The Japanese restaurant "Tempura Hayashi" (Dotemachi, Hirosaki City, TEL 0172-92-9256 ) opened on November 12 near Hirosaki Municipal Hospital.

The restaurant offers kaiseki cuisine centered on tempura. The store has an open kitchen with 8 counter seats and 8 table seats. Hayato Ishioka, the owner of the restaurant, says, "I want people to enjoy cooking while watching the cooking. I also wanted to create a restaurant where customers who eat together can interact with each other."

Mr. Ishioka was born in Tsuruta and after graduating from high school, got a job at Hirosaki City Hotel (currently Art Hotel Hirosaki City). He changed jobs at a hotel in the Tsugaru area as a person in charge of Japanese food, and served as the chef at Appleland (Hirakawa City). "Independence has been a dream for many years, and it wouldn't have been possible without the spread of the new coronavirus," says Ishioka.

"Not only did I have more time to think about short-time sales and refrain from doing business, but I also had restrictions on the offerings and dinner styles that I offered one by one, and I began to reconsider the food I was aiming for."

It is said that there were some worries around Mr. Ishioka about the opening of the business in Corona. Mr. Ishioka smiles, "I was finally able to open up because I had a lot of help and various support."

The lunch menu that starts on December 2 is only the tempura set meal, kakiage bowl set meal (1,430 yen or more), and tempura set meal (1,760 yen), and up to 12 people can come to the store. Dinner is 5,500 yen, 6,600 yen, and 8,800 yen, and up to 8 people can come to the store. A 4,000 yen course will be prepared as an open project within the year.

Mr. Ishioka says, "It's not a cheap price range, but I aimed for a kaiseki restaurant that Hirosaki doesn't have. I may still decide by fumbling, but I want to take root as a new culture."

Business hours are from 11:00 to 14:30 and from 18:00 to 22:00. Closed on Tuesdays, 1st and 2nd Wednesdays.