Behind the Counter at a local Japanese Bento Shop

this is behind the counter at a local Japanese Bento shop [Music] this is going to be a fun one we're actually in the shimbashi area right now known to be kind of a salaryman area here in Tokyo so what better place to take you behind the counter at a bendo shop than this place so it's about six o'clock in the morning so it's a little bit early but we're gonna have to do this one a little bit different because in a way sun has been cooking since midnight that means we're gonna have to help open up this door for more than 40 years Bento Corno has been making Delicious Japanese handmade Bento lunches at the affordable price of 600 Yen that's about 4.50 at this value and quality it's no surprise every day that the customer lunch lines wrap around the entire block [Music] good morning son yeah it's cold today tell me again when you started you made all this already what are you gonna do next apparently he originally worked at the Japanese salary man in the food industry during that time he learned that one of his co-workers mothers was closing down her Bento shop recognizing the opportunity and a way to leave his office job he urged the lady to let him take over the business so how many do you need to make in total holy guacamole he says that when he first started he could barely sell 50 Betos a day so every day he took account of what his customers liked and would then make adjustments to his cooking and menu items to try to improve the results finally by his third month his attention to detail paid off as the sale started the show growth so are you married back then so what does your wife do then what about kids oh whether the work has arrived good morning foreign [Music] how old are you how did you get this job [Music] oh what do you study science you must be smart so what do you want to do in the future okay so running a better shop is a bit different than a regular restaurant food served in Bento boxes must be cooled down before plating Japanese bentos are unique in that each one has a variety of Main and side dishes to complete the set with each ingredient requiring time to rest hence the 12 30 a.m start every day so what do you do when you're off nice are you good at it I see can you get the best you catch cool where do you go driving what do you do there now he moves on to Preparing the menjikatsues apparently she came many times early on to teach him which to this day he's still grateful when he took over the Bento business he didn't consider himself a chef at the same time working as a salary man developing foods and having a close Mentor who used to work as a Japanese couple Chef helped him understand the challenges ahead of him so he wasn't confident in the beginning but hope that through his hard work and perseverance over time he could master the skills required to create his own delicious bentos have you ever gotten sick he says that for three weeks the shop was closed since he had gallstones so it means anytime he gets sick the shop is forced to close down why why don't you find something to cover for you soon [Music] me again so what do you like about working here anything difficult about the job I see foreign [Music] do you have any other Hobbies wow what car is that is it vintage looks like a two-seater and wifey likes the car isn't it cold in Winter and your upper body oh no [Music] foreign [Music] two and a half hours before open the plating finally starts with a Yakiniku Bento [Music] whoever think you're going to go so what was your dreams oh really I wrote the Jr maglev the other day so when I asked Innovation why he worked so hard he says that it's never been easy for him he lost his mother in his teenage years and his father disappeared soon after that having no relatives around to ask for help he had to endure through this extremely tough time this is when he learned that he needed to work even harder to gain people's trust and to also be thankful for any kind of help he received from others from then on he knew to never take for granted any blessings he received that'll keep them busy two hours till open and now two more workers have arrived the workers have to make more than 700 bentos before the lunch rush so this Edition should speed up the process how long have you worked here wow what do you do after work and what do you like about this job before we continue on with this Bento loveliness I wanted to tell you about the awesome people at buxu who also sponsored this video I know that many of you have already signed up which is awesome but for those of you who don't know they provide a delicious Gourmet experience of Japanese snacks and tea bearings delivered to your front door they work with traditional Japanese factories some over 100 years old to provide you with authentic Japanese flavors first time users will get a Seasons of Japan box and after that you'll get a theme box like this one you get this awesome booklet that takes you through each snack as well as extra information about Japan and Japanese culture this one's theme is shinshin New Year a festive and food filled time in Japan my favorite this month is a matcha strawberry chocolate which of course you can try for yourself so get 15 off your own authentic Japanese stack box subscription from boxu by using my code Palo 15 and Link in the description while one worker is preparing the side dishes which are only 100 yen about 75 cents everyone else works on plating today's specials one important thing about Japanese Bento shops is that they must be extra careful about food safety as mentioned earlier Bandos are designed to be able to sit on the shelf for several hours without Refrigeration so the food must be fully cooked in Hawaii San says one of the tricks to help food last longer is to season a little saltier than usual while being extremely careful not to overdo it foreign bye hot molasses two workers have arrived it's 30 minutes just before open and you can feel the energy as the staff were quickly and efficiently to fill all the orders and plate the bentos making sure not to make any mistakes how long have you been working here oh so you're pretty new what's the hardest thing about working here are you a student too apparently she worked at an Italian restaurant at night and she works here in the morning having two jobs is no joke damn look how fast and efficient they're playing the bentos together watching how they make the bentos you can tell how much work goes into each one which is why in a way Sun dislikes the Japanese saying yes you get what you paid for because of those 600 Yen bentos even in Tokyo are considered cheap he's dedicated his life to creating his own unique affordable and high quality bentos that can satisfy even the heaviest eaters thank you at 10 30 a.m the storm finally opens [Music] Jeezy Louisiana it's not even lunchtime yet but there are customers already lined up while one worker manages the cashier and bags of orders another worker handles the ongoing pre-orders while everyone else continues to play the bentos [Music] they look super busy at the moment so let's go talk to the customers hi can I ask you some questions hi so do you come here often hi Siri so what did you get so uh why do you like it here it's that good hello can I bother you hi so do you come here often so watch again wow are all these for you ah do you have any recommendations cool thanks as a customer mentioned in a way Sun changes the menu every day so as customers have something to look forward to he particularly enjoys analyzing the performance of his previous bentos and creating new ones to see how popular it will be but ultimately he's that whatever Bento he serves he creates each one as if he'll be sharing it with his loved ones so how are you holding up it's pretty inspiring to see how one man's passion and dedication over the years and fortitude to cook throughout the night has created a loyal following of customers and with trained and highly efficient workers together that are literally able to create hundreds of bed bugs all just before lunchtime shoprons for rice cookers simultaneously throughout the entire day to keep up with the demand using a special Hitomi Bode rice from Miyagi prefecture known for its Exquisite taste especially when it's cooled down even the rides at this shop was specifically selected by innaway son hot whistles look at the line it's a little past noon and the customer line literally wraps around the block by this alone you know the Shop's doing something right [Music] I guess it's finally slowing down this door is still open but the workers are starting to clean in the back kitchen how was today did you enjoy it though nice how was it you still need to fry so do you do all the frying is there anything you need to be careful of it so it's critical for her to always have the food fried as it happened earlier she didn't predict the order correctly so there was nothing to plate for a short period of time how's the sale so far so nice he reads his goal and even though it's 30 minutes before close they're still cooking in the back Innovation already starts preparing for the next day which usually has been working until five this evening so that's another one in the books if you want to visit this shop and experience it for yourself I'll be sure to leave a link in the description so this is behind the counter at a local Japanese Adventure shop let me know what you guys thought in the comments like always if you want to help support the channel check out the Tokyo merch if you have any questions about Japan or your Japan travels check out my Discord community and if you guys want to see more videos like this or anything related to Japan hit that subscribe button in the button I'll catch you guys in the next one

Channel: Paolo fromTOKYO

Views: 2,868,171

Keywords: Paolo, Japan, Japan guide, Japan travel, tokyo, tokyo guide, tokyo travel, japanese food, japan behind the counter, japan food documentary, behind the counter, japan food tour, japan food, japanese food tour, tokyo restaurant, japan travel food, japanese food craftsman, tokyo hidden spots, tokyo hidden gems, food documentary, tokyo food, japan food craftsman, tokyo hidden gems food, food documentary japan, food documentary travel, bento, how bento boxes are made, bento box

Id: fCj3LPnXpV0

Length: 14min 48sec (888 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 20 2023