Held on June 25, 2025 - Bring smiles to the world with misonikomi udon

Reporter: Hironori Aoki, Managing Director, Yamamotoya Co., Ltd.

Yamamotoya has a century-old history, first serving misonikomi udon. Hironori Aoki, Managing Director, Yamamotoya Co., Ltd., reported on Okute Yamamotoya's overseas strategy.

Over the past century, the company's history has been fueled by the growing Japanese population, allowing it to open new stores and serve misonikomi udon to countless Japanese customers. However, the next 100 years will see a decline in the Japanese population, and if things continue as they are, it's clear that there will be an oversupply. To sustain its stores, the company must either attract inbound tourists or expand its overseas presence, or both.

Aichi's inbound tourists are not only tourists but also workers, many of whom are Muslim. There is also a certain number of Westerners who practice vegetarianism. Okute Yamamotoya has taken advantage of this opportunity to create misonikomi udon that is both halal and suitable for vegetarians. Fortunately, misonikomi udon is naturally halal and vegetarian-friendly, so we were able to do this without increasing costs, and as a result, our restaurant has become popular with many Muslims and vegetarians.
Leveraging the experience gained at Okute Yamamotoya, we opened a halal and vegetarian-friendly misonikomi udon restaurant in Hong Kong as a franchise. This restaurant was ranked number one on a Chinese restaurant comparison site and is now visited by many Hong Kongers.
However, franchise restaurants have lower profit margins than directly managed restaurants, so we are also considering further measures to improve investment efficiency.
We believe that integrating inbound tourism and overseas expansion is a necessary strategy to create a Yamamotoya that can survive for the next 100 years.