Part-time Restaurant

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Il Giardino delle Parole is a specific Italian restaurant where Taki, Takagi, Tsukasa, and Miki Okudera serve as part-time waiters. The narrative establishes that Taki lives with his father, who works in Kasumigaseki, and notes Shinkai's statement that Taki's mother divorced his father a few years prior. The restaurant environment contrasts sharply with the rural setting of Itomori where Mitsuha resides. While Mitsuha performs traditional duties like making kuchikamizake at Miyamizu Shrine, Taki navigates the demands of service work in Shinjuku. This workplace is where Taki's impulsive and belligerent nature is initially observed; when Mitsuha first awakens in his body there, she finds his cheek bandaged from a quarrel. The setting also facilitates key plot points, such as Mitsuha (in Taki's body) arranging a date between Taki and Okudera, which leads to Okudera noticing Taki's preoccupation with someone else.

In Their Own Story

The source details specific moments occurring at or near the restaurant. When Mitsuha inhabits Taki's body, she sets him on a date with coworker Miki Okudera, leveraging his position at Il Giardino delle Parole. During these shifts, Taki (or Mitsuha in his body) interacts with customers and manages service duties. Later, after the body-switching stops, Taki realizes he must search for Mitsuha; before leaving Tokyo to find her, he visits the ramen shop owner in Takayama who recognizes the name Itomori from Taki's sketch. The restaurant serves as the anchor of Taki's 2016 life until he travels to Hida and discovers the ruins of Itomori, realizing Mitsuha died three years prior in 2013.

Reader's Guide

This location is identified strictly as Il Giardino delle Parole, an Italian restaurant in Shinjuku ward. It is staffed by Taki Tachibana, his best friends Takagi and Tsukasa Fujii, and coworker Miki Okudera. The text notes that the four serve part-time as waiters here. This setting is crucial for character development: it highlights Taki's well-meaning but sometimes belligerent personality (evidenced by the bandaged cheek from quarreling) and serves as the site where body-swapping rules are tested, such as writing notes on skin or phones. For fans analyzing the film, this location represents the urban half of the dichotomy with Itomori. The source confirms Taki is a seventeen-year-old student in his second year at Jingu High School while working here, born December 1, 1998.

Did You Know?

• Taki, Takagi, Tsukasa, and Miki Okudera all work part-time as waiters at the same Italian restaurant in Shinjuku.
• When Mitsuha first awakens in Taki's body at the restaurant, she discovers his cheek is bandaged due to his penchant for quarreling.
• Mitsuha (in Taki's body) uses her time at work to set Taki up on a date with coworker Miki Okudera.
• Taki's father works in Kasumigaseki, while Taki himself balances school and service work at the restaurant in Shinjuku.