Horikawa Yoshio, 56
Restaurant Manager from Akita
Before moving to Akita, I enjoyed several dinners at Bier-Kaffee Aqula, a local western-style pub that serves microbeer and delicious German sausages.Their website--which features a howling dog--is at <www.aqula.co.jp> (English option).
Why did you want to become a restaurant manager?
I’ve wanted to since I was young but had no chance. Six years ago I made friends with this owner and figured, ‘Now’s my chance.’ Before that I worked as a salaryman in Tokyo.And you like to drink?
I hated alcohol! I almost never drank. I just wanted to run a restaurant. I love to cook. I learned to cook at home and can be referred to as a cooking papa. Chinese is my specialty, but I most like inventing combinations myself. As long as it’s delicious. However, I’ve come to enjoy the beer as well.Could you tell me about the beer?
They’re German recipe beers. Now there are nine or ten kinds. They’re almost exactly like the original recipe. He went (pointing to his coworker who explains:)
I studied one month in East Germany. We think of German and British beers as classics. Irregularities in the brewing is the problem. We adopted the simplest possible recipes and brewmaking. In Japan, we don’t have a beer making tradition. If a machine part breaks, it’s a big problem. We just follow the prescribed program, setting the appropriate temperature, time, etc.What are the good and bad points of managing a restaurant?
Every day is different. It’s quite creative. I can see customers’ reactions immediately--the positive and the negative. So I’m nervous. I can have an influence on people who come every night, especially the regulars. I enjoy that.
The bad point is, I can’t really make money; the salary is only ¥300,000. Also, at times I overdrink. It’s difficult working late; not a healthy lifestyle.Has there ever been fights or troubles?
Basically... no fights. I’ve never had to kick anyone out. In fact, I’ve never really had a problem with any customers. Although this is not a high class pub the atmosphere seems to discourage trouble. Also, these sort of incidents seem to happen less often in Japan than other countries. It’s a very safe country.Your future dream?
I’d like to see microbeer become more popular, especially this beer. But the price is high. I’m a manager here, but would like to own my own place.As our conversation continued, Mr. Horikawa told me he attended Waseda University, a prestigious university in Japan, and had wanted to become a teacher of Japanese culture, write a novel, or write haiku and tanka. He shared this poem he wrote when he was 18:
Sokobie no suru yo ni hitotsu inu no koe.
In the bitter cold of night, a dog howls.the end
This interview was originally published in Kansai Time Out magazine.