Minoru Maruyama, 68, is the owner of the Maruyama Monja restaurant. Located in Tsukishima's Monja Street in Tokyo, his tiny joint is one of the 70 or so mom-and-pop shops in the area that all serve monja-yaki, a, pan-fried loose-batter shitamachi (downtown) snack food that is loved by children and adults alike. Maruyama's signature jet-black squid-ink monja-yaki helps his diner stand out from the crowd. Its special sauce, Maruyama's secret recipe, makes sure that diners' teeth don't go black as they eat it. Always striving to serve only the best he can create, Maruyama spent 10 years experimenting and perfecting his other specialty: the miso monja-yaki, a delicious miso-paste-based dish that constantly turns walk-ins into regulars.
Keep the quality high and prices reasonable and your customers will stick with you for life. Monja-yaki has an image of being cheap street food. But I pride myself on using the best ingredients, as only those can make dishes delicious and healthful. Nagoya and Kyoto are famous for miso so I mix three types of miso from small makers in those cities. I also add my own special dashi (stock) sauce. It took me 10 years to perfect the mixture and it shows! Still, monja-yaki at my place only costs from ¥900 to ¥1200.
Progress is inevitable, so go with the flow and enjoy what may come. Tsukishima used to be an area full of small houses until big developers started asking people to sell their property. When they came to my area, I was the only one who agreed to sell instantly. I understand the risks of living in old wooden houses among high-rises in an earthquake-prone country. The real fear is fire, though. If one started, with the wind gushing between the tall buildings toward our small houses, the whole neighborhood would be in flames. I love my house, but change is good and will come, no matter what. It has taken 10 years for the construction company to convince my neighbors to sell. Now more than 95 percent have agreed, so a high-rise will be coming here soon.