In search of the authentic Japanese taste: Solitary Gourmet and cultural tourism

Abstract

Crossmedia productions, known as media mix, proliferate in the Japanese contemporary media landscape and often develop transnational routes of distribution and consumption. Against this background, the so-called ‘food genre’ is gaining increasing popularity among Asian audiences. On the other hand, food is also playing a central role in Japan’s enthusiastic attempts to increase the number of domestic and international tourists travelling around the country. This article analyses the relations between food, tourism, national identity and popular culture through the case study of Solitary Gourmet, a Japanese media mix product recounting the culinary excursions of a lonely sales agent across local restaurants. This media franchise is discussed in relation to the growing impact of ‘contents tourism’, which deals with travel practices motivated by products of pop culture. For those not actually travelling, consuming Solitary Gourmet becomes an experience of ‘mediated cultural tourism’ where food becomes an important repository of cultural authenticity and nostalgia.