Synopsis

Steaming meat buns, plump with pork simmered in a savory broth, tender bamboo shoots, and fragrant chrysanthemums. They are served from a stand-style Nikumanten on a street corner in Kokubun-cho, an entertainment district of Sendai. Open until five in the morning, it draws a diverse crowd throughout the night: a work colleague stopping in after drinks, someone purchasing them for a second stop, a man in black who'd finished his shift at a club, and a mother from a snack shop. The winter air of S