《深夜食堂》 Returns After 7 Years! Kôrin Kobayashi Reveals Miraculous Movie-Level Crew and 'Easter Egg' for Taiwanese Fans

Veteran Japanese actor Kôrin Kobayashi held a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ) in Tokyo on October 24th to promote the new series of 《深夜食堂》 Season 7, which will air on TBS and MBS starting October 20th. This work, which depicts the warm human stories in the corners of the city, has garnered high attention as a new installment after 7 years. Kobayashi shared in-depth insights about the work's resonance overseas and his journey of long-term filming. He also brought a surprise to Taiwanese fans in his message to them.

《深夜食堂》 enjoys extremely high popularity in various parts of Asia. When asked about plans for overseas streaming on platforms like Netflix, Kobayashi turned to the producer for confirmation and expressed surprise that it had not been officially announced yet. He revealed that while it has not been publicly announced, he believes that moving towards overseas distribution is a natural direction.

When asked about the reasons for the show's overseas popularity and the significance of the food to the customers, Kobayashi explained that the characters in the drama have added the marks of time, making them even more endearing. He admitted that he also found it hard to believe the show's overseas popularity and pointed out that in Japan, sharing a table with strangers in such a small space is a unique setting. He was amazed that audiences in various countries could accept such a setting. However, he recalled that as early as 2009, when the first season was broadcast, pirated videos with Korean subtitles appeared online, and the second season even had full Chinese subtitles, making him deeply aware of the show's overseas popularity.

《風傳媒》 reporter continued in Japanese, pointing out that 《深夜食堂》 has been loved and anticipated by many viewers in Taiwan for many years. He asked Kobayashi about his feelings of returning to play the role of the food stall owner after many years and requested a message for Taiwanese fans who have been waiting patiently. Kobayashi gave a very detailed response. He said that the production of the seventh season, including the planning itself, was filled with many miraculous elements. He explained that it is difficult for terrestrial TV stations to achieve a cinematic presentation due to budget limitations. However, through the mediation of director Jôji Matsuoka, a group of excellent behind-the-scenes film industry professionals not affiliated with major TV stations was successfully brought in. Kobayashi further emphasized to 《風傳媒》 that this group of film industry workers agreed to participate purely out of their love for the work. Moreover, under limited budgets and without significant returns, almost all of the top talents in the Japanese film industry, including renowned food stylist Nami Iijima, were gathered. He emotionally said that with the scale and budget of this drama, it would have been impossible to gather such a lineup, making this a miraculous gathering of the team.

Everyone worked together to create a good drama, which made him feel extremely happy. When answering the message for Taiwanese fans, Kobayashi expressed his sincere gratitude and voluntarily revealed a piece of news that had not been announced to the public. He said that in this new work, there is an episode that specially invited a Taiwanese actress to make a guest appearance. Although he momentarily forgot which episode it was in, he strongly hoped that this previously unreleased special arrangement could make Taiwanese audiences feel more familiar and resonant. Regarding the filming situation after 7 years, Kobayashi revealed that in order to save studio costs, the crew this time chose to build a set in an abandoned elementary school in the mountains of Kanagawa Prefecture.

At the same time, although the temperature was extremely low when filming began at the end of January, as soon as everyone entered the food stall set, they seemed to instantly forget the passage of time and did not feel the seven-year gap. When mentioning the impact of the epidemic on society, Kobayashi sighed and said that during the period when restaurants were equipped with acrylic partitions and were asked to avoid talking, people became even more nostalgic for the warm atmosphere of eating and chatting in 《深夜食堂》.

The first episode of the new series also specially incorporated the plot of reopening the food stall after the epidemic, hoping to rekindle the public's beautiful memories of interpersonal communication and sharing food. The press conference also discussed many behind-the-scenes stories and details.

Regarding the future development of Japanese dramas, Kobayashi encouraged young creators to put aside budget considerations and focus on creating works they truly love as the key to breaking through. As for whether 《深夜食堂》 will open overseas branches, he said that the existence of the owner is closely related to the small shop, and there are currently no plans for overseas expansion.

Regarding the owner's iconic facial scar, Kobayashi speculated that the original author tends to preserve the space for imagination, and revealing it would be less interesting, so the mystery will not be solved in the future. The owner in the drama will have very restrained emotional scenes, but there will be no traditional romantic development. The most popular dish on the set was the salmon roe bowl prepared by Nami Iijima, which caused a scramble among the crew.

Kobayashi also shared his views on food, saying that as he gets older, he no longer pursues expensive high-end cuisine, but rather enjoys sharing local specialties with his family at home, which is the most beautiful time. Since its broadcast in 2009, 《深夜食堂》 has had a very large following in Taiwan. As the main character, Kobayashi has not yet visited Taiwan for promotions, while the original manga author Yôrô Abe and co-star Reo Oda have visited Taiwan. Now, in the work that has been seven years since the last drama in 2019, there is great anticipation among fans for the main character Kobayashi to visit Taiwan for promotions or events.