It is an udon noodle shop ran by a man, who used to work as an office worker, and his wife

“We can treasure every encounter at this job.”

一麦七菜　Owner　中島義貴

Producing processs is fun, which applies to both udon and businesss.

Writer K believed udon in Kyoto was little too soft yet Sanuki one was too chewy. While he was frustrated with one from Kyoto, she found the one from Ichibaku Nanasai. It is handmade thinly cut udon noodles chilled in ice. Thin udon noodles with great chewy texture was exactly what she was looking for.

Working at IT company makes him want to run his own company

Yoshitaka Nakajima, a udon maker, is from Himeji. After graduating from Doshisha university, he got a job at an IT company in Tokyo. He was in charge of the system for digital contents because he loves creating. He lived in Kanagawa, and he was blessed with 2 children.

“I came home late on weekdays, but I got rid of my stress by cooking on weekends. Beef stew, Okonomiyaki, which is a savory Japanese-style pancake, and Oden were quite popular.”

Major foreign companies work as a team. The employees are evaluated only on their performance but they can not decide anything without approval. He wished to own his company so he can make all decisions. One day, he tried to make homemade Udon that he happened to see on TV and it turned out better than he expected. His oldest daughter was already working, and his youngest one was a junior in university. He saved enough for their tuition.

He quit his job at the age of 49. Training at other shops was his wife’s condition for starting his second career. In 2011, a year after he started training, he found property available where used to be a ramen shop, near his house. Although Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, he opened his shop in June because he thought making his dream come true would help the restoration.

“Both running a shop and making udon are enjoyable. I am always excited. It is something that I was not able to feel when I was working as an office worker.”

Decoration that impresses customers

We all have a meal when we have a tough time or hard time. There were a hospital and a school. One time, Mr. Nakajima cried when a woman told him about her husband’s death at the table. Another time, there was a high school student, who first came to the shop on her own, eventually started to come with her friends. He wondered what the shop meant for the high school girl.

“I cook meals for the moment of that person. This job is a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity.”

In March 2016, he decided to move to Kyoto where he has loved since his school days.

He wanted to take a chance in North area, where has a nice balance between tourists and residents.

It is clear to see that Mr. Nakajima is detail oriented when you see his dish. He decorates the dish perfectly.

“I want to impress my customers when they look at my dish.”
He puts his whole heart and soul into it because he knows making udon is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.