Reiji Kawashima Challenges Overcoming His Dislike of Natto! Could "Natto Tacos" Be His Savior? Tomokazu Seki Also Moved by Premium Natto

On ABEMA, "Say You To Yo Asobi Friday [Tomokazu Seki × Reiji Kawashima] #31" was broadcast on February 6th at 10 PM. In this broadcast, they held a special titled "Get Energized with Natto, Japan's Pride in Healthy Food SP." Seki, who loves natto, and Kawashima, who actually dislikes natto, welcomed natto researcher Taiji Ishii, who has eaten over 3,500 types of natto, and challenged to "overcome" it while learning about the profound world of natto.

In the opening, Seki and Kawashima appeared wearing straw hats "dressed as natto," and the studio quickly became chaotic. When the plan for this episode was announced, Kawashima honestly confessed, "Actually, I dislike natto and was worried about whether to decline this." Nevertheless, Kawashima showed a positive attitude, saying, "I want to overcome it for my health," and while touching on the topic of gut health, explained his reason for wanting to overcome it: "My wife really loves natto. I want to share the deliciousness with her." Furthermore, a surprising episode emerged where "his wife heats natto in the microwave before eating it," and Seki responded with "That's unusual," wrapping the studio in a heartwarming atmosphere.

On the other hand, Seki fully displayed his love for natto, saying "I definitely eat it every morning," and showed off his hearty way of eating by pouring three packs of convenience store natto onto rice all at once, as well as his unique preference of being "the no-mixing type." The show became lively with the contrasting natto perspectives of the two.

Afterwards, natto researcher Ishii appeared in the studio. Ishii, who became hooked after eating handmade "ji-natto" (local natto) at a neighborhood natto shop, explained the difference between commercially available natto and ji-natto: "The individuality comes out through each maker's particular attention to beans, water, natto bacteria, fermentation methods, and so on." To Kawashima's question, "Is it like craft beer?", Ishii agreed, saying "That's exactly right." Also, regarding the topic that natto bacteria exist nearby as "resident bacteria," Seki asked excitedly, "So does that mean we could find bacteria here and make ABEMA natto?", and when Ishii affirmed "I think you probably could," the two were drawn into the world of natto.