Home > Midnight Diner > Tokyo Stories « TV Series Page Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories (2016) + WANT TO SEE Episode List Tokyo Stories Midnight Diner Critics Consensus No consensus yet. 100% TOMATOMETER Critic Ratings: 8 No Score Yet Audience Score User Ratings: 0 NEW More Info × Close ADD YOUR RATING Share on Facebook Post Want to See Add Rating My Rating × Want to See Post Share on Facebook Episodes 1 Tan-Men Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Radio deejay Shimada has been diagnosed with normal weight obesity by a doctor; while this concerns him, he cannot give up his beloved tan-men. One day he meets a taxi driver Harumi, who eats tan-men without the noodles, and his interest is piqued. Before long, Shimada realizes Harumi is the actress who played the popular ranger character he idolized as a child. More 2 Corndog Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Asakusa entertainer Serao Que-Será frequents the diner to enjoy the corndog Master makes. Serao's popularity wanes as time goes by. Instead his former attendant Hajime Moriwaki has started to get attention. Discontent with the situation, Serao ends his relationship with Hajime because of the squabble about a woman. Ever since, Serao has indulged in alcohol, and been distant from the stage. More 3 Tonteki Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Real estate agent Shigemi knits sweaters for her crushes. but they are always unrequited. However she falls in love again. Her current crush is her junior coworker, Kurihara. She brings him to the diner and treats him to his favorite, tonteki. A week later, she gives him the sweater she knitted, but she cannot read Kurihara's feelings, which makes her anxious. Another junior coworker, Shirano, approaches Shigemi asking her for knitting lessons. More 4 Omelette Rice Air date: Oct 21, 2016 One rainy night, Physicist Amamiya meets Yuna, a Korean woman known as Rei, at the diner and they become close.Yuna learns the recipe of omelet rice from Master for Amamiya. Eventually they become serious enough to think about marriage, but his parents are against the idea. It turns out that Yuna has been working in Japan to pay back her parents' debt. Once it is paid in full, she leaves a letter for Amamiya and returns to Seoul. More 5 Egg Tofu Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Mahjong player Ogami appears at the diner, after a year-long absence, with his six-year-old son, Daizo. Ogami claims an ex-girlfriend thrust the boy on him and he has no father-like feelings for the boy, but there is no doubt they are father and son when they sit side by side eating their favorite, egg tofu. Cabaret club hostess Midori likes to dote on Daizo, but Midori is attached to vicious boyfriend Kazuma, a former host turned wannabe mahjong player. More 6 Sour Plum & Plum Wine Air date: Oct 21, 2016 The vegetable store owner, Yoichi that Master patronizes is hospitalized with diabetes. It seems he has neglected his health since his mother passed away four years ago. After Yoichi is released from the hospital, he appears at the diner complaining that his dead mother's ghost visits him every night telling him he's forgotten something. Eventually the grocer guesses the forgotten item is the plum wine his mother made; however, even after he remembers the wine, his mother's ghost continues to appear. More 7 Hot Pot for One Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Chu's childhood friend Kae stops by the diner on her way home from work and orders a hot pot for one. The beautiful daughter of a Japanese shoemaker, Kae was once scouted as an actress and then married into wealth; however, these days she leads a desolate, lonely life cleaning rooms at a love hotel to make ends meet. Her nephew Teppei has come to stay and sponge off her. Her over-40, unemployed nephew proves to be a good-for-nothing yet Kae seems happy. More 8 Sautéed Yam Air date: Oct 21, 2016 One night the regular customer Rumi showed up at the diner with Hisamatsu, president of a printing company, and his wife, Fujiko.Happily married for 23 years,Hisamatsu enjoyed sauted yam cooked by the Master while mentioning that no one cooks better than his wife, Fujiko. Another regular customer Elect Oki walks into the diner and Fujiko acts odd and disturbed. Erectro Oki, a legendary adult film star and Fujiko shared a past, which they kept secret for a long time.. More 9 Ham Cutlet Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Lawyer Nakatsuka who owns a small law firm has very special memories regarding ham cutlets. Those memories involve the younger stepbrother, Kenta, he gained as a boy after his father remarried. However, their parents divorced and it has now been decades since he last saw Kenta. One day, the TV news features a story about a public housing project that is scheduled to be torn down, where one person is refusing to move out. Seeing the face of the resident creating the stir, Nakatsuka realizes that it is his stepbrother Kenta. More 10 New Year's Eve Noodles, Again Air date: Oct 21, 2016 It is New Year's Eve at the diner. The familiar faces reflect on the events that happened at the diner over the year. In spring, Komichi won big at the horse races and treated everyone at the diner. In summer, when the diner lost power over the summer, gangster Ryu was frightened by Kanemoto's ghost story. In autumn, the ramen shop's Tsutae made a passionate move on Officer Kogure. This year, once again, the diner's regular customers gather two and three at a time to eat Master's New Year's Eve noodles. More Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories Photos View All Photos (5) Tv Season Info In a back alley of a busy district sits a small eatery called Meshiya, referred to by its patrons as the "Midnight Diner". The little joint, which the Master runs by himself, is open only from midnight to 7:00 AM. The menu consists only of a pork miso soup set, beer, saké and shochu, but the Master's policy is to make whatever his customers request. Tonight, like every other night, a menagerie of customers flock to the Midnight Diner, where the bonds among the Master, his food and the patrons set the stage for humorous and sometimes wistful episodes of human drama that feed both the belly and the soul. Genre: Drama Network: Netflix Premiere Date: Oct 21, 2016 Cast Kaoru Kobayashi as The Master Mamiko Ito as Shigemi Suzuki Kosuke Toyohara as Ogami Tamaki Ogawa as Fujiko B-Saku Sato as Serao Que-Será Kotaro Shiga Yoshiyuki Morishita Hirofumi Arai as Hajime Moriwaki Mitsuru Hirata Toru Kazama as Electo Oki Mansaku Fuwa as Regular Yûma Yamoto as Toru Shirano Toshiki Ayata as Regular Tamae Ando as Regular Takashi Yamanaka as Regular Mitsuki Tanimura as Regular Shinohara Yukiko as Regular Asako Kobayashi as Regular Naoko Yoshimoto as Regular Kaoru Hirata as Regular Shôhei Uno as Regular Yuichiro Nakayama as Regular Seiroku Nakazawa as Regular Yoshimi Nozaki as Regular Yutaka Matsushige as Regular Ken Mitsuishi as Regular Mikako Tabe as Regular Kimiko Yo as Regular Joe Odagiri as Regular Reiko Kataoka as Harumi Kiuchi Koen Kondo as Kazuhiko Shimada Show More Cast News & Interviews for Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories 2016 Fall TV Premiere Dates View All Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories News Episodes 1 Tan-Men Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Radio deejay Shimada has been diagnosed with normal weight obesity by a doctor; while this concerns him, he cannot give up his beloved tan-men. One day he meets a taxi driver Harumi, who eats tan-men without the noodles, and his interest is piqued. Before long, Shimada realizes Harumi is the actress who played the popular ranger character he idolized as a child. More 2 Corndog Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Asakusa entertainer Serao Que-Será frequents the diner to enjoy the corndog Master makes. Serao's popularity wanes as time goes by. Instead his former attendant Hajime Moriwaki has started to get attention. Discontent with the situation, Serao ends his relationship with Hajime because of the squabble about a woman. Ever since, Serao has indulged in alcohol, and been distant from the stage. More 3 Tonteki Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Real estate agent Shigemi knits sweaters for her crushes. but they are always unrequited. However she falls in love again. Her current crush is her junior coworker, Kurihara. She brings him to the diner and treats him to his favorite, tonteki. A week later, she gives him the sweater she knitted, but she cannot read Kurihara's feelings, which makes her anxious. Another junior coworker, Shirano, approaches Shigemi asking her for knitting lessons. More 4 Omelette Rice Air date: Oct 21, 2016 One rainy night, Physicist Amamiya meets Yuna, a Korean woman known as Rei, at the diner and they become close.Yuna learns the recipe of omelet rice from Master for Amamiya. Eventually they become serious enough to think about marriage, but his parents are against the idea. It turns out that Yuna has been working in Japan to pay back her parents' debt. Once it is paid in full, she leaves a letter for Amamiya and returns to Seoul. More 5 Egg Tofu Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Mahjong player Ogami appears at the diner, after a year-long absence, with his six-year-old son, Daizo. Ogami claims an ex-girlfriend thrust the boy on him and he has no father-like feelings for the boy, but there is no doubt they are father and son when they sit side by side eating their favorite, egg tofu. Cabaret club hostess Midori likes to dote on Daizo, but Midori is attached to vicious boyfriend Kazuma, a former host turned wannabe mahjong player. More 6 Sour Plum & Plum Wine Air date: Oct 21, 2016 The vegetable store owner, Yoichi that Master patronizes is hospitalized with diabetes. It seems he has neglected his health since his mother passed away four years ago. After Yoichi is released from the hospital, he appears at the diner complaining that his dead mother's ghost visits him every night telling him he's forgotten something. Eventually the grocer guesses the forgotten item is the plum wine his mother made; however, even after he remembers the wine, his mother's ghost continues to appear. More 7 Hot Pot for One Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Chu's childhood friend Kae stops by the diner on her way home from work and orders a hot pot for one. The beautiful daughter of a Japanese shoemaker, Kae was once scouted as an actress and then married into wealth; however, these days she leads a desolate, lonely life cleaning rooms at a love hotel to make ends meet. Her nephew Teppei has come to stay and sponge off her. Her over-40, unemployed nephew proves to be a good-for-nothing yet Kae seems happy. More 8 Sautéed Yam Air date: Oct 21, 2016 One night the regular customer Rumi showed up at the diner with Hisamatsu, president of a printing company, and his wife, Fujiko.Happily married for 23 years,Hisamatsu enjoyed sauted yam cooked by the Master while mentioning that no one cooks better than his wife, Fujiko. Another regular customer Elect Oki walks into the diner and Fujiko acts odd and disturbed. Erectro Oki, a legendary adult film star and Fujiko shared a past, which they kept secret for a long time.. More 9 Ham Cutlet Air date: Oct 21, 2016 Lawyer Nakatsuka who owns a small law firm has very special memories regarding ham cutlets. Those memories involve the younger stepbrother, Kenta, he gained as a boy after his father remarried. However, their parents divorced and it has now been decades since he last saw Kenta. One day, the TV news features a story about a public housing project that is scheduled to be torn down, where one person is refusing to move out. Seeing the face of the resident creating the stir, Nakatsuka realizes that it is his stepbrother Kenta. More 10 New Year's Eve Noodles, Again Air date: Oct 21, 2016 It is New Year's Eve at the diner. The familiar faces reflect on the events that happened at the diner over the year. In spring, Komichi won big at the horse races and treated everyone at the diner. In summer, when the diner lost power over the summer, gangster Ryu was frightened by Kanemoto's ghost story. In autumn, the ramen shop's Tsutae made a passionate move on Officer Kogure. This year, once again, the diner's regular customers gather two and three at a time to eat Master's New Year's Eve noodles. More Critic Reviews for Midnight Diner Tokyo Stories All Critics (8) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (0) Finding the joy and personal happiness through duty and expectation is what makes Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories both a cultural phenomenon and as easily palatable as those New Year's soba noodles. Nov 16, 2016 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review… Leyla Hamedi PopMatters Top Critic Midnight Diner is almost meditative in its languid narrative and it might not be something you'd like to binge all night but savour one bite at a time. Dec 20, 2018 | Full Review… Pratim D. Gupta Film Companion What I'm saying: come for the decent-enough narratives. But stay for that steaming hot bowl of delicious-looking miso. Jan 3, 2017 | Full Review… Joe Reid Decider Why is it so special? Even with English subtitles, the answer will be obvious to anyone peeking through this window into Japanese culture. One of the keys is the powerful bond that the Master forges between himself, his food and his patrons. Jan 3, 2017 | Full Review… Greg Kennedy The National (UAE) Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories is just as woozy and narcoleptic as you would imagine. Apr 19, 2018 | Full Review… Stuart Heritage Guardian Top Critic Like Japanese food itself it's easy to digest, but contains substantive depth. Jan 3, 2017 | Full Review… Donal Lynch Independent (UK) Top Critic While not exactly haute cinematic cuisine, Matsuoka's film offers a plain and fulfilling supper. Jan 3, 2017 | Full Review… Clarence Tsui Hollywood Reporter Top Critic The show instills a sense of peace that you won't likely find anywhere else on television. Dec 9, 2016 | Full Review… Ryan Bort Newsweek Top Critic View All Critic Reviews (8) Audience Reviews for Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories Dec 14, 2018 In a current world of "hard and edgy" western series I'm glad i came across this healing and warm hearted series, just with a right amount of cliché Jul 10, 2018 What a surprise this series turned out to be! Every episode was an absolute gem! Please, another season, I beg of you! Karen D Jun 25, 2018 Midnight dinEr delivers SoMe of the most heartwarming food for SOUL i ever haD. Ivan W Apr 12, 2018 A delightful suprise. A calming show for a relaxing night. Parker E Feb 18, 2018 Oh this is a beautiful series. Have seen season 1 & 2 and I just loved it, but it was all way too short. How I so wish that further seasons will be screened. Dec 21, 2017 This is a quiet but wonderful show with lovely messages and delicious food every episode. I look forward to more seasons on netflix. Noelle A Nov 10, 2017 What really sets this series apart is how authentic and genuine it feels when we explore the characters in depth during each self contained episode. In any other show the writing would quickly fall back to painful and tired stereotypes to mock and humiliate the characters for cheap laughs and drama. However, every single character in the series is treated with the utmost respect regardless of their gender, sexuality, personalities, professions or issues they face. You aren't asked to understand and agree with the way they live their lives, and some characters you even feel disgust for at times, but rather are given an unbiased and nonjudgmental glimpse into their lives for a short while. I was especially impressed with the portrayal of sex workers and queer folks and how they saw them as people living their lives who just so happened to be those things. If you enjoy slice of life works that focus on realistic drama with resolutions, for better or for worse, you definitely should check it out. IMO, the first episode is probably the strongest with the second being the weakest, so don't let that put you off from at least continuing through the third one. Season 1 is available on Netflix with episodes running for about 20 minutes. The episodes are subtitled with original japanese audio. Jan 31, 2017 Fan-F^$king-Tastic show. I seriously feel go relaxed watching this. I seriously wish I was born Japanese.. They are such great people with such a great culture Ahmad M Jan 07, 2017 So... If you've not seen this show or aren't currently watching it... You should maybe stop what you're doing and watch it. For real. No kidding. Stop reading this and go watch it right fracking now. What are you doing still reading this?! Go!! Watch!! Tim H Dec 28, 2016 Fun show. And makes me hungry! But the stories are decent, some better than others. Kerr L See all Audience reviews News & Features 150 Erotic Movies Ranked worst to best! 2019's Most Anticipated 63 movies coming up this year 200 Essential Movies Chosen by RT staff! Best of Netflix Movies and shows to binge now More News & Features TOP HEADLINES 200 Essential Movies To Watch Now – Rotten Tomatoes The Best LGBT Movies on Netflix Right Now – Rotten Tomatoes 10 Great TV Shows That Failed in Their Final Seasons – Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes’ First Book Rotten Movies We Love is Out This October – Rotten Tomatoes Cannes 2019 Movie Scorecard – Rotten Tomatoes Your Full List of All Upcoming DC Movies – With Key Details – Rotten Tomatoes Major Awards Need to Stop Ignoring Incredible Horror Performances – Rotten Tomatoes 10 Killer Movie Marketing Campaigns – Rotten Tomatoes More Headlines View All Results Go back More trailers