Actress Naoko Iijima revealed on a late-night radio show that she “only makes curry about once a year” and “isn’t that big a fan of gyoza either.” On 5ch, comments poured in with people’s own love-hate stories about these so-called national dishes, from “why can’t shumai do the job instead?” to “when you freeze homemade curry, the vegetables go all mushy.”
8/25 (Tue) 16:39
Actress Naoko Iijima (58) appeared on TOKYO FM’s “TOKYO SPEAKEASY” (airing late night Mon-Thu at 1:00 AM), broadcast in the small hours of the 24th. She candidly admitted to not actually liking a couple of Japan’s beloved national foods.
That day’s episode also featured lyricist and music producer Yasushi Akimoto. During a chat about food, Akimoto asked, “Can you make curry?” Iijima laughed and replied, “Curry? Well, the recipe’s written right there on the back of the box,” before admitting, “Honestly, I probably only make curry about once a year.”
Well, I guess people like that exist. There are probably people out there who hate ramen or hamburger steak too lol
7Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:49:07.03ID:y/ux8zOR0
Eating plain white rice with gyoza is the peak of happiness
8Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:49:20.00ID:Phl4sdBo0
Gyoza, curry, ramen, yakiniku, sushi
I guess those are the ones I'm not into either
9Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:49:21.10ID:6hrVyrw10
Maybe she just doesn't like white rice, period
10Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:49:43.30ID:i9ZsFDb40
She's quite a bit older than me, but I'd still love to live with Naoko (´；ω；｀)
Gyoza really isn't that tasty though
13Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:50:15.69ID:91k+IgJk0
Why do people even line up for Jiro ramen?
Just walking past the place the smell is already intense
14Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:50:27.03ID:2wvTfREK0
I kind of get the sense that curry is overrated
Sure, it's solidly good on average, but it's not top-tier
15Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:50:31.88ID:EebAonBK0
They call it a 'national dish' but it's actually a dish with foreign roots
16Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:50:33.11ID:CQMtjJjg0
I can't even manage to eat 10 shumai, by comparison
18Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:51:02.09ID:HfvZVhbZ0
I get the curry thing
When I see someone choosing curry while out hiking, I think to myself, 'are you serious right now?'
19Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:51:03.59ID:l5+8z8DN0
Making as many as 100 — how many people is that even supposed to feed?
20Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:51:06.59ID:RXDSeXKR0
Miyoshino's gyoza curry works just fine for me (a well-known chain famous for its gyoza-and-curry combo)
22Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:51:18.86ID:ks1Qa74r0
Well, I eat curry at home,
and every once in a while I'll have instant curry too
but when I eat out, I never order curry lol
23Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:51:36.37ID:SPLXlrjL0
I'm not that into homemade curry, but curry from a restaurant is weirdly appealing
Even the stuff at a school cafeteria or a government office canteen is good
What is that about?
54Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:55:55.45ID:6hrVyrw10
>>23
I'm the opposite
Curry from outside tastes too floury/starchy for me
Maybe our home curry is the weird one, but that's what I grew up on
72Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:58:37.14ID:XUGZtSIC0
>>23
Curry from outside is pricey for what's usually just decent-but-not-amazing
When you make it at home you can load it with vegetables and meat and use whatever roux you like
Home wins, honestly
24Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:51:37.19ID:A2HIwmkG0
>>1
The national dish I can't get behind is sushi — high-end sushi especially
I can eat raw fish fine, but I'm not okay with food someone else shaped by hand right in front of me
Something about the hygiene and the look of it just doesn't sit right with me
Also, I hate hiyashi chuka (cold sesame-dressed ramen salad)
25Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:51:54.29ID:bWd3QdL10
I really hate curry
It smells, and it upsets my stomach whenever I eat it
114Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 20:04:18.00ID:e26Uq4hk0
>>25
If you check the ingredient list on the back of Japanese curry roux, it's loaded with animal fat — that's probably why it makes people feel sick or wrecks their stomach
28Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:52:32.72ID:+ojQ769g0
Curry bread is all about that crispy fried crust
It's a perfect match with the curry inside
30Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:52:54.68ID:uIaGI/470
Once you live alone you basically stop making curry
You end up with a ridiculous amount of leftovers
40Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:54:25.27ID:iSdsSuWm0
>>30
Just freeze it
Even if you make a huge batch, it's so good it disappears fast anyway
Between the ingredient cost and the weight gain, I end up barely making it too, same as you
104Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 20:03:23.87ID:yk+Q5uNe0
>>30
Careful — if you freeze curry, the potatoes and carrots go all spongy and hollow
31Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:53:06.42ID:m1Zxe8ub0
So what does she actually like, then?
49Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:55:23.78ID:/djfGsDC0
>>31
She got flamed once for grabbing like 10 packets of pickled red ginger to take home with her beef bowl takeout, didn't she
32Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:53:29.63ID:irtvPi5g0
Peak Naoko was back when she was singing B'z songs as one half of the duo 'W (Double) Nao'
34Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:53:46.39ID:F1LfRVtl0
Had Sukiya's curry today for the first time in ages — it was seriously good (Sukiya is a major beef-bowl chain)
35Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:53:51.34ID:ymdXQpVJ0
I recall Motoki from the Giants and Hinano Yoshikawa also saying they hate curry
36Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:54:10.85ID:ddlJVA6L0
My boss at work says he hates both gyoza and eggs — gyoza aside, being basically off-limits on egg dishes seems like he's missing out on life, I thought
37Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:54:15.45ID:w7DQFTOo0
I know someone who likes curry flavor but can't handle actual curry
Apparently it's the thick, gloopy texture of the roux that gets to them, so they're fine with curry-flavored snacks
Also, soup curry is okay but curry udon is a no-go, apparently
45Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:54:50.66ID:GJ/lS1BS0
Hate it, hate it, hate it
Love it (´・ω・`)
66Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:57:53.36ID:oS3gbvph0
>>45
(*´Д`)ｧ━━━━!! (an exaggerated moan of delight, common 5ch reaction emoticon)
48Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:55:11.81ID:E0eO68NS0
I bet she's just not that into food in general
50Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:55:31.71ID:y/ux8zOR0
Katsu curry I had at a Chinese restaurant staffed entirely by Chinese workers (^_^;)
57Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:56:12.86ID:w7DQFTOo0
>>50
Why would you even order katsu curry at a place like that in the first place (´・ω・`)
69Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 19:58:17.12ID:+vF3+BJy0
No argument that curry is national-dish level…
but pan-fried gyoza is definitely overrated
Why can't shumai take its place?!
102Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 20:02:52.42ID:A9Qkuptj0
>>69
That's probably because people don't really make shumai at home much
112Anonymous2026/08/25(火) 20:04:09.32ID:ao3slW120
>>69
>>102
If Kiyoken's shumai (a famous Yokohama shumai brand) counted, shumai would've been a national dish too
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