Ears are Tonkatsu, Stomach is Yakiniku

From here on, I will write in prose.

"The Diner Auntie" by Eiko Yamaguchi / Audible. A book featuring food that is guaranteed to make you hungry when you listen to it.

On my way back from Pilates, I was listening to "The Diner Auntie" while walking down the hill.

It is a story about three women—a mother-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and an employee—running "Hajime Diner" in Tsukuda, Tokyo. Grilled fish set meals, fried shrimp, egg-drop udon. The setting is a local diner that is affordable and fills both your stomach and your wallet. No major incidents occur. Someone eats a meal, feels a little better, and goes home. That is all there is to it, yet for some reason, it has continued for many volumes.

Eiko Yamaguchi's books always feature food. The Diner Auntie, The Matchmaking Diner, The Ghost Izakaya. Whichever one you choose, you will get hungry while listening.

I am currently listening to volume 19. There is a chapter about tonkatsu. It is a story about a man who comes to visit the taste after fifty years. A menu that makes you feel like you can even hear the sound of the frying oil crackling is lined up in every chapter. I feel like I am being fed through my ears.

Before I knew it, my stomach was growling. Once again, I became Goro Inokashira, thinking, "I'm hungry."

I want to eat tonkatsu. By the time I reached the bottom of the hill, my head was full of tonkatsu. Freshly fried breading and white rice.

However, there was a postcard waiting at home. A yakiniku coupon for my birthday this month. 500 yen off.

My passion for tonkatsu was easily broken by a single postcard. I cannot beat a good deal. Lunch was decided to be yakiniku.

I headed to Kakura. To tell the truth, I had decided to order the mega-portion set before I even entered the shop. I intended to make up for the tonkatsu I gave up on with meat.

Kalbi, skirt steak, pork kalbi, and offal. A plate full of meat arrived. When I put it on the grill, the fat dripped down and the flames flared up.

While grilling, it felt like a lie that I had been thinking about tonkatsu just a moment ago. It seems that is the extent of human appetite.

Rice and soup are all-you-can-eat. The first bowl disappeared immediately.

And I even ate dessert properly. Almond tofu and a white Yukimi Daifuku. Even though I thought I couldn't fit anything else in, I think every time that the "second stomach" really does exist.

When I left the shop, my stomach felt heavy. I walked back up the same hill I had come down.

The tonkatsu I ate with my ears never made it into my mouth. Well, that is fine. I will fry some at home next time. Though I probably won't.

*The manga was drawn using the Shin-Usami Style No. 6.