"Delicious" food brings people together, and new relationships emerge.
Interview: Yoshiyuki Hoshina, Freshwater Research Lab

My memories of my meeting with the Tamsui boss are actually quite vague.
The store was near Monosas' office, so I started going there casually at first.
However, one day, he notices something strange...
The sashimi is strangely delicious.

From then on, I became addicted to the chef's cooking and started visiting the restaurant frequently.
The custom is to have the sashimi of the day,
The goal is to guess which fish is the most delicious today.

"Today's golden-eyed snapper is amazing."
If you guess correctly, the chef will smile with delight.

I am grateful that the Freshwater Laboratory exists.
I personally believe that the value of the town of Yoyogi is increasing.
As proof of this, when I have guests over at the office for dinner,
We went to Tamsui for dinner together,
"Yoyogi is pretty good!"
He is delighted when he hears these words.
A good restaurant can even influence the impression of a town.
That's why I call Tamsui "Yoyogi Guest House."

The Monosus members, including myself, have been to Tamsui many times.
The chef has also come to Monosus many times.
I had them come over to cook for company parties and join in on photography classes held at the company.

It is said that it is difficult for communities to exist in cities, but that is not the case.
I think relationships become weak because we get distracted by the many options available.
By continuing to exchange information in both directions many times, the circle will gradually grow larger.

As I continued to take many different people there for many years,
From the relationship between the general and me, the relationship between Tamsui and Monosas,
And the circle gradually expands to the point where it's hard to understand.

(Monosus, Takahiro Hayashi)

From a water purifier salesman to a culinary craftsman!?

Before starting this restaurant, I worked at a water purifier company in Himonya. The manager of the company was a good cook, and we decided to open an izakaya-like restaurant in the garage in the basement of the office in a detached house. It was only big enough for about 10 people, and we would invite company-related customers there and hold parties about once a month. During those times, I helped fillet fish and I started to cook simple dishes there as well.

Eventually, sales of the water purifiers started to decline and work decreased, so I wondered what to do, and then my manager asked me if I wanted to open a restaurant. In 1997, I rented this place in Yoyogi and decided to open a restaurant. I didn't train anywhere, so I taught myself how to cook. My parents both worked, so I cooked dinner for myself and my sister from the third grade of elementary school, so I cooked, but I never had any intention of becoming a chef.

Interior of Himonya (first store) of the Freshwater Laboratory

When I started the restaurant, I didn't know anything yet. I thought I had to learn about fish first, so I decided to go to a sushi restaurant. I went to "Sakae Sushi" on Suzuran Street in Sangenjaya every day, sitting at the counter and memorizing all the kinds of fish, reading books. At the time, my former manager was doing the purchasing, but I would go to the fish shop first to look at the fish and ask the staff how to tell them apart. At that time, I didn't think the job was fun, and I just worked hard, thinking that I had to do it no matter what. I continued because I was "competitive."

In the first year of the restaurant, we didn't do any advertising, so we had no customers at all. Then, little by little, people started to invite more people, and the word spread by word of mouth. I guess this strange atmosphere was good (laughs). The name of the restaurant was "Freshwater Laboratory," which was the same name when we were operating in the garage of a water purifier company. We also did the interior ourselves, working with a temple carpenter, and because it was "freshwater," we ran water over the counter and served sashimi made from freshwater trout called "Donaldson Trout." We use water from a "reverse osmosis water purifier" that used to be sold. We use this water to mix alcohol and to wash rice. It's completely different when you use it for cooking.

Pure water that has passed through four filters of a reverse osmosis water purifier

The main cook was my ex-director, and in 2000, three years after we opened, they decided to open a separate room next to the restaurant. It was bigger than this one and could accommodate about 30 people, so I went there and started cooking by myself. The scale of the restaurant suddenly grew, but it wasn't that hard. The separate room only had table seats, so I just had to cook the orders that came in. So this restaurant was harder for me. There was a counter, there were regular customers, and I had to cook while talking to the customers.

About 4-5 years after I started Betsushitsu, my ex-director started asking me for advice about cooking. At that time, I felt like I had "won" over him as a chef. From then on, I started to enjoy my work (laughs). In 2011, I closed Betsushitsu and started cooking at this main restaurant. At that time, my ex-director was running various restaurants around Tokyo, but the business gradually got worse and they all disappeared, and this is the only one that is still running. Apparently he was planning to sell this restaurant when the company went out, but I didn't want to lose it, so I asked him to give it to me, and I was able to continue operating the restaurant.

The exterior of "Freshwater Laboratory Issun Gobun." It was acquired from the previous owner in 2012.

All the delicious fish.
I make delicious food because there are people who will eat it.

Looking back on it now, a lot has happened (laughs). But the one thing that has remained consistent is buying delicious fish. That's all I've ever thought about. I can tell a delicious fish when I see one. When I'm not sure, I pick it up and say, "This one is it." There are about eight mackerel in a box, and I touch all eight. Is it fatty? Is it firm or soft? That's how I learned by looking and touching. Of course, I often made mistakes in the past. The moment I filleted it, I'd know, "Oh, this one's a mistake."

Freshly purchased seafood. From the front: white squid, blackthroat seaperch, bonito, sea urchin, and cockle.

There is a fish shop that I always go to to buy fish. I buy them in bulk at Tsukiji Market, so it's much cheaper than if I buy them at Tsukiji, which is a big help. I go there every day except Wednesdays, and even if I don't have anything in particular to buy, I always go to have a look. Sometimes they have new fish in, so it's just a daily routine.
Compared to 10 years ago, the price of fish has increased. When I started this restaurant, you could buy red snapper for about 2,000 yen per kilo, but now it costs over 10,000 yen. 19 years ago, there were no restaurants serving red snapper sashimi. I guess the price went up as everyone started using it. There are cheaper red snapper as well, but they're not tasty. I can't compromise on the taste, so I try to buy expensive but tasty ones from the best places to eat them at the time of year.

Assorted sashimi. From the left in the front: white squid, tuna, blackthroat seaperch, sweet shrimp, cockle, and filefish.

The fish we serve depends on what we get that day, but the sashimi is definitely the best. It's a daily menu that changes every day depending on what we get. The other menu items are just like extras (laughs), so we'd really like you to be satisfied with just the daily fish menu. That's how confident we are in our food.

Normally, I eat whatever I get from the convenience store, ramen, or whatever, as long as it fills me up. I don't like going to a proper restaurant and thinking about what I'm eating. So I don't cook for myself. The food I make for myself is never tasty. Maybe it's because I don't put any emotion into it, thinking it's okay because I'm the only one eating it. If there's someone who will eat it, I'll cook it with all my heart. After all, the best thing is when they eat the food I make and say, "It's delicious, it's delicious."

Show off your skills at the "Founding Anniversary Party" and make new connections

Hayashi-san, a regular customer at our store, invited me to participate in Monosus' 10th anniversary party. The "10th Anniversary Party" is a very important event, so he said, "Please take the day off from the store to come!" (laughs) Even though it was a Friday night, which is our peak season, we closed the store and participated.

The chef serving up monkfish liver at the 11th anniversary party last year. With his skillful dexterity

Hayashi-san asked me to buy "200 servings of the best seasonal fish." As you can see, we run a small shop, so I couldn't imagine making 200 servings (laughs). I usually buy about 500g of milt in a pack, but this was the first time I bought 3kg in one go. I wasn't sure if this would be enough...

200 servings of monkfish liver with ponzu sauce lined up at the 11th anniversary party.

It was all a new experience for me, and I had a lot of fun. It's not often that I go on a business trip to a company to cook. I was also surprised to find out that the company had a proper kitchen. It was much bigger than my own kitchen (laughs). It was a very comfortable kitchen, big enough for 3-4 people to stand and move around in. Also, when I'm at a restaurant, I don't cook with anyone, so it was fun to be able to cook with all kinds of people. I've been friends with Keiko Hosoi, a chef who was also participating, since we met at a party. We hold a one-day event called "Hosoitei" where Hosoi stands in the kitchen and cooks.

With Hayashi (right) and Keiko Hosoi (second from the right) who came to dine at Tansui . The chef (left) plates the food while having a conversation across the counter.

After the 10th anniversary party, when I went home in a taxi with Mr. Hayashi that night, we both said, "It was fun." He said, "Please do it again next year," and I immediately replied, "Yes." I was also thinking about doing it again next year right after the party, so I was happy. We did the 11th anniversary party, and I'm sure we'll do it again this year for the 12th anniversary (laughs). I look forward to working with you again this year.

Profile of Yoshiyuki Hoshina
Born in 1973 in Meguro Ward. While working in a restaurant, he joined a company that sold and maintained water purifiers. The water purifier company established Tansui Kenkyusho and he joined the restaurant. He later became the chef at Tansui Kenkyusho Betsushitsu Issun Gobun. With the number of restaurants now at six, he developed menus for each restaurant as the general manager. In 2012, he left the company and became the owner of Tansui Kenkyusho.