Tokyo Culture: Mt. Fuji and Mr. Takahashi, the Alien

Apr 13, 2025

In February, for Culture Sunday, I was writing about train etiquette - who knew there were so many ways to annoy strangers on public transport? In March we looked into how to tell plum and cherry blossoms apart. Today, we’re diving into something a little different. Something you can experience without coming to Japan - provided you have a Netflix subscription and are in the right country (I know for sure, US and AU Netflix offers this show), the TV series The Hot Spot
This series that had me completely hooked, I sincerely hope there’ll be a second season, but as this is a TV not Netflix production, I doubt there will be a sequel. At the heart of The Hot Spot is Endō Kiyomi, played by the ever-fabulous Ichikawa Mikako, whom I’ve been following ever since her first film appearance in Blue. Here, she’s a 41-year-old single mum juggling a dull (but not uneventful) front desk job at a business hotel near Mount Fuji while raising her daughter, Wakaba. Pretty ordinary life, right? Well, not for long.

Credit: Nippon TV

One day, Kiyomi is saved from a near accident by her colleague, Takahashi (played by Kakuta Akihiro), who casually drops a small bombshell: he’s an alien. (And not in the "quirky coworker" sense. He’s a real, extraterrestrial one.) Kiyomi, being Kiyomi, doesn't keep this revelation to herself for long and soon asks him for his permission to spill the beans to her childhood friends, Hazuki (Suzuki Anne) and Minami (Hiraiwa Kami). From there, her once-uneventful life starts spiralling into something a tad more interesting.

I don’t want to give away too much about the storyline - but let me tell you this: What I love about The Hot Spot is how effortlessly it blends sharp, dialogue-driven storytelling with gentle humour. It’s not a show that relies on big, dramatic twists. Instead, change unfolds subtly, through the way the characters interact, small shifts in their relationships, and the slow unravelling of the characters’ secrets. Kiyomi’s decision to share Takahashi’s true identity subtly alters her friendships, the way she sees the world, and how she approaches her own life.

The show has this wonderfully laid-back atmosphere - Takahashi being an alien doesn’t feel out of place at all. I mean, he grew up at the foot of Mt. Fuji, so he belongs there just as much as anyone else. Every episode focuses on these small, self-contained moments that gradually build into something bigger, like puzzle pieces falling into place.

I also love how The Hot Spot balances the “sci-fi” with slice-of-life comedy. There’s something oddly satisfying about an alien who needs to recharge in the hotel’s onsen after a hard day of helping humans. The script is tight, the character development (as far as I can tell mid-season) is fantastic, and the mix of everyday mundanity with the utterly bizarre makes for a truly unique watch. If you’re looking for something cosy, clever, and just the right amount of weird, Hot Spot is absolutely worth your time.

As of January 29, 2025, The Hot Spot is available for streaming on Netflix (and Japanese hulu). Availability may vary by region, please check your country’s Netflix (or hulu) to confirm access.