A few minutes walk from the Shinkansen terminal at the Hachijo exit of JR Kyoto Station. A wine bar where travelers and people on their way home from work enjoy the afterglow of Kyoto.

Sommelier Yoshitaka Katada stocks about 12 kinds of wine by the glass and more than 2,000 bottles. The food menu includes homemade roast ham and pâté de campagne, as well as sweets prepared by his wife Keiko, a pastry chef.

If you're bringing a colleague, it's nice to open a bottle at one of the more relaxed tables on the second floor," Kondo says.

What surprised me on my first visit was the gap between the commoner feel from the tent roof bearing the founder's name and the beautiful appearance of the second generation owner, Mieko Nakagawa.

The regulars ask me, "Have you gained weight? Did you cut your hair? They check me out (laughs). (Laughs). I think that's the reason why my mother keeps her beauty," says Ikumi, the daughter. What is even more surprising is the volume of food served at the table.

After pouring beer down his plate of fresh liver and fried mino mushrooms, which are cut into bite-size pieces, he moves on to the famous nabeyaki udon noodles, which are served in a bonito-flavored broth with home-made amagitsune and a generous amount of freshly grated ginger floating on top. This routine warms Kondo's body and soul.

It has been 35 years since the restaurant moved to its current location, and about 55 years since its mother, Aiko, founded it. From neighbors to students on school trips, Shigemi Okada, the mother, welcomes men and women of all ages with open arms.

Kondo-san was also won over by the machine-gun talk like a rakugo storyteller and the kindness with which he casually served homemade snacks.
There are three main menu items, okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and mambo-yaki, all of which are hand-prepared in front of your eyes.

The suji and squid are pre-boiled in advance, so all the dishes are lighter than the visual suggests. This is one restaurant that taught me that eating, talking, and laughing are the life's vitality.

Kyoto is the gateway to the city for travelers, but few people actually go out of their way to visit the Kyoto Station area. I hear it is also an untouched area for you, Mr. Kondo. We started with [ALKAA], where you can enjoy naturals wines and snacks.

Kondo: It was not so easy to come to the Hachijo-guchi side, which is also behind [Avanti], but I recognized the sign in front of the alley. I had dinner with an acquaintance in Tokyo, and there was still some time before my bullet train. I would like to invite them to the second place where we can talk in a relaxed atmosphere.

The fact that there is no coffee or beer, only wine, is very Kyoto-like. In Tokyo, I think they would probably serve beer or coffee.

After a late afternoon glass of champagne to lift our spirits, we went to Mr. Kondo's favorite restaurant, Ito-chan. What made you start going there?

Kondo: When I was still living in Tokyo and traveling back and forth for every photo shoot, a friend of mine in Kyoto brought me here. He told me, "There is a good old Kyoto scenery here that you don't want to lose. From there, I started stopping by every time I came to Kyoto, and it became a regular thing to have fried minos, a beer, and nabeyaki udon noodles.

I look forward to meeting the mother and daughter, who are always so beautiful. The restaurant has a downtown atmosphere, but they are both very gracious, so it is easy to bring people to this very special place.

Our final destination was Aiko-chan, which is close to Ito-chan. This is a restaurant that the editorial staff had been curious about for a long time....

Kondo/Yes, that's right. The fact that I went there itself had an impact that became a topic of conversation. I wondered if there was still more of Kyoto that I didn't know about.

I was a little nervous at first, but I was happy when my mom told me she was watching KBS Kyoto's "Oyaji Kyoto Drinking". Sauce and beer go well together, don't they? Mama-san also recommended a simple mambo-yaki (squid and oil cake), so I think I'll try that next time. I was empowered by the charming mama-san, who was so easy-going at her own pace.

Speaking of "fast-paced and hateful", Akio is the main character in "Oyaji Camp Mei". What are some of the highlights of Season 3?

Kondo: In this series, we welcome Shinobu Nakayama as the heroine, and we are going to depict an adult romance.

No way, that Akio-san has a desire for love! And at first I thought so too (laughs).
There will be other unique actresses, and although I usually only make and feed Chinese food, this time there will also be chigiri bread and Shiga Prefecture's soul food.

ーーーThe line he mumbles in the trailer, "I don't have to worry about people, I can see the sky, I can eat weird fish, I can meet some nice people. I'm fine with this." That line really sunk in. What do you think of your life in Kyoto so far?

Kondo: With "Oyaji Camp Mei" (Oyaji's Camp Mei), "Factless," a movie in which I starred that is set in Kyoto, and "Boogie Woogie" being shot in Osaka, I have not had time to visit Tokyo for a while now, for which I am very thankful. When I went to Tokyo for work for the first time in four months the other day, I felt like I was speaking and walking very fast. I think I liked Kyoto better after spending so many months there, and I don't think I can ever go back there.

Kyoto's size may be just right as a place to live.

Kondo: I feel that being in the middle of entertainment in Tokyo, where there is so much stimulation and information, there are things that I have lost sight of. In Tokyo, where there are many people involved in the entertainment industry, people check out, analyze, and evaluate all kinds of entertainment, regardless of whether they like it or not. Entertainment has always been at the center of my life, but living in Kyoto has allowed me to see other important things.

Do you have any new goals or activities you would like to start in 2024?

Kondo: Recently, I started a tea ceremony, which is something I have always wanted to do. I met a very kind teacher who never gets angry with me. I really enjoy tea ceremony. In Kyoto, I cherish the connections I have made with people from all walks of life, and that makes me very happy. So now I am beginning to think that I don't need dreams or goals. I have heard that if you ask too much of what you want to do, you will never get what you want. If you think, "This is good enough," like Akio does, there will be a space in your heart, and what you want will come to you. I am happy if I can be of service to others by doing what is asked of me without being greedy.

The protagonist is Akio Sakamoto, a former Chinese restaurant owner who closed his restaurant and lives at a campsite due to the Corona disaster. After the Kyoto version of Series 1 and the Wakayama version of Series 2, the setting of the latest series is a campsite in Shiga Prefecture. The six-episode series will be released sequentially on YouTube from December 22, 2023.

Director: Masaki Masugi
Screenplay by Rei Mitsui, Naoki Eto, Masaki Masugi
Production／CinemasGix Inc.
Cast / Yoshimasa Kondo, Shinobu Nakayama, Yutaka Nagasawa, Momoko Tanabe, Harumi Shuhama, Takuwatari Iwashita