She Serves 2000 people a Day with No Breaks! Making it Look EASY!

She Serves 2000 people a Day with No Breaks! Making it Look EASY!

Oops, sorry, I greeted you like normal! I’m the shop owner! Morning, Gacchan. Kuro-chan has been working here for 28 years. Same number of years as my daughters age! So we have Kuro-chan and Gacchan. Gacchan’s real name is Ishimatsu-san. So we cal him Gacchan after the boxer, Guts Ishimatsu. Everyone’s got a nickname. There’s also Chi-chan and Haru-chan… Everyone gets a nickname, even the old guys. I mentioned how long Kuro-chan’s been with us— The shortest one’s been here 9 years. My mom started this shop 46 years ago. I took over 33 years ago, and I’m 56 now. We use this local chicken for our udon and soba. We cook it for about 3 hours, since the meat’s tough. Everything’s handmade—that’s our thing. Each person gets two or three small side dishes. We don’t use store-bought sweet beans. We cook ‘em. And I’ll make simmered Zenmai next. It takes 2 days to make it. Cooking wild veggies takes time. This guy over here is Sei-chan. He makes all of these! The normal shop-bought one’s just aren’t doing the job. He made this here too. It’s all handmade. This here is 4 shō of rice. When it’s busy, we make like maybe 15 kg of rice? 30 kg. Oh ok, 30 kg a day on busy days. In 2013, we had a fire. The whole shop burned down. Even the break area out front got torched. We rebuilt the earthen floor and everything. We didn’t have any money, so we built a lot ourselves. We pretty much DIY’d everything. A lot of the staff are still the same from before the fire. Everyone’s really close. We’re like family. To be honest, there’ve been more tough times than not. If I’d been alone, I couldn’t have made it through that fire. Probably wouldn’t have made it through COVID either. After the fire, we had to temporarily let everyone go. They all went on unemployment or picked up part-time jobs. Since we didn’t even know if we could rebuild the shop. But everyone still came by to help clean the place. And then they helped with construction work. During COVID, everyone was on standby. Thanks to government support, we didn’t have to fire a single person. And I couldn’t just abandon my family. I’m mixing chicken, burdock root, dried shiitake mushrooms, and carrots. Mixing it all up. Please go ahead. Great timing! Can you take down the tea? I want to cook the Zenmai. No worries, I made it, after all. Thanks. You know, my eldest daughter’s a pro golfer. And my sister’s second son is a pro golfer too. And my son also tried. Everyone said he’d definitely pass the pro test, but… He failed 3 times? Maybe even 4 times? And then he gave up. I let him try for 3 years. Even though he tried, it didn’t work out. I felt bad for him, but honestly, I was kinda happy. He got into college because of golf, same for middle and high school. He really made me proud. And I only had to pay for his living expenses. No tuition or anything. He might not look it, but he was a medalist golf champion at his college. But still, he couldn’t go pro. I think maybe it was fate that he ended up back here with me. I’m getting the charcoal ready for grilling Dango. Once it’s burning nice and hot, we’ll start grilling. We’ve got Yamame trout today. We have around 400 of them today. During peak season in fall, we have up to 1,200 at once. These are from Oita Prefecture. Fall is the busiest season. We sell between 300 to 700 skewers a day during that time. Back in the day, they sold around 2,000 a day! I just started last year—it’s still my first year. I’m still learning, but I’m in charge of this now. Skewering yamame takes a bit of skill. They’ve got a backbone, so you have to kind of wrap the skewer around it. If you don’t do it right, the fish might fall off or break when grilling. We don’t like wasting leftover oil. So we recycle it by using it here. The Dango sell just as well as the fish, so in fall, we go through 500 to 600 skewers a day. During the autumn leaves season, hundreds to even a couple thousand people come daily. So it gets really hectic. We serve the Dango with a yuzu soy sauce. It’s made by mixing yuzu peel into soy sauce. It’s our own special soy sauce blend. The one on top is not might not look grilled yet, but they’re perfectly cooked and fluffy inside. Kuro-chan! Let’s use the big bowl for the chicken tempura batter. These are butterbur buds! Where did you get them? Just outside. You can find plenty of wild veggies around here. Anyone can go and pick them. Two days ago I picked rapeseed blossoms. And I’m going to boil them today. This doesn’t really have anything to do with cooking, but adding these to the chicken tempura, is like a little lucky bonus for the customers. It comes with butterbur buds or potato. Even though it’s a tourist spot, we’ve got a lot of regulars. I carved an X on them when I was cutting them earlier. That way they open up like this. It looks prettier that way. Butterbur buds are quite bitter. So frying it helps mellow out that bitterness. This is my younger sister. She’s the Pon-princess. From the sign outside. The Tanuki on the sign. Without makeup though. Heading to the morning meeting now. Sorry everyone, coming now! Good morning! Welcome! Thank you very much! To work means— —to make life easier for others. Working hard is about easing the burden of those around you. And since we’re in the hospitality industry, our job is also to make customers happy. Giving it your all—that’s what real work is. Work is about easing others’ lives. So let’s be thoughtful as always. Let’s do our best today too! Thank you everyone! Ponpoko! They used to run things in full Tanuki makeup— but now they have “returned to the mountains,”. We serve lunch between 11am to 2pm. Sorry, passing through! Sorry! Order coming in! One chicken tempura, please! One set meal and three à la carte. Please serve it with care. What was that? Please put aside some Warabi mochi! What should be put aside You okay? Huh? Warabi mochi? If the water gets dirty, we have to add new water. Otherwise, the soba won’t cook properly. Be careful of the sauce dripping. Thank you very much! We have Yamame and grilled Dango! My fingers are cramping up! Squeeze as much lemon on the Yamane as you like. Be careful of the sauce dripping! Thank you very much! It’s REALLY delicious. Digging in! So hot! So good!! They use sweet vinegar sauce for the chicken tempura. Normally you’d use ponzu, right? So this is pretty unique. And it tastes amazing. The meat is super plump and tender— —and it’s perfectly crispy. Really delicious. Glad I got to try their famous dish. Rika-chan! You said 4 set meals, right? Yes, 4 set meals! Are those ready to come out? Passing through! It really started last year. Everyone is helping out each other. Gacchan learned how to prep the broth for rice bowls, the assistant manager started cooking curry too. If we assign people to specific roles, we’d need about 1.5 times more staff. But there’s not enough workforce— —especially out here in the countryside. It’s hard to find part-timers. But it’s okay—we’re family. No need, Kuro-chan. No need. Fall foliage season is intense. There’s a massive amount of orders. Even though we cut down the menu. There’s no way we’d be able to serve set meals. From 11am to 2:30,pm we get around 600 people a day. Is is ok if I put it all in one bag? I’ve been working here 13 years. Working here is really fun! The nature is beautiful around here. And I get to soak in hot springs every day. But above all, the customers are just so warm and kind. And same goes for my coworkers—such a warm group of people. The owner is super thoughtful. She’s always looking out for us in so many ways. Sure, she scolds us sometimes, but honestly, that’s part of any job. Having a workplace where you can enjoy your job—that’s huge. Back when the shop burned down— —just talking about it makes me tear up. We all dug in and pushed through. Nothing was left. Only the shop sign survived. And the owner said that since the sign survived, we should raise it up again once more. So we all pitched in. Doing things none of us had ever done before. Like carpentry work. I didn’t think we could ever make it happen like this. But I think we were able to do it, because of her. I’ve been working here for 20 years. I enjoy it. Because of everyone in the team. We do everything ourselves. From weeding the grass outside to making sweets to washing dishes. Doing that all together makes it fun. I’ll do whatever I can. Learning is something you do until you pass. I’ve been working here 17 years. When you see results from the effort you put in— like when you’re prepping to welcome customers, or when someone finishes their meal and you know they enjoyed it— —it gives you a little sense of accomplishment. It’s like those small efforts just build up to something over time. Instead of “boss” we call her “proprietress”. I really respect her in many ways. And she’s also the kind of superior you want to support. It’s not about feeling superior—more like you want to help her out. Even if I can’t do much, I want to help when she’s in a tough spot. That’s how we all felt after the fire too. Even though it was hard on us as well— —it was even harder for her, as the owner. I’m the owners son. I’ve been golfing most of my life. I was aiming to go pro. But I decided to call it quits. I came back home last year and started working at the shop seriously. Now that I’m doing it, it’s actually fulfilling. Seeing my mom in action as the head of the business— —it really pushes me to step up too. Just six months ago, we were always arguing like crazy! But she’s got decades of experience— —and it’s not like she won’t listen to new ideas. Even though I came back suddenly and started pointing out things from an outsider’s perspective, she was open to change. For example, dropping the Tanuki makeup— We just decided to drop it cold turkey the next day. That was one of the things we decided to change. Though they had been doing it for nearly 30 years. Even if it’s once a month— —I want people to think, “Hey, I’ve got time. Let’s go visit that shop.” My grandma started this place, then my mom took over. And someday, it’ll be my turn. I just want to keep the good atmosphere going. If we can make it a place more people want to visit, I think that would be a win. But right now, we’re just doing our best day by day. I’m the owners younger sister. Even though she’s a woman, when it comes to work, she’s got the grit of a man. She’s got the attention to detail of a woman too, though. She notices things others would miss. For example, with outdoor construction work— only she really understands that stuff. We have plenty of male staff, but everyone goes to her for instructions. She’s smart—unlike me. But I’ve got the better looks! She probably gets down sometimes, but she doesn’t really show it. Not even to the family. But sometimes, she just hops in her car, and goes up the mountain. I imagine she uses that time to cool down and clear her head. I think that’s probably how she decompresses. Its not like she’s always in the kitchen. She does all kinds of work. I used to be the “poster girl” out front, working the register and greeting customers. Now I’ve started helping with behind-the-scenes stuff, like accounting and other tasks. I’ve only recently started that. I guess I’m just supporting my sister. With the fire, and then COVID I realized something: I wasn’t the one supporting everyone, but they were supporting me. I used to cry a lot more back then. I’d drive off alone, and come back once I’d finished crying my heart out. And go right back to work. I didn’t show anyone my tears. Even during the fire, I didn’t cry. But when the new shop was finished— —and we raised the sign, that’s when cried, I didn’t want anyone to see, so I wen to the gorge, faced away, cried, wiped my face, and came back. That was when we raised the sign of the new shop. I really love my staff! It’s a really close-knit place. But in the end, I am the one who carries the responsibility. They do not have to carry it. After the fire, I was worrying, about what would happen to all of them. You saw the mountain veggies earlier, right? For me, I can just go and find food in the mountains. So I’ll survive. Even if I could give them their pay for the work they’ve done— some of them live in the dorm out back. And some even lived in the building that burned down. Where should they stay starting tomorrow? I didn’t have time to cry. More than half of the staff live on-site in the dorms. They’ve all got guts. They’re strong. It feels like they are my kids. About our traditional Ryokan, we run an inn that serves all handmade food. We use Oita wagyu in our course meals. We’d love for people—Japanese and overseas guests alike— —to come visit us. The hot spring too is very comfy! Most of the rooms come with a private open-air bath. So you can hop in whenever you feel like it! The water keeps constantly flowing in, and is not recirculated. So the water is always fresh. Our hot spring is mildly acidic, so it’s really good for your skin. Makes your skin feel amazing like mine! (laugh) Nowadays, products that are good for skin and hair are all about mild acidity. We have a five-room longhouse, and each room has its own entrance. You can drive right up to your room. Park by your door—feels like your own private villa. There are also two open-air baths for guests staying in those five rooms. Plus, there’s a family bath and another open-air bath. The name of our inn is “Nihiki no Oni” (The Two Demons). We have both Japanese-style and Japanese-Western rooms. We’d love to welcome you to both our tea house and to our inn!

How does this boss lady serve 2000 people a day and make it look so easy? She is a whirlwind in the kitchen and her staff helps support her in this journey to make tasty dishes for her customers.

🏠 Shop Name: Katsura Chaya
📍Location on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/AzQ1g4JSRpSYBuvr5
📸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katsura9999/
♨️Their traditional Ryokan Inn “Nihiki no Oni”: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Ye6otiyhtSxYAweb9

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0:15 Intro
1:02 Getting along with staff
3:14 The store burned down?
5:14 A family of pro golfers!
6:24 Preparation of yamame!
9:05 Wild vegetables!
11:55 Queue for the shop
15:23 Very Busy!
17:49 Oita’s specialties!
19:43 We are like a family!
20:32 Thoughts of longtime staff?
23:26 Family Gossip
26:06 Boss Lady’s Opinion

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