Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

Mm hmm.

This is cousin.

27 years old.

Living in Tokyo?

And he's just waking up for work?

Okay.

At the moment he's between apartments.

So he's been living with his parents for the last several months just until he's able to find his new apartment.

Luckily his family lives in Central Tokyo which makes his transition a bit more comfortable.

How long does it take for you to get ready?

Mm hmm.

Oh and that's his mom.

So cassie's having a very traditional japanese breakfast, rice miso soup with veggies and tofu nori seaweed and NATO fermented soybeans.

Well balanced, nutritious and perfect for starting the day on a light stomach.

Interestingly though many may think rices that go to breakfast carb choice for japanese.

But when questioned, 56% of japanese today answered that they tend to choose bread over rice given the typical work day in japan, it seems only natural for people who are in the morning rush to save on time preparing a bowl of rice.

And speaking of morning rush, cousins, dad who's in real estate has already left for work today while his mom who takes care of the home keeps him company for breakfast.

Apparently though these days in japan stay at home, mothers are becoming less common as 70% return to work after childbirth.

Do you eat breakfast every day?

How's life moving back?

You don't eat breakfast?

Not even know.

How do you like your son moving back home?

So what do you love about your son the most, What did he give you?

That's so nice of him.

Oh, cuz is adding a raw egg too.

It's not the rice.

Although raw eggs may seem strange in other countries.

In japan eggs are expected to also be eaten raw.

So they are very strict sanitary regulations in place during the production stage to make it safe.

Also before distributed, it's clean sterilized and generally marked with a two week expiration mm hmm.

Although cousin currently lives in Central Tokyo.

His workplace is located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area.

So he must commute first by train and then by bus to get there a bit more of a refreshing commute traveling in the opposite direction for most commuters.

And just before working at his current job, he worked as a freelance online writer through one of his projects.

He got to know the owner of his current company at the time.

His now boss had just acquired a not a company and was in the process of rebuilding the business casa.

Got along well with the boss and was offered the job to head the production side of the business.

Good morning, everyone.

I'm back with another day in the life.

This one has been a long time coming, but we're finally here, luckily Kazoo should be coming on the bus right now.

Good morning.

Did you sleep well last night.

So Kazu works at a Makuza NATO, a specialized auto shop established in 2019, They craft a premium high quality NATO, all 100% by hand.

A relatively young company with only a few staff producing some of the best handmade NATO possible.

Mhm.

Mhm.

The first thing he does in the morning, like many japanese salaryman, is check his email, he is responsible for communicating with various suppliers and distributors such as supermarkets.

So he tends to this first to ensure that all orders are on schedule.

He still has some time before the store opens.

So it makes use of it by checking on the soybeans which have been soaking in the water throughout the night.

So what are you exactly checking for NATO?

Ak fermented soybeans is probably most known worldwide for its powerful smell, distinctive flavor and gooey texture.

But the shop uniquely crafts are not the, with less smell and goofiness, making it more palatable for customers while still maintaining its superfood and extremely nutritious qualities.

Regardless, 85% of the japanese population have come to enjoy NATO's ultra unique taste and texture, including my two year old son.

Cool, there's a little room.

It's called Mudo, it's where the soybeans are fermented to about 40° at high humidity.

The kitchen uses a method called meaning that the heated charcoal is used to speed up the fermentation process.

What are you doing now?

Check out?

Apparently if the soybeans are over fermented, It creates a less than pleasant smells.

So it needs to be inspected by hand one by one.

Were you able to tell the difference in the smell from the beginning?

I guess that's the only way to master a skill.

After the soybeans finished the fermentation in the charcoal heated room, it goes through another fermentation process in the refrigerator, fermenting soybeans is a rather sensitive process as healthy living bacteria is used.

So it's critical that the mudo is thoroughly cleaned each and every time it's used.

This ensures that the older bacteria doesn't remain in the room and helping produce a more consistent product.

So it's just before 11 a.m. so he starts to prepare, opening up the shop, wow, the first customer is already here since the shop creates specialized premium NATO flavors.

Unlike the factory produced ones found in the standard japanese supermarket, Kazakh explains to customers recommended ways to eat each NATO products including the different foods and sauces which would pair well kind of like a not a sommelier.

For example, one of their NATO products pairs perfectly with corned beef and another one with cheese.

Oh she brought a gift.

How nice while he manages the story.

He also works on the NATO production.

He now wraps the fully fermented NATO into its final packaging.

This process is also performed by hand and each package is inspected once again before it's offered to customers.

What kind of not too is that?

So it looks like he's gonna be doing this just for a little bit.

So while he's doing this, let's do what we do and explore this place.

Okay so this is the front of the store, looks like they got some beans over here.

Let's go check it out.

Thank you.

This one is a green soybean from Niigata.

This one is a tiny round soybean from Yamagata and kudos and Goku black soybeans from Hokkaido.

There's so many different kinds know beans about it.

So I guess there's there's beans.

I think over there is a refrigerator.

Let's go and see what's inside.

I guess that's what you would expect they have.

They're not doing here.

This is the auto and you got some mustard.

That's cool.

Kind of matches the Tokyo merch.

Oh there's one more person.

Hi what are you doing?

Wait you're the owner.

Cool beans.

Oh the other workers are here.

How long have you been working here while casino works on the final products.

The other workers prepare the soybeans that he checked earlier this morning for steaming the soaked soybeans can be placed in a bag so that they can be relocated into a pressure pot as special wooden paper is inserted between the bags to prevent the different colored beans from bleeding into one another.

Apparently soybeans are the same size can be placed in the same pot despite being a different type and color.

Oh a salesperson from the soft company that uses visiting, it's still common practice in Japan for salespeople to regularly visit shops to talk to their customers.

As in japan.

Much of business is fostered through relationships and maintaining them and it wouldn't be good.

Business matters to stop by your customers office without bringing a gift.

Now the workers prepare the wrappers which is a key piece when it comes to their NATO.

They use thinly sliced wooden paper made of Takamatsu, japanese, red pine which helps remove the strong smell of NATO.

In fact Akamatsu paper was commonly used in the past by many NATO producers but due to its high cost and time it takes a fold.

Many NATO producers today have stopped using it.

Why do you wet the paper?

So they always need to get them myself.

So unsurprisingly it is quite warm in here.

They just steamed all of the not so they took it out of the pressure cooker on the packet, all of these rappers.

So she's preparing the NATO keen bacteria for the NATO fermentation.

This is the very ingredient which transforms the soybeans into NATO.

It spread over the soybeans which were steamed earlier.

So why did you decide to work here?

Oh there's cousin.

Now he joins the team to help with the NATO production.

They add natto bacteria twice once right after the soybeans are steamed and then one more time after it's soaked in a bit.

Now to make sure that every single soybean is coded in the nafta keen at this stage cause he inspects each soybean, one by one removing any odd or miss shaped ones.

Now that the soybeans are completely coated.

They work as a team to wrap it up in the Akamatsu wooden sheets.

So quiet in here.

Mm hmm.

Now, because it takes a quick break before he continues on with his work.

Sometimes though, when managing the shop production and customers, he gets really busy and forget to take a break.

So it was just you and the owner when the business started.

Wait, you didn't eat lunch.

I just from here.

Now he heats up the charcoal for the euro And while he watches the stove he uses this time to chat with his coworkers by the way, you and the owner have a very similar hairstyle.

What do you do outside of work?

What did you think?

I don't know.

It's just crazy that we're talking about it here.

Oh you're all done what you gonna do?

Let's get some more.

Oh, I guess the charcoal is ready.

Now.

The rap soybeans are brought into the heated Moreau to speed up the first round of fermentation.

Okay.

Oh, it seems like they're receiving a soybean delivery today.

Soybeans are the fundamental ingredient for NATO.

So it's critical that the shop maintain a healthy relationship with their soybean wholesaler, depending on what area in japan.

The soybeans are grown conditions could vary significantly each year.

So it's important that the shop are kept up to date about the conditioning quality of each bag so that they can adjust their recipes accordingly.

Now cassie washes the soybeans and soaks them for tomorrow's batch.

Since the pot only fits about three kg of soybeans, he has to plan on how many of each type of soybean to wash.

In fact, soybeans are one of the most important ingredients in japanese cuisine.

As 3.5 million tons of soybeans are used every year and he can be done in the most common japanese ingredients such as tofu, soy sauce, miso chemical powder and of course NATO included every day in japanese meals anytime of the day.

So what's the hardest part about making NATO?

Have you messed it up before?

Yes.

Now, cause he prepares more charcoal to add inside of them to maintain a consistent room temperature.

Apparently, charcoal helps remove the distinctive NATO smell.

Hence they use it in the meadow.

Oh, I should also mention that the shop uses a full pot of hot water to help steam the room and keep the humidity high.

Yeah.

Now that all of the NATO production tasks are done.

He once again checks his email and watches the storefront, all part of a typical day for him.

So how was today's sales?

Mhm.

Mhm.

Yay, finally done.

Mhm.

Oh he's back nearby, his home station tonight.

He's having dinner and drinks at a local Japanese Izakaya with some friends, he's known since he was a kid growing up in the area.

I guess he's the first one to arrive.

Apparently he's a Jordan, a k a regular customer here since back in the day.

So how long have you known cousins?

Wow, that's crazy.

How old is this restaurant?

Congratulations.

I guess cause I was like their son.

Finally everyone is here.

Apparently his friend is a rapper.

Hey, can you wrap something?

So it looks like cousin is going to be here until nine and then probably go home and then go to sleep at 12.

But that's pretty much a day in the life of a Japanese and not a worker.

If you guys like this video helped me out and hit that like button, if you guys want to see more videos like this or anything related to japan, hit that subscribe button and the button and I'll catch you guys In the next one.