Hiyokko


Hiyokko is a Japanese television drama series and the 96th asadora series, following Beppinsan. It was premiered on April 3, 2017, and ended on September 30, 2017.

Plot

Mineko Yatabe is a teenager living in a very rural area of Ibaraki Prefecture in 1964, the year of the Tokyo Olympics. Her father, Minoru, is a farmer, and often goes to Tokyo to do extra work for the family. This time, however, he goes missing. Mineko travels to Tokyo to find him, and begins to work at a small electronics factory while continuing her search. She makes many friends there, but the factory goes bankrupt and she is left unemployed. Luckily, she is hired by Suzuko Makino as a waitress at her restaurant, the Suzufuri-tei, which happened to be her father's favorite eatery. She lives at the boarding house next door, in which live a variety of people, from manga artists to college students. Mineko falls in love with a college student, Junichirō Shimatani, but they part when his father forces him to marry to save the family business. Mineko becomes friends with the movie star, Setsuko Kawamoto, who after learning of Mineko's father, reveals that Minoru has been living in her apartment all along. He lost his memory in a fight and Setsuko took him in. Mineko returns Minoru to his family in Ibaraki. Mineko then falls in love with Hidetoshi Maeda, one of the junior chefs at the Suzufuri-tei. She also helps Setsuko, when Setsuko needs to flee from the press after her aunt and uncle misappropriated her money.

Cast

Main character

Yatabe family

Suzufuri-tei

Reception

The series was a ratings success, averaging 20.4% over the length of the series, with ratings improving as the show progressed.