The Agaki district of Inabe City, Mie Prefecture, is about an hour's drive from Nagoya. In the past, the area prospered as an inn town on the Noshu Road, and even today, the air of town houses still lingers in the air.

"Ageki Shokudo" opened in November 2016 by renovating an old private house that was built over 150 years ago. This is a popular restaurant that uses plenty of local ingredients and has been lined up with customers since its opening.

Mr. Kota Matsumoto, director of Matsukaze Company and owner of Ageki Shokudo

Ageki Shokudo is one of the affiliated restaurants of the Matsukaze Company, which is also responsible for making Inabe City famous.

This time, after having lunch at Kamiki Shokudo, we interviewed Mr. Kota Matsumoto (hereafter referred to as Mr. Matsumoto), the director of Matsukaze Company and the owner of Ageki Shokudo, about the launch of Ageki Shokudo and the future.

* Information at the time of coverage in October 2022.

In the midst of wanting to be independent,
the timing came

-As a native of Aichi Prefecture, was it Mr. Terazono*'s invitation that led you to choose Inabe City?

Mr. Matsumoto: "Yes, that's right. I met Terazono when I was working in Nagoya. He said, "there is an old ryokan that is about to be torn down, but if you want to open a restaurant, how about you, Matsumoto? I think it would be the same time for you to start your own business and move there. He invited me to join him. I had originally entered the restaurant industry with the idea of becoming independent, but I was wondering where to set up my own restaurant. The invitation from Terazono came at the right time, and it made sense to open a restaurant in a place where restaurants are in demand! So I made up my mind.

– How did you feel when you saw the building for the first time?

Matsumoto: "To be honest, at first I thought that the building was one street ahead of where I imagined it would be, and that even though it was a shopping district, the shutters were closed and not many stores were open. But that didn't make me anxious. All I had to do was just do it! That's what I thought.

- Did you have an idea of what you wanted your restaurant to look like? 

Matsumoto: "I wanted to be independent, but I didn't have an image in mind. I actually saw the building and wondered what kind of restaurant I would create using the box of an old private house.

– So your tastes and colors were added to the restaurant within the set conditions.

* Happu Nouen Terazonokaze: https://life-designs.jp/webmagazine/happu-farm/

A particular view of the world 
​where things to keep and things to add coexist

A restaurant with a mixture of old and modern

Soothing shades. While incorporating light from the outside, you can also see the attention to detail in the design and placement of the lighting inside the store.

The ceiling is very high in the restaurant. The exposed beams give a sense of age.

There are stylish chairs at the counter. It fits in the old space and is cool.

It's fun to discover which is old and which is new.

– Please tell us what you are particular about in the restaurant.

Mr. Matsumoto: "We have kept much of the interior as it was then. We haven't touched the hardware too much, just a fresh coat of paint and some seismic reinforcement. It's a little misleading to say this, but I actually didn't want people to say, "It looks like an old private house cafe!" I didn't mean to be trendy. I don't like the feeling of "this is how it usually is," and I like to be a little different from others. I like to put chairs and lighting that I personally like in an old space and to be asked like "why do you have this in an old house?" I like to enjoy the gaps as I build my restaurant."

- So Ageki Shokudo has a worldview where "likes" coexist with the old things that Mr. Matsumoto thinks are good!

Mr. Matsumoto: "Yes, that's right. For example, if you put ordinary zabuton in an old house, they are just ordinary zabuton. But I tell my creator friend the colors of the zabuton covers and order them and use them in the restauarant, or I try to have the same aprons for the staff. For the ones I can't get, I dye them in colors I like, and I think I'm more particular about them than most people (laughs)."

Tableware that tells a story

– I was very attracted to the tableware used in Ageki Shokudo. Are you particular about the tableware?

Mr. Matsumoto: "I'm also particular about the tableware I buy and collect. Some of them I collected when I wandered by prop stores, antique stores, and recycle stores. I also use trays made by artists I met through Iwata Shoten, and many of them are gifts from local people saying like “we are going to tear down / remodel our warehouse and do you want some tableware stored in it?" I have been approached by people who have given me things since the opening of the store. I have a selection of items that I think are good and use them at Ageki Shokudo."

An atmosphere in the restaurant that naturally generates conversation

The layout of the store, where you sit together, creates a cafeteria-like atmosphere.

What I felt upon entering the restaurant was the pleasant atmosphere that naturally generates conversation. For example, the seating area around a large table, where people who don't know each other can exchange "delicious" comments. Or at the counter, where you can enjoy your food while the staff prepares the vegetables right in front of you. Customers and staff are close to each other.

“Due to the structure of the kitchen, this space is where we work, but as a result, customers sometimes ask, 'What are these vegetables? ' " says the staff. The building used to be an inn. That might be one of the reason the Ageki Shokudo has continued, while still retaining that warm atmosphere.