When people finish their day
and hurry home,
my day starts.
My diner is open from midnight
to seven in the morning.
They call it "Midnight Diner."
PORK MISO SOUP COMBO BEER, SAKE, SHOCHU
That's all I have on my menu.
But I'll make whatever customers request
as long as I have the ingredients for it.
That's my policy.
Do I even have customers?
More than you would expect.
Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories
NEW YEAR'S EVE NOODLES, AGAIN
Before I know it, a year has passed.
Another New Year's Eve is here.
If you have six wins and four losses, I call it a good life.
Some great mind said so.
Cheer up.
Stop looking so miserable.
It makes me feel cold.
My empty wallet makes me feel frozen.
There are hot days and cold days.
Feels like the middle of the desert.
A good day is followed by a bad day.
It's a rule of the universe.
In the spring, the god of horse racing
brought me a stroke of good fortune
with cherry blossoms.
Then winter came.
My good fortune melted as it snowed.
You're not a good gambler anyway.
Here you go.
Listen, at least you had a good dream.
But that caused Master trouble.
What?
Okay. Good. Keep moving.
Hey, careful.
That was like a sweet dream on a warm spring day.
This is fine here.
-Clear. -Come in.
Welcome.
Master, I did it.
A million... A million...
You disappoint me, Komichi.
-You stole money? A million? -A million.
He bet on a dark horse at the Emperor Cup.
I was going to bet on the odds-on favorite,
but I bet on the dark horse by mistake.
At the beginning of the race, the top horse fell down
and caused a big mess. The dark horse survived and won.
-I'm so scared of my great fortune. -Congratulations.
Do anything you want with that.
I've never seen or earned such a large amount of money.
I don't know what to do.
At the very least, let me treat you all tonight.
No.
-Thanks, but we have to go now. -Why?
We escorted him here. Let's eat with his money.
-She's right. -That's inappropriate.
We're detectives. We're public servants.
-It's a sign of our friendship, right? -Of course, it's about friendship.
It's...
There is no conflict of interest.
It's based on an intimate relationship, one in which we care for each other.
-It's a beautiful... -Friendship.
If so, what would you do?
If so, we should accept it.
As a matter of courtesy.
Master, serve them anything they want.
-I want sushi. -Wait.
If you want sushi, you should go somewhere else.
But...
I wish to share the joy
with everyone at your diner.
Tonight's mixer was as pathetic as usual.
All the men talk like feminists,
but at the bottoms of their hearts they think a woman is an ornament.
Even in the 21st century, nothing has changed.
Fine!
I will never marry.
Here comes Greater amberjack.
What's going on?
Komichi won big on a horse race.
So, he's treating everyone to sushi.
Please join us.
Really? Can we?
You can eat anything you want, yes. Everyone else, eat some more.
-I'll have fatty tuna. -Give me salmon roe.
Coming right up.
Mater, I'm sorry...
about the big party.
-This is an exception, okay? -I know.
It was the biggest event among us this spring.
In the summer, we had a rare incident.
-The best summer food is watermelon. -I agree.
It'd be perfect if we had anti-mosquito incense.
I have the incense.
Thank you for the salt.
Here you go.
This is it. It completes a perfect Japanese summer.
What?
Are those the power-generating wind bells?
That's pretty.
Boss.
Relax.
Maybe a wire shorted out.
I wonder if our bar is okay.
It's not an earthquake.
I'm sure it won't last long.
We'll make it through a while with candles.
What can I say?
This is like a horror night.
Don't say that. I love horror stories.
Can anyone tell a scary story?
I don't know if it's scary or not.
But a watermelon reminds me of something.
Want to hear it?
Sure.
This is what happened to
my grandfather.
On a summer night 60 years ago,
it was around this same time,
my grandfather was having a drink at his colleague's place
where he lived alone.
It was hot and humid.
They ran out of liquor and food. They were so thirsty.
So, the colleague said, "Let's go get a watermelon."
Steal a watermelon?
They were so drunk, they entered a watermelon field.
They each stole one,
then headed back to the house along a railway track.
They stumbled upon a graveyard,
which they hadn't seen when they entered the field.
"I didn't know there was a graveyard."
When they came to a halt, a bright light appeared out of the blue.
A train was not supposed to run that late, but there was one coming.
When my grandfather came to, he found himself on the ground near the track.
He must have reacted and jumped away from the train.
But he couldn't find his colleague. No streetlights. It was pitch-black.
He called, but got no answer. He thought that the colleague left without him.
So, my grandfather made his way back to his colleague's house
with the watermelon, which was not damaged.
When he tried to wash the watermelon, he realized that...
it was not a watermelon
but the bloody head of his friend.
Are you okay?
-Ryu, are you okay? -I got this as a gift.
I wanted to share it with you all.
Ryu...
Hey, boss.
Ever since that night,
Ryu has been unable to eat watermelon.
Poor Ryu.
Autumn is the harvest season.
Autumn is also the season of love.
As it gets colder,
you feel the need for company.
-Here you go. -Thank you.
My mouth's watering.
I will eat it.
It's can't be...
A crime? It must be a crime.
It could be an accident.
It could be both.
So, I have to go. That's right. I have to go.
Hello?
Then another winter came.
A year is about to end.
Kasumi.
Are you going back to work?
This is a busy time of year.
You should grab a good fortune.
-Have a happy new year! -You, too.
Spring will come again after winter.
I can't keep losing forever.
I'll do everything I can to have a good fortune next year.
Good attitude. Have a drink.
Forget all the failures.
Thank you for the drink.
-Good evening. -Welcome.
I knew you'd all be here.
How pathetic. It's New Year's Eve.
You don't have anywhere else to go?
That's right. And neither do you.
Buckwheat noodles?
-Of course. -Extra large, please.
Sure.
-Hello. -Welcome.
-Good evening. -Good evening.
It's so delicious.
I'm so glad to eat noodles before the new year arrives.
After midnight, you can no longer call it "New Year's Eve noodles."
In some regions, they say that it will bring you bad luck
if you eat noodles after midnight.
-Is that so? -You know a lot, huh?
-I got all from Wiki. -Wiki?
Is that some kind of monkey?
It's Wikipedia.
Pedia?
The sound of the word tells me that it has nothing to do with me.
-Hello. -Welcome.
What's that?
We're going to Hawaii on an early morning flight.
New Year's Day in Hawaii?
I thought that Saipan was good enough, but...
I wanted to be like a celebrity in Hawaii.
So, we're here to drink until the flight leaves.
-But before that... -Master.
Buckwheat noodles!
Sure.
I wonder why we started eating buckwheat noodles on New Year's Eve.
-A noodle store conspiracy? -Buckwheat noodles
are easier to cut off than other noodles.
So, we eat it to cut off "misfortunes and disasters of the year."
This practice was established during Edo period.
-You're very knowledgeable, huh? -I got it from Wikipedia.
It means that we shouldn't eat chewy noodles like ramen?
It's not easy to be cut off, huh?
-Ryu! -We escorted it.
-Good evening. -Wow, New Year's food.
You are a slow eater as usual.
If I eat quickly, I get heartburns. I must be getting old, huh?
Seems like the last New Year's Day was yesterday.
Before I know it, a year has passed.
It gets faster once you turn 30.
-Be prepared. -I'm already in my 30s.
I knew that.
Nothing special happened this year.
You should know better.
"Nothing special happened." It means peace.
We should appreciate it if we have nothing special.
That's right.
Five.
Four.
Three. Two.
One.
Happy new year.
I wish you all the best in this new year.
-Then... -Stop it. No alcohol.
Let's have this. Soba stock.
Happy new year.
Master?
The mistress will be a little late.
When people finish their day
and hurry home,
my day starts.
My diner is open from midnight
to seven in the morning.
They call it "Midnight Diner."
Bye, Master. I look forward to your goodwill in the new year.
-Bye. -Have a great trip.
-Bye. -Bye.
I hope it goes well.
Michiru, what do you want for a souvenir?
Come talk.
Did you say that there was a new Hawaiian pub?
Happy new year.
Thank you for helping me clean dishes.
You're welcome.
It was a busy day, so you need help.
Master, you are a lucky man.
You have so many great customers.
You're right.
-You attract them. -No.
I just open the diner at the same time every day,
make whatever they want,
and close the diner at the same time every day.
-That's all. -Sounds like a great diner.
Hey,
care to make the first shrine visit of the new year with me?
Sorry.
I was planning to do a general house cleaning today.
I see.
I understand.
I look forward to your continued goodwill in the new year.
You, too.
THIS STORY IS FICTION