Akita: In front of a vending machine in midwinter, a regretful farewell

Tales Over Rice Bowls

The slogan of a 24-hour restaurant in Sendai, in northeastern Japan, is "born and raised on rice". For people fond of rice, this is a paradise. Serving rice in large bowls that hold 4 times the amount of a regular bowl, this restaurant has been filling the bellies of locals for years. Since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, many people who left their family behind to come and work in reconstruction projects have also become regular diners. 5 years on from the disaster, what do people still trying to rebuild their lives think about as they gobble up a bowl of hot rice? For 3 days, we listened to the customers at this restaurant serving up a taste of home.