- Title: Hungry for pudding? Tokyo cafe made famous on TikTok draws returning tourists
- Date: 15th March 2023
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 15, 2023) (REUTERS) 80-YEAR-OLD COFFEE SHOP OWNER SHIZUO MORI PREPARING PUDDING WITH A SHOWY GESTURE VARIOUS OF MORI PREPARING PUDDING MORI'S HANDS PULLING CARAMEL SAUCE FROM CUP ONTO PUDDING VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS TAKING VIDEO ON PHONE AND WATCHING MORI PREPARING PUDDING PHONE SCREEN RECORDING VIDEO OF MORI PREPARING PUDDING (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 80-YEAR-OLD COFFEE SHOP OWNER, SHIZUO MORI, SAYING: "I definitely feel that (the inbound tourists are coming back). More foreigners are coming to Japan and engaging in a wide range of activities. I think in some ways it's a very good thing." CUSTOMERS SEATED WHILE MORI WORKS BEHIND COUNTER PHONE SCREEN RECORDING VIDEO OF SIPHON COFFEE MAKER (SOUNDBITE) (English) 38-YEAR-OLD TOURIST FROM HONG KONG, SARIEL WONG, SAYING: "It's amazing. I really love it, because in Hong Kong they eat a lot of pudding. But I think the one (in Hong Kong) is not like this one. It's a little bit smooth and it's not too sweet (here)." VARIOUS OF MORI PREPARING PUDDING STAFF SERVING PUDDING DISHES TO CUSTOMERS VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS EATING PUDDING (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 80-YEAR-OLD COFFEE SHOP OWNER, SHIZUO MORI, SAYING: "Customers have shown me the video clips (on social media), so I know about it. When they see me on television they would let me know and also they showed me (those social media posts). That's how I found out (that the cafe became popular)." REPORTER ASKING: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS? MORI SAYING: "I'm very surprised to see myself in so many posts on social media" WATER BEING BOILED IN SIPHON COFFEE MAKER MORI MAKING COFFEE MORI ADDING WATER TO COFFEE MAKER MORI WORKING AT COUNTER (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 80-YEAR-OLD COFFEE SHOP OWNER, SHIZUO MORI, SAYING: "I'm happy (that more customers come to my shop), but there's one thing I regret. When people can't get in, and they have to return home without getting any pudding, it kind of pains me in my heart." VARIOUS OF CUSTOMERS QUEUEING OUTSIDE COFFEE SHOP PHONE SCREEN SHOWING VIDEO ON INSTAGRAM OF MORI MAKING PUDDING GIRLS POSING IN FRONT OF SHOP WITH SIGN READING (English): "SORRY PUDDINGS ARE SOLD OUT†(SOUNDBITE) (English) 38-YEAR-OLD BUSINESS TRAVELLER FROM ABU DHABI, HAITHAM (NO SURNAME GIVEN), SAYING: "I saw it on TikTok and it seems like a very nice local story. And to be honest I'm a big cream caramel fan, so I dragged my friend here to come and see him, and you know I was very disappointed, cause it's (pudding) finished, and it's not even 2 p.m., you know. But it just means that they are doing a great job and it just means that social media is really playing a big part in improving the livelihoods of a lot of small businesses in Japan." CUSTOMERS WAITING OUTSIDE COFFEE SHOP'S NAME READING (Japanese): "HECKELN" CUSTOMERS SEATED IN SHOP
- Embargoed: 29th March 2023 12:08
- Keywords: Japan business cafe coffee shop social media tourism
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Living/Lifestyle,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001741815032023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: With a rapid, right-hand swoop, Shizuo Mori serves about 50 puddings a day, a treat that’s made his tiny Tokyo coffee shop a destination for tourists flocking to Japan after the end of COVID restrictions.
Mori's trademark fling of the arm helps dislodge the eggy custard from its tin, and the circular motion is easier on his 80-year-old wrist than a snapping motion would be.
But the technique, developed over the half century he's run the Heckeln coffee shop, has also earned him a worldwide audience via videos spread on TikTok, Instagram and other social media sites.
The lines out the door of Heckeln, midway up a narrow street in Tokyo's Toranomon district, are largely comprised of foreigners willing to wait for the "Jumbo Purin" topped with caramel.
Visitors to Japan maintained a "robust recovery" in February, the national tourism agency said on Wednesday (March 15). Arrivals were 1.47 million, surpassing 1 million for a third-straight month after COVID curbs were eased late last year, though still down 43 percent from pre-pandemic levels.
Haitham, on a business trip from Abu Dhabi, was enticed by TikTok videos he'd seen of Mori, but arrived with his friend just a bit too late, finding a sign on the door that the puddings had sold out.
"I'm a big cream caramel fan, so I dragged my friend here to come and see him. And I was very disappointed, because it's finished, and it's not even 2 p.m., you know. But it just means that they are doing a great job and it just means that social media is really playing a big part in improving the livelihoods of a lot of small businesses in Japan," said the 38-year old, who asked not to give his family name.
Mori thinks it's a little strange that his coffee shop has a queue out the door most days. He hears from his customers that he's famous on the internet, but he doesn't use social media and doesn't have a cell phone.
Like many restaurants, Mori and his 24-seat shop struggled through the pandemic, which kept away many of his traditional customers of students and office workers. And a surge in supply costs has been a double whammy, but Mori said he's held firm on his own prices.
It was a dark time, but probably the same all over the world, he said. But now the masks are coming off and he's happy to welcome his new fans from abroad.
"I'm happy, but there's one thing I regret. When people can't get in, and they have to return home without getting any pudding, it kind of pains me in my heart," said Mori after serving his customers at a lunch rush.
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