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The story
NHK General TV’s popular series “Document 72 Hours” airs a one-hour special starting 10pm on September 4, spotlighting Setouchi’s “udon vending machines.” Shot as a road-movie journey covering 300km across four prefectures — Okayama, Ehime, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi — it follows a middle schooler trying vending-machine udon for the first time, and the people who seem drawn to these machines late at night. There’s also a studio after-talk segment featuring Kirin’s Akira Kawashima, a self-professed fan of the show. Reaction on 5ch was split: some blasted it as a “pointless staged show,” while others jumped to defend it, citing its addictive quality and past classic episodes.
Published: Thursday, August 20, 2026, 10:02 PM
Updated: Tuesday, September 1, 2026, 11:09 PM
[One-Hour Special] The latest installment of the popular “72 Hours” udon-vending-machine series is the “Setouchi Edition” — a 300km road movie through Okayama, Ehime, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi. “It’s not amazing, but somehow you just want to eat it.” A middle schooler tries vending-machine udon for the first time. People drawn to the machines late at night as if pulled in. An owner quietly restocking udon, unseen. A journey that encounters countless slices of life. Plus a studio after-talk segment with show fan Akira Kawashima of Kirin!
Source: nhk.jp / Original article here
What people said
NHK's out here desperately self-promoting lol lol lol
that's the only reason they'd do this lol
It's not just Kawashima — it's pointless whenever some celebrity comments on these shows
"72 Hours" has its go-to themes, so they can always make it work even when they're out of ideas
The one about the waterfront condo in Yokohama, then and now
The all-night café in Nagoya
Midsummer by the Tone Canal in Nagareyama
There have been a lot of great ones lately
Last week's was pretty good
Everyone in it had some kind of story or looked worn out — real peak "this is the show" vibes
Thought "oh, this looks good!" — then saw it was filmed in 2023. So it's just a rerun?
It means they're streaming past episodes alongside the new one, not that this is a repeat
none of them are ever interesting anyway
no wonder low-key travel documentaries are the ones that catch on
give it a try sometime (´・ω・｀)
Hurry up with new episodes of "Ma-Kaizo no Yoru" (an NHK engineering-contest show) or "Emergency Call" already.
udon is so deeply rooted there that old houses used to each have their own cast-iron noodle-making machine.
People around there eat a lot of suiton (wheat-dumpling soup) too.
Tokyo, meanwhile, is reclaimed land from the sea where only cotton could really be grown —
no wonder Kanto udon is bad
That's because they properly hold a health-department business permit lol
People are drawn to things destined to disappear
and even more so when it's something as everyman as a retro vending machine
I want to hear Ei-chan's (Eikichi Yazawa's) "Jikan yo Tomare" ("Time, Stop")
Is it broken?
It was still working when I went a few years back.
like "up-close coverage of a sauna's diner that's open from early morning to late night"
Right up through breakfast. It's basically a blatant ripoff of Kiichi Nakai's "Salameshi" ("Salaryman's Lunch")
Maybe my sense of things is just off because I'm neurodivergent ("発達" — shorthand for a developmental disorder)
someone fill me in
Most episodes are boring, but there are 2-3 masterpiece episodes a year, so I keep watching so I don't miss those lol
It's not obnoxious/loud
and that alone makes it enjoyable
If you're not capable of empathy, it's probably not interesting at all lol
Probably because they're visiting multiple locations
The ones bashing it are the broke people who can't even manage that much
They can't compete with convenience stores
also, the retro factor is exactly what's popular
Background and Talking Points
“Document 72 Hours” is an NHK General TV travel documentary series running since 2006, known for camping out at a single location for three days to capture the life stories of the people who pass through. “Udon vending machines” is a recurring, popular subject the show has covered before (including an Akita edition), and this Setouchi edition is its latest installment. On the thread, discussion centered less on the show’s actual content and more on surrounding topics: mixed opinions on the studio after-talk segment featuring Kirin’s Akira Kawashima, speculation over why such a low-key travel show has built such a devoted following, and a regional debate over the differences between Kanto-style udon and the udon culture of Setouchi and Shikoku. Note that the “filmed in 2023” comment in reply #13 refers to older episodes being made available on streaming platforms alongside the new broadcast — the thread makes clear that this new episode itself isn’t simply a 2023 rerun.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Document 72 Hours] A One-Hour Special Touring Setouchi’s “Udon Vending Machines”! Fri 9/4, 10:00 PM~.”
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