The taste that customers want
When the restaurant opened along First Street in Little Tokyo, it caused quite a stir. The year was 2002, and the name of the restaurant was "Daikokuya." As a restaurant serving tonkotsu ramen, it became popular not only among Japanese people but also among Asians. Before long, the line of people under the yellow and black sign hanging in front of the restaurant had become a familiar sight.
The owner of this restaurant is Takaaki Koyama. He is now the head of the Bishamon Group , which operates 12 restaurants in the Los Angeles area. Koyama is a Shin Issei who came to America at the age of 24 in 1988, exactly 30 years ago. He looks back on the period before and after his move to America as follows:
"I worked as a chef in Japan for six years. But when the restaurant there closed, I wanted to try going abroad, so I came to Los Angeles. I had never been abroad before."
He did not come to the United States with the intention of trying out his Japanese cuisine skills overseas. Nevertheless, Mr. Kohyama, who was in charge of a traditional Japanese restaurant in Japan, was soon contacted by a Japanese restaurant in Covina through an acquaintance. There was no doubt that he was expected to be an immediate asset. However, he was often confused by the different circumstances in Japan.
"In Japan, there are set combinations, such as soy sauce for this dish. But in America, where soy sauce would normally be used, ketchup might be served because that's what the customers want. But if you try to force something on people by saying, 'This is how it's done in Japan,' it just becomes self-satisfaction on the part of the chef. I try to make adjustments and serve new dishes to please my customers."
Having thus forged ahead on the path of "American Japanese cuisine," Mr. Koyama came to the turning point of going independent when he was just 30 years old. He took over the restaurant in Kobena, where he had been working as a staff member, from the previous owner. He started a new business under the name "Bishamon."
After going independent, things were going well. However, four years after opening, the restaurant was hit by a disaster when it burned down in a fire. "With no prospect of reopening in sight, the employees moved to other restaurants. However, a year later, when we somehow managed to reopen the restaurant, the employees who had quit once left their previous restaurants and came back to us. They were a great help to us. Also, even though we didn't advertise or announce anything, our regular customers heard the word and started coming back."
Showa era ramen shop opening
Having overcome the worst of times, Kabuyama opened his second ramen restaurant, Daikokuya, in Little Tokyo. However, this was not a planned opening.
"The owner of the restaurant that was in front of Daikokuya was a customer of ours. However, he ran into financial difficulties and left the keys to me, asking me to take care of it. I was at a loss as to what to do with the restaurant, so I came up with the idea of turning it into a ramen shop with a Showa-era feel. It was an old building over 100 years old, so it was in bad condition and would be difficult to remodel. So I thought I'd take advantage of the old atmosphere and operate as a traditional ramen shop, and Daikokuya was born as a last resort."
Daikokuya's signature dish, tonkotsu ramen, also didn't take a long time to perfect.
"In Japan, we also made hand-made soba noodles. Of course, I studied ramen and created it in my own way, making prototypes as I went along. But we didn't take the time to perfect it, and even now, 16 years after opening, I can't say it's perfected. Since then, many ramen shops have opened in the Los Angeles area. Daikokuya's ramen needs to constantly evolve, otherwise it will regress if other delicious shops open. That's why even now, I'm working with my employees on how to make it even better."
When Daikokuya opened in 2002, ramen was not well known. Some people complained, "You can buy cup noodles for just a few cents at the supermarket, so why do they cost six or seven dollars here?" and "The soup is too hot to eat." It must be said that ramen had a very low status, but as the number of ramen shops increased, such complaints disappeared. Koyama said, "At first, when ramen shops started to increase in Little Tokyo, I was worried that our store's sales would decrease. But in fact, the number of customers has not decreased. This means that the demand for ramen has increased, and more people have come to this town." Indeed, Little Tokyo has changed greatly before and after Daikokuya opened. It has become common to see not only Japanese and Japanese people, but also Asians and non-Asian people who love Japan walking around the town.
The spread of soy sauce ramen
With Daikokuya's success as a catalyst, Koyama has been increasing the number of restaurants under his group, including Tamon in the Miyako Hotel. Then, in May 2018, he opened " Hachioji Ramen " a few doors down from Daikokuya. While Daikokuya is known for its tonkotsu, this restaurant's signature dish is Tokyo's soy sauce ramen. "I'm originally from Hachioji, Tokyo. This is a chicken bone-based soy sauce soup topped with chopped onions. I recreated the flavor that I liked. Tonkotsu is quite popular (with Americans), but I hope that from now on they will realize the appeal of soy sauce ramen," says Koyama.
Now that he has been in the US for 30 years, is the initiator of the ramen boom that started in Little Tokyo, has opened 12 stores, and is a household name in the Japanese food industry in Los Angeles, where does his identity lie?
"For better or worse, I'm completely Japanese. I'm always thinking about what I should do as a Japanese person. In terms of business, it might take less time if I thought in a more pragmatic way like an American, but it's not easy to change."
Koyama travels back and forth to Japan once or twice a year. In America, he has been spreading Japanese food, but in his hometown of Hachioji, he runs a dining bar that serves hamburgers and steaks. "I never have a plan. I can't even imagine what I'll be doing five years from now. I just work hard on what's in front of me," he says. We see that what lies at the core of Koyama is "the traditional Japanese spirit of craftsmanship."
© 2018 Keiko Fukuda
