago, when the employees all cooked and together ate a huge amount of soba noodles sent to the company as a summer gift, the summer gift lunch party has been an annual event. Since the party gets workers from all divisions together, it has fueled communication in the company. We take a look at the fun lunch fiesta the employees look forward to.

A 36-year-old office worker continues to make bento for his 2 male colleagues. But why!?At an Osaka office, "lunch on the floor" is held monthly, where workers sit between desks on the office floor and eat together. Since this gives workers the chance to sit down close to each other and talk, the monthly event has brought about many positive changes.

In Japan, restaurants don't only serve lunch for customers; they also cook lunch for their staff. At a Kanazawa company that distributes local produce, the director personally cooks delicious dishes for the staff using expired vegetables. We take a look at the staff lunch of a popular Thai cuisine restaurant in Tokyo. Check out what the Thai chefs cook for themselves for a heart-warming taste of home.

Is a move up of the corporate ladder a move up in lunch as well? We visit the nation's largest book distribution center to look at the respective lunches of new recruit, assistant manager and manager.On "Onigiri of various seasons and regions", we visit Shodoshima Island, the cradle of olives in Japan, to find the delicious onigiri made using olive oil.

Every day, at the Kyoto woodblock print studio with a history of 120 years, craftspeople and other employees - ranging from ages 25 to 78 - take turns to cook lunch and dinner for everyone. We take a look at the unique lunch each person makes.In the latter half of the episode, we report on a woman who packs her lunch not in a bento box, but on a plate to take to work. Her method of safely transporting her lunch is an outcome of series of trial and error…how does she do it?

On Aogashima Island, 360 km south of Tokyo, there are no restaurants that serve lunch. Therefore, residents mainly eat lunch at home, and the employees of a Tokyo construction company eat lunch made by the dorm mother. When the regular ferry cannot make it to the island for extended periods, Ms. Sato picks wild plants, and makes ingenious use of them to cook delicious dishes. At the central part of the island, many people steam vegetables and fish with geothermal heat, while they work on the fields. We look into the slow but blissful lunchtime on this small island.

A temporary shopping street with 30 shops was built in February of last year in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture. We take a peek at how the shop owners here help each other through the lunch they have every day. In Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture, Kenichi Sasaki runs an oyster farming business. He once gave up on restarting the business after the great disasters of 2011. However, last December, he succeeded in shipping out raw oysters for the first time since the disasters, with the help of public organizations. Mr. Sasaki has lunch in the little tent where he processes the oysters. We follow him as he works hard to get his business back on track.

The president of a shipyard company personally cooks an extraordinarily filling dish, prepared on an iron grill. Also we have a new corner where we put the spotlight on curry with rice, which is on the menu at all staff cafeterias. What emotions cause people to order curry?

What are the sincere thoughts of a boss behind an "uneasy lunch"? In "Let's go see a bento", we visit Wakkanai, Hokkaido early in spring to look at the bentos, rich with the blessings of the seas, eaten by workers who produce dried cod sticks.

We visit a company that specializes in making movie trailers. Most employees spend work hours editing all alone. To have everyone talk to each other, the company president makes curry for her employees once a week.In "Let's go see a bento", we look at the lunchtime of part-time female employees who work at a factory that produces unique erasers.

We visit a high-end French restaurant in Tokyo to see what the chefs do for lunch. At this restaurant, the lunch for the staff must be curry on Saturdays, as it is the perfect dish to clean out a week's worth of leftovers. Onigiri of different seasons and regions. We visit Hadano City in Kanagawa Prefecture, known for its production of edible cherry blossoms. There, the seasonal specialty is a simple onigiri rice ball of just rice and cherry blossoms pickled in salt.

This entire episode is dedicated to sharing the messages we have received from viewers! What does the bento box collector woman in her 30's pack for lunch? At a certain clinic, staff members cook ethnic dishes for lunch, and they eat them together with patients! A 42 year-old bento man lives a disciplined life, all because he wants to see his beloved family.

A veterinarian who works at an Okinawa aquarium has had the same lunch every day for 4 years in order to examine his marine animal patients. We look at the bentos eaten by craftspeople at a Kagoshima factory that makes baseball gloves for players worldwide, including those in Major League Baseball.

Take a look at the home-made lunch for veterinarians who work at a rehabilitation center for race horses.Find out what people do for lunch on rainy days on Rain Lunch. We document the heart-warming relationship between the mistress of a cafeteria on a small island and a doctor who has been eating at the cafeteria for 35 years.

The new principal of an Osaka high school was recruited from the private sector. We document his first month on the job. How is his new job different from his old job as a screenwriter, and how has his lunch changed?We look at a couple who has devoted over 20 years to study rice plants, and the bento they eat in their quest to find the ultimate rice.

A marine weather forecasting company in Shonan, Kanagawa Prefecture, has an all-surfer staff. Watch how they manage both business and pleasure, even during lunchtime!In "Let's go see a bento", we visit a silk reeling mill in Okaya, Nagano Prefecture. We find some unique dishes packed in the bentos of vigorous veteran employees.

A veteran employee of a company staff cafeteria goes to the new, rival cafeteria to scout their lunch. On "Onigiri (rice balls) of different seasons and regions", we find a delicious corn onigiri made by farmers in Furano, Hokkaido.

Mount Tateyama in Toyama Prefecture is one of Japan's most popular destinations for mountain-climbing tourists. The Tateyama Center is the base for various types of workers who all operate to keep climbers safe. Although the workers face danger every day, they have Kinuko Aoyama, who manages the center's dining hall, to support them with her cooking. In the 2nd half, we visit a theater troupe to check out the filling lunch that they have, cooked by a former professional chef of French cuisine.

The sight of bento vendors walking around on platforms of train stations is rapidly becoming something of the past. We follow a bento vendor who devotes himself to selling bento that way, despite the times. What is the local lunch he loves so dearly?In the 2nd half, we check out the energizing daily lunch eaten by workers at the Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, who continue to excavate rare fossils.

A survey shows that a Japanese salaried worker spends 510 yen on average for lunch, 30% less than the average 20 years ago. It's no wonder the 500 yen "one-coin" lunch has become so popular. We go to Sendai City and step into the kitchens of restaurants to examine the hard work and ingenuity that makes it possible to serve one-coin lunches. The second half of this episode takes place in a gigantic district heating and cooling center situated beneath the high-rise city of west Shinjuku, Tokyo.

The Shintencho Shopping Street in Fukuoka has an employee cafeteria to serve its hard workers. We'll take a peek at the delicious lunches of the workers who try to liven up the shopping street amidst the intensifying competition against large retailers. We have also "Onigiri from Different Seasons and Regions," in which we look at various onigiri rice balls across Japan. This time we'll get a taste of an onigiri rice ball made with the first nori seaweed of the year, picked from the Ariake Sea.

Groups from France and the US come to observe how the Japanese bullet train cleaning crew gets to work. In just 7 minutes, the crew cleans the entire train, and sends it off right on schedule. The secret to the superb teamwork making such a feat possible is the lunch they have!--In"Face-to-Face Lunch", we hear out working people by having lunch with them. --In Kyoto we visit a Japanese pickle shop run by a family spanning 3 generations.Let's take a peek at what they have for lunch!

In "Get in line for lunch", we take a close look into the excitement people are feeling as they wait in line to have lunch. In "Everybody's Lunch ON!", where we look at messages sent in from viewers, we visit a laundry in Tokyo. The employees look forward to lunch every day, and there's a good reason why. We also look at the lunch of a man who knows all the roads--he is a field researcher for car navigation systems.

450 meters up the TOKYO SKYTREE, Tokyo's latest landmark, is the TEMBO GALLERIA. This time, we look into the inspirational lunch loved by the composer who designed its unique acoustic environment. In the second half, we visit the world-famous fish market in Tsukiji and the Korean town in Shin-Okubo to take a look at the delicious lunches of working people.

Staff members at Okinawa's professional soccer club, FC Ryuku, had long thought hard about how they could best provide a nutritious lunch to its players on the tight budget. What is the bento they ended up choosing!? --In "Face-to-Face Lunch", we find out what a manager at an electronics appliance manufacturer loves to do when he's not working! --In "Let's Go See a Bento", we visit a doll-crafting shop in Iwatsuki, Saitama Prefecture. There, we take a look at what the skilled craftsmen eat for lunch!

A Tokyo company makes and sells 60,000 bento lunches every day. All employees eat the same bento that the customers are eating. Doing this encourages employees to talk about their product with each other, and come up with new ideas. We visited them during lunch time! In "Face-to-Face Lunch", we sat down with a woman who works as a manager for an IT company. In the 2nd half of the program, we take a look at the bento lunches of professional wind instrument repairmen.

We visited a young woman who works as a dental hygienist at a research center in Tokyo and found out that the secret to her good oral health was in the lunch she eats! In Japan, April is the month that kicks off the fiscal year. In the 2nd half, Lunch ON! has fresh recruits across the nation to film their first lunch on the job!

We visit a very busy theatre company that is always performing musicals all over Japan. With around 600 actors to feed, its cafeteria is busy too. We find out that the cafeteria has a unique system! We also go to Hamamatsu City to visit areas that have delicious names. Let's see what the residents at such tasty places do for lunch!

The JICA Tokyo International Center's cafeteria serves people from 140 different nations. Its head chef uses a variety of ingredients and goes out of his way to think of new dishes to serve. We find out what he eats for lunch. Mt. Hakodate of Hokkaido boasts a spectacular view of the port town at its foot. Day and night, its ropeway leads countless tourists uphill for the magnificent sight. We visit the people who operate the ropeway, and check out what they have for lunch!

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Helicopter Rescue Squadron uses the air-sea rescue aircraft to rescue and transport people in emergency situations. We fly with the men to see what they're having in the air! We tag along with a foodstuff salesman as he negotiates to have his products put on the end-aisle display of a supermarket. We find the key to his success in his lunch.

The "mother" of the employee cafeteria at a mega furniture shop can improvise dishes with whatever ingredients that come her way! In "Let's go see a bento", Satoru Abe visits a team of motorcycle policewomen. As the women need strength and have to train with motorcycles weighing 300 kg, they must eat properly.

Many Tokyo-based IT firms are putting up satellite offices in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture. The influx of workers from big cities like Tokyo is rapidly changing lunch in the small town. Fishermen use the traditional Okinawan fishing technique to catch Gurukun, the locally popular fish. For lunch, they eat manly rice balls on their boat. And their side dish is -of course- fresh fish!

A designer in the gaming industry packs unique, visually-artistic Bento for himself every day. He shows his work to his colleagues, and enjoys hearing their opinion. We watch him as he makes a Bento like no other!Thanks to their Bentos, landscapers in Osaka are able to create a beautiful Japanese garden during the steaming hot summer.

This episode is a special on Mount Fuji. For 2 months during summer, 10 workers take shifts working at the shrine on Mount Fuji's summit. What do the workers at the shrine above the clouds have for lunch? Also we focus on the bulldozer which is essential on Mount Fuji, as it delivers food and other supplies to the cabins on the great mountain. Let's look at the stamina-boosting bento the bulldozer drivers eat!

We visit the construction site of a 52-story skyscraper in Toranomon, Tokyo. What does the crane operator who works 260 meters above ground always have for lunch?Enjoy the heart-warming story behind the bento eaten by those who work with horses on Mount Fuji's 5th station.

Asakusa welcomes 4 million tourists each year. We find the lunches of the people who work in the popular tourist spot. A rickshaw man who is pursuing his dream to become a lawyer sits at a table to have lunch with experienced rickshaw men, as he learns valuable lessons on life.For lunch, the 78-year-old attendant of an established tempura shop has an exquisite bowl of mixed-tempura on rice, made by his life-long friend.

A man who works in Shinbashi, Tokyo is an authority on standing soba noodle shops. With more than 1,400 shops visited, he knows exactly how to tell if a shop serves good dishes or not, and he gives us a lesson on the subject.Photographer Satoru Abe visits an umbrella factory in Chiba Prefecture. The factory produces innovative umbrellas to compete with cheap, imported products. We take a look at the delicious, home-made bentos eaten by the factory employees.