The "Solitary Gourmet" and "Wakakozake" Exhibition will be held from Saturday, February 1, 2025 at GALLERY ZENON, a manga-themed art gallery run by manga publisher Core Mix Co., Ltd. (Musashino City, Tokyo).
A special exhibition of gourmet manga depicting the charm of spending time alone eating delicious food, "The Solitary Gourmet" and "Wakakozake," has been scheduled to be held in Kichijoji, the town that gave birth to Goro Inogashira and Wakako Murazaki.
Overview of the "Solitary Gourmet" and "Wakakozake" Exhibition
Period: Saturday, February 1, 2025 to Monday, February 24, 2025
*Closed on Tuesdays, but open only on Tuesday, February 11th
*On Tuesday, February 11th, the gallery will be exclusively open to guests attending the live show from 11am until 3pm. After 3pm, the gallery will be open as usual until 6pm when it closes.
Time: 11:00-18:00 (last entrance, last cafe order 17:30)
Location: Gallery Zenon (2-11-1 Kichijoji Minamimachi, Musashino City, Tokyo 180-0003)
Organized by: Coremix
Cooperation: Fusosha, Furari
Admission fee: Same-day ticket 550 yen (includes random badge)
Badge distribution calendar
*The first 20 people to purchase a ticket will receive a badge with a different design each day.
*After the daily designs run out, designs will be distributed randomly.
This event will allow you to fully experience the rich food culture and stories depicted in this gourmet manga, which is loved by many fans of all ages and genders.
Gallery Zenon HP
There will be a collaboration cafe and a mini live show and talk show by Masayuki Kusumi.Full of charm!
1. Display of famous scenes from classic gourmet manga and valuable materials on how the work was created
The exhibition features famous scenes from stories themed on food that take place in "The Solitary Gourmet" and "Wakakozake." There is also an exhibition of handwritten manuscripts by Jiro Taniguchi, author of "The Solitary Gourmet," and Chie Shinkyu, author of "Wakakozake."
2. Hands-on content at the collaboration cafe
A collaboration cafe will be opened offering a menu exclusive to the exhibition. You can enjoy dishes that appear in the manga, as well as "oden," a dish that will warm you up during the cold winter, in a food stall-style cafe.
"Wakako's Oden Set" ¥1,480 (tax included)
Hot oden is now available, perfect for the cold season. The Wakako set features a white plate with mustard, and above all, hot sake with oden as a snack. The ingredients are egg, daikon, shirataki noodles, beef tendon, and kamaboko.
*You can also change to hot oolong tea instead of hot sake.
"Goro's Oden Set" ¥1,480 (tax included)
Introducing hot oden, perfect for the cold season! The ingredients are egg, daikon, shirataki noodles, beef tendon, and kamaboko, in keeping with the 11th chapter of Volume 1, "Curry rice bowl and oden in Shakujii Park, Nerima Ward, Tokyo." You can also enjoy oden and Cheerios as a set, just like Goro.
"Suramen" ¥1,280 (tax included)
"Suramen" is a B-class gourmet dish from Tottori that was created based on Volume 2, Episode 6, "Suramen at Tottori City Hall, Tottori Prefecture." It is based on udon broth, uses Chinese noodles, and is topped with tempura flakes, kamaboko, bean sprouts, and green onions. The udon broth and Chinese noodles are a perfect match, and pepper adds a nice accent, so be sure to try it with some pepper.
*Includes an AR card that lets you take photos with Goro Inogashira
"Wakako's Pushu Set" ¥1,380 (tax included)
Wakako's Sake Drinking Set comes with potato salad with sake kasu and cream cheese, roast beef, onion, mushroom and bean salad, and your choice of an alcoholic or soft drink. A "Pshu~" is guaranteed.
・Choice of alcohol (canned beer, lemon sour, highball, oolong highball, today's special drink)
・Choice of soft drink (oolong tea, lemon squash)
*Includes an AR card that lets you take photos with Wakako
3. A mini live show and talk show will be held with Masayuki Kusumi, the original author of "The Solitary Gourmet"
Kusumi, a front member of "The Screen Tones," the band that provides the soundtrack for the TV drama and film "Kodoku no Gourmet," will perform a mini live concert with band members Fukumura Satoshi (saxophone) and Shake (keyboards), as well as a talk show where visitors can hear behind-the-scenes stories about the work.
＜Overview＞
Date and time: February 11, 2025 (Fire and Blessing) Opening: 13:00 Performance starting: 13:30
Location: Gallery Zenon (2-11-1 Kichijoji Minamimachi, Musashino City)
Participation fee: 2,500 yen (tax included)
Number of participants: First 60 people who apply in advance (40 seated, 20 standing)
Tickets: On sale from 18:00 on Wednesday, January 22nd at TicketMe
https://ticketme.io/event/group/5a42aa6e-97e8-4a04-89b2-f7fb73df74d1/5fad1d60-c5de-4685-85b3-99800048370f
*On the day of the event, the gallery will be exclusively open to guests attending the live performance from 11:00am until 3:00pm. After 3:00pm, the gallery will be open as usual until 6:00pm when it closes.
4. Photo spot & merchandise sales
There will be a photo spot that will make you feel like you've jumped into the world of manga. New exhibition goods will also be on sale.
Introduction
"The Solitary Gourmet"Original story: Masayuki Kusumi, illustrations: Jiro Taniguchi
This is a hard-boiled gourmet manga that depicts the protagonist, Goro Inogashira, who runs an import goods store, dining alone. It was serialized in the magazine Monthly PANJA (published by Fusosha, currently out of publication) from 1994 to 1996. It was later revived in the sister publication Weekly SPA!, where new works were published irregularly until 2015 (illustrator Jiro Taniguchi passed away in 2017).
Each episode is a self-contained story about the protagonist Goro Inogashira eating out in various places he visits for work. The restaurants that appear are not the high-end or trendy establishments that one would typically imagine when hearing the word "gourmet," but mostly well-established, small eateries or small, privately owned establishments that blend into the town. The style of Goro enjoying a meal alone, depicted alongside his own monologue, was something never seen in gourmet manga up until that point, and it has since spawned many followers.
Official website
"Wakakozake"Chiaki Shinkyu
Wakako Murazaki is 26 years old. Born with a drinker's tongue, she is a woman drinking alone tonight, wandering around looking for a place to belong. A short story about a solo drinker who might be sitting next to you. The latest volume, 24, is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 20, 2025.
For comic details and sample reading,Here
©︎Masayuki Kusumi, PAPIER/Jiro Taniguchi, FUSOSHA
©︎Chiei Shinkyu/Coremix