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2023年9月30日土曜日

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR LEAVING INFANT'S CORPSE IN VACANT LOT IN TOCHIGI PREFECTURE - JAPAN

WOMAN ARRESTED FOR LEAVING INFANT'S CORPSE IN VACANT LOT IN TOCHIGI PREFECTURE - JAPAN

@Jackie San


Police in Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, have arrested a 36-year-old woman on suspicion of corpse abandonment after she left the body of her baby son in a vacant lot in a residential area last week.


According to police, Namiko Ito, a temp worker, left the infant’s body in the lot between early on the morning of July 18, Kyodo News reported. A passerby spotted the body in a translucent bag at around 5:20 p.m. on July 19 and called 110.


Police said the body of the infant had begun to decay and that an autopsy determined the cause of death to be a traumatic brain injury.


Ito, who lives alone, was detained after an analysis of street surveillance camera footage showed her carrying a bag near the lot. She lives in an apartment about 150 meters from the lot.

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@Jackie San

2023年9月28日木曜日

DOCTOR, DAUGHTER ARRESTED OVER HEADLESS BODY FOUND AT SAPPORO LOVE HOTEL - JAPAN

DOCTOR, DAUGHTER ARRESTED OVER HEADLESS BODY FOUND AT SAPPORO LOVE HOTEL - JAPAN

@Jackie San


A Sapporo doctor and his daughter were arrested Monday on suspicion of beheading a man and carrying the severed head out of a love hotel earlier this month, local police said.


Police are trying to determine a motive, as well as the relationship between Osamu Tamura, 59, his daughter Runa, 29, and the victim, identified as 62-year-old Hitoshi Ura, who was found naked and headless in a hotel room bathroom on July 2.


The police believe Runa and Ura were acquainted but have declined to say whether the two suspects have pleaded guilty to the allegations.


Ura and another individual believed to be Runa checked into the hotel around 10:50 p.m. on July 1, with the other person leaving alone at about 2 a.m. the following day, according to the police.


Osamu, a psychiatrist at a hospital in Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, is suspected to have dropped off and picked up the daughter at the hotel. The police believe that he did not enter the building.


An autopsy of the victim revealed that the cause of death was hemorrhagic shock caused by blood loss from stab wounds, while Ura's head was cut off with a blade and taken from the scene.


The person who accompanied Ura was small, wearing light-colored women's clothing and a wide-brimmed hat when entering the hotel, but was dressed in black upon leaving, according to investigative sources.


Ura's body was discovered later on July 2 by a hotel worker who went to check the room after becoming suspicious when he had not checked out by the afternoon.


The incident occurred in the Susukino area of the city where many short-stay love hotels are located.

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@Jackie San

TRAUMATIC MEMORIES FADE IN FUKUSHIMA AREA HIT BY ' MOCK A-BOMB '

TRAUMATIC MEMORIES FADE IN FUKUSHIMA AREA HIT BY ' MOCK A-BOMB '

@Jackie San


As Japan inched closer to defeat in World War II, a bomb dropped by the U.S. military as part of training exercises ahead of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki took the life of a local boy in a district on the outskirts of Fukushima.


The "mock atomic bombing" occurred in Watari which was just one of several locations bombs were tested in Japan. Although far less devastating than the actual A-bomb attacks, they left a lasting impression on local residents.


Despite the trauma caused by the bomb test in the northeastern Japan area, as the years pass and people move on and age the memories have begun to fade.


On the morning of July 20, 1945, Michi Saito, then 18, heard a shocking roar at the entrance of her family's home as she prepared to leave for the day's farm work and was thrown backward by an explosion.


Picking herself up, she saw a black plume of smoke billowing up from the rice field where her brother Takao had been working and rushed over to him. She found the 14-year-old with a fatal wound to his abdomen.


Saito lost most of the hearing in her right ear in the incident.


The siblings' father found a large bomb fragment several days later. Whenever he would see it, he would kick it out of rage. But after about a decade, he entrusted it to Zuiryu-ji, a Buddhist temple in Watari where it remains today.


"I think he believed that if he left it at the temple, Takao's soul could rest in peace from the daily chanting of Buddhist sutras," Saito, now 96, said.


There are few people remaining who remember the atomic bombing test run. But Saito still suffers from the guilt of having survived the explosion which killed her young brother.


Suguru Saito, an 87-year-old local historian who shares the family's name but is not related, was at an elementary school a few hundred meters away from the bomb site. He and other students evacuated to a shelter after the air raid alarm blared and there they heard the blast.


He remembers the incident in his hometown as of one of the tragedies of the war.


Between July 20 and Aug 14 1945, the U.S. special forces dropped 49 conventional, non-nuclear explosive bombs on 18 prefectures as target training for planned nuclear attacks, including seven in Aichi Prefecture the day before Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender. The explosions killed more than 400 people.


At about 4.5 tons, the mock atomic bombs weighed about the same as "Fat Man," the plutonium core atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki on Aug. 9. It was called a "pumpkin bomb" due to its rounded shape and orange color.


Investigations into the bombing test runs were prompted by the publication in 1991 of an analysis of U.S. military records by an Aichi citizens' group.


In the early summer of 2023, the 78th year since the war's end, Suguru took Kyodo News to the explosion site of the mock atomic bomb. Green rice plants gently swayed in the wind in the paddies, which partially remain in a residential area.


According to Suguru, there had been talk of building a memorial for Takao at the site of the explosion in the 1960s, but the plan never gained momentum due to opposition from local residents who believed doing so would only "tarnish the town's image."


Another, more recent, nuclear-related incident did tarnish the town's image, though. On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake and the nuclear plant disaster occurred, devastating northeastern Japan including Fukushima.


Later, in Watari, about 60 kilometers from the plant, higher doses of radiation were detected than the city average, and the district was designated a "hot spot."


Although Watari was never designated as an evacuation zone, there are some residents who voluntarily evacuated to places outside of Fukushima Prefecture and have yet to return.


In fiscal 2022, the average radiation dosage levels in the district were lower than the government's standard for decontamination of 0.23 microsieverts per hour.


Nowadays, residents in Watari rarely speak of either the bombing incident or the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.


"It is inevitable because of the concern over possible reputational damage," said Suguru. But he still thinks the memories of what happened, especially to the local boy, should be chronicled as important moments in the area's history.

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@Jackie San

Perjalanan dan Penerbangan Menarik Dari Narita AirPort Menuju ke Kumamoto Bandar Mempunyai Volcano Yang Aktif

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2023年9月26日火曜日

2 BROTHERS FOUND DEAD AFTER POSSIBLE FALL WHILE MOUNTAIN CLIMBING - MT ECHIGO KOMAGATAKE UONUMA CITY

2 BROTHERS FOUND DEAD AFTER POSSIBLE FALL WHILE MOUNTAIN CLIMBING - MT ECHIGO KOMAGATAKE UONUMA CITY

@Jackie San


Two brothers who lost contact with their family while climbing Mt Echigo-Komagatake in Uonuma City, Niigata Prefecture, have been found dead after apparently falling, police said Monday.

According to police, Junichi Yamada, 48, of Niigata City and his brother Tomoya Abe, 45, from Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, were scheduled to descend the mountain on Sunday afternoon, Kyodo News reported. However, their families contacted the police when the two could not be reached.

Niigata Prefectural Police and firefighters launched a search on Monday morning and found the two brothers dead on the mountain. Both bodies were badly bruised, leading police to believe that the two men accidentally fell while climbing or were engulfed by a mountain stream.

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@Jackie San

Melancong Secara Solo Menuju Ke Senso-Ji Temple, Odaiba Bay, Shinjuku, Akasuka Tokyo Japan Musim Panas

 
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2023年9月25日月曜日

HONG KONG' SEAFOOD BUSINESSES BRACE FOR SALES SLUMP AS JAPAN PLANS TO DISCHARGE WASTEWATER

HONG KONG' SEAFOOD BUSINESSES BRACE FOR SALES SLUMP AS JAPAN PLANS TO DISCHARGE WASTEWATER

@Jackie San


As Tokyo plans to discharge treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, Japanese restaurant operator Sam Lam is busy finding substitutes for Japanese seafood that could soon be banned from entering Hong Kong.


The Hong Kong government said last Wednesday that the city would immediately bar the import of aquatic products from 10 Japanese prefectures if wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant is released into the Pacific Ocean.


Lam said his team could get seafood from other sources and change menus to adjust to the ban, but he predicted that revenues could nevertheless drop from 10% to 20% if the Japanese and Hong Kong governments press ahead with their plans.


“My customers told me that once the water is discharged, they will eat fewer (aquatic products) or stop eating them,” he said in an interview Friday.


Lam is not alone among Japanese restaurants and seafood suppliers in Hong Kong who are bracing for a slump in business under the potential ban, and who fear that the discharge could lead to a general decline of confidence in the safety of seafood.


The financial hub was Japan's second biggest market for fishery exports after mainland China and purchased 75.5 billion yen ($546 million) worth of aquatic products from the country last year, the Japanese government's data showed.


The 10 affected prefectures — Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama — provide about 15% of the total amount of imported aquatic products from Japan, according to estimates by Simon Wong, president of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trade.


Wong said the city's Japanese restaurants could find substitute seafood products from other regions, but they may not share the same level of prestige, and that could mar a restaurant's image or make customers feel that the food is less authentic.


“After moving past the pandemic, businesses were hoping that crisis is a thing of the past already. They don't know if this incident will bring another crisis," he said.


He said the industry took about a year to restore the public's confidence in Japanese food after the Fukushima nuclear crisis in March 2011. He said if the current safety concerns aren't immediately resolved, the industry might need more than nine months to restore some level of confidence.


A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and releasing large amounts of radiation. The tanks where water used to cool the reactor cores is stored will reach their capacity in early 2024.


In 2021, Japan’s government announced plans to gradually release the treated — but still slightly radioactive — water after being diluted to what it says are safe levels. The U.N. nuclear agency endorsed the plans, saying they meet international standards. But the idea is opposed by groups in South Korea, China and some Pacific Island nations because of safety concerns and political reasons. Local fishing organizations fear that their reputation will be damaged even if their catch isn’t contaminated.


Christine Huang, who imports Japanese food from outside the 10 prefectures targeted in the potential ban, remembered the pain in 2011.


Consumer worries triggered by the Fukushima accident led to her company's revenues being halved for a period of two to three months, said Huang, the director at Best Quality Food. Workers at her company were forced to take unpaid leave, she added.


She worried that the release at Fukushima could again shake Hong Kongers’ confidence in the safety of Japanese food in the short term. “If business at Japanese restaurants turn bad, we will be quite miserable,” she said.


Murakami Satoshi, a wholesaler who imported seafood such as saury from the affected prefecture of Miyagi, also predicted a potential drop in sales due to the ban. To allay concerns of his restaurant clients, he said he would boost efforts to get seafood from unaffected regions, such as the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Hokkaido.


Those who sell seafood products from outside Japan also voiced concerns. Local seafood wholesale company worker Fung See foresaw his company's revenues could drop at least 20% to 30% due to consumers’ worries even though they mainly trade fish from Hong Kong and mainland China.


Oyster shop owner Wilson Lau, who sells shellfish from Miyagi, said he was not bothered. “Fresh oysters also exist in many countries," said Lau, who is director of the HK Oyster Concern Group. “Even if consumers do not eat Japanese oysters, they can eat other types of oysters.”


At about Friday's noon at Sam Lam's Japanese restaurant, fewer customers were ordering sashimi than usual. Of about 10 meal sets Lam checked, only one was sashimi, he said.


Customer Yo Kong said she's been dining more at Japanese restaurants lately to get her fill ahead of the expected discharge at Fukushima. Once that happens, the 50-year-old insurance manager said she might stop eating sashimi for a few months.


“I will just have more when it's still OK to eat,” she said.

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@Jackie San

Pengangkutan Utama Dari Narita AirPort Ke Bandar Asakusa Tokyo Jepun Men...

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Gundam & Seso-ji Temple Terbaik Untuk Dilawati di Tokyo Japan

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2023年9月24日日曜日

HEAT CONTINUES TO BAKE JAPAN COUNTRY, BUT SOME RELIEF IS ON THE WAY !

HEAT CONTINUES TO BAKE JAPAN COUNTRY, BUT SOME RELIEF IS ON THE WAY ! 

@Jackie San


TUESDAY (JULY 18, 2023): Temperatures in central Tokyo have soared to nearly 9C (16F) above the seasonal average, as the extreme heat blanketing the world continues to smash historical norms.


Over the weekend, Japan’s government issued a fresh round of heatstroke warnings, encouraging people to avoid going outside and to check on at-risk neighbors. Japan is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat because it has one of the oldest populations in the world, with almost 30% of its citizens over the age of 65. Along with the very young, or ill, the elderly are typically at higher risk of suffering from heatstroke.


The hottest place in country was Kiryu, a city about two hours north of Tokyo, where the maximum temperature hit 39.7C over the weekend. Japan’s all-time record is 41.1C, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.


While long-run historical data shows Tokyo has been getting warmer for decades — the average annual temperature has increased by about 3C over the past 100 years — this year’s unseasonable heat is supercharging that trend.


In central Tokyo, maximum temperatures reached 36.2C on Monday, 7C above the average for the season, according to data from JMA tracing back to 1875 analyzed by Bloomberg. What’s more, Tokyo is seeing an extended hot spell. Last Wednesday, the mercury reached 37.5C — that’s 8.9C above the average for the season.


'GETTING WARMER' 


As well as climate change, Tokyo is also affected by the urban heat island phenomenon, which occurs when cities are covered by high concentrations of buildings and roads that trap heat, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Environment.


Although Tokyo “doesn’t have the kind of high rise that you might get say in Manhattan” the city’s “medium density buildings, if they’re clustered fairly close together and there’s not much green space cover, they will trap heat and release it slowly as well,” said Jason Byrne, a professor of human geography and planning at the University of Tasmania.

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@Jackie San

2023年9月23日土曜日

RUSSIA'S BRIDGE TO CRIMEA SO IMPORTANT !

RUSSIA'S BRIDGE TO CRIMEA SO IMPORTANT !

@Jackie San


On Monday (July 17, 2023), Ukrainian forces struck the Crimean Bridge, a key link that connects mainland Russia to Crimea – which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014 and has since occupied. Two were killed in the explosion.


Kyiv’s navy and special forces carried out the nighttime drone boat attack, a Ukrainian official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations.


This is the second time the bridge has been attacked in the war, highlighting its strategic importance to both Ukraine and Russia. In October, a giant fireball ripped across the bridge after a truck exploded, igniting the fuel tanks of a passing train; the bridge was substantially damaged, leading to months of repair work. A Ukrainian official told The Washington Post in October that the explosion was orchestrated by Ukraine’s special forces.


The bridge, like the Crimean peninsula itself, has symbolic and strategic value to Russia, serving as an emblem of identity and power – on top of being a logistical and military asset. Here’s what you need to know about the bridge:


WHAT IS THE CRIMEAN BRIDGE?


The Crimean Bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, is a 12-mile, $3.7 billion infrastructure project with two parallel tracks: one four-lane road for traffic and a two-lane rail line. The structure connects mainland Russia to Crimea, a peninsula that Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed from Ukraine in 2014. It’s the longest bridge in Europe.


Crimea, which juts out of the southern part of mainland Ukraine between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, is home to 2 million people. After invading and annexing the peninsula, Moscow held a widely disputed referendum on the territory’s status, claiming that an overwhelming majority of residents wanted to join Russia. Most of the world still sees Crimea as part of Ukraine, with only a few countries recognizing Moscow’s sovereignty over it.


Russia used Crimea as a southern staging ground for its invasion of Ukraine. Control of the peninsula also allowed Russia to carry out its wartime naval blockade.


The bridge was viewed as a marquee infrastructure project for Putin. It also offers a driving route to the Crimean peninsula, which is a popular summer vacation spot for Russian tourists who relax at resorts and on beaches along the Black Sea – all while staying within Russia’s self-declared borders. Monday’s attack occurred at the height of the holiday season.


WHERE IS THE KERCH BRIDGE?


The Kerch bridge connects Crimea – which shares a land border with Ukraine’s southern Kherson region – and Russia’s southwestern Taman peninsula.


One stated and achieved goal of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is to create a “land bridge” from Russia to Crimea by illegally occupying and annexing four Ukrainian regions – Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson – on Ukraine’s southeast border.


WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF THE BRIDGE?


The bridge is seen as a personal pet project of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who inaugurated the bridge in 2018 in a made-for-television ceremony that got wall-to-wall coverage on Russian state media. Putin drove an orange Kamaz truck flying Russian flags across the bridge, and called the completed project a “miracle.”


“In different historical epochs, even under the czar priests, people dreamed of building this bridge,” Putin declared at the opening ceremony.


Many Western nations immediately condemned the construction of the bridge, which they saw as a further violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.


In 2016, the State Department put sanctions on companies involved in the construction of the bridge and other related individuals. Putin had tapped a longtime friend and judo partner, Arkady Rotenberg, to oversee its costly construction.


WHY IS THE BRIDGE IMPORTANT TO RUSSIA?


The bridge, and Crimea itself, has long been a gray zone and flash point for Russia and Ukraine – a condition that has only been aggravated during the war. Ukraine has made disrupting the land bridge a primary goal of its counteroffensive.


Strategically and militarily, the bridge is critical for the Kremlin. The bridge was for years Russia’s only road and rail link to occupied Crimea – a fact that only changed after Russian forces invaded southeastern Ukrainian territory. The bridge has also served as a key military supply route, allowing Russian forces to supply bases in the occupied territories.


The bridge is also personally important to Putin and the Kremlin. It symbolizes Putin’s ability to deliver on major infrastructure projects and his dreams of restoring Russia to its former greatness. Crucially, it is also emblematic of Russia’s ambitions to control Ukraine and to solidify its claim to Crimea.

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@Jackie San

2023年9月22日金曜日

From Shibuya Crossings - Olympic Stadium, Tokyo Tower, Shijuku Outer Market And Others Thing You Must Visit In Tokyo, Japan

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TOKYO ISAI - UNIQUE NIBOSHI TSUKEMEN OUTLET THRIVES IN CAPITAL'S RAMEN AS BATTLEGROUND

TOKYO ISAI - UNIQUE NIBOSHI TSUKEMEN OUTLET THRIVES IN CAPITAL'S RAMEN AS BATTLEGROUND

@Jackie San


Futoshi Mori, Japan News Senior Writer

"Food is a passion. It’s a serious battle for both the cook and the diner. There are many ramen restaurants in Japan that have a tremendous passion for ramen and I’d like to introduce to you some of these passionate establishments, making the best of my experience of enjoying cuisine from both Japan and around the world"


Upon exiting the north exit of JR Nakano Station in Tokyo, a multitude of eateries and a colorful sign hove into view. “A town where the Showa-era meets the present,” the signage proclaims.


The Showa Shinmichi area is crammed with small restaurants and bars, while the strains of enka melodies float through the air from karaoke establishments. Indeed, the atmosphere is strongly redolent of the Showa era (1926-89).


A new ramen shop, Isai Tokyo, opened here June 18, boasting niboshi tsukemen (noodles with niboshi fish dipping soup) as its signature offering.


The shop’s owner, Tsubasa Inoue, 41, has paid his ramen-world dues. Prior to opening his first outlet in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Inoue served as a senior executive of a famous Tokyo ramen chain. Though he faced a series of unexpected challenges in opening his Tokyo store, he continues to strive daily to achieve his dreams.


It was a blisteringly hot, sweat-inducing day when I arrived for my 2:30 p.m. meeting with Inoue. Tokyo summers seem to be getting hotter each year, likely to due to global warming. On such days, my mind often turns to tsukemen —cold-water cooled noodles.


Located near Waseda Street, Isai features a white lantern and a noren curtain at its entrance. Dressed in traditional chef’s attire, Inoue greeted me with a smile.


The shop’s interior is small. Viewed from the entranceway, a counter runs the length of the kitchen to the left, with another counter on the right.


My first visit to the shop was in late June, shortly after its opening. At that time, a line had already formed outside and customers were crammed tightly together in the counter seats.


However, when I visited the establishment to meet Inoue on July 4, the restaurant had only four seats along the right-wall counter. “I want my customers to eat in a relaxed atmosphere,” Inoue said.


I ordered the signature thick, niboshi tsukemen (¥1,100, including tax) with special toppings (an extra ¥200). My dish suddenly appeared while I was struggling to photograph the small kitchen. As it was a tsukemen dish, the noodles and dipping soup were served separately. The shop specializes in niboshi (dried fish), and a mere glance told me that the soup comprised a rich niboshi. It did not smell fishy, nor did it have a slimy texture. However, it still had a rich taste with a niboshi aroma.


The medium-thick noodles — specially ordered from a noodle company — have a relatively high moisture content and are characterized by a smooth and glutinous texture.


“I’m particular about the richness of the broth from the dried fish,” Inoue said. “I use dried fish such as Japanese anchovies, round herring, horse mackerel and small amberjack from Nagasaki, Chiba, and other parts of Japan, and adjust the flavor myself. The taste varies depending on the season and origin of the ingredients.” Despite rising prices for dried fish, Inoue does not skimp their usage, thus ensuring the soup preserves its flavor. He combines the dried stock with pork and chicken broth and uses soy sauce (shoyu) as a source of kaeshi.


I noticed some baby corn in the broth, which struck me as somewhat unusual for a ramen topping. “When I opened my first ramen shop in Sapporo, I used baby corn,” Inoue explained. “I used the ingredient at my Tokyo store, too, with the aim of making the dish look different.”


The soup also includes sliced onions, white onions, and diced, braised pork. The pork, which is added for its umami flavoring, infuses the soup with flavor, further enhancing its tastiness.


The noodle bowl toppings included three slices of chashu pork, comprising braised belly, low-temperature cooked loin, and shoulder. Other toppings include ajitama (seasoned egg) and nori (dried seaweed). The braised pork — cooked using a hand-held burner — was savory and tasty. A pot of soup-wari sat atop the counter, allowing patrons to add it to their remaining soup: a classic way to finish off a bowl of tsukemen.


As an industry veteran, Inoue’s high-quality tsukemen was packed with flavor and delighted the palate from the very first mouthful. I polished it off in no time at all.


" STRING OF CHALLENGES "

“As this is an interview, I’m keen to convey the facts to people,” Inoue said in a quiet tone as he explained his first big challenge in opening his first Tokyo outlet. Initially, he was perturbed by various posts on social networking services regarding the store.


Trouble arose shortly after the Nogata, Nakano Ward outlet opened on June 5. An old acquaintance who owned an izakaya in Nogata, had allowed Inoue to use the premises as a ramen shop during the daytime. However, the venture was forced to close on its very first day when the building owner complained about a “strong smell of niboshi.” As a result, Inoue shut the shop within an hour of its opening. He weighed various ways to operate the store, but as there was no way to control the smell, he decided that the only option was to give up on the venture.


“It’s true that boiling dried fish gives off a smell, but [the incident] was a real shock,” Inoue recalled.


Later, an izakaya owner in Nakano who knew the Nogata-store owner offered Inoue a helping hand, and only two weeks later, the shop reopened in the Nakano location.


A standing style izakaya operates at the Nakano premises on Fridays and Saturdays, so Isai’s ramen business is limited from Sundays to Thursdays.


Inoue encountered other challenges, too. Despite having an air-conditioner designed to cool an 18-tatami-mat area, the shop was still hot. Poor ventilation coupled with constant heat from the noodle cooker and the soup-pot heater meant the in-shop temperature was always high. However, Inoue installed a new air conditioner and two fans, which finally overcame the heat.


A promotional pamphlet titled “Nakano Tsukemen map” was published around the time that the Nakano outlet opened. The free publication — produced by the Nakano Ward Tourism Association —introduces around 80 shops that offer tsukemen.


The cover includes the phrase, “Nakano, the birthplace of tsukemen.” The upbeat pamphlet covers a wide range of specialty outlets, ramen stores, and bars that offer tsukemen dishes. However, Isai’s initial opening proved too late to warrant inclusion in the colorful brochure, which underlines exactly how hotly contested the Nakano area is for tsukemen.


But Inoue remains upbeat. “The only thing I can do is to give it my all and laugh about everything later.”


" SAPPORO START "

Inoue has been active in the ramen world for nearly 20 years. He began his career working part-time at an outlet of the famous Tsujita ramen chain in Tokyo, working his way up to manager, then general manager, during which time he gained a wealth of experience. Five years ago, he struck out on his own in Sapporo. Inoue explained that the change in location was driven by a desire to compete in a different arena from Tokyo. Furthermore, his parents were from Hokkaido and he still has relatives there, so he was not unfamiliar with the area.


Sapporo Isai thrived and has gained a strong following. Inoue’s various limited-edition ramen dishes met with a positive response, and he remains deeply indebted to the people of Sapporo. “They helped me grow up,” he said.


But deep in his heart, Inoue also wanted to try his hand in Tokyo. On the third anniversary of the Sapporo shop’s opening, he began to make plans for a presence in the capital and achieved his goal as the shop’s fifth anniversary approached in June of this year.


To help realize his vision, Inoue moved to Tokyo with his wife and children. The Sapporo shop is now run by two colleagues and Inoue visits the outlet twice a month, on Fridays and Saturdays.


The name of the shop, Isai — homonyms of which can mean “distinctive” or “prominent” in Japanese — reflects Inoue’s determination to “be unique.”


Despite the many obstacles he has encountered, Inoue keeps going because he has dreams.


“I want to further pursue flavors and create ramen dishes that people from all walks of life can enjoy,” he said. “In the future, I want to open branches in the U.S. and Europe.”


But Inoue’s vision does not end there. “When I become an old man, I’d like to open a small ramen shop with my wife, where people from the community can come to eat ramen,” he said.

@Jackie San


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@Jackie San