this is behind the counter that a
traditional Japanese restaurant
[Music]
okay so today we are in Ju gaoka Tokyo
and we're going behind the counter at a
traditional Japanese restaurant we're
going to be doing this one just a little
bit different because we're not going to
start here but I'm actually gonna take
you to the fish market in toyozu to
start things off but like always before
we start if you want to see what I'm
doing on the daily check out my
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if you have any questions about Japan or
Japan travels then check out my Discord
Community all right let's start this one
at the fish market
[Music]
good morning
so this is hirana-san I trained kaisaki
Chef who started his own restaurant
ushio focused on serving traditional
Japanese dishes at a reasonable price
which is why he's at toyosu Fish Market
this morning in search of the highest
quality seasonal ingredients for the
best price oh damn that's Morrison from
tempura
good to hear
so hirana Sun comes here two to three
times a week personally hand selecting
all of the ingredients for the shop
and wow there seems to be a lot of
people here but the truth is that the
numbers are on the low side due to
Japan's continued covet concerns either
way though the market will start to get
busy at around 6 a.m as this is on the
intermediate wholesalers start selling
the seafood they purchased earlier in
the auction
nice hit on us and find a great deal on
the hairy crab so do you have a list of
ingredients to buy this morning
nice now he's looking at homo CEO which
is a popular delicacy in Kyoto
especially in the summer oh that's one
of his kitchen workers hi hey
despite his regular visits he gets
excited to visit the market each and
every time to see what's available that
day while also taking the purchasing
extremely seriously so he meticulously
inspects the condition of each fish any
ingredient to ensure it's always
purchased at a fair price apparently his
master always told him
good profits come from good purchasing
what did you buy what do you use it
foreign
[Music]
relationships over the years it's
provided him a deeper Insight on the
best purchases and helped him hone his
already experienced eyes
yes
[Music]
what's that
basically all the regular buyers like
kiranasan are registered in a signed
designated areas at the market where the
intermediate wholesalers can
conveniently deliver their purchase
Goods
now that all the seafood is purchased
the two do what any civilized buyer
would do grab a quick breakfast at the
market
that's what I'm talking about but how
was the fish today
is the restaurant gonna be okay
so restaurants at the market are known
to serve pretty amazing food probably
even more understandable knowing that
they also want to serve highly skilled
and trained chefs like hirana-san
they're still gonna shop
separate from the fish market and
located in different buildings there's
other Goods like this conveniently
located in a Toyota complex
[Music]
as a skilled Japanese Chef it's not only
important to understand how to prepare
and cook the food but the chef must also
have a deep understanding of knowledge
about each ingredient used
[Music]
around 9 A.M he's finally back at the
restaurant so what do you need to do
first let's do it
what time did you come in today
oh what have you been doing during this
time I was like what oh
[Music]
so how long has it been since you opened
this restaurant
geez why did you decide to open during
this time
makes sense oh iced tea thank you
[Music]
so before starting this restaurant he
was head chef of a well-established
kaiseki restaurant managing more than 10
restaurants each with a hundred percent
capacity and the workers here also work
together with hirana-san at the time the
group developed a strong bond and Trust
during their time together so when
hiranasan decided to open up this shop
they all decided to go with him by the
way what does Lucio means
you must like the ocean too right
now the workers preparing the rice using
koshy curry rice from Yukata the rice
itself has been washed and soaked since
the morning and now it's finally cooked
how much do you make every day
wow you even spent time arranging
flowers in the morning you must really
like flowers
Japan itself is naturally blessed with a
variety of foods from the ocean
mountains rivers and Fields helping
create Japan's Rich Cuisine and to add
to this experience it's common in more
traditional restaurants are decorated
with Japan's beautiful seasonal flowers
and leaves to accompany its seasonal
ingredients
oh the workers making Dashi Dashi is
definitely one of the key elements in
traditional Japanese Cuisine there are
so many different types of dashi broth
like Bonito flakes kombu seaweed niboshi
shiitake mushrooms Etc can help create
the perfect Umami for each dish in fact
that she is so fundamental that without
a good Dashi the restaurants by many
Japanese would not be considered
worthwhile and hirana-san is well aware
of this although originally from the
Yamaguchi prefecture he started a study
of Japanese culinary arts at 18 years
old here in jugauka he later moved to a
different part of Tokyo but the area
made such a lasting impression on him
that he decided to open up shop here
knowing that there's a lot of great
clientele so are you married most of us
oh how long yep do you have any kids
what does he do really awesome
did you teach him how to cook
do you see him hopping
that's nice by the way if you didn't
notice hirana use a specialized cutting
board setup called the funagata sink a
rather common design in many Japanese
restaurants and fish shops situated just
above the sink it allows the chef to
prepare raw fish in a clean environment
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as hiran Hassan prepares the fish each
dish that goes into the takeout bentos
are prepared one by one so what's your
hobby
oh so you ride them what bike do you
have I was like you know
you ever hurt yourself
foreign
style unsweetened and Kansai style
Sweden ones depending on the situation
by the way how old are you oh how long
have you been working as a chef what do
you do when you're off
what do you watch
Hot Nuts like Pride I like watching it
too
I did a little Jiu Jitsu too
so who do you like watching
damn small world
hey so is your son gonna take over the
business
oh really
[Laughter]
yeah Fried Chicken time this also goes
into the Bento
by the way what does your wife do
that sounds fun
we'll leave it at that
do you have a prepping for the knives
you use
ouch
[Music]
apparently the shop doesn't always have
been to order since they don't use
delivery services like Uber Eats instead
regular customers Place direct orders
for their events today the Bandos are
for a group getting together for a
Japanese traditional dance
there's so much Variety in that Bento
Box how much is it just say it really
that's it even though you spent so much
time preparing
people no cap
what are you doing now
now that the bendo orders are done they
refocus on the lunch prep you have to
mix that much
for how long
[Music]
meanwhile hiranos and prepares the crabs
for a chicken a traditional Japanese
summer here in Japan it's customary to
give presents to people who helped or
had business with you that year and
there you go all done
[Music]
oh he now tastes the Miso soup even
something as simple as miso soup he
takes the time to ensure that it meets
his quality standards so what's your
favorite food
why is that
so do you want to be a chef when you
were a kid
what kind of food
he says that he wasn't planning to start
his own restaurant but when he turned 50
he was somehow inspired
around 10 30 just one hour before
opening he prepares the storefront
oh he's doing uchimizu a traditional
Japanese practice of spraying water at
the end of the day to signify the
stories opening up
[Music]
Summer's here to pick up the Bento Box
no doubt they'll enjoy this meal
yo your hair is looking good so
um
you're making rice again
just how I like it
[Music]
wow he's picking out the bones one by
one gotta appreciate the details in
Japanese Cuisine you're so good
are they all for lunch
traditional Japanese Cuisine is often
called the cuisine of subtraction in
Japan since it requires special
techniques to prep ingredients which
maximize The Taste and flavor with a
minimum amount of seasoning hence the
reason why they start the dinner prep in
the morning why did you do that hello
foreign
[Music]
AGI and the other raw fish dishes one of
the workers focuses on plating while the
other takes care of everything else
that's teamwork
[Music]
oh wow that looks phenomenal
[Applause]
[Music]
wow it got busy real quick since the
orders require so many different dishes
the team must work efficiently so all
the customers receive their orders in a
timely manner in addition to this when
the customers finish it's also an extra
load for the team to watch all the
different dishes but since all of them
have worked together for so many years
it's almost second nature to them
[Music]
spent most of his career helping build
other people's restaurants and although
the workload was more considerable back
then he says that being a restaurant
owner now he feels even a greater
pressure and responsibility in Japan
there's a common saying customers are
Gods which hit on the sun truly values
but he also believes that for him his
workers are also Gods having worked in
the restaurant industry for so many
years he's realized how crucial it is to
create a strong relationship with his
workers and satisfy their needs along
with his customers
excuse me can I bother you do you come
here often
cool what's your favorite here
thank you
[Music]
[Applause]
yeah lunch time is over
you must be tired
now they prepare for mac and I a shared
meal between the workers while they
clean up the shop
[Music]
hey how long the lead for
where do you get them oh really from
where
holy moly that's a lot of food
how is it oh yeah can you eat all of it
by the way do you have anything you want
to say to everyone
okay then let the race begin after their
meal they rest for a little bit and then
start again for the dinner prep so
that's another one in the books if you
want to visit this shop and experience
it yourself I'll be sure to leave a link
in the description so there you go that
is behind the counter at a traditional
Japanese restaurant if you guys like
this video like always help me out and
hit that like button if you guys want to
see more videos like this or anything
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button and the bell button and I'll
catch you guys in the next one