"Ichibanya Kinenkan," the roots of Coco-ichi full of rare items that curry enthusiasts must see

Curry House CoCo Ichibanya is a curry and rice specialty restaurant that originated in Aichi Prefecture. CoCo Ichibanya is the largest curry chain in Japan and has expanded its business not only in Japan but also overseas, and has been loved by people all over the world for many years. Many people may say, "When I think of curry, I think of Coco-ichi!

This time, we visited the "Ichibanya Kinenkan (memorial hall)" where you can learn about the history of Ichibanya Co., Ltd., the company behind "Curry House CoCo Ichibanya."

"Ichibanya Kinenkan" is located next to the Nishibiwajima store in Kiyosu City, Aichi Prefecture, which is the first Curry House CoCo Ichibanya store. Access by train is also good, about 7 minutes on foot from Meitetsu "Shimo Otai Station".

"Ichibanya Kinenkan'' requires reservations. If you would like to visit, please call Ichibanya's head office in advance to make a reservation! When you make a reservation, an employee from the head office will come to you on the day and show you around the facility.

There is a memorial hall on the second floor up the stairs right at the entrance. The entrance here is usually closed. It feels special and luxurious when an employee comes out of their way to open the door just for us!

When you enter the hall, there are many rare items in the chronology and showcases lined up! The history of Coco-ichi is tightly packed in this one room.

Ichibanya Co., Ltd. Corporate Planning Office Public Relations Section Chief Mori

Mr. Mori from Ichibanya Co., Ltd. guided us through the museum.

First of all, we asked about the history of Ichibanya, how "Curry House CoCo Ichibanya" was born.

The founder and his wife worked together to create.
The birth of a curry specialty restaurant that is "the best here".

Founder's Corner with photos of the founder, Mr. and Mrs. Munetsugu, and other items.

Cocoichi was born in a coffee shop.

The founder, Mr. and Mrs. Munetsugu, used to run a coffee shop. The couple joined forces and opened a coffee shop called "Bacchus" in Nishi Ward, Nagoya City. After that, the second store, “Ukinotei,” was opened, and sales increased at both stores through friendly rivalry.

In order to increase sales, they decided to start delivery, and curry rice appeared here. The curry that the wife, Naomi, made at home was added to the menu. This was the impetus for creating a curry and rice specialty restaurant.

Many wonderful words of Mr. and Mrs. Munetsugu are lined up.

Valuable items from the coffee shop era are also lined up! The retro menu table has a taste.

As the third store following "Bacchus" and "Ukinotei", they decided to start a store specializing in curry and rice, which is easy to open multiple stores and franchise.

At the time of its founding, beef bowl became popular as the eating out culture gradually progressed. At first, they were thinking of adding beef bowl to the menu along with curry. When they visited a popular beef bowl restaurant in Tokyo, they realized that the image of beef bowl was different from the direction he wanted to go, so he decided to make curry and rice alone.

On the way back on the Shinkansen, they decided on the store name "Curry House CoCo Ichibanya."

This name reflects the founder and his wife's thoughts on curry, saying "our curry is the most delicious" and "this place (coco) is the best (ichiban)". Curry that uses dozens of carefully selected spices is of course delicious, but Cocoichi's curry has a familiar taste that you won't get tired of even if you eat it every day.

The first store opened in Nishibiwajima in January 1978. Up to now, it has a long history of 43 years. It is a popular curry chain that everyone knows now, but when it opened, it was quite difficult to attract customers.

Meanwhile, the "1,300g / 20 minutes large serving challenge" attracted attention. Nowadays, you can see large serving menus at various restaurants, but at that time, it seems that it was a very unusual menu that attracted a lot of attention. All records here are real. If you look closely, there is a strong man who has set a miraculous record of 1 minute 39 seconds! The youngest record is 9 years old!

Currently, they are not planning large servings from the viewpoint of food loss, but I think there are many people who remember Coco-ichi at that time in the nostalgic project. Some of you may have tried the large serving challenge?

The first overseas store is in Hawaii!
Global expansion to China, South Korea, Thailand, etc.

A palette-type menu chart from the time of the company's founding, which cannot be seen today.

Through various efforts, including the launch of the "Tobikara Chart," which allows customers to choose the level of spiciness, and the introduction of a menu with a choice of toppings, which was not available at the time, the restaurant gained popularity to the point where people had to wait in line to get in.

Only a year and a half after the opening of the first store, the chain headquarters was completed, and the following year, the number of stores was expanded through the franchise system. After that, they increased the number of domestic stores to 100 stores, 200 stores, and in 1994 they achieved 300 stores in 47 prefectures nationwide. It is said that the main reason for the rapid development in Japan was the adoption of a unique employee independence system called the Bloom System.

You often see “Curry House CoCo Ichibanya” stores overseas. The first overseas expansion was in Hawaii!

The founder visited Hawaii and wanted to take his hard-working employees to Hawaii, which led to the opening of the first overseas branch in Kalakaua, Hawaii. The founder's thoughtful reasons for opening the first overseas store in Kalakaua, Hawaii, were also contained in the store.

The memorial hall also has overseas menu tables.

American menu table. One of the fun points is looking for differences from Japan!

In 2004, they opened their first store in China, the Zhongshan Park Store in Shanghai, and began to expand their business overseas in earnest. Today, their curry continues to evolve and is loved by people from all over the world, including Taiwan, Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and many other countries.

Lots of nostalgic items!
Cocoichi maniacs will be thrilled by the rare goods on display!

From here, we will introduce some of the items on display at the Ichibanya Memorial Hall!

You'll find a wide variety of Coco-ichi goods from which you'll say, "I miss them!" to items that will make you say, "I can't believe they're collaborating on something like this!" Cocoichi goods, including items that will surprise you.

The successive menu tables are lined up.

You can see that the contents and design of the menu list have changed with the times. There is also a display of menus and plates from Pasta de Coco, a Nagoya food Ankake Spagehtti specialty restaurant by Ichibanya Co. 

Here is a strap and a Coco-Ichi-style Choro-Q made in collaboration with Rica-chan, wearing the uniform of the time, which was so cute that I couldn't resist taking a picture of it!

Coco-ichi is still collaborating with various characters. The old collaboration goods that you can see here are somehow moving because you can feel the times at that time.

Successive uniforms displayed with chronology

The uniforms that the employees have worn throughout the years are also on display. Many of them are designed in yellow or brown, perhaps in the image of curry. The bow tie of the early uniform is so retro and cute.

Spoons made so far as prizes for campaigns are lined up.

CoCo Ichibanya original goods sold in the past

Among the CoCo Ichibanya original goods sold at stores, there are many characters of the time, "Coco-ichi-kun"! This character is not currently used, so it is a pretty rare item.

By the way, apart from "Coco-ichi-kun", there was also a girl character called "Cocomi-chan". I was surprised that they released a game!

In the back of the building, there is a counter that reproduces the store at the time of its founding!

Old menu tables and large serving tables are displayed. A nostalgic retro atmosphere with yellow tables and brown chairs. Inside the counter, episodes and photos from the beginning of the establishment are displayed, and you may be able to learn secret stories that can only be found here!

In addition, there is a panel that explains the process of making Cocoichi's curry.

The staff will guide you through the hall, so you can ask any questions you may have. Among them, there are also Coco-ichi maniacs who ask maniac questions that can not be answered immediately!

At the end of your visit, get a commemorative stamp!

This stamp is very cute. The exterior of CoCo Ichibanya first store and the Ichibanya Memorial Hall are drawn, and it will be a good memory of visiting the memorial hall.