Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

9/22/2004, Okonomiyaki at Minato-ya

Every Wednesday, we descend upon a tiny okonomiyaki shop in Ako.  Ako takes 10 minutes from Aioi by train.  End to end, it's about 25 minutes.  Anyway, there are a bunch of Japanese people and a bunch of English teachers who congregate on that day.  The place doesn't hold more than about 15 people.  Minato-san is the owner.  He makes awesome okonomiyaki and he's super casual to boot.  We tell him what we want and he makes it.  No fuss.  No wait staff.  No overhead.  While we're waiting, we're all free to come behind the counter and get whatever we want to drink.  I often make myself a martini and serve beverages to whoever else is there.  At the end of the night, you tell him what you had and give him some money.  He routinely undercharges, so you have to put in a little extra to get it back up to reality.

Minato-san is a humble man, but he's the star of the show.  Everybody loves him to death because he's so nice.  Frequently, he gives us a ride home, since he lives in Aioi.  He speaks good English, but he appreciates it if you try to speak Japanese.  He loves to take black-and-white photographs with his very old camera.  The whole shop is lined with photos of his customers.

This Wednesday, he was taking pictures.  My friend Nate also loves taking pictures, so he started taking pictures (with his cell phone) of Minato-san taking pictures.  Just to add to the reflexivity of the situation, I snapped this picture (with my cell phone) of Nate taking a picture of Minato-san taking pictures.

In the picture, you see half of the counter is wood, and half is metal.  You put your plate on the wood.  The okonomiyaki stays warm on the metal gas grill in front of you.  That's Mechelle Lois and Matt Lerish in back.

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