Make the World a Tiny Bit Better – Akemi Nakamura (Hyakushokuya)

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2022.4.19

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WORK MILL offers inspiration to create your “WORK GOOD,” your own unique style of work. We carried out a survey with people who have been featured in past issues of the WORK MILL web magazine to find out what “WORK GOOD” means to each of them.

What does “WORK GOOD” mean to you?
What do you keep in mind every day to realize your “WORK GOOD”?
What do you feel your purpose is in work?

Through these three questions, we will learn more about “WORK GOOD” .

When I See That the World Has Become Even a Tiny Bit Better, I Feel That my Work Has Purpose

What does “WORK GOOD” mean to you?

Enjoying everything eagerly and to the fullest: my work, my family, and my hobbies! Sacrificing nothing, quitting nothing, and balancing my time to create a work style that is sustainable and tailored to me. Also, because I set the goal to make my dreams come true through my work, work becomes a place where I can make my dreams come true. I think this is my own unique style of work.

What do you keep in mind everyday to realize your “WORK GOOD”?

I work hard and eagerly, so when I’m at work, it has my full attention! How to efficiently increase productivity, how to use my freed-up mind during my commute, how to learn more efficiently without spending money…! I’m always thinking about these things, working at 1.2x speed to be done by 5PM and have time for my children and my hobbies (manga and anime).

What do you feel your purpose is in work?

When I actually see that the world has changed or become even a tiny bit better as a result of my work, I feel that my work has purpose. At my restaurants, I have introduced a policy to send all employees home at 5:45PM, with no overtime, while maintaining profits. My greatest satisfaction is to see other companies and industries wanting to reform their own styles of work, and the thought that my efforts up until now have had some small influence on that.

―Akemi Nakamura
Representative Director at minitts, Inc. Born in Kyoto Prefecture in 1984. A graduate of Kyoto University of Education, after a stint in public relations for a vocational school, she opened Hyakushokuya, a restaurant specializing in Japanese beef steak donburi (rice bowls) in 2012. She then opened restaurants specializing in sukiyaki and meat sushi. While her restaurants are extremely popular and attract long lines of customers every day, they have drawn attention for having realized a “zero overtime” policy. In 2017, she was selected for “New Diversity Management Selection 100.” In 2019, she won the top award as Nikkei WOMAN’s “Woman of the Year 2019.” In June of the same year, she opened “Hyakushokuya 1/2.” She is the author of Reducing Sales:How I Escaped Performance Supremacy (Writes Publishing)

*Profile at the time of the interview in the following article (Japanese).

Overcome the Fear of Failure to Take on New Challenges – Akemi Nakamura (Hyakushokuya)

2022.04.20

With four branches in Kyoto City, Hyakushokuya has become famous for its signature dishes such as steak donburi, sukiyaki, and meat sushi, gaining widespread attention from both local residents and foreign tourists from abroad. However, regardless of the number of customers lining up, it only serves 100 meals per day. The restaurant is only open […]

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