The sign of "Restaurant Waku" is currently posted on the outer wall of the Nishitani Building in Uechimachi, Hirosaki.

The store, which opened in 1932 as a pub "Nonbee", continued for two parents and children, but closed on May 5, 1999. The building where the store used to be has deteriorated and was demolished in October of last year and is now a parking lot.

It is said that Kyohei was the izakaya that Kyohei Nagabe, who had moved from Miyagi prefecture during the Taisho era, started his career as a newspaper reporter, and he passed away in 1935. Ms. Miki, the wife of Mr. Nagabe, succeeded and was running the store.

During the Pacific War, Miki, who was instructed by the military police that the store name of "Nobira" was "unruly in wartime", took the store name from the maiden name "Waku" and renamed it "Restaurant Waku". Since then, it has continued as a Japanese restaurant for about 30 years.

Miki's second son, Makoto, started operation as "Kirin Beer Hall Waku" in 1971. Makoto is the real brother of Naoki Prize writer Hideo Nagabe, who is also known as a photographer who runs the shop while publishing a photo book with a camera he started to enjoy. Many photos taken by Makoto were displayed in the store.

The restaurant served a wide range of customers, as it offered a variety of dishes from children's menus such as melon soda and hamburgers to beer and snacks. One person that Nishitani Raisa continued to attend. Mr. Nishitani, who was a child of the owner of the Nishitani Building adjacent to the restaurant, said that he had been eating "tsuke" since he was a child. Mr. Nishitani recalled, "There was also an original menu that pulled out the food I disliked."

Mr. Nishitani is currently operating a travel agency "Tabisuke" in the same building. Last year, when he heard that the building where the restaurant "Waku" was located was demolished, he handed over only the signboard on the outside wall of the store and kept it in a safe place. “I wanted to leave that Restaurant Kazu was here,” said Nishitani. The signboard was installed on the outer wall of the Nishitani Building in April this year.

Makoto died in 2007, but on August 13, the day of death, Ms. Kumiko, the wife of Ms. Aomori, and her eldest daughter, Michiko Murabayashi, visit Hirosaki every year to visit the grave. It is said that he saw a signboard installed in the Nishitani Building when he visited Hirosaki to visit the grave again this year. “I'm really happy,” says Kumiko. Mr. Murabayashi also smiled, "Thank you for being displayed in this way."

According to Mr. Nishitani, there were voices on the web that fans at the time regret dismantling and nostalgic voices. “If it becomes a spot that reminds us of the fact that Restaurant Waku was in this place and the past,” he said.