GO ASIA TRAIL 
A friend of mine who is from Tohoku and lives in Kanazawa came to Osaka for a visit. When he ordered a set meal at a set meal restaurant in Osaka, he thought the placement of miso soup (soup bowl) was different.
He asked me, who is from Osaka, "In Osaka, miso soup is placed in the back left corner, isn't it? “ “That's normal.” I replied, That's a global standard.
At that time, I thought, "Oh, maybe Osaka has a different pattern like how to ride an escalator!” I did some research and found out that only in Osaka, the position of the miso soup is different.
In the case of Osaka
This is a picture sent by a friend from Tohoku.
And a picture of a set meal at a Chinese restaurant near our office (around Temmabashi, Osaka). The soup bowl with Chinese soup is on the far left, though it is not miso soup.
I have been living in Osaka for almost 30 years, and I have always thought that miso soup (soup bowl) should be in the back left corner. Or rather, this is how I was brought up.
In other prefectures
I searched for the photos I had taken in Google Photos and found a shocking fact... Google Photos allows you to search by location to extract only the photos taken there.
Kyoto City
First, let's take a look at the neighboring city of Kyoto. Lunch at musubi cafe in Arashiyama. Miso soup is in the front right.
Obama (Fukui Prefecture)
Grilled mackerel set meal. This is also at 、、、、、 in the right foreground.
Mishima (Shizuoka)
At a steak shop in front of JR Mishima station of Shinkansen. The soup is in the right front.
Japanese food rule says that the soup bowl is on the right front.
Apparently, the Japanese rule is to serve rice in the front left, soup in the front right, and side dishes and small bowls in the back. But in Osaka, it is "rice in the front left, soup bowl in the back left, side dish in the front right, and small bowl in the back right.
I remembered that in inns and restaurants where I traveled, the miso soup bowl was always placed in the front-right corner, so I went to the trouble of placing it in the back-left corner. I always rearranged it, thinking, "Why is the soup bowl in the front-right corner, it's so hard to eat. Perhaps it was an odd sight to people from other prefectures (laugh).
I asked my friends across the country on Facebook and found that the placement of soup bowls is different between Osaka and the rest of Japan. And, the overwhelming majority of them are from all over the country, and some of them scolded me saying that the way Osaka people place their bowls is not good manners. The Osaka group managed to join them, but they were still outnumbered...
I also checked the Kobe area, which is culturally and geographically close to Osaka, but unfortunately, the only images I had were ramen, okonomiyaki, and Chinese food in Nankinmachi, so I couldn't be of much help... (laughs).
I also tried to find out how the set menus are arranged by region on Google, but I couldn't find any references to it, so maybe it's a new discovery? The power of big data!
How about in teishoku restaurant chains?
So, I would like to examine this a little further.
As teishoku-ya chains, I compared them with the national chains " Otoya " and " Yayoiken " and a local teishoku-ya chain " Miyamoto Munashi " in Osaka.
A search on Instagram using the hashtags #Otoya, #Yayoiken, and #Miyamoto Munashi clearly shows that only the local Osaka chain Miyamoto Munashi has its soup bowl positioned on the far left side of the bowl. (Please note that Miyamoto Munashi is smaller than Otoya and Yayoiken, so the number of hashtags is smaller.)
Conclusion
So, it seems like a new discovery.
Even if we don't win the Nobel Prize, we may at least win the IgNobel Prize. At any rate, I may be at the award ceremony at Harvard University, so please do let me know. Also, I want everyone in Japan to know about this fact, so I'm going to tip off the Kenmin Show and others. I hope it will be aired this spring.
Also, personally, I think the Osaka method is more efficient, no matter how you look at it, because right-handed people are always left-handed, and right-handed people are always right-handed. Because right-handed people always hold their bowls and soup bowls with their left, so it would definitely be easier to eat with minimal movement if you keep what you hold firmly on the left side. Energy saving! If the soup bowl is on the right side, you have to cross your body, which would be inefficient.
I believe that the Osaka method is an evolutionary system. It may take a little more time for the times to catch up with Osaka. I think it may be time for Osaka to finally become independent from Japan (laughs).
Lastly, this is what I had for lunch at a Taiwanese restaurant run by a friend of mine from Taiwan. The way they arrange the food is different both in Osaka and in Japan. Or rather, every time I come here, the lineup seems to change every time... Personally, I think I like the Taiwanese method best because it is free and unrestricted.
P.S.: This was aired on the Kenmin Show 4-hour special on January 4, 2018!
It's been almost a year since I tipped them off, but to my surprise, they featured the matter of the different placement of miso soup in Osaka and the rest of the country in a rare 4-hour special slot.
The most anticipated question was "Why is it that only in Osaka the miso soup is placed on the far left side of the bowl? I was surely expecting some university professor to explain it to us, but as a result, he said "I don't know".
Update on May 25, 2023 (Fukushima TV)
Fukushima TV's Youtube channel had a featured video a year ago regarding the placement of miso soup, so I thought I'd share it with you.