The TBS hit drama "Hanzawa Naoki" set a record for this century with average viewer ratings of 42.2% in the Kanto region and 45.5% in Kansai for its final episode on September 22. Topics continued to appear in weekly magazines afterward, and expectations for a sequel seem high. I want to watch it too!!
So the places where the drama was filmed have become
"sacred sites," visited by many fans.
There was one near Takebashi too. A five-minute walk from Palaceside Building toward Jimbocho: the Gakushikaikan (3-28 Kanda-Nishiki-cho, Chiyoda Ward). Its main banquet hall is Room 201＝photo top. If that does not ring a bell, you still have a way to go as a Hanzawa fan (?). Look at the scene in the drama's photo upper left and it should click. Yes—that is the room where the Tokyo Chuo Bank board of directors met.
The other day, stopping by on the way to drinks, I was lucky: no banquet was booked that night, yet the lights were on and the hall staff welcomed me in. They even offered, "Shall I take your photo?"—music to a show-off's ears. When I modestly stood near the entrance, they said, "If you're here anyway, come this way," and led me to that
climax scene spot. Snap!! That is the right-side
photo—where Owada, played by Teruyuki Kagawa, prostrated himself before Hanzawa, played by Masato Sakai (left side of photo). So I got a taste of being Hanzawa.
The hall will hold a "lunch-and-tour" on November 25 in Room 201, offering a special lunch themed on the drama as part of a newsletter signup campaign. Ten
groups of twenty will be invited to enjoy a lavish full course devised by the executive chef "like executives." Besides Room 201, they will also guide visitors through the lobby in front of the room and the first-floor corridor used in filming. Apply by October 31. Details on the website (http://www.gakushikaikan.co.jp/mailmagazine/index.html＝photo upper left). Competition will surely be fierce.