Hiroyuki & Chie Tonosaki (Ramen Shop Tonosaki)

I would like to spend the rest of my life making amazing ramen.

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Ramen Shop Tonosaki is one of the best ramen shops in Akita, in terms of both its taste and service. After opening in 2015, it is now a popular ramen shop that has a long queue as soon as it opens. The owner, Hiroyuki, and his wife, Chie, are the ones who run the ramen shop. They love their hometown, Akita, and were classmates in junior high and high school. Behind the popularity of their ramen lies their dedication and hard work. Hiroyuki says that what he wants customers to know is not what's behind the scenes, but just the taste of the ramen. He has been refusing interview requests for a long time, but this time, for the first time, he agreed to be interviewed. How was Tonosaki born and how has it changed? The story that has never been told until now is revealed here.

Author: Hideki Hamada

October 2020

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From Japanese food chef to ramen chef

―How did you start your own ramen shop?

Hiroyuki: My father was an itamae (chef), so I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be an itamae. After graduating from high school, I worked at a hotel in Akita City, and then worked at several restaurants including Japanese restaurants, yakitori restaurants, yakiniku restaurants, and many others.

After that, I ran an izakaya (Japanese bar) with my wife's parents for about 10 years. At that time, due to the Lehman shock and the earthquake in 2011, the business became a bit difficult. So, we closed the business. At that time, I thought that I had exhausted all my abilities and that I was done with restaurants.

But when I was asked if I wanted to open a ramen shop, I started to think about giving it a try.

Then I started to research from morning till night. I wanted to make it popular somehow.

A person who doesn't eat ramen becomes a ramen shop owner.

―Is it really that easy to make a ramen shop?

Hiroyuki: No, because I've never run a ramen shop before, and I don't really have a craving for ramen. It was only after I decided to open a ramen shop that I started eating it.

And then I started this place, but it wasn't that easy and didn't catch on quickly. I really didn't know what to expect at first, and it was a struggle.

In Japanese food, the umami of the ingredients is brought out, but when it is made into ramen, the impact is weak. In Japanese food, when you make chicken broth, you have to cut and clean the ingredients. However, if you do that, you lose the miscellaneous flavor of the chicken, which is also kind of umami. Japanese cuisine is all about how to avoid that unpleasant taste. Ramen, on the other hand, is about making an impact while retaining that miscellaneous flavor (umami).

―So ramen making is not that simple.

Hiroyuki: Right. But I already had the basics of cooking, so I didn't have to start completely from scratch. But the ramen I'm making now is probably made in a way that other restaurants would think, "What?" I didn't train at a ramen shop, so I'm not sure about that though.

Using past experiences for the present

―Chie-san, have you also been helping out here from the beginning?

Chie: No, I started two years after we opened it. I've been here for three years, but before that, I worked part-time at a franchise restaurant since my children had gotten older. I became an employee there and did a lot of work such as teaching new people customer service in the hall and store management. I am now using what I learned from that experience at Tonosaki.

―What kind of work are you in charge of here?

Chie: When the store is open, I serve customers, but I also use the computer to make pop-ups and menus. I want customers to know how to enjoy their ramen, so I also put up instructions for eating ramen on the wall. I used to write the daily menu on the white board outside with a pen, but I laminated it and changed it to a system where I put it up every day. I've incorporated what I used to do as an employee into my ramen shop.

Hiroyuki: I leave all those things to her.

Chie: Now that my children are older, I help my husband a little with what I can with the preparation.

Hiroyuki: Also, I leave all the household chores to her.

Chie: At his previous job, I was proud of my husband because he helped me with everything, including raising our children. Now, I tell him he doesn't have to do anything at home because his current work is too hard.

Ramen making

―What is your role?

Hiroyuki: Basically, I make the ramen and run the business myself, including doing the administrative work.

―What kind of work is it to make ramen?

Hiroyuki: I wake up around 3:30 every morning and arrive at the shop around 4:00. The first thing I do is to prepare the ingredients. I clean the chicken bones and pork, put them in the soup, and put it on the fire while I prepare the other ingredients such as the flavored eggs, sauce, and bamboo shoots. Then my wife comes and chops the vegetables. When she's done that, she cleans up the hall.

―Do you prepare the ramen for that day in the morning?

Hiroyuki: That's right. At night, I take out all the frozen ingredients and mix the dry ingredients. I dispose of what I have prepared that morning, so we prepare new soup every day.

Special attention to soup

―You throw it away?

Chie: It's a waste, isn't it?

Hiroyuki: The quality of the soup I make deteriorates. I've tried adding more ingredients a few times, but no matter how many times I tried, it still didn't work. It's not what I'm looking for, so if it's going to lose its taste, then I'll just throw it away. Of course, there are times when we sell out the soup, and there are times when we have a surplus. I just decide on a certain number per day and prepare that number.

Ramen that you can eat every day

―We, customers, are happy because you offer daily special ramen.

Hiroyuki: At first, the menu was small, so we gradually expanded it with daily specials. In the beginning, we didn't serve different dishes every day. Eventually, we came up with the style of changing two daily items every day.

I think ramen is an amazing food. You can eat it every day, and if you think it's good, you'll want to eat it even if you have to go far away or stand in line. I've worked at many restaurants in my life, but there is no other food as amazing as ramen.

Then, I wondered what kind of ramen you could eat every day. You can't eat the same ramen every day, no matter how much you want to. So, I thought that if I changed it every day, you could eat it every day, and be impressed every day. That's why I decided to change two kinds of ramen every day.

Communication with customers

―Why is there no ticket vending machine, which is often seen in ramen shops?

Hiroyuki: When you buy a ticket from a ticket machine, you have to think about what you want to eat. At that time, the flow of customers gets blocked. Also, there is no communication.

Chie: I enjoy talking about ramen when people ask me about it, seeing the customer's face, and explaining about the point card. With that in mind, I think we don't need a ticket machine. Actually, I think it would be easier to use a ticket machine when there are no part-timers and it's just the two of us.

Hiroyuki: That's right. I've been thinking about adopting it for a long time, but then I'd re-think it, and repeat the process (laughs).

Chie: It's more work for us without a ticket machine, but the customers say they enjoy talking with me. If we can adopt a ticket machine in a way that allows me to communicate with our customers and they don't have any troubles, we'd like to consider having it here.

Enjoying your work?

―From what you've told me, it sounds like you're really enjoying your work.

Hiroyuki: I like it, but it's hard (laughs). I sleep only three to four hours a night.

―Can't you work in a way that allows you to sleep?

Hiroyuki: I can't do that.

Chie: He can't just leave it to a machine to cut chashu (roasted pork fillet). He has to take the time to do everything himself. Even if he has enough time when I cut the green onions for him, he still has to make the chashu more delicious.

I am enjoying my current job. When I bring customers the ramen that he has worked so hard to make, the customers say, "Wow! Beautiful! It looks so delicious!" with their smiles. It's fun to tell my husband in the kitchen, "They say it's delicious!" I really like serving customers.

Importance of experience

―This job is meant for you.

Chie: I think it's definitely better to experience everything. I'm having so much fun while working now, but when I was a young woman of 18 or 19, I thought I would never want to work in customer service or sales.

The advantages of self-employment

―What do you think about self-employment?

Hiroyuki: It's fun. If you have a strong desire for it, you can work hard at it. I don't think it's good if it's too strong, though (laughs). Because I'm so dedicated to my work, I now have customers who support me, and I can directly feel that. The harder I work, the more people tell me that my ramen is delicious. They also praise the improvements and brush-ups I've made. That's why it's worthwhile and makes me happy.

Of course, there are times when we receive strict words. I appreciate that and make improvements. I want to make our ramen shop better every day. That's all I can do, every day.

Vacation and work

―Do you have any thoughts on the balance between work and private life?

Hiroyuki: No, it's like I take time off for work. On my days off, I do paperwork and exchange money. Then I stock up, prepare food, rest, and eat out.

Chie: It's also a great way to learn about other stores and the many things they do. I do it just for the fun of it.

Hiroyuki: When I look at other restaurants, I notice things. Instead of making the same ramen as other restaurants, I think, "Oh, I would do this if I were them" and that leads me to creativity. That kind of awareness is important when I'm trying something new.

As for the services, I don't try to find the bad points of other restaurants. If I think, "This is a good idea," or "I want to do this," I will incorporate that idea.

―Don't you want to take a break to rest?

Hiroyuki: I want to. People ask me, "Why don't you just take a break?” When our kids are out of the way, we'll probably have a lot of things to do in our spare time. For now, I'm just trying to do my best until my children graduate. If they go on to graduate school, that will be another three years.

Chie: I'm saying I want to go on a trip.

Hiroyuki: We've always wanted to go on a trip.

Chie: Please😊

Even if we won the lottery, we wouldn't quit our ramen shop

― You are busy now, but in 10 years, you may be relaxed.

Hiroyuki: No matter what I'm doing, I don't want to stop making ramen. Even if I had to shorten my opening hours, I’d still want to run our ramen shop.

Chie: When I ask him what he would do if we won the lottery, he says he would continue our ramen shop. So, even though it's a lot of work right now, I think he likes making ramen.

Hiroyuki: I do, I like it, and I would like to spend the rest of my life making amazing ramen.