Shigemi Kawahara
Of the thousands of ramen shops across the nation few have earned the acclaim and popularity of Ippudo. Now 19 years since he opened his first noodle shop in Daimyo, Shigemi Kawahara has launched a joint-venture in Shanghai attempting to sell Chinese noodles back to the Chinese. Starting with an aggressive target, Kawahara plans to open 60 shops by the Beijing 2008 Olympics. But for him, China is not just a big new market; itﾕs the next grand stage for his accompanying family and he. Read on to learn more about this envoy of Hakata culture.
Nick Szasz/Editor-in-Chief
NOTE: Encounter is Fukuoka Now’s interview page. Each month an inspiring individual from the Fukuoka community is introduced. The interview is conducted and printed in Japanese. For the convenience of non-Japanese, phonetic kana characters appear above the kanji (Chinese characters) Unfortunately, this can not be replicated on our site. Click on the word “Japanese” of the small Japanese flag to read the text in Japanese.
