居酒屋　ほりかわ

It has been 51 years since the establishment of the restaurant. Halfway through its goals, the restaurant had to guarantor loans and closed down due to urban development plans. It also had food poisoning issues. All of the employees quit, and the restaurant went through many ups and downs, and was on the brink of closing down many times, but thanks to the support of many people, it has made it to this day. And finally, it has surpassed its famous milestone of "10,000 Kawahagi pieces! Cumulative attendance of 600,000 people."

More than 50 years ago, the bearded bartender, originally from Meiike, Niigata, who had been a chef of Western cuisine at a first-class hotel, and Hatchan, originally from Komatsu, Hamamatsu, joined forces and courageously took on the challenge of opening an izakaya of a completely different genre in a place where it was said that no one would last, marking the first memorable step in Horikawa's history. Hatchan has passed away, but his thoughts are scattered throughout the establishment and we believe that his spirit lives on. The bartender is still alive and well, supporting the establishment with the same careful work and passion. He loves beer and his main hobby is gambling.

Hello. I am Horikawa, the second-generation store manager, and sometimes people say to me, "You have beautiful eyes." I don't have a kind face, but there is something good about this. I treat people normally, just like everyone else, but because of that difference, people say, "How kind!" If I laugh a little, they say, "Your smile is lovely," because I rarely laugh. I'm lucky because people make wonderful assumptions. Our store opened in October 1973, so thanks to you, it has been over 51 years. It has not been an easy road, but we have been supported by many kind people and have been grateful for the series of miracles. We will continue to provide high value that can only be created by people, and one of our goals is to be told, "This is an interesting store." Please bear with me as I will introduce a little about me and our store.

When I was a child, there were many department stores around the area where the shop was located. Nichii, Seibu, Matsubishi, Marui, etc. I would ride the red train to the city and visit the game centers on the rooftops of the department stores. When I ran out of money, I would go to my parents' store, get some pocket money if I was lucky, and then go back to the game center. All kinds of entertainment was concentrated in the city, so the area in front of the station and the city center were places I longed for. My relatives' uncle and aunt would take me and my siblings and cousins to Horikawa every time there was a Hamamatsu festival or something. My impression of Horikawa at that time was that it was crowded with people, with laughter and conversation, and sometimes drunk people would stick their hands in the fish tank and spin the pipes. It was a fun, funny, and lively place. They would bring me souvenirs made in the store, such as crab cream croquettes and fried chicken. I loved the homemade dressings on the salads, which were all delicious. But behind all that glamour was a dark side, and my parents would come home late at night and worry about other people. I remember as if it were yesterday that I had a desire to help them out when I grew up, because I was raised with so much love. They took me out to eat all kinds of things, partly for the sake of my studies and partly to support the restaurants of my fellow chefs. Every time my parents had a day off, I would get excited, wondering "where we'd go." My late husband, Hacchan, once told me as a child that "Your sense of taste is genius." I didn't take any tests or have any basis for this, but those words motivated me and gave me a strong push back during my training, and I think they helped me overcome the hard times. The profound thing about cooking is that even with the same ingredients and recipe, ten people can make ten different dishes. If you make something with anger, it will taste sharp, but if you make it with a calm mind, it will taste mellow and gentle. I was fascinated by that depth. The kitchen is a meritocracy, so regardless of age, the person who works there first becomes the senior. I had a lot of frustrating experiences, but because I started my training late, I was desperate to learn in one year what other people take three years to learn, so I think I was not pulled along by that much. I learned a lot of things. When the head chef was always in a bad mood and had a frown on his face, my colleagues who had been smiling normally until then would turn pale, feel nauseous, dizzy, collapse and be taken to the hospital just because he had appeared in the kitchen. Looking back, I think it helped me to improve, and it definitely added color to the story of the movie of my life. However, when I came back from my training, I was cocky. After just a little less than ten years at another restaurant, I was arrogant and thought that everything I thought was right, and I clashed with the master. Even though the master had everything in terms of experience, customers, and the number of times he had tried and failed. If I could see myself back then, I would want to punch him. Starting a business requires a lot of energy to create something from nothing, but as the second generation, we had a store, a physical store, from the beginning. We had a golden recipe, supportive customers, and hard-working staff. We had a relationship of trust with our partner vendors. We had every resource. We were truly blessed. I think who you meet is a big factor. I may have chosen this path because I happened to see so many dazzling adults working at Horikawa.

Actually, I was a guy who had no connection to music, so much so that I had never even imagined playing any instruments. So why did I start playing music? It was because of meeting people.

One day, I went to see my teacher, whom I admired. He was also playing the piano and singing. His performance at that time was by no means good, even as a compliment. However, his hard work was very dazzling and he looked shining brightly. If he had performed perfectly there, I think I would have thought, "He is special," or "Only he can do it," and I would never have felt like challenging myself. But he never gave up, even if he was bad at it. Seeing him working so hard, I felt the courage to think, "Maybe I can do it too." I learned through my own experience that if you openly reveal and show your weaknesses, weaknesses, and shortcomings, it will eventually become someone's hope.

Click here to see the presentation↓↓↓

https://youtu.be/eV196H86-G4?si=y5B9hdE_wdJw6xgx

The reason we can serve our draft beer with fine, creamy foam is because the glasses are well chilled. Unlike distilled alcohol, beer is a draft product, so draft beer will deteriorate in 3 to 4 days. For this reason, we sell about 45 medium-sized mugs per 20-liter keg before the expiration date. It is said that whoever controls the carbon dioxide gas controls the beer foam, so we determine the temperature of the server, which changes depending on the hot and cold seasons, and adjust the appropriate gas pressure. And of course, the invisible part is the hose through which the beer passes in the beer server. There is beer that has not been completely poured out inside the hose, so we run water through it and carefully clean the inside of the hose every day. The other part is the head, lever, and tap that pour the beer from the server into the mug. We disassemble it once a week, scrape off the dirt with a fine brush, and remove the fine dirt with a method called sponge passing, so that we always keep it in good condition. As for the magic technique, the last step is to pour with love.

The reason why it is so clean that a customer once took off their shoes and went in without realizing that it was a toilet. It is simply because I clean the toilet diligently without fail, and because I love cleaning toilets. It is troublesome to leave the dirt stuck on, so when I notice dirt on the floor, I scrub it hard. The feeling of comfort and freshness you get after cleaning the toilet is also a reward that only those who have done it can receive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked part-time cleaning the toilets of the company office and apartments early in the morning to generate tuition for my son, so my skills naturally improved thanks to that. There are various theories, but when a new building is built, seven gods come there. In Japan, they are called the Seven Lucky Gods. The first god who comes rushing in is in a hurry and empty-handed, but the second god brings "something". The "thing" is the third, fourth, etc., and the further back you go, the more "things" there are. The first god who comes takes his favorite place, and the last one to remain is the toilet. There is a seventh god who has that "something" more than any other god, and that "something" is the toilet. And the true identity of that "something" is "happiness." So, if you keep your toilet clean and take good care of it, you will have a lot of happiness. Or so I secretly believe.

I belong to one of the largest business study groups in Japan, called the Exciting Marketing Practice Group.
https://kosakayuji.com/wakuwaku/

I am immersed in the essence and playfulness of business people who enrich people's hearts all over Japan.
We will continue to devote our efforts to creating an "interesting store," so please look forward to it.