This video introduces Mr. Tanaka Kumagawa from “Shirasu Don Don,” the only fish shop in Joyful Minowa Shopping Street, featured in our third episode. For Mr. Tanaka, who hails from Arakawa Mikawashima, Joyful Minowa represents the “Koshien of business” – a place he had long dreamed of opening his shop. When a store became available during the COVID pandemic, he finally achieved his long-cherished goal of opening here. The shop name “Don Don” was chosen with the hope that “customers would keep coming don don (steadily).” After over 10 years of mobile sales, he began operating from a physical storefront. Focusing on fresh shirasu (baby sardines) sourced from Toyosu Market, he passionately creates products that delight customers, including smoked shirasu that even people who dislike fish can enjoy. Beloved as a flagship store in the shopping street, this content showcases the charm of a fish shop filled with downtown atmosphere, where Mr. Tanaka’s quality and personality shine so brightly that even fish-haters can overcome their aversion.
Host (Ishizaki) 0:00 Hello everyone. Welcome to the third episode of the Joyful Minowa Official YouTube Channel. Today’s hosts are Secretary Ishizaki and…
Host (Takasugi) 0:17 Vice Chairman Takasugi – there are two vice chairmen, but I’m one of the Vice Chairman Takasugi presenting to you today. Thank you for watching.
Host 0:20 In this program, we introduce the charms of Joyful, the owners, and spots that you won’t hear about in other shows. Please enjoy!
Host (Ishizaki) 0:33 Today we’re visiting “Shirasu Don Don” located in Joyful Minowa Shopping Street. Thank you for having us.
Kumagawa-san 0:45 I’m Kumagawa, the owner. Thank you very much for coming.
Takasugi-san 0:54 Could Vice Chairman Takasugi tell us what made you want to feature Shirasu Don Don?
Takasugi-san 1:03 We want to introduce various shops, and the sound “Don Don” caught my attention – like “Oh, let’s go check out Shirasu Don Don!” Of course, we “don don” (keep) going, but this is the only shop dealing with fish in our area, and it’s a flagship store of Joyful, so we asked them to appear today. Thank you.
Host (Ishizaki) 1:31 There’s always someone here. Just earlier, a couple came all the way from Okayama.
Takasugi-san 1:43 Kumagawa-san, you initially had your shop very close to the main street of this shopping district. Why did you choose to start near Joyful?
Kumagawa-san 1:57 From over there… First, I grew up in Arakawa Mikawashima area. This place has always been lively – one of the most bustling areas in Arakawa. Whenever I came here, there were never any vacant stores. So I quietly thought that someday I’d like to have a shop here. Then COVID happened. A store became vacant due to COVID – and it was an affordable one too. I thought, “This is perfect!” I’d been wanting to do this kind of work for a long time, and that was four years ago. Even before that, I had started doing mobile sales of these products on and off for over 10 years.
Why I chose this place – first, the location, basically it’s close to my home. And it’s the liveliest place in Arakawa – that’s my feeling. For me, since childhood, this place has been like the Koshien of business. Having a shop here was a kind of status symbol for me. I actually felt that excitement – being able to do business there was something amazing. It was my dream.
Takasugi-san 3:25 Your sign is also unique and wonderful. When people ask “where is this place,” like Omura Bakery which has been around for a long time, that “Shirasu Don Don” sign is so distinctive and easy to understand.
Ishizaki-san 3:41 It looks just like your face.
Kumagawa-san 3:44 The sign… well, I came up with the concept myself. I wanted to create an image of fish that children would find fun and enjoyable to look at. I gave the sign maker this concept and left the rest entirely to them.
Ishizaki-san 4:04 Anyone can immediately understand “Shirasu Don Don.”
Kumagawa-san 4:12 This is Shirasu Don Don. Why “Don Don”? Initially, people said “Shirasu-ya” (Shirasu Shop) would be fine, but when you search online for general “○○-ya” names, it’s not good. I read online that voiced consonants work better. So at that time, there were successful businesses like Don Quijote and Tsuri Zanmai – they were all hits, right? So I thought, let’s add something “Don Don” to shirasu. Don Don Don Don. Now it means: so that customers keep coming don don (steadily), so that customers are pleased don don, so that fish are caught don don. That’s the meaning.
Ishizaki-san 5:04 Wonderful! So that’s the origin story.
Customer A 5:08 Do you have yellowfin tuna sashimi? Yes, we have sashimi.
Kumagawa-san 5:09 This part might have some blood lines, so there might be some blood…
Kumagawa-san 5:23 That’s 1,018 yen. If you leave this out, it will melt. Yes, it’s refreshing, so basil and oil-based dressing work well.
Customer B 5:36 By the way, uncle, you have smoked shirasu here, and I have to tell you about it. Why? Because I couldn’t eat shirasu – I really couldn’t eat it for the longest time. I really couldn’t handle it. Even when I went to Aomori, I couldn’t eat it – it was no good. But this uncle’s smoked shirasu – I thought “this one works!” That alone is amazing.
Ishizaki-san 6:11 That’s so touching.
Kumagawa-san 6:20 There are quite a few people like that. People who can’t eat horse mackerel or sardines end up being able to eat them after trying ours. It makes me happy.
Takasugi-san 6:18 That’s such a wonderful story.
Customer B 6:23 I’m subscribing to the channel.
ALL 6:25 Thank you very much!
Please note that this transcript was generated by AI and may contain some unnatural expressions or errors. We appreciate your understanding.