A 60-year-old Western restaurant in Sugamo is popular for its "one-coin" set meals, which began 30 years ago. To cut costs, the owner runs the restaurant by himself. Unable to bear the sight of this, regular customers help out with serving and cleaning! A 30-year-old tempura bowl restaurant in Hino City, Tokyo. The bowl comes with five different toppings, including large shrimp, conger eel, and squid, and costs 620 yen. To cut costs, the staff was seen going back and forth between different restaurants for some reason. We tracked down the restaurant, which is working hard to maintain its prices. ■ "Fukunoya" - The owner runs the restaurant by himself Fukunoya, a retro restaurant located a three-minute walk from Sugamo Station in Tokyo, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. The owner, Junji Oguro (63), runs the restaurant by himself. The pork loin cutlet curry, made by deep-frying pork loin that has been left to sit in salt koji (salt koji) and then simmering it for more than two days, is very satisfying. Five different dishes, including a Showa-era omelet rice wrapped in a well-fried egg, are all priced at just 500 yen. Customer: (Q. Is there anywhere else you can eat for 500 yen?) No, there isn't. I was surprised when I first came here. Customers are helping out the busy owner! We got to the bottom of the secret behind the low prices. ■In order to "follow his mother's wishes," Oguro-san's efforts begin at 11am without raising the prices. Oguro-san starts making different dishes at the same time. He also serves the food and cleans up by himself. During this time, an unspoken rule was born among the regular customers. The regular customers help out with clearing the dishes and wiping the tables. They also try to make sure they don't get any change when paying... Regular customer: "It's not like that. It's hard to watch the owner by yourself." A popular daily set meal. On this day, it was homemade minced meat cutlet and cream croquette. The taste was so good that it was hard to believe it was only 500 yen. Sayaka Masuda, announcer: "The batter is light and crispy. (The filling) is also dense. It has a creamy, gentle flavor, like it's full of milk." The price has remained the same for 30 years. There was a reason for not raising the price. Oguro: "At that time (30 years ago), one-coin lunches were popular, so we thought we'd do the same for 500 yen..." The one-coin price was decided after discussing it with his mother, Miyoko, who passed away five years ago. The program previously covered Miyoko running the store. His mother, Miyoko (then 84) "It's fun to work." Miyoko didn't raise the price because she wanted to bring smiles to the faces of many pensioners in Sugamo, and she has continued to hold to that belief. ■ Going round supermarkets on her "bicycle" on her day off On her day off, Oguro would come to supermarkets in Tokyo to buy supplies. Oguro: "Eggs have finally become cheaper. I'm trying to buy cheap ones, focusing on price." He buys a lot of eggs, milk, and vegetables such as daikon and Chinese cabbage. Oguro: "I think I'll stop by two or three more stores today." He cycled about eight kilometers that day. In search of cheaper ingredients, he visited three supermarkets. Oguro: "My mother also rode her bike to go shopping (far away), so it was natural for me. I'm not thinking about raising prices." Following his mother's wishes of not raising prices by himself, Oguro will be serving 500 yen dishes today as well. ■All menus "No price increase" for two years "Shihachi Tendon" is a 30-year-old restaurant in Hino City, Tokyo. Located on the approach to Takahatafudo Shrine, this restaurant is visited by many customers who have finished worshipping at the shrine. Customer: "It's cheap, isn't it?" "It feels like we've made a connection (with this restaurant). Each piece of topping is big." The restaurant's most popular menu item is the Shihachi Tendon, of which 100 are served a day. Shihachi Tendon is topped with five types of toppings, including large shrimp, conger eel, and squid, and costs just 620 yen. The secret sauce, which has been added to over the past 30 years, whets the appetite. Masuda announcer: "The shrimp is plump, the batter is neither too thin nor too heavy, and the seasoning is just right. The crispness of the batter is mixed with the elegant sauce, making it delicious." First-time customer (79): "It was cheap, so I went in. It's so filling. I wonder if I can eat rice with it." "Shihachi Tendon" manager Watanabe Ryosuke (30): "(Q. Are you thinking of raising prices?) We've raised prices twice in the past. We want to offer our customers cheap and delicious food, so we're doing our best at keeping the prices at these levels." Two years ago, we raised the price by 40 yen, but since then, the cost of wheat, eggs, and other ingredients has nearly doubled. The conger eel tempura bowl, which is so big it overflows the bowl, is 680 yen. All menu items have not been raised in price for two years. How on earth do they achieve such low prices? ■The key to maintaining low prices is...the leg strength of the employees!? Two hours before opening, manager Watanabe picks up a kettle and goes outside for some reason. We crossed the approach to the shrine and headed for the soba restaurant. We entered the kitchen. Watanabe-san said, "Because the tendon restaurant does not have the space to make sauce, we borrow the kitchen of the soba restaurant across the street to make the sauce." In fact, this soba restaurant, Kaiun Soba, was a sister restaurant of the tendon restaurant. The tendon restaurant's kitchen was small, and there was no space to store or make the seasonings. The reason for this was to make the restaurant more spacious. They wanted to get as many customers as possible into the store and ensure profits by selling a small amount at a high rate. Because the kitchen was small, the manager and employees were seen going back and forth between the tendon restaurant and the soba restaurant many times. They made six round trips for lunch hours. In addition, in the soba restaurant's warehouse... Watanabe-san said, "This is the freezer we share with the soba restaurant. We get the ingredients we need from here." By purchasing ingredients in bulk together with the soba restaurant, they can keep costs low and reduce shipping costs. In addition, by running the store with just the manager and two employees, they can keep labor costs down. An hour after opening, the rice cooker that can cook 5 kilograms is empty. There is no space for another rice cooker in the small kitchen. So he takes the empty rice cooker and heads outside the store... naturally, to the soba restaurant. He transfers 5 kilograms of rice cooked at the soba restaurant across the street into the cooker and hurries back to the store. At 1pm, he restocks for the second time. The key to reducing expenses is the physical strength of the employees. Watanabe: "People often ask me, 'Is this price okay?' I don't want to raise prices and see customers' disappointed reactions." Maintaining low prices without raising prices requires the daily efforts of employees who commute between the tempura restaurant and the soba restaurant. [TV Asahi News] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp