This is what it's like behind the scenes at a local japanese to choke a restaurant.

Yeah, yeah.

So today I'm in Oi machi Tokyo and I'm doing something a little bit different.

I'm taking you behind the scenes at a local japanese to show up the restaurant.

So it's going to be in a little bit different style than the videos that I normally do.

So let me know in the comments of whether or not you guys like this type of video.

If so then I'll do more.

That said before I started, you guys want to see what I'm doing on the daily then definitely check out my instagram account.

If you guys want to get the channel, definitely check out japan March and if you have any questions about japan or japan travels then check out my discord community.

All right, let me take you inside.

So here we go with a new series, japan behind the counter where I take you behind the counter of local mom and pop style japanese restaurant.

And first on our list is Bulldog, a traditional japanese western influence style restaurant that usually has customer alliance almost longer than its history.

Just a three minute walk away from the machi station.

This shop was opened post war in 1949 and what was considered a black market area but evolved over time and now is situated in this historic hidden Backstreet.

Ali known as Higashi koji shooting guy amongst other bars and restaurants with a similar history.

So we're starting this video just as a store opens.

This is the owner of Suzuki son or as everyone refers to him since, which means teacher in english is a second generation shop owner as it was passed down from his father.

What time do you open today?

Hong kong.

Thank you.

He gave me an ice cold tea.

That's so nice of him.

Rainy days are not so great in general for the restaurant business, especially in Tokyo since most people commute by train.

Sense how much does rain make a difference I think.

Yeah.

Mhm.

Before the store opens, food vendors come to deliver the shops, regular orders there about 3-4 vendors who come to deliver various food and ingredients in the morning, but some also come in the afternoon.

Just you know, that's it.

Oh here's some of the meat delivery.

Two hours before the store opened.

Since it starts to prepare the shop.

Usually there are other staff right at the open.

But in this training today the shop expects less customers.

So it's only him to start off first thing in the kitchen, he prepares the rice.

How much rights are you gonna make today?

Okay.

I guess he decided sense.

How much rice do you make on a busy day?

No.

Oh no, I have a wife.

Okay.

Oh he has some advice for me belkin.

Cool.

I appreciate the lessons and say, what's that?

Can I ask you a question about the food?

Since I definitely has a one of a kind personality which I'm sure it helps attract many of his customers to be honest.

I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone like him in future videos.

Now he's making a special Demi glace sauce and warming up curry for his workers.

So what's so special about your food?

Okay.

He says that he makes all the efforts to make customers happy in terms of taste and price.

If he didn't, he wouldn't still be in business and what he does is nothing special.

So he prefers not to discuss his food today.

So what do you think about, let's get back to the food.

Apparently he's only using six heads of cabbage today, but normally he uses 20 Cool to other chefs are here now, just before 10 a.m. to help with the food prep.

Both seem to have worked here for a long time.

He's mixing eggs and flour.

What are you making now?

Bulldogs?

Most popular menu item is a mangy cuts, which is a japanese bedded, deep fried ground meat patty.

But they also serve many other fried items.

So they need to prepare a lot of batter before the day starts.

And now santa is making the shops white sauce.

Okay, here comes another life lesson.

It's music.

He used to be a guitarist in a progressive rock band when he was young, which apparently greatly influences how he runs his business and what's led to his success over the years since you've got a lot of paintings?

But why do you have them here before He was running the shop when he was in a rock band.

He was in a long distance relationship.

He was sending his girlfriend his own paintings as gifts and after sending many paintings, she called him one day and told him that she had gotten married.

The painting is up on the wall were the ones he never got to send.

Well since it continues to share his life philosophy.

Another chef prepares the meat used for the men.

She got to a wild, they used Nokia Panko.

The old wooden box was for the flour and Panko.

The system looks so efficient that missile was for the miso soup served during lunch.

Seems like they're mixing different kinds of miso.

Mhm.

That's a lot of chicken.

What's it for?

I see he stir frying the chicken for the omu rice dish.

Yeah.

Now he makes his ketchup in the rice common for an omu rice dish.

In fact the second most popular menu items.

So they need to prepare for it a lot.

Oh the servers are here.

What's that?

Finally, it's time to fry the Menchaca to 15 minutes before the restaurant opens, the chef starts frying their famous Minchey katsu.

Anticipating that most customers will order that on an average day, they sell about 50 dishes.

The chef spreads the meat right before frying and flattens it on the bed of punk?

Oh with his hands, it's so big.

Mhm mm No.

How much meat do you use this one?

So that means that these are the regular lunch size mention at 130g.

And these giant ones are for the single dish, orders at 300g more than double the size of their lunchtime.

Say Yeah, okay, Okay.

Mhm.

But look at that size fits the size of my ipad.

I can see whether giant katsu is our signature dish.

How many pieces do you fry before opening the rain has let up a bit.

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Alright, let's go back inside.

Finally, the restaurant is open for lunch time and just as the store opens, a customer enters despite the weather high.

Do you come here often?

What's your favorite?

Oh, why?

But we see that.

I want to, you know mommy field come to high school excuse just before the lunchtime rush.

Another life lesson.

Damn.

You never told me the rest I guess.

I'll never know before noon.

The seats are almost filled even though it's raining today.

I can see now how busy the kids you can get on a nice day.

Time to get busy.

Okay and honest.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's the chicken katsu and now a moment of silence for this pride.

Goodness.

Okay.

Zero, come on.

Sorry.

Okay, now I got to ask what's that?

What a beautiful.

Yeah, no thank you.

In addition to serving customers in the shop, they also make delivery orders using services like Uber eats, which is quite popular in Japan these days.

Right, okay.

Yeah, it's just after the lunchtime rush.

So let's ask some questions.

When was the store opened.

So how old were you when you became the owner did you think you would be a chef when you were a kid.

So what's the hardest part about being an owner, Was it hard to manage the restaurant during Covid?

No.

Dude, what's your favorite food?

What's that?

Around two PM between lunch and dinner?

Our staff have a lunch break and eat Mac and I food, which is a special staff meal that's usually not on the menu today.

Since it is cooking for everyone.

It looks like a giant men.

She cuts in fried shrimp with tartar sauce dish.

Oh, and with a fried egg on top.

Hello there.

All right.

It's probably fair to say that many of the restaurants understand closed between lunch and dinner, but Bulldog is opened straight through.

So while staff eat lunch since it covered the shift right after lunch, the chef prepared for the dinner time, which has a slightly different menu in japanese.

It's called, Show me what's that?

You're know what kind of meat is that You, he will end up to nitrogen yoni you really have here.

It's coming.

Okay.

Oh, he's adding flour into the pot of boiling butter.

What's that?

Yeah.

Mm.

Okay.

Otherwise I don't want to have to go.

How are you?

Mhm.

So there you go.

This is Japan behind the counter at a local japanese restaurant in Tokyo called Bulldog.

If you want to visit the restaurant, I'll be sure to leave a link in description, but be warned come early as chances are there's gonna be a line of locals outside, especially on a sunny day?

I'm going to close it out here.

So if you guys like this video helped me out and hit that like button.

Also, since the new video, let me know what you thought in the comments.

If you guys want to see more videos about Japan or anything related, Japan, hit that subscribe button and the button and I'll catch you guys in the next one.