The Solitary Gourmet Manga Review

The Solitary Gourmet is a manga by Masayuki Kusumi and Jiro Taniguchi that was originally released in 1997 in Japan and is now being made available in 2025 by English publisher FANFARE in collaboration with Spanish publisher Ponent Mon. The manga follows the story of a middle-aged travelling salesman eating alone at hole-in-the-wall eateries across Japan and became popular enough to receive a television series that ran from 2012-2022, and then a cinematic adaptation in 2024.

My previous experiences with Taniguchi’s work came from Sky Hawk, another self-contained story and engaging Western which featured likeable characters and a bittersweet plot, and A Journal of My Father, a story with a familial focus and engaging drama throughout. Here the late author acts as an illustrator with his distinct character designs and attention to detail shining through throughout.

Across 31 chapters we follow salesman Goro Inogashira and his work in importing goods from Europe as he travels across Tokyo and discovers various specialties and unique recipes, commenting and observing upon not just on the food he consumes, but the culture and differing customs he consumes as well. Not only that but this edition has a glossary of all the different foods at the start of each chapter which makes this manga a fine slice of edutainment as well as an entertaining read in its own right.

Owing to the more standalone nature of the individual chapters, this is a manga that some readers may opt to binge, whilst others may savour a few chapters at a time to preserve the magic – in either instance I found reading The Solitary Gourmet to be a joy, though not so much on an empty stomach! Goro makes for an interesting lead as his workload seems ever-lengthy but he still finds time to chow down on a variety of familiar staples like rice bowls, ramen, oden, sushi, and even convenience food – his journeys here feel oddly like a precursor to the wave of content creators who spend their time trawling Japan for the next hidden gem.

The beauty of each chapter is getting to see a different dish but also a distinct locale, and some of the locations Goro visits will no doubt be familiar to enthusiasts of Japanese media, including a visit to Akihabara where the busy crowds and mountains of tech overwhelm him, leading to a quick packed lunch of a pork cutlet sandwich in the quietest spot he can find. Across several wards within Shibuya, Goro enjoys the likes of Wiener Curry (notably using boiled fish meat for the wiener) at Jingu Stadium whilst trying to beat the heat (and utterly failing but enjoying a baseball game at least), and chows down on a large yakisoba and gyoza in Shibuya Hyakkendana, surprised at how well the combo works after the proprietor dismisses his request for rice.

We as readers also get some glimpses into his personal life as a committed bachelor, chain smoking but teetotal – in one chapter we flash back to his life in Paris with a lover wherein his reluctance to fulfil her ambitions of immigrating to warmer climates owing to his life back in Japan ends in literal tears, all before reality sets back in and Goro enjoys some yaki manju (soft buns coated with a sweet and salty miso, and roasted over charcoal using skewers) from an elderly restaurant owner in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture,  whose age prevents him from preparing yakisoba for customers. Though initially disappointed, Goro is soon overjoyed by the unique spin the elderly chef puts on the dish – summarised as having “A flavour like time got stopped here a long time ago and (it) just stayed that way”. The chapter, bookended by musings on the style of leather in the area, not unlike what he once wore in Paris, is an example of a nice self-contained story, offering culinary and personal musings from Goro.

To summarise every chapter within this book would be a waste of good food, so to speak, as I feel that the surprise and unknowing of exactly what to expect chapter-to-chapter, asides from the dish being eaten, added to my reading experience. A few favourite chapters of mine though involved Goro seeking out some specialty bento to consume during a ride on the bullet train as part of one his business trips. On the recommendation of a colleague he ends up with shumai (Chinese-style steamed dumplings), which, though delicious, absolutely stink out the carriage, much to Goro’s embarrassment. Despite the setback, the meal is a satisfying one, and Goro ends up more put out by not being able to smoke on the train – it’s humorous but simple stories like this that make up the satisfying package within this collected manga.

As a lover of ramen, I was glad to find there were several chapters dedicated to the hearty and brothy dish, but my favourite involved a visit to Tottori City’s Tottori prefecture, a chapter dedicated to Jiro Taniguchi, a native of Tottori. Here Goro visits the Tottori Sand Dunes with a colleague, takes in the sights and the sea air, and soon works up an appetite which leads him to be dropped off nearby a city hall cafeteria housing “Su-Ramen” a restaurant with a meal ticket vending machine system and the offering of the special ramen (a dish comprising of ramen noodles but served in an udon broth). The origins of the dish are explained as cash-strapped students having requested the meal from restaurants as a simple snack meal – something that prompts Goro to order a curry as well which leads to some over-eating, and possibly, too, to the poignant dream he has about his late father – another brief glimpse behind the salesman’s veneer.

The Solitary Gourmet doesn’t feature an ending as such, but the final chapter does bring Goro back to Paris, France, where he once spent time with his former lover. Tasked by a work colleague to take photos for his daughter’s art project, he documents the typical sights like the Eiffel Tower but finds interest in tracking down an Algerian restaurant he visited a long time ago – Goro muses that he feels more at home in the hidden streets than the tourist-trap inner city. When he locates the restaurant, some of the staff are miraculously the same, and breaking through the language barrier with pointing and gestures, orders a variety of dishes like tripe stew, soups and kebabs – a contrast to the Japanese dishes sampled throughout the manga. The chapter, and indeed the manga as a whole, concludes on a great musing from Goro that nicely sums up his character and worldview as seen throughout the story: “Wherever I go in the world, if I’m in a place like this, I’m a man that’s within his element”.

Translation of The Solitary Gourmet was carried out for FANFARE and Ponent Mon by Kumar Sivasubramanian, with assistance from Chitoku Teshima, and the details throughout and aforementioned glossary-style entries that come with each chapter helped me to appreciate any little unfamiliarities  presented within the self-contained stories. It is described in the editor’s note at the beginning of the manga that localisation was a “long and intricate journey”, and I can definitely see the fruits of labour throughout.

Overall, The Solitary Gourmet is a rather unique and worthwhile read, and one to do at your own preferred pace – some may gorge on all the chapters as a feast, whilst others like myself will sample piece by piece. Whichever approach you choose this is a great manga, with a wonderful hardback edition well worth adding to any collection. To quote the back of the book: Like an exquisite meal, this book should be savoured over and over again.

Our review copy from FANFARE/Ponent Mon was supplied by Turnaround Comics (Turnaround Publisher Services).