Are there any shops you would like to go back to?

The staff were lovely, the food was good, the service was good, the space was lovely, and many other things combine to make a restaurant that you will want to go back to.

Hoshino, the previously introduced Yakitori Obachan no Ten (Yakitori Obachan's Restaurant ), was another restaurant that did that for me.

In fact, in my home town of Sanjo City, I happened to come across such a shop when I was in primary school. Even now, about eight years after I came to Niigata City from Sanjo, I still recall my memories from primary school and think, "that shop was wonderful".

Tonkatsu Sanjo is a wonderful restaurant that we would like to go back to.

The first time I went there was when I was in primary school, my parents took me there. And now, eight years later, I thought that shop was wonderful, so I went there.

Again, we interviewed shopkeepers!

Keisuke Muramatsu, who was interviewed for this report.

Q: When did you start this company?

Keisuke: The company has been in business for 39 years.

Q: On your website, it says that the founder's idea was to have tonkatsu that you could eat every day and not get tired of it.

Keisuke: Normally, fresh breadcrumbs are used for tonkatsu so that it can be eaten every day, but at Tonkatsu Sanjo, we try to use breadcrumbs that do not absorb oil as much as possible and are fried crispily, making it easier to eat and less upsetting to the stomach. Also, if you eat the same cutlet every day, you get bored of it (laughs), so we are trying to make it more varied, broaden the range and challenge what we can do with tonkatsu.

Q: What is Tonkatsu Sanjo's most popular and recommended menu item?

Keisuke: Niigata tare katsudon. In Niigata, katsudon is mainly soy sauce-based. At Tonkatsu Sanjo, we have a sauce that our chief has thought of and created, so it is the most popular!

This is the most popular Niigata tare katsudon.

As you have heard, it was very easy to eat and tasty. And Tonkatsu Sanjo's sauce was perfect with the meat!

In fact, Tonkatsu Sanjo offers other great services!

• Free refills of rice!
• All you can eat boiled eggs!
• Children are served with cotton candy!

All-you-can-eat boiled eggs and the special aromatic salt blended by Tonkatsu Sanjo! (We had three boiled eggs and a second helping of rice!)

When I came to Tonkatsu Sanjo when I was in primary school, I thought the service was wonderful (how I felt when I was in primary school: amazing!). I felt that this service was wonderful (how I felt when I was in primary school: wow!).

Keisuke: Yes, they do. Children come because they get to play with cotton candy, and men come because they get to eat boiled eggs. We also have free refills of rice, so it's popular with men, especially students. It's easy on the wallet, you can eat a lot, and it tastes even better! (laughs).

-That's great! (Laughter)

Keisuke: That's what we aim to do. I hope that people will be happy to eat it and have good memories of it. And people who are from Sanjo and have gone to another part of the prefecture or out of the prefecture, when they come back, they come to Tonkatsu Sanjo and say, "You're still doing this service!" And that's how we want to be a restaurant that makes people happy.

-I was exactly like that (laughs).

Keisuke: (Laughs) I'm grateful. It's a relief on Tonkatsu Sanjo's part to know that our thoughts are being conveyed and that you came back as we had hoped.

ーーThank you very much. What is Tonkatsu Sanjo's most important aspect of its business?

Keisuke: We don't cut corners for each and every customer. If you cut corners, you will disappoint the customers who came to enjoy your restaurant, so our motto is to work with care for each and every customer.

-Thank you very much.

Towards the end, apart from the questions, we also had a wonderful talk with the founder of the restaurant (the man at the back of the kitchen photo). The idea was that in order to make tonkatsu that you never get bored of, you need to offer a wide variety of tonkatsu and other dishes that are of above-standard quality. If one dish is not good, it will affect the other dishes." He also said, "I have the feeling that I will not be beaten by any other young person".

It was very thought-provoking, and not just about food.

I thought it linked to Keisuke's story about valuing one person and one thing. If you have the chance, why not visit Tonkatsu Sanjo, a restaurant you will want to go back to, where you cherish such one person and one thing?

Shop information

Tonkatsu Sanjo

• Website http://www.tonkatsu-sanjo.com
• (It also has a varied menu!)
• Opening hours 11:00-21:30 (last orders) 22:00 (closing)
• Fixed holidays: no fixed holidays
• Telephone number: 0256-35-2043
• 1-3-27, Higashisanjo, Sanjo, Niigata 955-0047