Owner: Ryuichi Ueno.
Chinese buckwheat noodles Hirai Ryuichi Ueno
Joined Yamato Seisakusho in 2014 as a sales representative. After graduating from Yamato Seisakusho in 2019, he will open Chinese Soba Hirai in Tokyo in 2021. He is currently working as the owner of a popular ramen restaurant where people queue up every day.
– When he was an employee of Yamato Manufacturing Co.
– Why did you join Yamato Manufacturing?
I worked part-time at Ramen Jiro when I was at university. I wanted to become a ramen master, so I chose Yamato Seisakusho because I thought I could study a wide range of subjects to achieve this. I wanted to do what I liked as a job, so I didn’t think about doing anything other than ramen. There was a ramen school and I wanted to study about noodles and I thought that if I worked in a ramen shop I would only learn about the taste there. When I joined the company, I learnt a lot and I thought it was my vocation because I liked it so much.
– Did you find your work rewarding during your time at Yamato Manufacturing?
I felt particularly rewarded when a customer opened a shop and it became a thriving business. I felt rewarded when I was able to provide consultation to customers who had problems with noodle-making and solve them. I was particularly impressed when a ramen shop in Niigata contacted us on a Friday evening to say that their noodle-making machine had stopped working, and we went to the shop at around midnight to repair it and make noodles together. At Yamato Seisakusho, I felt that they were seriously trying to solve the problems of their customers, thinking not only about the customers but also about the development of the industry as a whole.
– Has anything changed since you joined Yamato Seisakusho?
Before I joined the company, I just wanted to run a ramen shop, but I started to think about what kind of ramen I wanted to make and what I wanted to do it for, and I came to realise that I needed to become a person who people would support more than the taste of the ramen, and I kept this in mind while working in the ramen shop.
– Did you decide when you would graduate?
I was able to learn about noodles on the job, so I always tried to make a prototype at home once a week to gain experience in other areas such as soup, sauce and chashu pork. I also saved up the necessary funds for opening a restaurant, with the goal of saving 1 million yen in one year. I was a bit worried because I didn’t know what I would actually need to open my own shop, but my goal was to open a business in 2020 when I was exactly 30 years old, so I decided to graduate one year before that.
– Graduation from Yamato Seisakusho… and opening a business.
– What did you do to help your shop open for business?
I started working again at Ramen Jiro, where I had a part-time job when I was at university, and I also worked part-time at several other ramen shops on a rotating basis. I was looking for a property in between jobs. I thought I would be able to find a property quickly, but I couldn’t find the ideal place and it took two years until I found my current restaurant. The shop is far from the station, but I chose it because the rent was cheap, the interior was clean, it was available without a living room, it looked like a noodle-making room could be built, and it was in the Tama area, which I had been looking for from the beginning.
– What is the concept and focus of the shop?
We are conscious of creating our own unique ramen, rather than imitating other restaurants. Our thick Tsuke-soba and Chinese soba noodles are made without seafood and 100% animal-based. Tsuke-soba is extra-thick, while Chinese soba is thin and straight, giving a completely different impression. We also have a limited menu, but our basic aim is to brush up on our regular menu and make it tastier day by day. Instead of “Delicious!” Amazing!” We aim to create products that will remain in our customers’ memories.
– Other areas of particular interest are.
The restaurant mainly has counter seating and only one table. The table seating also allows the ramen to be served from the kitchen. The interior is ideal because we can cook while seeing the faces of all the customers. We spent a lot of money on the exterior because the signboard is the face of the restaurant. We choose the employees we work with based on their humanity and character.
– What were the reasons for installing the rice-milling machine?
The recipe for the noodles has been somewhat directional since my tenure at Yamato Manufacturing, but I think it is only natural that I make my own noodles as well. Since the noodles are homemade for making ramen, it can only be a benefit. I also think it is important to put in the time and effort.
– Owner Ueno’s dreams for the future
If I saw myself today as I was when I joined the company, I think I would be surprised at how well things are going. I have employees who want to become independent, so I want to grow myself while giving them experience so that they don’t fail. Without my experience at Yamato Seisakusho, the shop wouldn’t be the success it is today, and I can’t thank them enough. I want to continue to make the shop prosper while continuing to return the favour, and I want to be able to energise Japan with the power of ramen. There are other ramen restaurants I want to open, so if I can train people, I would like to open a second restaurant. I think that making the restaurant prosper is the best way for Yamato Seisakusho to repay the favour I have done for them, so I will continue to do my best.
