Original subtitles

I've always lived my own way,

without following the current.

If I were a creature in the ocean,

I'd be swimming from the South Pole to the North Pole...

as a whale.

You have to be strong

in order to create your own current.

You can't expect good results if you just go with the flow.

I'm prepared to take on any challenge, head on.

In Japan, good table manners

are drilled into us.

The most important one is to say,

"I humbly receive" before a meal.

We sit and eat properly

to show respect

to the life which we consume as food.

In Japan, rules and order are very important.

It's the idea that we must suppress our true intentions to do things properly.

But Osaka is different from the rest of Japan.

Osakans say,

"Who cares about appearances? Let's be true to ourselves."

And Osaka is known as Japan's kitchen.

Osakans are known

for spending more money on food than other Japanese.

Tokyo people say,

"Wow, Osakans really eat a lot!" They are often astonished.

We use the term "eat till you drop."

Osakans have lived this way for 400 years.

And all delicious foods in Japan,

originated from street food stands.

The most well-known are

takoyaki,

okonomiyaki,

kushikatsu,

and udon.

But street stands are disappearing now due to various regulations.

So these street food stalls have moved inside and evolved into restaurants.

Unfortunately, we don't have

many street food stands anymore.

But Toyo's place is different.

He's been running Izakaya Toyo on the street for 26 years.

People really don't go there for the nice view,

or, like, for the nice location,

but to meet Toyo,

to enjoy his food and performance.

These are itaya-gai from Aoyama, a kind of scallop.

Please enjoy.

He'll serve all different kinds of fish of the day from the market.

Okay! Fatty tuna sashimi!

Yes!

There you go! Right.

In Osaka, if someone says you're funny,

that's the highest compliment you can get.

And Toyo is a comedian.

Hi, miss. Please stop by at our place.

No flirting!

Don't do it.

Please wash dishes here.

You got to be kidding me.

We say silly things on purpose.

It's all about making the other person laugh.

That's what makes us Osakan.

And it's what makes Izakaya Toyo so special.

Here.

Three-two-five!

Master.

- Yeah? - So energetic.

Here it comes.

I'll be here until I die. I'll work till I die.

Come on in. Hey, kids, kids!

Okay!

Change this.

Stubborn.

Unreasonable.

Wait a second.

Shut up!

One more!

A magician that manipulates fire.

Many people use a variety of words to describe me.

However, I think of myself

as the con artist of Kyobashi, Osaka.

Don't burn yourself.

It's okay. I'm always a con artist.

I'm President Trump.

I am small in stature,

but you can't judge people by the way they look.

Sometimes I wish,

"Please, devil. Come down from heaven and take me!"

- There are times when it is that tough. - Really?

But I change those tough times into joy.

How do you do that?

- Oh! It's, it's burning! It's burning. - Be careful.

Oh, no!

I'm saved by my customers' smiles.

There are parts of the tuna fish

that can't be sold raw as sashimi.

If I fried and cooked this part of the tuna,

maybe the customers would like it?

What's your best con?

Well, I've fooled most people.

I take this part here,

that you would normally throw away, and I turn it into money.

That's my greatest con.

At Izakaya Toyo,

I do all sorts of ridiculous things.

I'll be a clown.

I want this T-shirt.

- You want one? - I do.

He keeps saying he wants one of your shirts.

Well, hey...

If it's for you...

Yay!

You're like a soccer player...

...exchanging uniforms.

I'll embarrass myself if that's what it takes.

In this short life,

I believe that making people happy

is more important than making money.

Thank you for coming here in this heat.

It's a good one.

I want to take a photo with her!

- Really? - I can take it.

Three of us.

But what I love most is...

fire...

and beautiful women.

I was born in a town of 15,000 people.

It's a small island called Kikaijima.

Memories from my childhood

are either very happy

or terribly painful.

When I was six, my mother died.

I still remember it very clearly.

Then my family fell apart.

My father started drinking and became very violent.

He wasn't just an alcoholic,

he just drowned himself in alcohol.

Starting at six years old, I was his target.

He would hit me every day.

I'd get home from school, grab a pillow and blanket

and go to the rooftop of my elementary school

or the end of a pier.

My father, though a sailor, couldn't swim.

My favorite time at elementary school

was having the delicious school lunch with everyone.

Father, then, said,

"No more lunch, we can't pay."

I was miserable.

I would go home alone

and pick weeds from the fields to make a stir-fry.

I can't say my meals tasted good.

I ate to fill my stomach.

It was more like survival.

In Japanese culture and tradition,

we appreciate those who are older than us.

We appreciate our grandparents and our ancestors.

Mr. Kita's shop

is the second oldest takoyaki shop in Japan.

For takoyaki,

you make a flour based better,

pour it into an iron plate with half circles,

and add pieces of octopus.

The tempura flakes are very important.

My great grandmother started Umai-ya out of a food stall.

We've never changed the flavor of our takoyaki.

We can't change our recipe

because our customers expect a certain flavor.

Mr. Kita's takoyaki has about five textures!

In your mouth, you get this "What? Wow!" experience.

I was going to college,

but in Japan, the first-born son takes over the family business.

So, I made the big decision

to take over my family business of 65 years.

I work with my mother.

At the shop, she is more like a business partner.

I think tradition is very important.

I'm hoping to continue until our 100th anniversary.

I haven't thought about after that, though.

I wanted to go to high school

but we couldn't afford it, so I went to Osaka to work.

I was 15, and it was spring.

The amount of people and cars was the most shocking thing.

People told me

"Osaka is a scary place."

"A fun place."

"It's also a place that makes dreams come true."

- I'll have some fish roe again, please. - Sure.

I worked as a dishwasher at my aunt's bar

called "Marushin" for two years.

After my third year, I started cooking there.

The senior chefs taught me all sorts of things.

But I knew I was capable of doing more.

I had a strong desire to have my own business.

I see a real big one.

Yeah, we got big ones, the kind you like.

They're cheap today.

Cheaper than usual. This one is big, too.

The second one.

This one?

Can I exchange this one?

If you insist.

Exchange with whatever you want.

You know, you're lucky.

You can't tell anyone, though!

I set a goal to start my izakaya once I saved up 11,000,000 yen.

"Better be the head of a chicken than the tail of a bull."

Rather than being the underling of a big company,

I wanted to be the boss of a small food truck.

Don't be a bull's tail. Be a chicken's head.

My dream when I started working in Osaka

was not only to open my own shop,

but to buy my own house, get married,

and have kids.

I kept telling myself,

"I'm going to work harder than anyone else

and start Izakaya Toyo, no matter what!"

I had just celebrated working ten years at the previous shop,

and I finally saved up 11,000,000.

I thought, "Yes! Finally, I can open my izakaya!"

My dad died.

There was a need for a funeral and grave.

In my home town of Kikaijima,

traditions like funerals and graves are very important.

It cost 7,000,000 yen for his funeral and grave.

All that was left was 4,000,000 yen.

I have no regrets,

but my dream was crushed.

In the 1900s, during the Taisho and Showa periods,

wheat flour first spread among the general public.

People would place griddles in front of their house,

add water to flour, and cook a thin layer of batter.

That's how okonomiyaki started.

You can use toppings that you like,

but in Osaka we like okonomiyaki with strips of pork.

I think for Osakans,

we'd proudly say that okonomiyaki is our soul food.

Okonomiyaki is made of cabbage, green onion,

tempura flakes, ginger,

and we use my grandmother's special batter.

I can't share the details of that part.

This shop has seen success, thanks to my grandpa and grandma's efforts.

I work with my dad.

He scolds me sometimes.

It's not easy,

but this is my favorite job.

That's it.

The only people you can count on in life are your parents.

My parents passed away already.

I could only rely on myself.

I knew I couldn't expect good results if I gave up on my dream.

Using that 4,000,000 yen, there must be a way to start my izakaya.

I thought, "I should ask the owner of the parking space I rent."

That's how Izakaya Toyo started.

I opened my izakaya on November 20th, 1992.

In the beginning,

I just put a stainless board on top of the truck bed.

And it became my cooking table and counter.

I could only accommodate

five to six customers at a time.

It was self-service.

Even my customers used to help

by washing their own dishes after their meal.

Hey, please take care of this.

Okay.

At first, society looked down on me,

saying "your izakaya is just a food stall."

I felt inferior because we didn't have a bathroom or running water.

Please give me green onions, too. Please wait a moment.

Okay, please start drinking beer.

There's no ice.

I'll get it.

Sorry, guys.

Put this away.

Put this away there.

In the beginning,

I was extremely worried

whether I could keep the izakaya running.

I worked non-stop for 50 days with four hours of sleep each night.

And I never took a bath.

I'd get home in freezing weather, and I didn't have hot water,

so I'd wipe my body with cold water and soap.

I really thought,

"There must be no one experiencing life worse than me."

Let me know if you are not getting your food!

Hey, if you're just hanging out, listen to the customers!

Listen to their troubles.

Yeah.

Keep it moving!

Especially in the first year,

I couldn't afford to make customers wait a long time.

I used a blowtorch for tuna

because it allowed me to cook faster.

At first, I used a very small blowtorch.

My friend saw this blowtorch and said,

"I'll bring you a bigger one that you can attach to a propane tank!"

I thought, "This is great, I don't have to keep customers waiting long."

I dip my hand in ice water quickly and cook while wishing,

"May it be delicious! May it be delicious!" with my whole heart.

Cooking with my hands under the flame,

I can avoid tearing the tuna with metal tongs.

Ma'am, thank you for coming as always.

Your grandson is huge.

You are confused.

Go senile and drop dead.

Word of mouth made Izakaya Toyo famous.

And on the third year, 100 people lined up.

What do you think, Toyo?

- Oh, me? - Yes.

I don’t think you’re working hard.

Yes, I am!

You're just being swept along by the tides of time.

Okay, good work.

Wipe the head, too.

Okay, thanks.

But I finally felt like

I had a real izakaya...

when we got running water and we installed a bathroom.

"Look, it's a proper izakaya!"

Better be the head of a chicken

than the tail of a bull."

- Your health is your own responsibility. - Yes.

Did you catch a cold, no appetite, too tired?

That's your own fault.

Carve that into your brain, okay?

Great job, everybody.

Thank you, sir!

My izakaya succeeded.

It's true.

Osaka is a city that makes dreams come true.

Tradition and family are cherished here in Japan.

I have kids.

If they want to commit to making our takoyaki,

I would love for them to take over.

I know I need to grill thousands

to get close to my dad or grandpa's flavor.

In the future, while protecting our recipe and flavor

I'd like to add my own special twist.

All the best food in Japan started off as street food.

Nowadays, these dishes from Osaka

are well-known around the world.

That's how famous Osakan food is.

Osaka is Japan's kitchen.

It's "eat till you drop."

It's comedy.

It's freedom.

Toyo is Osaka.

Like Osaka,

I don't fit in any box.

I am proud of that.

In the past, my desire was to buy my own house,

get married

and have kids.

But when you create your own current,

life can be unpredictable.

Izakaya Toyo is my home.

My staff are my children.

My customers are my family.

And that's how it is.

I live my life

with no regrets.

I'll continue working until I die.

Whether it's tomorrow,

or when I'm 90.

My greatest wish is to keel over while working.

That's all.

Subtitle translation by Meagan Sneddon