For ten years Sophia Professor of Sociology James Farrer has been studying Tokyo neighborhood foodways in a project supported by the Institute of Comparative Culture and Sophia University.
This month 2024 Prof. Farrer appears on NHK World's "Dive in Tokyo" to guide viewers through the neighborhood where he has been conducting fieldwork. The episode shows how an area that was only farmland a century ago has become a vibrant urban community supporting the types of small food & beverage businesses Farrer studies.
For the latest information on Prof. Farrer's ICC food project see the ICC food project webpage as well as the community ethnography page Nishiogiology. To see the episode free in English, click on the link for the "Dive in Tokyo" episode "Nishi-Ogikubo - Fertile Ground for Small Businesses."