Name: Behind the Register at a Japanese Shoe Repair Shop
Uploaded: 2025-07-22T18:09:51.000Z
Duration: 12 min 55 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Transition words & phrases

This is behind the register at a Japanese shoe repair shop All right So I've got a brand new one for you guys today This one is gonna be a little different than most of my videos because instead of going to an actual restaurant We are going behind the register at a local Japanese business This time it is a Japanese shoe repair shop and I'm super excited to take you inside and show you what it's all about All we have to do now is wait for Nishimori-san to arrive So this is a typical workday in Japan at Amakusa Seisakujo A local shoe repair shop located on the western outskirts of Tokyo in Nishi-Ogikubo And I'm taking you inside of this small Japanese business to show you how they run their shop earn an honest living And serve their community established in 2013 The business has slowly grown to two shops in the area to repair shoes bags and leather goods with a deep passion and pride in their work Good morning.

Reflexive pronouns

It's a cold day Crazy  Are you usually by yourself?

Cool So The first thing he does in the morning is clean not only inside the workshop But outside of the shop as well to provide a welcoming environment for his customers while also ensuring that his toilet is spotless In short he cleans every corner of the shop as cleanliness is important in Japan It serves to reset his mind and creates a fresh start to the day for him and his customers Originally from Kumamoto prefecture He moved to Tokyo for work and spent 17 years at an advertising agency at the age of 44 He decided it was time to go it alone and started his own business which ultimately led to the shop a wife and two kids Now the store is officially open So what got you started in the business You couldn't have picked a better job.

Wow, that must have been an experience Are you fixing all of that today?

Oh, that dog has a bite After leaving his corporate job defying his friend's advice and Japanese norms He ventured into shoe polishing only to shut down after four months due to police crackdowns of street vendors This setback though fueled his passion for footwear while revealing his knowledge gaps Leading him to enroll in Saruwaka Footwear College in Asakusa.

After graduation He rented a studio with friends to craft shoes But faced a self-start receiving just five orders in his first year.

To stay afloat He learned shoe repair and through relentless practice honed his craft.

His dedication eventually paid off paving the way for his current success First he repairs the worn out heels of these shoes For leather shoes like these he first removes the worn off heels then attaches a new sole and then finishes it off Do you get a lot of heel repairs?

On average the shop repairs about four pairs of shoes a day With a maximum of up to 10 pairs on a busy day While that may not seem like a lot for a shop like this known for its ability to handle complex repairs The volume is aligned with the quality it delivers.

Interestingly One of the first and most fundamental skills learned in this industry is how to repair women's heels as it's one of the most requested repairs By the way, what other things do you repair?

This bear looks like it's seen better days So in Japan There's a deep-rooted culture of taking great care of one's belongings regardless of its value with Japanese Meticulously maintaining their possessions as long as possible This mindset stems from Shinto beliefs that gods inhabit nature and everyday objects fostering a deep respect for possessions While similar values exist in other cultures Japanese children are taught this reverence from a young age Although the rise of mass production goods are slowly changing these attitudes This belief remains ingrained in Japanese culture making the repair industry in the country, especially vital So what would you say is the best part about your job?

Must be good for the soul Awesome that looks brand new.

Good morning I guess she's gonna fix the dog chewed shoes So how long have you been married Wow, how did you guys meet?

Persistence Interestingly in japan about 25 to 30 percent of people meet their partner at work a much higher percentage than many other countries For example in the us is about 10 to 15 percent given the longer average working hours in japan It's understandable why workplace relationships are more common Hey, so before we continue one i'm going to give a quick shout out to the sponsor of this video Squarespace if you all don't already know squarespace is the number one way to build your online presence In fact, I use squarespace for my website tokyo zero Here's just some of the reasons why I love using squarespace so much by combining two decades of industry leading design expertise with cutting edge Ai technology squarespace can unlock your strongest creative potential to build a beautiful more personalized website tailored to your own specific needs Check it out.

My homepage even shows my latest videos for both of my channels You can even start with a fully custom on-brand website with squarespace's ai enhanced website builder blueprint After a few questions the design system transforms basic information about your brand or business into an elevated online presence If you want to sell products online physical digital or service products squarespace has you covered invoice your clients No problem with squarespace So there you go Go to squarespace.com for your free trial and when you're ready to launch go to squarespace.com forward slash follow from tokyo And get 10 off your first domain or website Now he works on the next pair Apparently shoe repair involves tasks that require a considerable amount of physical strength and the use of potentially dangerous tools Although he's never experienced any serious injuries at work It's quite common for newbies to incorrectly use equipment and to injure themselves Which is why it's critical for him to remain focused during his tasks and to be diligent when following safety procedures By the way, don't you ever get smelly shoes?

Seriously what do you do if you got a pair?

So In reality he often receives high-end brand shoes or high quality leather shoes as repairs aren't cheap for example Replacing the rubber soles on men's shoes start at nineteen thousand two hundred and fifty yen about a hundred and twenty five dollars Hey, so what do you think is the most challenging thing when doing repairs Nakani He adds that custom repairs requires knowledge about many different things which sometimes can only be gained through many years of experience  One of the reasons he's able to provide unique and customer specific alterations in his repairs is because he's able to draw from the experience He gained from his time at his specialized shoe crafting college, which sets his shoe repair shop apart from many others Hey, have you ever repaired anything weird?

Okay So what did you want to be when you were a kid Ah, that's why you worked at an ad agency You must be a master of japanese business better than Me He says that he learned many of the manners by shadowing his mentor while also studying on his own So if you had one message to your younger self, what would it be?

Oh, wow, it started to snow probably gonna be a slow day for walk-ins He says though that despite this his shop still has quite an inventory of repairs So slower days like today actually help balance his schedule Interestingly the busiest times for the shop is march through april and october through december Aligning with the start of the fiscal year and the end of the year season During the workday nishimori-san doesn't usually talk much as him and his wife are extremely focused on their individual tasks But he does appreciate being able to spend the work days next to each other In fact running a business with his wife feels natural to him and it's actually quite common in japan Where family businesses are a huge part of the economy around 97% of all companies in japan are family-owned Including many small businesses and about 53% of publicly traded companies are also family-run This reflects how central family partnerships are in japanese business culture from cozy local shops to even larger well-known companies Nice are they finished looking good?

Now she works on a new item what's wrong with that one?

My Not only shoes, but the store also repairs leather bags It's pretty common for repair shops to service shoes bags and other leather goods like belts So what's your ultimate goal?

Oh, wow, that would be awesome In fact, the store name amakusa factory was named after his hometown a simple reminder to himself to make his city proud And his commitment to carefully crafting each product without cutting corners embodies the spirit of his craftsmanship a reflection of where he came from So, what do you think about western repair techniques of leather goods?

Oh Leather shoes were introduced to japan by the west towards the end of the edo period and through years of refinement and skilled craftsmanship Japan repair techniques have reached an exceptionally high level japanese artisans focus meticulously on detail and precision Often making repairs look like new their unique approach from material selection to innovative methods has earned them a global recognition for quality So that's another one in the books if you want to visit this place for yourself I'll be sure to leave a link in the description Also, I wanted to quickly say that my original hot sauce is finally back in stock just in time for the holiday season Give your next holiday event a unique japanese fiery kick or even gift it to your family and friends All right So that is behind the register at a japanese shoe repair shop If you guys like this video like always help me out And hit that like button if you guys want to help support the channel Then definitely check out the merch and my hot sauce And if you guys want to see more videos like this or anything related to japan Hit that subscribe button in the above and i'll catch you guys in the next one