The Hot Spot (ホットスポット)

‎PREVIOUSLY...

At the base of Mount Fuji,

in Fuji-Asada, Kiyomi Endou works at a business hotel.

Oh, thank you.

She gets her alien colleague, Takahashi, to use his abilities

to solve trivial day-to-day problems.

That secret is only known to her childhood friends Hacchi and Minapuu.

Along with her manager, Okuda,

her colleague, Yumi, and Yumi's childhood friend,

Mizuki.

-I'm from Nippon Television. -Meanwhile.

this man returns to this town once more.

NIPPON TELEVISION

I don't think we can air this...

Yeah...

It's interesting...

but with just the supermarket and urine sample cup stories, it feels a bit weak.

Actually, I had another interview that I planned to focus on...

-Really? -Yes.

During our street interviews, several people in the area

mentioned seeing a man with glasses moving at high speed.

-Moving at high speed? -Yes.

I still have the footage, so let me bring it up.

How fast were they?

-Like a car. -A car? That's really fast!

What kind of person was he?

I think he was wearing glasses.

Glasses?

The common thing about those testimonies is they all said he was wearing glasses.

That's Onodera!

-He wears glasses? -Absolutely.

-What? -I'm serious. Want to see how he looks?

This is him.

-He sure has glasses on. -Right?

Interesting.

-I'm curious about this Onodera person. -Right?

This looks entertaining, so why didn't you use it?

After filming, we were contacted by the hotel

asking us not to use it.

I see.

The manager was okay with it,

but the owner wasn't.

Ah, that's a shame.

Yeah.

If that's the case, there's no issue if you film outside, right?

You mean, outside the hotel?

The staff were okay with it, right?

Yeah, I guess.

Then, if you keep watch near the hotel

and interview them outside,

it won't cause the hotel any trouble.

Huh?

We should go get more footage?

Yeah, this seems entertaining. See if you can go a little further.

Okay.

Hopefully Mr. Onodera is around today.

It'd make things easier, yeah.

Is today Mount Fuji Day?

Yeah, it's February 23.

This happened last time too.

-Yeah, you noticed? -Yeah.

We're unlucky.

Here in Fuji-Asada today, February 23,

-is Mount Fuji Day, -I think it's done.

so an event showcasing local specialties around Mount Fuji

will be held at Fuji-Asada Citizen Hall.

Food's ready!

Fuji-Asada has been cherished up until now

for its quaint and historical air.

-Where are you going today? -But as stated in our manifesto...

First, I'll grab some lunch,

then go look at some clothes.

-Dad's going to buy some for you? -Yeah.

Oh, aren't you lucky? Where will you be having lunch?

-Most likely Jona. -I see.

What about dinner?

I call it Jona-sama. My daughter just calls it Jona.

-You might as well eat out. -Yeah.

What about you, Mom?

If you're eating out...

-I'll call up Minapuu and Hacchi. -Sure, why not?

By the way.

I actually

taught her to lock the door quietly,

-Don't come home too late. -Okay.

See you.

-I wonder Will she remember? -I'm leaving now.

I expect nothing less from my daughter.

Wait, I don't hear her locking the door.

Oh, she did lock it already.

If it's too quiet, that in itself

can be unsettling

so it's better to make at least a little noise.

I've just learned that at my age.

I decided to go to work by bike since it seems relatively warm today.

But, actually, it's not warm at all.

I should've taken the car.

You guys are a TV crew, right?

Oh, you're the driver from before.

-It's been a while. -Yes.

-Are you here for interviews again? -That's right.

It's about the man with glasses from the other day.

You said you were unlucky, but I'd say you're lucky that we met again.

-What do you mean? -I saw him again after that.

-The man with glasses? -Yeah.

He seems a little weird after all.

-Did something happen? -Just the other day...

Sorry, can we get the cameras rolling?

A snack bar?

Yeah, I had to drive a customer who was passed out drunk,

but the guy was huge, probably over 100 kilos.

It wasn't easy getting him into the car.

A hundred kilos is pretty big.

Not to mention, there were only women at the bar,

and it took about five of them to get him into the car and take him to the hotel.

When we arrived,

the hotel staff came out to help

and that's when I saw the guy with glasses from earlier.

Was it the Lake Hotel?

Oh, yes! And guess what?

He carried the man all by himself, in no time at all.

-All by himself? -Yes.

I just happened to be receiving payment from the other staff member.

-So I didn't witness the moment myself. -I see.

But this time, I still have the footage on my dashcam.

What? Really?

-Yeah. -3,200 yen, please.

Okay, here's 5,000 yen.

Here's your change...

Wait, this guy is...

Sorry, may I watch it again?

It's the gunpla person.

Is the guy with glasses that you mentioned earlier the same person?

Yes. I'm sure of it.

Do you think most of the people staying at our hotel

stay here because they couldn't book anywhere else?

-That can't be the case. -Really?

Putting aside the fact that I work here,

I actually like this hotel.

Me too, but the charm of this hotel

is more of an unexpected realization after you've stayed here.

-Really? -I mean, our hotel isn't especially cheap.

And normally, wouldn't people prefer a more exciting hotel?

Well, this place has unique charms you can't find anywhere else.

Like what?

-Like... -Yeah?

For example...

it has... a certain air to it, you know?

I get what you mean, but as a unique selling point,

if that's the first thing, isn't that kinda weak?

Not at all!

What else?

What else?

For instance, you know how big chain hotels

have those thick, fluffy bath mats?

Exactly! They're super absorbent,

practically as soft as a bath towel.

Right?

So don't you sometimes mistake them for a bath towel?

-Oh, I do that all the time. -Right?

On the other hand, our bath mats are thin and stiff, right?

-They don't absorb water that well either. -Yeah.

So there's no way you'd ever mistake them for a bath towel.

Right.

That's the second point.

No, that's...

If our second unique selling point

is that, haven't we already lost?

No, that's not true.

Welcome.

Um, thank you for accepting the interview the other day.

It's my pleasure.

Is your manager around today?

Yes. Please wait a moment.

-Thank you for the other day. -Don't mention it.

How can I help you today?

Aren't those two TV crew?

Yes. They're from the Monday Late Show.

I knew it. They interviewed me the other day at Aeon.

Oh, they did?

They were asking for personal news

so I talked about the cashier at Ichiyama who's really fast.

-I know her. It's the older lady, right? -Yes!

And he was pretty hooked.

Do you think they're back for more?

I'm not sure.

Most likely not.

-Thank you so much. -Don't mention it.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

What was that about?

It was about conducting interviews.

But we turned them down last time.

They wanted to check if it would be okay for them to conduct interviews

in front of the hotel.

What did you say?

I initially said filming within the premises would be tricky,

but then they asked if it would be okay outside the premises.

They're persistent.

Well, I couldn't possibly stop them from doing that,

so I said if the interviewee is okay with it, it's fine.