This video introduces Mr. Tazawa from “Coffee Shop Hakucho” in Joyful Minowa Shopping Street, featured in our second episode. This third-generation family business has been serving the community for 70 years. The interior retains a strong Showa-era retro atmosphere, where they offer handmade set meals at surprisingly affordable prices. They prepare everything from scratch, including hamburger steaks and ginger pork, maintaining their commitment to home-style cooking. Despite rising rice costs, they’ve refrained from raising prices, demonstrating their dedication to serving the local community. The shop also serves as a community hub – some regular customers have even met and married here! Featured on NHK television, this establishment represents one of the most notable shops in this highly acclaimed shopping street.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Hello everyone, welcome to the second episode of the Joyful Minowa Shopping Street Official Channel. This program is hosted by…
Host 1 (Takasugi): Myself, Takasugi, and…
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Yes, and myself, Ishizaki. Thank you for watching. This program introduces shops and hidden gems in Joyful Minowa that you won’t find covered in other information shows. Please enjoy! Today’s second episode features a special guest – we’re visiting “Coffee Shop Hakucho” located in Joyful Minowa Shopping Street. Thank you for having us.
Mr. Tazawa: Thank you for coming.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Thank you. This is Mr. Tazawa, the owner. Nice to meet you.
Mr. Tazawa: Nice to meet you too.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Could Vice Chairman Takasugi tell us what made you want to feature Coffee Shop Hakucho?
Host 1 (Takasugi): Yes. I really want people to visit this place at least once because it’s a retro coffee shop with such a strong Showa-era atmosphere. It has 70 years of history, right? 70 years, and it’s run by the third generation. It’s a real family business. You can have an amazing “coffee shop” experience here – it’s a wonderful place. In fact, it was recently featured on NHK’s “Chico-chan ni Shikarareru” program. We’d love to hear more about that as we continue our conversation.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Thank you. We’re looking forward to it.
Mr. Tazawa: We’ve been running a coffee shop in this shopping street for about 70 years, now in its third generation. We’ve always been a coffee shop that blends into the local downtown atmosphere.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): You really blend into the scenery here.
Mr. Tazawa: Yes, absolutely. Actually, with nearly 70 years of operation, I think we’re probably the longest-running coffee shop around here.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): When you step inside, you’re immediately surrounded by the Showa era atmosphere.
Mr. Tazawa: That’s right. Only the exterior is brick – we’ve maintained that brick construction as our motto from the very beginning. Unfortunately, we don’t have any photos of the coffee shop from 70 years ago. If anyone has some, I’d love to see them.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Oh yes! If any viewers have old photos, please bring them to Hakucho. We’d really appreciate it.
Mr. Tazawa: Yes, please do.
Mr. Tazawa: We make everything by hand here. We serve lunch in bento box style, and there’s a butcher shop nearby where we source our ingredients. We prepare everything from scratch – hamburger steaks, ginger pork, and more – cooking from the meat to the vegetables. We’ve been doing this for decades, 30 to 40 years now. My son handles the cooking now, and customers always tell us it’s delicious, so we continue this way.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Is that ground beef blend? All handmade?
Mr. Tazawa: Yes. We make everything from the breadcrumbs, add milk as a binder – the whole process. It’s home cooking really. We’re not professional chefs, but we’ve been making everything the same way from start to finish for years. It’s essentially home cooking. We try to use minimal seasonings and keep it close to organic.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Looking at your menu earlier, the prices are incredibly reasonable.
Mr. Tazawa: That’s right. We work hard to keep prices low – it’s really the result of our efforts. Honestly, it’s almost volunteer work. This is a downtown area, so if prices were too high, that wouldn’t work either. We want to preserve the charm of downtown by offering food and drinks at low prices that everyone can enjoy. People often tell us we’re “the shop that forgot to raise prices,” and while we probably should raise them soon, it’s difficult. Rice prices are incredibly high right now – higher than they’ve been in decades. I’d like to mention something about rice prices here – they’re so expensive now.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Yes, they really are expensive.
Mr. Tazawa: As you can see written here, because rice is so expensive, we can’t afford to have it wasted. So we ask customers: “How much rice would you like? Regular portion? Or would you prefer less?” We ask before serving. We’re working hard to avoid raising our prices.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): That’s very considerate and conscientious.
Mr. Tazawa: Lunch boxes are our main offering, but we also serve spaghetti and nostalgic yakiudon (stir-fried udon).
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Oh, yakiudon!
Mr. Tazawa: Quite a few older customers request yakiudon. Some regular customers ask for nimikomi udon (simmered udon) in winter.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Is that a special order?
Mr. Tazawa: I say “sure, no problem.”
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Really?!
Mr. Tazawa: They say “I might have to go to a soba shop instead.” So I ask “Can you make soba?” and I have to say “Sorry, we’re not a soba shop.” But since yakiudon is on our menu and we have udon noodles, I can make something like nimikomi udon with a little extra preparation.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): So you make items not on the menu for regular customers.
Mr. Tazawa: Yes. Some people ask “Can you make this for me?”
Host 1 (Takasugi): That’s exactly why you’ve been loved and continued for so long.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Do you have customers who’ve been coming since around the time you opened?
Mr. Tazawa: Yes. An elderly customer came recently and told me, “This is where we dated and got married.”
Host 1 (Takasugi): Maybe Takasugi should… you know…
Mr. Tazawa: Many such customers come back after decades. They often ask “Has the management changed?” and I tell them “No, we’ve been running it continuously through our family.”
Host 2 (Ishizaki): It’s like you have a matchmaking deity here.
Mr. Tazawa: Yes, it seems so.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): What are your expectations for the future of Joyful Minowa? What do you think are its good points? Please share your thoughts, Mr. Tazawa.
Mr. Tazawa: Well, I’ve served as a board member for a long time, and now we’re being used for filming quite often, with celebrities visiting regularly. I think our recognition has really increased. If we work hard to maintain this and work together as a united association, this is already a great area, so I think we can make it even better.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): I see, future challenges. Yes.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): This was our second episode. Takasugi, what are your thoughts after finishing this shoot?
Host 1 (Takasugi): This second episode… with 70 years of operation here, and Matsuda Stationery with 80 years, and this shopping street’s 100-year history, there must have been various hardships. But through this filming, having these conversations and interactions – as Mr. Tazawa mentioned about working together as one, these relationships and human connections – I realized once again how important they are.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Absolutely. Truly loved by the community.
Host 1 (Takasugi): Everyone, really everyone.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Everyone indeed. Amazing. I got really excited myself. I also got to ask about the cats, which I’d always wondered about. I always see them around here, and they’re so friendly you can even hold them. The mystery is solved. It’s been a great day. Thank you.
Mr. Tazawa: Thank you. Please continue to support us.
Host 1 (Takasugi): Thank you.
Host 2 (Ishizaki): Thank you. This concludes our second channel episode. See you next time.
Everyone: Thank you very much. Please subscribe to our channel!
Please note that this transcript was generated by AI and may contain some unnatural expressions or errors. We appreciate your understanding.