Original subtitles

That's totally different from family to family.

I've always liked salt-based broth.

Me too.

I like miso.

I'm definitely a miso fan too.

Right?

Huh? What are you talking about?

We're talking about our favorite Sapporo Ichiban ramen.

Soy sauce, obviously.

-No way! -Definitely not!

No way!

You're always in the minority, boss.

Why?

In my house it's always been soy sauce.

Soy sauce…

-How rare. -No it's not.

I understand miso.

You're the one who's weird. Weirdo!

We didn't find any problems

from the endoscope and CT scans.

You can relax for a bit.

Thank you, doctor!

Thank you so much!

I'm the one who was operated on,

not you.

Thank you!

Here Dad, have this tea.

It's a blend of persimmon leaves and chameleon plant.

It said on TV that this is good for your stomach.

Try it.

It's nothing.

It took your surgery for me to realize

how nice it would be to be married.

Shiro,

if you're having thoughts like that,

shouldn't you consider it more seriously?

That man you're living with now-- Yabuki, was he called?

Do you plan to be with him for the rest of your life?

Well, I mean…

Do you understand me?

You're already 45.

Have you properly talked with him

about preparing for old age?

No, we haven't.

"Preparing" for old age is so drastic.

Shiro!

What?

I want to sit down and talk with you.

Come back here for New Year's.

Fine.

I don't want to go.

What does she mean by "preparations."

She doesn't need to be so pushy just because we're at this age.

I cook because

I'm not a high schooler.

Even so, she's the one who doesn't get that I'm 45.

They're going to force me to eat and get fat over New Year's,

and I can't even complain about it. I just have to grin and bear it.

Shiro,

you're pretty privileged, aren't you?

You've always liked to harp on your mom,

but I think it's pretty amazing

that she tells you being gay is nothing to be ashamed about,

and she accepts you.

You're an only child,

and will never give her a grandchild.

Even if she's just saying it, she says she understands you.

Shouldn't you feel a bit more thankful?

Anyway, be a good son, and go home for New Year's

without grumbling about it.

He was mad.

He rarely gets seriously mad like that.

It was my dream

to renovate that store and make it my perfect beauty parlor.

I finally saved up enough money

and procured good chairs and mirrors.

But during construction,

they cut so many corners. You wouldn't believe it.

Isn't that just awful?

It is.

We'll get an architect right away to take a look at it.

We'll demand proper compensation.

I wanted to invite

my family for the opening party.

I'm so frustrated!

This is sweet!

My parents were looking forward to it.

They're pretty old.

Speaking of which,

Kenji said that his mom also works at a beauty salon.

Let's try it again.

Are you going out after this?

-The weather's nice, too. -It is.

Thank you for your help.

Of course.

Wait. Where do his parents live again?

I've never asked.

I've gone home every year

since I had kids.

You know how I was pretty sporadic before?

Really?

It's common for it to be hard to visit parents?

I might have been

a bit too hard on Shiro.

This morning…

I'm back!

Welcome back.

This looks great!

Right?

All right…

Let's eat!

The ankake melts in your mouth.

But what happened?

What do you mean?

These are all my favorites.

You even made two egg dishes,

really robust ankake fried rice,

and oyster sauce stir-fry.

You don't usually make these.

Well, it's nice once in a while.

Listen, Shiro,

about this morning--

I…

I'm going to spend New Year's at my parents'.

Yeah. Ankake fried rice really is good.

A rich menu is the way to go.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31

I'm going. Are you really going to be okay?

I could make you duck noodles to celebrate New Year's.

No, it's fine. The salon is staying open until really late.

Then at night we're having a party together.

-You are? -Yeah.

All right. I'm off.

I'll see you later.

All right then…

The last day of work for the year!

Hey!

Oh, Shiro.

What are you doing? It's dangerous.

It's usually your father who does this…

Our New Year's decorations aren't great,

but they're better than nothing.

Give them to me. I'll do it.

It's so helpful that you're tall.

Is there anything else I can do? Is anything broken?

There is.

Shiro, a bit more to the right.

-Here? -Yes, right there!

Thank you for clearing it out. It's such a help.

Also,

something's wrong with the electricity on the second floor.

Sure, I'll do it.

Thank you!

Hey, Shiro,

how do I set up facial recognition

on my smartphone?

Hold on… what?

Thanks for a great year!

You all did great! Cheers!

Cheers!

The mushrooms in the broth…

It looks delicious!

Your father can still only eat things

that are very soft.

Sorry, we should have had something richer for New Year's Eve.

This is the best meal for your 45-year-old son.

-Go where? -Karaoke.

-That sounds good! -Sure!

Karaoke sounds good.

What about one more pub?

No, karaoke!

-Huh? -Yabuki!

-No, it's fine… -What, Ken?

I'm actually…

-You're going home? -What?

Your boyfriend's not around today, right?

Let's go to an after-party then go pray at the shrine together.

Let's go.

You all can do it.

Pulling an all-nighter is impossible after 40.

-What? -Hiro, see you next year.

-I'm also past 40. -Yeah, okay.

Everyone, have a great year!

Bye.

Take care.

Something's fishy about him.

Huh?

Why?

Do you think he's going to see some other man now?

He looked at his phone and suddenly got up.

You really like stories like that, don't you?

-He does. -Yeah!

But isn't it fishy either way?

-Nah. -It's not.

I've been wanting to eat you ever since we all talked about you.

All right. Let's begin.

SAPPORO ICHIBAN RAMEN MISO FLAVOR

Now for toppings…

cabbage, bean sprouts, carrots, green onion,

and…

seaweed, pork,

and… an egg.

I love Shiro's cooking,

but I like instant ramen

my own way.

Next is the soft-boiled egg.

Shiro taught me how to do this.

Add a little bit of water to a small bowl,

drop the egg in,

gently cover it in plastic wrap,

and microwave it for 40 seconds.

Oh, that's right, I need to poke the yolk with a chopstick.

Ah!

Poke!

This way it won't explode, although it does sometimes.

So what's next?

The seaweed!

Stir fry the pork, carrot,

and then the cabbage in an oiled pot.

Then I add…

the forbidden…

butter!

Boom!

Now I add a bit of grated garlic,

miso,

cooking wine,

and chicken stock.

Ramen soup is flavorful. Nothing beats it.

Shiro would get so mad at me

for eating this at night.

It smells so good!

The water is exactly 500 mL.

Once it's boiling, add the noodles

for two minutes.

From here, there's no stopping, no matter what.

After two minutes,

add in the bean sprouts, seaweed,

and green onion.

One more minute.

I won't look at you now!

First pour the broth into a large bowl,

and finally, add the egg,

a sprinkling of pepper,

and voila!

Time to eat!

SHIRO

The perfectly boiled noodles,

softened cabbage,

and half-cooked green onion are simply the best.

That's right! I have to watch the countdown.

MINUTES TO THE NEW YEAR 20:39

Everyone's working so hard.

They're cute.

But I don't have the desire

to date such young guys anymore.

I feel like an aunt

watching over her relative's kids, so to speak.

Spending New Year's Eve eating my favorite

Sapporo Ichiban ramen

and watching cute boys

is so nice.

Say it together! Ten, nine, eight, seven

six, five, four, three,

two, one…

Happy New Year!

Shiro? Happy New Year!

There's nothing "happy" about it.

Why didn't you answer? I've been calling you.

Sorry.

I've been calling you

thinking how lonely you must be all alone, and you…

I was eating Sapporo Ichiban.

That makes sense if it's ramen.

Right?

You have to eat it right after you cook it.

You get it?

This way, it's not lonely spending New Year's Eve alone

because I know that

Shiro's going to come home.

SAPPORO ICHIBAN RAMEN MISO FLAVOR

SPRING IS APPROACHING

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Here you go, Shiro.

Sorry.

Here.

Shiro,

osechi won't be good the next day, so eat up.

Yes.

Mom, did you make all of this?

Everything but the kamaboko.

Wow, that's amazing.

The black beans are shiny and beautifully done.

The Kurikinton also has a good color.

It's always been like that.

Really?

Mrs. Kakei!

What's that?

It's Yosuke and Utako.

Coming!

Welcome! Happy New Year!

-Hello! -Welcome.

Please, come in.

Goodness! Is this Shiro?

Are you our neighbor Akira's…

Long time no see.

It certainly has been a long time!

You've grown up well!

It was a good New Year's, wasn't it, Mr. Kakei?

Oh, yeah.

Hello, I'm Misato.

We thank you for looking after the kids.

Akira is working on New Year's.

It's not a problem at all.

So Akira has two children!

Who's he?

Mr. and Mrs. Kakei's son. Say hi.

Hello.

Hello.

Yosuke,

I have some big ham. How about I cook it for you?

I like ham uncooked now.

Hey, Yosuke!

Don't worry about it.

Okay, I'll go cut some for you.

By the way, Hisae, please take this.

I'm sorry it's always the same.

Mochi? Thank you!

Mr. Kakei, I'm going to the bathroom.

Go ahead.

-It tastes good, doesn't it? -Please, sit.

They really feel at home here.

I…

I don't have any cavities.

Wow, that's great! You're doing so well.

You're right! There's none at all.

-How many will you eat? -About two.

Two? Here you are.

-Say "Thank you." -Thank you.

So my parents have decided…

Here we go again.

Mr. Kakei!

to treat the neighbor's grandchildren

like their own.

One, two, three.

Can you already write?

I'm sorry.

I dropped it! I'll do it again, then.

Good for you.

-Doesn't the ham taste good? -Does it?

Please, take this with you.

I'm sure you can imagine how little

two old people eat.

Here.

I couldn't tell Mrs. Seo,

but I still have some of her mochi from last year in the freezer.

Sure. I'll take it.

Really? I'll put it in this paper bag.

Thanks for everything today,

for helping fix this and that.

Mom,

didn't you want to talk about preparing for old age?

I think you already know.

I've forgotten the kurikinton.

-Wait-- -Kurikinton!

Huh?

I put it in Tupperware, but…

Where did it… Huh?

It's not here. Where did it go?

Wow!

What's… huh?

Whoa! This is homemade mochi.

And so much of it!

That's right. We need to consume it right away!

We're going to consume it?

It's a lot.

Hey, Shiro! It's puffing up.

All right! I'm finished over here, too.

Hey Shiro, can I take it out?

Can I?

You can.

I love karamimochi.

The mochi is so soft.

I haven't eaten kinako mochi in so long.

Taking turns between the sweet and savory mochi is so addicting.

I'm glad I went home.

Yeah.

I figured out a lot.

I'm also glad.

My miso ramen was delicious all by myself.

I bet.

Miso is definitely the best.

Yeah, I've always been loyal to miso.

My dad would make it when he was in a good mood.

It was so good.

Speaking of which, your parents…

My family is fine.

Mom lives with my oldest sister.

Dad's always been… unstable.

I'm not in contact with him anymore.

Huh?

Don't worry.

It's not that depressing of a story.

My mom and sister are always in good spirits,

so they're having fun living together.

Really?

My sisters have children,

so it's easy on me.

Even so, I said those snobby things to you.

I'm sorry.

That's absolutely right.

Imagine how uncomfortable I felt when the neighbor's kids came over.

It was hell.

I can imagine the look on your face.

JANUARY 2, MORNING

Good morning.

Good morning.

Wow, what an intricate ozoni!

It looks so good!

Sorry, this is lunch too.

Let's eat.

JANUARY 2, EVENING

This burnt soy sauce smell is insane.

JANUARY 3, MORNING

I like the simple way you usually make ozoni, too.

JANUARY 3, EVENING

Cheese goes well with mochi, too.

Yeah, it's delicious.

Eat as much as you want. Here.

-Thanks. -Sure.

It's finally starting to freeze.

So the mochi menu for tonight…

Please, Shiro,

let me eat bread.

Huh?

Even if it's from that wretched woman's shop,

I want to eat any carb other than mochi!

I'm serious!

-Okay! -Let me have it!

I want anything but mochi.

Bread is so delicious.

The butter and chestnut flavor

is both sweet and salty.

It's just leftovers from the kurikinton that Mom made.

It's delicious and not too sweet.

I'd like to eat this next year, too.

I'm telling you now.

Mochi's for dinner.

We're going back to mochi? No, I don't want to.

It's just one more month of mochi.

One more month?

This is so nice!

Do you remember the day we first met?

Keep your focus, or it'll be snapped up.

Daisaku!

I'm Wataru.

How much do you plan to hurt me?

THE STORY, NAMES, AND CHARACTERS PORTRAYED ARE IMAGINARY

Subtitle translation by: Kelsey Lechner