<figure id="attachment_447233" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4928px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-447233"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="71fd9630"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/cd9d6a60f0cba4922601fc94f916dcef.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-447233" class="wp-caption-text">He even works in the kitchen himself, valuing conversations with customers.</figcaption></figure>
Unlike many shops run by former professional baseball players, there are no uniforms or autographs from his playing days on display. Although a sumo ranking chart is hung up, the interior décor is simple.
“I don’t want to use my name recognition from my playing career as a selling point. I want to compete purely with flavor and service.”
So says Shun Yamaguchi (38), who played for DeNA and the Giants and recorded 66 wins and 112 saves in his pro baseball career. The interview took place at TANIARASHI, a chanko hot pot restaurant in Roppongi, Tokyo, where Yamaguchi is the owner. The shop is named in honor of his late father, Taniarashi, a former sumo wrestler. Yamaguchi continues (all comments below are his):
“It’s positioned as a sister store to Taniarashi, which my family has run back home in Nakatsu, Ōita. The seasoning is the mildly sweet Kyushu style, but I believed it would work in Tokyo as well. I opened in December 2022, right after retirement, but my mother and brother, who took over the main restaurant, were strongly opposed. They said, ‘Don’t take the restaurant business lightly,’ and ‘This isn’t a job you can do without full commitment.’
But I was serious. I convinced them by saying, ‘I’ll fund everything myself,’ and ‘I will take full responsibility.’ Finally they relented, saying, ‘If you’re that determined.’ In exchange, I asked for the recipe for the chanko broth and for tori-ten (a local Ōita fried chicken specialty), and managed to open the shop.”
The fact that Yamaguchi opened a chanko restaurant in Roppongi has already been featured in FRIDAY and other media. But what has rarely been reported is the deeper reason behind his choice to take on the restaurant business: the lingering frustration from his Major League stint, which Yamaguchi describes as the one regret of my baseball career.
<h2>“I think it was my own weakness.”</h2>
<figure id="attachment_447237" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3280px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-447237"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8223c3fb"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/1ce2b890aecbcbf851ae6e9ec279c8a1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-447237" class="wp-caption-text">In front of a calligraphy piece said to be written by a renowned calligrapher</figcaption></figure>
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Yamaguchi’s peak came in 2019 with the Giants, when he posted 15 wins, 4 losses, and 188 strikeouts, earning the titles of most wins, best winning percentage, and strikeout leader. That offseason, he signed with the Toronto Blue Jays, achieving his long-awaited dream of playing in the Major Leagues in 2020.
“When I was called onto the mound in English during spring training, I got goosebumps. The fans welcomed me with a standing ovation. I was overwhelmed I will never forget that moment.”
But the dream did not last long.
“I was thrown off by the chaos caused by COVID-19. Just when I felt I was getting into shape through training, I’d be ordered to stay home again. Being stuck in a room, unable to play baseball, built up so much frustration. Everything just fell out of sync.
In my second year in MLB, I signed a minor league deal with the Giants (San Francisco), but I chose to return to Japan when my old team, the Yomiuri Giants, reached out to me. I’m grateful to them. But looking back, I think it was my own weakness—wanting to escape a difficult life. Even if I wasn’t getting results, maybe I should have kept grinding in the minors. I still regret that.”
His lingering regret from MLB has become one of the driving forces behind continuing his restaurant business.
“I had been thinking about my second career since around age 30. No matter how great a player is, the day will come when it’s over. When I thought about what I could do outside baseball, the thing that came to mind was my father’s chanko hot pot.
I don’t intend to keep the restaurant business limited to Japan. I’m confident it can succeed overseas. In fact, this July I opened an izakaya in Las Vegas featuring yakitori. Eventually, I want to turn it into a chanko restaurant, using this shop as a foothold for continuing my challenge in the U.S. I plan to make up for my unfinished business in MLB through food.”
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Why he never turns down drinks from customers"></div>
<h2>“I’m confident, absolutely.”</h2>
<figure id="attachment_447238" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4928px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-447238"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="12404146"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/8d960dea46b769ae430675efa3a53594.jpg" alt=""></a>For an hour, he spoke passionately about his dreams for his second career.<figcaption id="caption-attachment-447238" class="wp-caption-text">
What Yamaguchi values is not only taste. He also puts great emphasis on hospitality.
“I always tell my staff how important hospitality is. No matter how delicious the food is, if the atmosphere is bad, customers won’t want to come back. Communication with customers is incredibly important. I’m not a strong drinker, but if a customer offers me a drink, I’ll have it.
Especially overseas, what matters most is amusement value—in other words, fun. I can’t go into specifics yet, but I’m planning entertainment-focused features for the U.S. chanko restaurant. A place where foreigners can enjoy Japanese food and culture. I’m confident about it.”
The chef at Roppongi’s TANIARASHI is Yamaguchi’s junior from Yanagigaura High School, who trained for several months at the main restaurant in Ōita. The shop faithfully preserves his father’s flavor while incorporating hospitality-driven service.
“My goal is 500 million yen in annual sales within five years. I still have a long way to go, but I work, work, and work. I probably put in 12 hours a day. I’m still a rookie in the restaurant world, so there’s so much to learn.”
Conquering America through chanko hot pot—Yamaguchi’s second-career challenge, built on a bold and ambitious goal, has only just begun.
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<figure id="attachment_447239" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4928px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-447239"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="df43287a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/d7d97d9c3f4905f6ec505d8b3d39a8d8.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-447239" class="wp-caption-text">Future goals written on a piece of colored paper in his own handwriting.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_447240" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2946px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-447240"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="e9517d42"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/dad48e4339fbcb5e9c1cee661353fd8a.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-447240" class="wp-caption-text">He says he works about 12 hours every day.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_447241" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4928px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-447241"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4ae64eba"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/11/3002fcf2f37db9195752657616048dff.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-447241" class="wp-caption-text">When he starts talking about food, he becomes passionate.</figcaption></figure>

 Shinya Nishizaki

 It was about three years ago that Shun Yamaguchi, who played for the Giants and DeNA, opened a chanko restaurant in Roppongi, Tokyo. Yamaguchi has a dream. He wants to try his hand again in the U.S. at chanko, the flavor of his father, a former sumo wrestler!　He is determined to make up for his disappointment in the majors with food.

Former Yomiuri Giant Shun Yamaguchi Returns to the U.S., Using His Father’s Chanko to Rewrite His Unfinished MLB Story

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