S3E5: Kouraku and the Taste of Home — Feeding a Community

Welcome back to Japanese America! In this episode, hosts Koji Steven Sakai and Michelle Malizaki take the podcast on location to Second Street in the heart of Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, to record inside a true culinary and cultural landmark: Kouraku. 

Originally opened in 1976, Kouraku was recently honored by the City of Los Angeles with an official street sign certifying it as America's oldest operating ramen shop. To celebrate this incredible 50-year milestone, Koji and Michelle sit down with the restaurant's new owner, Mamoru Tokuda-san, who stepped in to take over the reins in January 2023. 

Mamoru-san shares the deeply moving story of how he transitioned from a restaurant career to volunteering at Kouraku during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually stepping up to preserve the space after the tragic passing of the previous owner, Hiroshi Yamauchi. We also look at the historical roots of Showa-era machi-chuka (Japanese-Chinese comfort food) and why its gentle, balanced flavors have sustained families across four generations. 

Note: For this episode, Koji reads the English translations of the interview so everyone can follow along with the history. However, we will also be releasing a separate, uncut companion episode featuring Mamoru-san's interview entirely in his own words in Japanese. 

In this episode, we discuss:

• The Magic of Showa-Era Nostalgia: Michelle explains why old-school Showa-era aesthetic is suddenly "cool" again and how Kouraku’s vintage vibe instantly transports her back to her childhood in Japan. 
• Preserving a 50-Year Legacy: How Mamoru-san balanced the pressure of taking over a historic business with the inspiration he drew from Kouraku's long-term staff—many of whom have dedicated 20 to 30 years to the kitchen. 
• The Science of Machi-Chuka Flavors: The culinary reason Kouraku’s stock is kept balanced and gentle, utilizing a chashu-infused soy sauce base rather than the overwhelming flavors of modern specialty shops. 
• High-Tech Meets History: The introduction of Luna-chan, Kouraku's famous cat-themed delivery robot, and how it coexists with an irreplaceable, historic 1980s neon signboard that modern makers can no longer replicate. 
• Food as a Cultural Time Machine: Koji and Michelle share their ultimate childhood comfort foods. Michelle reflects on making homemade gyoza with her mother, while Koji opens up about his lifelong obsession with curry rice, sharing a poignant memory of how his father's experiences in the WWII incarceration camps shaped his relationship with the dish. 

Links & Resources Mentioned:

• Visit the Restaurant: Kouraku, Little Tokyo (Los Angeles, CA) 
• Learn more about Japanese American history: janm.org

Transcript

0:16

Welcome back to Japanese America. It is June 2026, And we are coming to you straight from one of our absolute favorite places on earth, Second Street in the heart of little Tokyo, Los Angeles. That's right. Today, We are sitting inside a true culinary landmark. Koraku. If you've spent any time in LA, You've probably ended a late night here or found comfort in one of their legacy bowls of ramen. Just last year, The city of Los Angeles officially granted them a street sign certifying Koraku as America's oldest operating ramen shop. It opened its doors way back in 1976. To celebrate that incredible 50-year legacy, We sat down with the restaurant's new owner, Mamoru Tokuda-san. Took over the reins in January of 2023. Before we dive into our interview with Mamoru Tokuda, Michelle, I have to ask you, Koraku is famous for its old-school Showa-era machi-chuka style, That classic Japanese-Chinese comfort food hybrid. When you walk into a traditional spot like this, what is your ultimate, absolute go-to comfort dish? Tenshin chahan with the gravy ankake, Of course. What else? What is that? Tell us what that is. The Tenshin Chahan is a chahan on the bottom, Like a mound, And then it has the omelet over. And ankake is the gravy that you spread on top of it. And it's so good. And with the little red, It has to be red ginger. It's so good. So good. We had that for lunch after we did the interview. It was really yummy. I saved some. I ate a little bit, Or I ate like half of it, And then I had my son. He ate the rest of it when I got home. Oh, I ate it all by myself. Have your children ever been to the restaurant? Yeah, They've been there before and they love the restaurant. It's like, I don't know, Showa is my era and it's been not cool for a while, But now it's so cool. Showa's back. How did it become cool? I don't know. Like everything of Showa. It's all of a sudden very cool in Japan. Like drinking glasses in Showa era that has floral pattern outside. They're like vintage. I don't like the word vintage. I guess vintage is better than old. Yeah, You're vintage, Michelle. I know. I know. Over 50 years is vintage. It's funny because my son has never been there. So I'm going to have to take him. And I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure my wife has probably been there. But we've never been there together as a family, So we'll have to take a trip over there. Yeah, I love that restaurant. That's my favorite restaurant in Los Angeles for sure. Or maybe all America, My favorite restaurant, Koraku. Really? Yeah. Wow, Interesting. Brings me back all the memories growing up in Japan. And it's kind of funny when I went back to Japan, I don't see restaurants like that anymore in my hometown. There's one in L.A. That feels so homey. Does it taste like the food in Japan? Or does it taste different? It tastes, I don't know, It tastes better than in Japan. Oh, Really? That's interesting. Because when I go back, I don't usually go for ramen. I usually go for sushi. So maybe I'm missing. I don't know. But I like Koraku. It has all the old movie posters, And it has a good vibe. Yeah, It feels old school or vintage. Oh, Vintage. Just a special note. You'll hear me reading the English translations of the interview so everyone can follow along with the incredible history of Koraku. However, If you want to experience the conversation exactly as it happened, We have something special for you. We will also be releasing a separate uncut companion episode featuring Mamoru-san's own words entirely in Japanese. Let's get to the interview. We started by asking Mamoru-san about his background. And how a volunteer gig during the early days of the pandemic completely changed his life. Mamoru-san didn't plan on buying Koraku. He had actually just left a 15-year career at another restaurant right before COVID hit. In January of 2019, I resigned from my last work, Which I worked for 15 years. In 2019, There was Izakaya Fuga right there. I worked there from 2010 to 2019. I was a general manager there. Then in 2019, I resigned. I was going to start other business myself, But then COVID happened and everyone knew I wasn't doing anything that time. Mr. Yamauchi of Koraku Suihiro Restaurant and Mako Sushi, They all asked me to help them. So I started out like volunteering, Helping their takeout service and things like that. When Mr. Yamauchi here got sick, That was in 2020. I think maybe around April, He said. Mamoru-chan, I'm going to the hospital. And if you're not busy, Will you help me? So I said, Sure. Then five months later, He passed away. He was hospitalized right away. Around that time, Because of COVID, He had to run around at many hospitals, As American hospitals, Unlike in Japan. It's not just one hospital you can check in. You have to go over there and get checked and stuff. I think he suffered because of that. Then in September, He passed away. This business, Koraku, Was run by the master and his wife. His wife, Mihoko-san, And their daughter, We talk many times about the future of Koraku. And was decided, I'm going to continue with the business. Taking over a legacy that is five decades old comes with a massive amount of weight. But Mamoru-san saw the immense love that staff had for the space and knew they couldn't let it close down. I saw the staff members who work here have immense love to the restaurant and made me think we should not let a restaurant with such a legacy close down and decided to take over the business. Two or three of them have been working longer than 30 years. Five or six people may have been working here longer than 20 years. They all know what they need to do, So I don't really have to do anything. They all do everything by themselves. I'm grateful. For our listeners who might not know, Machichuka is distinct from traditional Chinese food or trendy modern ramen specialty shops. It traces its roots back to Japan's post-war era, Adapting Chinese flavor profiles using Japanese soy sauce and dashi bases to create hearty, Affordable fuel for the working class. Mamoru-san explained how that historic balance dictates that kitchen today. One of the things people often misunderstand about machichuka ramen, It's different from ramen served at specialty ramen shops. The reason is that if we make the soup stock too strong, It affects everything else. Because we use the same base for stir-fried dishes, Kata, And many other menu items. So we make it more gentle and balanced. It's soy sauce that you get from making chashu. So the soy sauce gets flavor from the meat. With that, You just add a little bit. Half a spoon, Half a spoon of that, And add the stock. Not a company secret at all. And that general, Unpretentious flavor profile has a deep resonance here in Little Tokyo. Food has always been the ultimate anchor for Japanese-American culture. During the incarceration camps of World War II, Food was a site of trauma, Where families were forced to eat in mass mess halls, Fracturing the traditional family structure. But post-war rebuilding Little Tokyo. Meant reclaiming that food culture. Mom-and-pop diners, Machichuka spots, And manju shops became places where the community could gather safely, Remember home, And build a livelihood. Kuraku has carried that exact torch for 50 years, Serving as a backdrop for thousands of family milestones. There was a father with a small child told me his grandpa used to come to the restaurant. The story that they've been coming to our restaurant for four generations. And there was an older couple who came. They said 38 years or maybe 35 years ago, Our first date was at Koraku and not really their wedding anniversary. But to reminisce the time they came to visit us, It's a really heartwarming experience. Now, If you've stepped into Koraku recently, You might notice a very modern addition to this Showa era landscape. A cat themed delivery robot named Luna-chan. The wife of the previous owner had some strong desires. Such as taking credit card payments and taking orders using QR codes and POS system. And also, She told me, I saw something in Japan and wondering if we can do the same at our restaurant. So I said, Let's take the challenge. That was the start. Of course, When the customers see a robot they're not used to seeing, Especially children and young people and older people too, They would start taking videos. And even when a human brings their order, They ask for the robot to bring the food. So the waitress brings back the food and places it on Luna-chan, And they get ready with the camera on. And we ask, Are you ready? And then she delivers. That's also an entertainment that we can offer to our customers. But even with Luna-chan zipping around, The history here is irreplaceable. The retro signboard out front is the exact same one from the original 1980s photo, Something modern signboard makers can't even replicate. Before we left, We asked Momura-san about the core mission passed down by the previous owner, Hiroshi Yamauchi. I asked him what is the concept of Koraku, And he said, During Japan's period of rapid economic growth in the 1960s and 70s, Especially in Osaka and the Kansai region, We aimed to serve working-class people by offering meals that would truly fill their stomachs. Generous portions at affordable prices. So I've been to Koraku before many times, And compared to like 10 years before and now, It's still the same, But so much nicer. They also got the little private room in the back that all the celebrities are coming, Except for Otani. Yeah, I've spotted some Japanese celebrities there before. It's like a place that you have to go when you miss Japanese food. You were saying that if you're from Japan and you come to America, You have to go there. Tell us a little bit about that. Japanese people really love Japanese food. When You know you go overseas we miss Japanese food and Korakus got the real comfort food for Japanese people and you really have to go there and have a little slurp of ramen and it feels like okay I could do 10 more days in America. Tell us what is the equivalent American food like this comfort food is it would it be like mac and cheese or hamburger or what. Yeah like a Chicken noodle soup? Chicken noodle soup? Okay. Maybe. Because it's noodle soup. But, Yeah. Mac and cheese. What would you miss when you go to a different part of the world? Hot dogs? I wouldn't miss any American food. Cheetos? It is interesting that when my relatives come from Japan, And they really want to eat Japanese food, And I'm like, We're in America, You know, Like you're traveling, You should eat other things. But, You know, So basically what we usually do is they just eat Japanese food at the house with my mom or my stepdad or somebody. And then, And then we could go out and eat other things because now they've had like breakfast is Japanese food or dinner is a Japanese food at home, But everything else is not Japanese food. So I think then they could explore, But I'm always, You know, I'm always, I'm always like, Well, If you're here. Wouldn't it be more fun to try different places? I don't know. Japanese people really have obsession over Japanese food. And when they go somewhere, Like Ichiro used to eat curry all the time or every day, Every morning, I heard. Really? Yeah. And that's how he performed better. Interesting. So maybe, Yeah, Maybe we have to eat Japanese food and that's how you perform better. Maybe I should start eating Japanese food every day, Three times a day. That's funny. For me, As a Japanese American and with a mother who's from Japan, One of the things that when I went to Japan or when I go to Japan or go to like a Japanese market, I don't know why, But it feels like I'm at home. Like I could go to any restaurant and pretty much eat anything and it tastes familiar. Or at least I don't think it's weird. Whereas, You know, Like there's no offense to any other culture, But if I go to like a Chinese restaurant, There's stuff that I've never had or it just feels weird or like looks weird or smells weird or just not normal. But for some reason, You know, When I go to Japan or whenever I eat Japanese food, It always feels like home, Which is really weird because when I'm in Japan, I don't feel like I'm at home, But it's really the food that I connect to. And eat natto? All right. If you had to pick one specific meal from your childhood that instantly acts like a time machine and brings you back to a specific moment or specific feeling, What would it be? So my mom was an awful cook, But she made gyoza at home. We made homemade gyoza and it was fun making gyoza with my mom in the kitchen. And I'm like, I'm really good at making gyoza, Like stuffing and like put little pleats on the skin. I don't know. I have such a sweet memory about gyoza. And my dad is a good cook. Because my mom's not a good cook. He used to make this pancake with nira. What is nira? I don't know. It's like a green... Onion. Isn't it kind of like a type of onion? It's not onion. Chive. Yeah, Chives. He makes little thing, Omelet. With chives and it's so good. Yeah, But he's a chemist. So he knows like, Like how many grams of sugar and salt and soy sauce to go in and mix it certain amount of time. And he has, He has this down and it's really good. And I, I'm going back to Japan in July. So I'm gonna Ask him to make that for me. What about you? Well, Let me just say this. So one time, One summer I spent in Japan playing baseball and the people I was staying with, My family, They made yakisoba every morning, Every, And then I had to eat it for lunch too. So I ate yakisoba twice a day for like two months. And so like, This is not, It's actually the opposite because I never like yakisoba now. I can't eat it because I had it so much. I mean, I used to love yakisoba too, So. Um that's like the opposite of what we're talking about here but for me it's gonna be like a yeah it's traumatizing i don't know why they they must have heard that i liked it so then they just made it every day all the time anyway my uh my comfort food would be curry rice um i love i love love love like one time i went to japan i think i was probably seven or eight and I told my mom i'm not gonna eat any food except curry so we had to eat we had to go places that were curry. And then even, We went to a fancy... curry at place, Which my mom said was really expensive, But I have no idea. Like, Like I could eat it every day, All the time. The, One of the saddest moments of my entire life. Well, Let me tell you a happy moment. I told my mom when I was a teenager that I wanted to get married at Curry house. Cause that's my favorite place in the world. And my saddest memory was when it closed. I was very, Very, Very depressed my whole life. Like I could, I could say my life got much less fun. And I've been spending a lot of my life trying to go to different curry places around Southern California. And even though I've had good curry, It's not the same. It's not the same as curry house, curry house. As an adult, What's funny about thinking about curry is my dad hated it. And I never really thought about it. But every time we ate curry, He would eat none of it. And it wasn't until later I kind of put it together. And it's because when he was in the camps. Curry was the food that they made with the bad meat. Oh. Hide the taste of the bad meat. Oh. And so he wouldn't eat it because of that. And I'm like, Oh man, As a kid, I was a spoiled little kid and just wanted to keep eating it. And I didn't care what he went through. But now I think about that and I think about how he never talked about it and he just let, He let me kind of eat it and do everything. But he would never touch it. I mean, I don't think I, I'm looking, I'm thinking back on my childhood or. When he was alive. And I can't remember a single time I ever saw him eating curry. So we went to Curry house and he was eating like hamburger steak or something. Or, You know, Like he was eating everything but the curry, Which I think is an interesting thing. So that's mine. I was sad when curry house closed in Little Tokyo. I went there the day they closed. Oh no. So I was going to have lunch and I went to curry house and it says closed. I'm like, What, Yeah. And there are a few other people, And then we found out that it just closed that day. Yeah. I used to go to the one in Sawtelle. I went to the one in Monterey Park. I went to the one in Little Tokyo. I mean, I think I went there once a week. I literally— There's another one. There used to be another one on—. Irvine? I went to one in Irvine, Too. No, There's another one in South Bay. Oh, Really? Yeah. I've been there, Too. Oh, I miss Curry House. Yeah. I was so proud. Like, I was so happy as a Japanese person that there were many curry houses in Los Angeles area. I was. I was. Like, Ah, Japanese places popping up everywhere. And then they closed. So I was sad. There's two things I would never forgive my wife for. One is not having a reception at the Curry House. That's one thing. And then the second thing was not allowing me to name my son Tupac. So those are the two things that I really, Like, If I could have, Like, Died and I had those two things happen, I would have lived a fulfilled life. But also, A machichuka restaurant like Koraku have curry with the soup. Oh, They do? Yeah. So they make curry and they add the stock, Like a soy sauce-based stock. So it's like more mild-tasting Japanese-y curry. And they're good. They're a little bit thinner side than the thicker side, I think. But it's really good. Interesting. You gotta try that too. A massive thank you to Mamoru-san and the longtime staff at Koraku for keeping the legacy alive. Next time you are in Little Tokyo, Go take a picture in front of the historic signboard and order a plate of Tenshin Chahan. Next month, We are staying on the theme of food, Family, And community, But we are moving out into the streets of Little Tokyo. July means it's time for Obon. That's right. Our July episode is our annual Obon special. We are talking about the history of the Bon Odori dances, The lanterns and the taiko drums, And of course, The incredible festival food like dango, Shave ice, And teriyaki beef skewers that bring thousands of us back to the temples year after year. I know how you feel about the dango. It's not the dango. Oh, No, No, No, No. I don't. I'm against the American dango, But hey, It's festival food. Get your fans and your hoppy coats ready. We'll see you in July. Bye. Bye.