In Search of Meat for Meal… “Honjamaka” Hidehiko Ishizuka: Memories of “The Hulk,” a Part-Time Job from the Age of 18

My nickname at my part-time job was “Hulk

Hello, everyone. Have you ever passed by an eel restaurant’s ventilation fan on your way home from work and felt a knot in your stomach? My name is Hidehiko Ishizuka. This time, I would like to talk about a part-time job I started when I was 18 years old.

It all started at a class reunion held right after I graduated from high school. It was a dream come true that I would go out with a girl I talked to there, so I started working part-time to earn money for the date.

The day after the reunion, I read through a part-time job information magazine and decided to take a part-time job as a waiter at a steak restaurant located at the east exit of Yokohama Station. I thought, “If it’s a steak restaurant, they must serve meat as a meal,” and decided to take the easy way out.

I immediately called the restaurant and went to the restaurant at the indicated time, where I was kindly greeted by the manager, Mr. Ezawa. I really wanted to start working that day, but I had to start the next day.

On my first day of work, my date fantasy was stronger than my nerves. All the part-timers and employees were close to my age and friendly.

Words fail me…… nervous first day on the job.

On my first day, I was given the task of showing customers to their seats and serving them water and menus. Here is the first barrier. Have you ever said “irasshaimase” to someone you just met?　This is surprisingly difficult. I had been able to speak normally with my friends and school teachers, but I could not get the words out. The final word that came out was “please.

My next job was to serve water with a trench (round tray). This was quite slippery. I was afraid of spilling the water, so I held the trench with both hands and placed the whole trench on the table to serve water. Saito-san laughed when he saw this.

The first day is over and it is makanai time for all the waiters. The first night’s makanai was fried horse mackerel. It seems that even a steak restaurant cannot serve meat every day for makanai. The makanai at that restaurant consisted of only one side dish, but we were free to have another serving of rice.

I was released from my nervousness and ate three bowls of white rice with one piece of fried horse mackerel. By the last one, the fried horse mackerel was gone, so I poured French dressing over the rice and drizzled a little soy sauce on it. The waiters around me laughed hysterically when they saw me. At that time, my nickname at the restaurant was decided to be “Hulk.

The most humbling incident in my life

On the second day after we had broken the ice over dressed rice, an incident occurred. I spilled beer on a customer wearing a white skirt. I bowed my head the most in my life. I noticed that Manager Ezawa was also bowing with me. Half an hour later, I spilled a cream soda on the same customer.

But God was there, and even though I had soiled my skirt twice, the woman said, “It’s okay, it’s okay. Because of my depression, I was only able to eat two bowls of white rice at that night’s makanai.

Finally, when I went to Manager Ezawa to apologize, he said, “Don’t worry about it, because everyone is like that when they are not used to it. Ishizuka-kun, please come back tomorrow.

Both the manager and the staff were warm, as if they were one family. I found myself working there for nine years. Thanks to them, I can now hold seven plates when I go to a buffet with my family. I still see Manager Ezawa and Mr. Saito every now and then.

From the March 7, 2025 issue of FRIDAY