With over 60 years of baking under his belt, 89-year-old pastry chef Yasuo Ono has a tried-and-true recipe for success: keep it simple and change with the times.
Ono starts baking at his cake shop Emily every morning at 7:30 a.m., making items like apple pie and Mont Blanc desserts. He'll turn 90 this month, but he isn't thinking of retiring.
In early July, about 25 varieties of cakes, including seasonal offerings featuring peaches and mangoes as well as classic shortcakes, were displayed in the showcase alongside handwritten signs. But Ono isn't alone -- he has his family helping him.
About half of small businesses in Japan have no successor to run them after the current generation steps down, according to the government, a problem threatening not only local communities but the preservation of traditional crafts and skills.
Not so with Emily. Located in a quiet residential area in Owariasahi, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, Emily is now mainly operated by three generations: founder Ono, his 56-year-old son Yoshihide and Ono's grandson Kazuki, 25.
"I was able to keep going because I love this," Ono said as he reflected on his 89th birthday last December, when they posted a photo of him working and received over 700 likes on social media.
Next year, Emily will mark its 60th anniversary. Ono still takes buses and subways on his days off to visit department stores in Nagoya and looks at their cake offerings. "I look forward to seeing all the new things," he says.
Ono was born in Niigata Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, in 1935. After graduating from junior high school, he moved to Tokyo, where, through an acquaintance's introduction, he began living and working at a Western-style confectionery shop.
The young Ono had never eaten cake before, so when he tasted its buttercream richness for the first time, he thought, "So this is what cake tastes like." He learned how to make cakes from scratch.
Ono opened his own cake shop in 1966 in Machida, in western Tokyo. After looking through books on sweets with his wife Mitsuko, now 85, and brainstorming together, they decided on Emily.
"It was easy to remember and sounded like a cake shop," says Ono.
Emily is also the name of a chocolate cake that the shop has been making continuously since its founding.
In 1972, Ono moved to his current address in Owariasahi, population 83,000, drawn by the presence of relatives and the location of a municipal housing complex. Unable to initially sustain the business on cake sales alone, the shop primarily sold cigarettes and juice.
Around 2000, Yoshihide, Ono's second son, who had finished training as a cake chef in Tokyo, took over as manager. This was despite the fact that Yoshihide had worked on motorcycle maintenance at the Suzuki Motor Corp. group and had plans to open his own motorcycle business.
Yoshihide had felt it would be a shame to let his father's cake shop go out of business, so he began learning pastry making at age 24. However, most customers would come to buy cigarettes, and cake sales didn't grow at first.
To offer a signature item, Yoshihide baked fresh cream puffs multiple times a day, developing them into a flagship item. At the time, frozen choux pastries were common, and combined with their affordable price, they became popular.
Then around 2005, Emily started hosting cake-making classes mainly for elementary school children, which was well-received in the local community. Held about 100 times a year, they taught kids how to make cream puffs, cakes and other pastries.
They also began focusing on decorating cakes for display, introducing one creation after the next, such as cakes designed to resemble princess dresses.
The shop's connection to local residents is its strength. For customers who order birthday cakes, the shop takes their photo when they come to pick them up, prints them on postcards, and sends them with handwritten congratulatory messages.
The rising cost of wheat and other raw ingredients due to inflation is a challenge, but Yoshihide says, "We want to keep prices affordable so everyone can enjoy our cakes."
They strive to keep prices low by minimizing waste. Cakes are priced around 400 yen each ($2.50), and they also offer about 50 varieties of baked goods at affordable prices.
Yoshihide's wife Yuri, 54, is particular about actively incorporating seasonal elements, such as using peaches harvested from her family home in Yamanashi, west of Tokyo.
Now, five pastry chefs, including Ono, bake pastries at the shop. Two years ago, Kazuki, the grandson, returned after completing his training in Tokyo.
"If we're going to keep this going for 100 years, some things will need to keep changing with the times, but I want it to be a place where everyone feels welcome," said Kazuki.
After closing time, the family discusses new products. Kazuki's raisin butter sandwich, launched in May, has been a hit.
Ono smiles, saying, "Hearing 'That's delicious' is the best reward. I want people to enjoy something sweet when they feel a little tired."
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