through a friend I was invited to a party with lots of local business owners,

友達に地元の経営者たちが

and I felt pretty out of my depth.

出席するパ―ティーに誘われました

I was in my 20s at the time, and everyone there was at least 2 or 3 times my age.

出席者のレベルが高すぎてパニクリました

However, there was one guy who I struck up a conversation with who was in his early 30s,

当時僕は20代

a really friendly, unassuming guy who had lived overseas for a short time,

他の人達は僕の２～３倍の年齢だった

in a mysterious land known only as Canada.

その中で最も話やすかったのが フレンドリーな30代前半の男性

And when I asked him what it was that he did,

以前、カナダというミステリアスな国で

it turned out he was the president and owner

短い間海外生活をした事があるという

of one of the largest sushi businesses in all of north Japan.

その人に仕事は何をやっているのと聞いたら

His name was Satoshi Ueno, and today, after many years of talking about it,

東日本で最大級の寿司レストランの 経営者って言うんだよ

we're finally gonna go and film inside one of his restaurants

彼の名前は上野敏史さん

and see and hear what it's like to own a sushi business in Japan.

そこで今日 何年もお願いして

With 30 restaurants across Japan and 800 employees,

やっとお時間がもらえることになったので、

Satoshi Ueno has the daunting task of running his sushi empire,

レストランでの撮影を決行します

passed onto him by his father just 7 years ago.

日本で寿司屋を経営するということはどのような

I've come to hear his story today inside Ueno-san's flagship luxury restaurant, Sushimasa.

ものなのか見せてもらいましょう。

Together we'll witness every aspect to running the business,

日本、そして海外で30店舗、そして800人もの従業員

from sourcing the finest seafood at an intense market auction,

この巨大な寿司帝国を上野さんは

[fast-paced bidding in Japanese]

彼の父より7年前に継ぎました

to spending an afternoon with the charismatic and highly-skilled head chef of the restaurant,

今日は彼が経営している寿司屋の中で最も高級な「鮨正」に

Yuji Yoshikawa,

お話を聞きに来ました

who will also share the one thing never to do during your meal.

今日は一緒に新鮮な魚を荒々しいセリを体験し、

Y'know what, hopefully by the end of this week

寿司屋を経営の全容を学び、

I'll know everything I need to to set up my own sushi restaurant in London.

熟練のカリスマ料理長吉川さんと

Filming inside a friend's restaurant?

午後のひとときを過ごしながら

More like industrial espionage.

寿司屋で唯一、やってはいけない事を教えてもらいましょう。

While I have been lucky to dine at Ueno-san'srestaurants many times before,

今週末までにロンドンで寿司屋を

I'll admit, I've never set foot in his most high-end restaurant Sushimasa,

オープンできるように全てを学ぶぞ！

which is inconspicuously hidden off a bustling street in downtown Sendai.

友達のレストランの撮影。。。それとも 産業スパイ。。。

Ascending the grand staircase, I find Ueno-san patiently waiting for me at the entrance.

これまで上野さんの経営する寿司屋に お邪魔した事は何度かありましたが

- Welcome! - Hello.

彼が持つ最も高級な寿司店「鮨正」に入るのはこれが初めてです

- Hi, welcome! - Hello!

入り口は隠れ家のように

Long time no see!

仙台の繁華街にこっそりとあります

Good to see you.

豪華な階段を上ると

- Oh, thank you very much. - Thank you so much for giving me the time today.

上野さんは入り口でお待ちかねでした

We haven't seen each other in maybe... 3 years?

最後にお会いしたのは3年ぶりですかね

- Yeah. - 3 years.

久しぶりに会って僕は変わりましたか？

How do I look?

これ？

- Muscle. - It's- It's a little bit...

これは筋肉

Muscle! That's what it is.

ははは

Let's go.

鮮やかで暖かい雰囲気ですね

Wow.

カウンタ―席は何名までですか？

It's so, kind of... warm and vibrant.

12人です

How many people can you have in the counter?

そしてこちらに2つの個室ですね

- 12.

レストランというか、美術館に迷い込んだ感じがします

- About 12 people? - Yeah, 12 people.

上野さんによって厳選された硯を使った美術品の数々

- And then you've got two rooms - private rooms - here. - Yes.

そして鮮やかな木材があらゆるところに使われています。

I feel like I've stumbled into an art gallery, let alone a restaurant.

インテリアは現代的でありあながら伝統的

Ueno-san has carefully selected suzuri calligraphy and artwork,

寿司屋の内装に関して 最も重要なポイントは何ですか？

and immaculate wooden finishings, with an interior that feels contemporary, yet steeped in tradition.

何を最も重視しますか？

When it comes to the interior of a sushi restaurant,

カウンタ―が大事ですね

what's the most important things to look for?

これは美しいですね

What's the most important thing when you're creating it?

よく見かける寿司カウンタ―は

- The counter is important.

デカくてガラスが多いんですよね

- The counter? - Yeah.

ここはネタが綺麗に陳列され

This is nice.

カウンタ―に美しく並べられていますよね

Often at sushi restaurants, the counter is very big and there's a lot of glass.

そして、これ冷たいんですよ

Whereas here, the sushi is really beautifully presented and integrated within the counter on the top.

あっ、本当に冷たい

And it's cold. This.

照明についてのこだわりはありますか？

Oh, that's cold. Wow!

照明も色々あってネタと 板前さんが美しく見えるようになっていますね

And what about lighting?

はい、照明はとても大事です

The lighting is so good.

3階にはプライバシーを求めるお客様のために

There's so many different lights highlighting the fish, the chef...

特別な個室がご用意されています

- Yeah. This is important too.

この個室はどのようなお客様が 利用するんですか？

Meanwhile, tucked away on the third floor are extra special hidden rooms

経営者だったり

for guests looking to dine in private.

家族だったり

Whoa.

上野さんはどちらが好きですか？ カウンタ、個室？

What kind of customers use these kind of private rooms?

やっぱりお寿司はカウンタ―で 食べるのが美味しいですよね。

Company orders, and also families.

ここは家族には良いですね

- Right. - Yeah.

デートにもぴったりかも

What do you prefer out of the counter and the private room?

僕もカウンタ―の方が好きですね

- Sushi at the counter is better.

板前さんが握るのを見ることができる

Good for a family, maybe good for a date?

素晴らしいツア－をありがとうございました

- Yeah. - Hmm, good for a date.

さて、せっかくなので何か 食べていきたいんですが

But yeah, I think the counter, for me, is probably better.

是非お寿司でも？座りませんか？

Just because you can watch the chef.

まーだ

We've had a great tour, Ueno-san.

まだ？

Thank you for the tour of the restaurant.

先に

I'm very eager to try something.

海鮮市場

Shall we eat some sushi? Shall we dive in?

市場？

Uhhhh, not yet...

見るべき

- Not yet? - Not yet.

あ―なるほど。ここにある魚を仕入れる 市場ですね。今行くんですか？

First!

いや明日の朝

The seafood market.

明日の朝。何時頃？

- Seafood market? - Yeah.

5：30

You should look.

AM! ふっふっふっ

Ahh, right. Where you get the fish from. Okay.

日本の魚市場に朝の4時にくるほど興奮することはないかも

Should we go now?

色々なことが同時に起こっている 買ったり、セリがあったり

Noo... Tomorrow morning.

本当に興奮する。でも寝起きにはぴったりだね

Tomorrow morning... What time?

うん、ぴったりだ。

5:30.

「鮨正」を含む30店舗へ材料を仕入れる為に

[dunnnnn]

上野さんは市場のあらゆる所に新鮮で

A.M.

高品質のネタを探す軍隊を毎朝準備している

Auughh...!

ここが市場でもっとも忙しい場所

There's nothing quite as intense as coming into a Japanese fish market at 4a.m. in the morning.

もっとも高い魚はもちろんマグロだ

When everything's kicking off and everyone's buying things and auctions are happening...

これ以上に多くのマグロを見たのは東京の

It's... It's so intense.

築地くらいかもしれない

It's a great way to wake up, though.

ここにはだいたい100尾

I'll say that much.

1尾1尾、ものすごく高い値が付いている

With 30 restaurants to supply, Ueno-san has an army of buyers around the market,

1尾の値段は大体１００万円

though he still visits weekly to peruse what's on offer.

上野さんはマグロの尾を見て、買う前に品質を確認し

So arguably the busiest part of the market - the most prized fish, of course, is tuna.

マグロはそれぞれのレストランに配達されます

The only place I've seen more tuna would've been Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo,

競売が始まりウエノさんの優秀なスタッフが

but there's about 100 here, each one costing a staggering amount of money.

注意深く品質を確認したマグロを競り勝ち

A single tuna typically sells for around $10,000.

そのマグロは、店舗へ配達される 準備のためすぐに移動されます

And to make sure it's money well-spent, before the morning auctions kick off,

マグロの一匹から寿司一万人皿が提供できます。

buyers carefully select their tuna by examining a section of the tail.

そして今手に入れたマグロは今晩「鮨正」を訪れる幸運な客の口に入るのだ

[intense & fast-paced Japanese auctioning]

それは僕のことだ

With one of Ueno-san's top buyers nestled at the back placing the winning bid on their tuna,

もの凄く新鮮

it's promptly wheeled off across the market

お父さんはイジメにあったようですが、 上野さんの違う

to be cut and prepared for distribution to the restaurants.

上野さんはこの市場で最も仕入高が高いからだ

A single 500lb tuna can make 10,000 servings,

今朝だけで２００万円分を仕入れた

and naturally, the best cuts today will be enjoyed by the lucky customers at restaurant Sushimasa.

魚市場はエキサイティングで興奮するし

Which is me.

クレイジーな場所には見えますが

Very fresh!

もう何年も来ている上野さんにとって 市場とはどんな存在ですか

[laughter]

現場を歩き、色々な方たちとお話ししているようですが

His father may have been ridiculed back in those early days,

市場で何人の方たちがお知り合いなんですか？

but his fortunes couldn't be any more different today as one of the biggest buyers in the market.

先程歩いている時 沢山の方たちに挨拶をしてましたよね？

This morning alone, Ueno-san has spent $20,000 on fish for his chain of restaurants.

沢山の人ですね

Obviously, the fish market is a very exciting, very intense, crazy place.

レッツ・ゴー 腹減った―

How do you feel when you come down here, Ueno-san?

市場から最も新鮮ネタを仕入れても

You've been coming here many years now.

熟練した板前さんがいなければ台無しだ

How do you feel when you walk amongst the places and speak to everyone?

だが、上野さんの右腕であり料理長の

How many people do you know in the market?

吉川さんは人生の半分以上を

When we were walking through earlier, everybody was saying hello.

板前として捧げてきました

That's a lot of people.

熟練職人の技によって

Let's go to sushi. Sushi!

作り出される完全なる寿司を、

Let's do it!

食べる方としては最後の最後で マナーを間違えることで

Let's go!

台無しにはしたくはありません。

So hungry...

吉川さんによると、寿司を食べる際、 唯一してはならない事があるそうです

Even with the finest, freshest ingredients from the local market,

とても簡単なことです

it'd all be completely wasted without a skilled chef.

吉川さんにこの美しいマグロの お寿司を握って頂きました

And fortunately, Ueno-san's right-hand man and head chef Yuji Yoshikawa

それでは

has dedicated over half his lifetime to honing his craft and preparing sushi for the family business.

赤身から頂きます！

With all the skill and craftsmanship that's gone into preparing the immaculate plate of sushi,

一番好きなやつから

from a customer perspective,

ワオ

it can be a little bit intimidating not to screw things up at the final hurdle.

ヤバイです

Thankfully, though, according to Yoshikawa-san,

めっちゃ旨い

there's only one thing that rubs him the wrong way.

前にも言いましたが味のバランスが凄い

And, it's easily avoided.

全ての方程式が正しくなければ

Yoshikawa-san has handed me this beautifully prepared assortment of tuna,

こうはならない パ―フェクトです

freshly brushed with soy sauce and glistening in the light.

シャリの酢、ネタの下にあるワサビ

And away we go. I'm gonna start with...

そして主役のネタ

I'm gonna start with akami.

風味豊かです

It's the most flavourful one.

続いて中トロ

Oh, wow...

マジか

Oh, bloody hell, that's good.

中トロが一番になった

So good!

アブラがのっている分 口の中で溶けます

Honestly.

これほどパ―フェクトな物を食べると 問題が出てきます

It's all about that balance of flavours, right?

他の物を食べる気がなくなります

Everything has gotta be right, and that -

他のお寿司屋さんに行きたくなくなりそう

it's just absolutely perfect.

めっちゃ旨い！

The vinegar in the rice, the wasabi underneath the fish,

吉川さんが愛情を込めて作ってくれた寿司を食べ終わると

and of course the fish itself - it's the star of the show.

上野さんが若くして社長になることについて話してくれました

It's so juicy and flavourful.

日本で珍しい事ですね

And then, chutoro.

日本では社長の平均年齢は59歳です

Mm.

ウエノさん、僕にとって一番尊敬すべき所は

Bloody hell. Alright. I think chutoro's my favourite.

38歳でしたっけ？

Because it is quite fatty, it does have the melt-in-your-mouth kind of sensation.

このデカイ30店舗もある会社の社長で

The trouble with having something that is so good, that is so perfect,

日本では珍しいですよね

is going back to anything else feels like a crime.

40歳以下の若い経営者

And, uh...

私が社長になったのは31歳の時でした

This is certainly gonna make dining out at other sushi restaurants a whole lot more difficult going forward.

僕30歳なので、後1年！

Ohh, god...

もの凄い責任ですね

So bloody good!

私の父がこう言いました

After poor, old Yoshikawa-san has watched me stuff myself with his carefully prepared tuna,

「お前はまだ若い、私もまだ若い」

we're joined once again by Ueno-san,

「もし私が年をとったら

who opens up about the pressures of running a large family business from such a young age,

事業計画も考え方も古くなってしまう」

almost unheard of in Japanese culture,

なるほど

where the average age of a company president is 59-years-old.

革新的と言う事ですね

I think the most impressive thing for me, Ueno-san is, you're 38 now?

そして去年 彼は引退しました

- Now 38.

完全に引退ですか？ 幸運な方ですね

But you're the president of a massive company - 30 restaurants.

おいくつですか？

In Japan, that's pretty rare, right?

そろそろ64歳になります

To have someone who's young - someone who's under 40 running the company.

リーダ―・社長として一番大変な事は何でしたか？

I became the president when I was 31.

私自身の事を雇用主と言いません

- 31! I'm 30, so one more year afterwards. - Yeah, yeah.

友達と言って良いでしょうか?

- So... yeah. - That's a lot of responsibility.

従業員に対して

Well, my father said, 'You are young, but still I'm young', he said, so...

従業員の信頼を得る事ですね

If I'm old, and my planning and thinking is also old...

一番重要なポイントです

- Right, yeah, yeah.

時間もかかり難しい点ですね

Or hard...

社長になった時は

- Not innovative, maybe? -Ah, yeah yeah.

最初に従業員の方たちと話しました

In fact, last year he retired.

全従業員です

- He completely retired? - Yeah.

何人ほどですか？

Lucky man.

800人位ですね

- Lucky man, yeah!

800人！

How old is your father?

3年かかりました

Uhh, 60... almost 4.

3年ですか？

64, wow.

そこで考えたのです 「社長とは何か」

What's been the most difficult thing for you as the leader?

「社長がやらなくてはいけない事とは」等

What's the most difficult thing?

色々考えました

Ummmm... Hmm...

ゴ－ルやビジョンがある事ですかね

I don't think of myself as an 'employer'.

そして上野さんのビジョンとは

I don't- I want to be a friend.

近年

- Do you get what I mean? - To your staff?

彼の会社は東日本大震災によって

Ah, building trust with the staff.

被災した沿岸地域に木を植えています

Building.

皆さんが考える環境問題とは 少し異なった環境への取り組みです

- Trust.

興味深いですね

Trust.

今回ウエノさんに本当に感謝したいと思います

- With the staff.

ここでの撮影も含め市場でご案内をして頂き

With the staff, yes.

素晴らしい経験となりました

It's most important.

お食事,　お店の雰囲気

- It's most important, and very difficult.

「鮨正」は素晴らしいレストランです

- It takes a lot of time I imagine. - Yeah, it's difficult.

そして経営者から直接話を聞けて本当に良かった

When I started as president, at first I was talking with the staff.

ここは全てが100点満点中100点です

Every staff.

もし仙台に来ることがあれば「鮨正」をお薦めします

- Everyone?

忘れがたい体験となるはずです

Everyone.

上野さん、この二日間寿司屋の経営について色々と教えて頂きありがとうございました。

How many staff is there?

業界について様々なことを学ぶことができました

8... 800?

本当にありがとうございました！

800 staff?! Everyone?!

そして今度ロンドンで寿司屋を始めます！

3 years work! 3!

不可能

- It took 3 years! - Yeah!

じゃ。。また

Then, I was thinking...

What is 'president'?

What is a president working at?

Many thinking.

President... I guess having a goal or a dream.

Having a vision for your business.

And Ueno-san certainly has vision.

In recent years, the company has been planting trees along Tohoku's tsunami-affected coastline,

albeit not necessarily for the environmental reasons you might think.

Yes.

- Like it's close to the... - Yeah, yeah.

Very interesting.

Yeah, I'd never thought about that.

I'm so grateful to Ueno-san for letting us come in here to film,

for dragging me around the market - an incredible experience.

The food, the restaurant - it's just such an amazing restaurant, Sushimasa.

And to hear what it's like to own a restaurant has been just... such an amazing experience.

Everything about this restaurant is a 10 out of 10,

and if you ever find yourself in Sendai, I highly recommend coming to Sushimasa.

It will be an experience that you'll never, ever forget.

Well, it's been an amazing 2 days, Ueno-san.