I gave up on becoming a chef...

Yu Ichinose

(Ichinose Masaru)

Hello everyone. I'm Yu Ichinose, and people say I resemble a capybara. 

Let me share a little bit of my story. 

I originally aspired to be a chef and attended the only high school in Nagano Prefecture where you could obtain a chef's license upon graduation. My family is a family of chefs, and as a child, I wanted to follow in their footsteps and become a chef myself. After graduating from high school, I started working at a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Kiso. I had heard that being a chef was hard work, but I found it to be several times harder than I had imagined. The head chef patiently and strictly taught me despite my inexperience, but I couldn't bear it and ran away. While I was struggling with my decision, a teacher who had helped me during my training suggested that the atmosphere at Sakaeya might suit me, and that's how I ended up joining Sakaeya. I was very nervous about going to Sakaeya, but everyone welcomed me very warmly. Sakaeya has a very kind atmosphere and is easy to work in, and I was able to learn to cook happily every day.

However, something unexpected happened to me shortly after...

My hands started getting rough from touching fish.