Internship Experience in Ryoutei (料亭)
Ryoutei is a luxurious traditional Japanese restaurant, which served kaiseki style meals for business and formal meetings (source from Wikipedia).
Everyone that goes to a Ryoutei has a purpose. It is not just a simple filling the stomach meal. It can be a business meeting, a celebration, a family meeting, a book sharing session, a reunion, a party or any occasion you can think of, which is why the customers going there are usually dressed formally.
Having said that, anyone are welcomed to visit a ryoutei to enjoy the exquisite, delicate meal prepared by a qualified chef and served by the beautiful omotenashi-san (something like waitress?). However, do remember to make a reservation in advance as meals are prepared freshly according to the number of customers.
The ryoutei I worked in is called Shikiryotei Sukeroku (粋料亭 助六) currently managed by Okami - Chikage Nakamura and her husband, Hideyuki Nakamura, who is also the head chef of Sukeroku. During my whole internship experience, I'm honoured to be able to work closely under the care of the 2 friendly and experienced individuals.
My daily routine in Sukeroku goes like this.
1400: Having lunch with the staff
1500: Start working
My Thoughts
While the job scope is pretty similar to that of the job scope in ryokan, the customers are totally different. This actually creates a huge difference to the job environment.
The customers that go there are usually businessmen going for social or business drinking (应酬). Usually they will hire companion - ladies who keep them company by talking and pouring drinks - to the premise. Most of the time when they are socialising, smoking and drinking are the norms. While I've heard of this culture aspects of Japanese men going for a drink after work or for socialising purpose, experiencing it by myself are actually pretty shocking. They smoke as though they are breathing air; and they drink as though they are drinking water. Totally wasted.
As I was not used to being surround by lots of men, in addition to being a person who dislike one who smokes and drinks excessively, the working environment as a whole isn't a healthy one. 'I got myself into hell', I thought. Just thinking for working in this environment for the next few weeks, felt like a living hell. I was shaking and shocked. I even cried of fear and I thought of quitting.
However, the 'where should I go after that', 'it's time to face the reality', 'be responsible of what I started' and the chance to wear the most beautiful uniform kept me from quitting. I braced myself, concentrating on working and avoiding unnecessary entertaining, I finally got to enjoy this work.
Working in Sukeroku did indeed scare me. However, there are still some good aspects. Working in there get to increase one's network as the customers who visit there could be holding a really high position in a reputable company. Some of them are even professors or cook whom I could engage in a fun and quality conversation.
Most of the customers were really interested in my name (the omotenashi-san are all given a name tag). My name in the tag is written マレーシア研修生 － ユキ (Malaysian intern - YUKI). If you do not know, Japanese name is usually written in Kanji. However, my name is written in Katakana but with a really Japanese name. Looking closely at the tag, they would realise I'm a foreigner. Then the conversation would start with, "Why is your name 'Yuki' when you are a foreigner?". I even prepared a proper answer (I hope) due to the high frequency of the question asked.
Sometimes, my kind Okami-san aka my teacher in teaching me Omotenashi (Japanese hospitality), would considerately introduce me to the customers while teaching me various manner. There was once where I did not recognise a customer who stayed as a guest in the premise (there's a place to stay above the restaurant), and I asked something like "on whose name did you reserve under to?". They answered something but I was clueless (as I said my Japanese wasn't good). They looked at me weirdly "what happen to this girl?". Luckily, one of my senior saw it and recognised them. She immediately rectified the situation. Later Okami-san learnt about the situation. She told me to take a beer (which they ordered) and apologised to them, which I did and we had a really long and fun conversation. I'm really thankful for her and the staff. If not for them, who treated me like a normal staff and forgave me for the mistakes that I have done, I would not have learnt anything during my internship period.
Fun Activities
Okami-san knew my purpose for the internship - Learning Japanese culture and hospitality. She is eager to teach me anything that I wanted to learn and even paid me for the activity that I'm interested in.
One of the activities is flower arrangement. Coincidentally, Okami-san is an expert in flower arrangement (Ikebana). Most of the decorations in the premise were done by her. Therefore, she gave me a short lesson on it. Never would I have known that flower arrangement is a delicate yet require a little strength activity. The plants are delicate and should be handle with care. However to make it stand on the flower frog (kenzan) is a little tough for me. Need to exert adequate strength but be careful of the extremely sharp base at the same time. Due to my carelessness, I got 3 holes from it. The flowers that I arranged:
Another activity is trying kimono and furisode. I love traditional clothing. To be able to wear them, daily and during working, is an indescribable honour. Okami-san allowed me to choose the kimono I like among the kimonos that they have and I was dressed by the staff. They even allowed me to try different ones.
For furisode (the most formal kimono for the unmarried), Okami-san even brought me to a salon to have my hair tied and make up done. I was even dressed up by an award-winning Kimono dresser Maria-san. She even brought me to have a professional photoshoot done by a cheerful, energetic professional photographer. The amount of effort that she put in to let me fully indulge in the Japanese culture!
Facts I learnt from Maria-sensei:
- Kimono is considered nicely worn when there is no "S" shape, which is why sometime bra is not needed
- One cannot simply choose a Kimono to wear. Different colours and patterns of Kimono represents different age groups. For example, brightly colour Kimonos are for the unmarried while dull to black colour (usually lesser patterns) are for the married and higher age group
- The obi (belt) pattern can be styled however the stylist like. There is no fixed pattern to follow, it all follows the stylist heart and creativity
- Taking picture of one wearing a Kimono has a typical pattern (maybe I should write this in the next post?)
Another cultural thing, food. There is one food, more like dessert that I wanted to try so much. It's a summer special dessert. Since I was there for autumn and winter, I couldn't try it. I kinda told my desire to Okami-san. On the last day, I suddenly received a gift - 水饅頭 (Water Manjyuu) from one of the chefs. It's made from kudzu powder as the outer layer with red bean paste in it. Extremely cooling during summer.
Off Day
I had a one day off per week. It was a very busy period, especially during the year end when there's lots of events. Both of my knees hurt from the constant kneeling and standing up. When it was busy, I kinda forgot the pain, but when it wasn't that busy, kneeling killed me that I thought my legs are gone forever (applause to those that work there). I was so tired that towards the end, I had fever from the stress. 1 day off was definitely not enough for me. However, the thought of not helping them during the busy period, I could not forgive myself for that. So, I worked.
Meals
I was given 2 meals in this workplace, not because there aren't food around, but because the Okami-san is too kind to me. She is like my second mother, taking care of my needs and worried for my safety and comfort. The meals that the company provided were very home-cooked food, which I really enjoyed. Simple, yet delicious!
For dinner, she even ordered bento for me seeing that they did not have the time to prepare dinner for me.
Accommodation
Being my second mother, she provided me with an extremely modern yet comfortable housing for me. It's the mansion that she owned. Saying it is a mansion, but it is more like an apartment. Coincidentally, there was one person who moved out and I was lucky to have the room.
The mansion is closely located to the workplace. When I said close is like within 1 minute walking distance. Just opposite the restaurant. A very good location. Definitely not cheap, if it is for rental.
Overall, I was well taken care by all the staff in Sukeroku. They tolerated my mistakes but I'm glad that they didn't oversee it; and taught me a lot of Japanese hospitality and cultural thing. I appreciated every effort that they put on me. Even though it is tough at first, but the moment I got the hang of it, I gradually enjoyed working there. It's tiring but fun at the same time.
That's all for my internship experience. Till then~
Everyone that goes to a Ryoutei has a purpose. It is not just a simple filling the stomach meal. It can be a business meeting, a celebration, a family meeting, a book sharing session, a reunion, a party or any occasion you can think of, which is why the customers going there are usually dressed formally.
Having said that, anyone are welcomed to visit a ryoutei to enjoy the exquisite, delicate meal prepared by a qualified chef and served by the beautiful omotenashi-san (something like waitress?). However, do remember to make a reservation in advance as meals are prepared freshly according to the number of customers.
The ryoutei I worked in is called Shikiryotei Sukeroku (粋料亭 助六) currently managed by Okami - Chikage Nakamura and her husband, Hideyuki Nakamura, who is also the head chef of Sukeroku. During my whole internship experience, I'm honoured to be able to work closely under the care of the 2 friendly and experienced individuals.
My daily routine in Sukeroku goes like this.
1400: Having lunch with the staff
1500: Start working
- Looked and possibly remembered the guest list of the day
- Table setting and preparation of utensils according to the number of guests in the assigned rooms
 |
| Table setting |
- Kimono fitting
- Final check on table setting and the number of utensils
- Waited for customers' arrival
 |
| Waiting while posing |
- Welcomed guests and brought them to the assigned room with tea and warm towel
- Prepared drinks
- Served course meals
- Sent a proper goodbye to the customers
- Cleaned up the tables and the rooms
- Kept the utensils to its original place
2200-2300: End of work
My Thoughts
While the job scope is pretty similar to that of the job scope in ryokan, the customers are totally different. This actually creates a huge difference to the job environment.
The customers that go there are usually businessmen going for social or business drinking (应酬). Usually they will hire companion - ladies who keep them company by talking and pouring drinks - to the premise. Most of the time when they are socialising, smoking and drinking are the norms. While I've heard of this culture aspects of Japanese men going for a drink after work or for socialising purpose, experiencing it by myself are actually pretty shocking. They smoke as though they are breathing air; and they drink as though they are drinking water. Totally wasted.
As I was not used to being surround by lots of men, in addition to being a person who dislike one who smokes and drinks excessively, the working environment as a whole isn't a healthy one. 'I got myself into hell', I thought. Just thinking for working in this environment for the next few weeks, felt like a living hell. I was shaking and shocked. I even cried of fear and I thought of quitting.
However, the 'where should I go after that', 'it's time to face the reality', 'be responsible of what I started' and the chance to wear the most beautiful uniform kept me from quitting. I braced myself, concentrating on working and avoiding unnecessary entertaining, I finally got to enjoy this work.
Working in Sukeroku did indeed scare me. However, there are still some good aspects. Working in there get to increase one's network as the customers who visit there could be holding a really high position in a reputable company. Some of them are even professors or cook whom I could engage in a fun and quality conversation.
Most of the customers were really interested in my name (the omotenashi-san are all given a name tag). My name in the tag is written マレーシア研修生 － ユキ (Malaysian intern - YUKI). If you do not know, Japanese name is usually written in Kanji. However, my name is written in Katakana but with a really Japanese name. Looking closely at the tag, they would realise I'm a foreigner. Then the conversation would start with, "Why is your name 'Yuki' when you are a foreigner?". I even prepared a proper answer (I hope) due to the high frequency of the question asked.
Sometimes, my kind Okami-san aka my teacher in teaching me Omotenashi (Japanese hospitality), would considerately introduce me to the customers while teaching me various manner. There was once where I did not recognise a customer who stayed as a guest in the premise (there's a place to stay above the restaurant), and I asked something like "on whose name did you reserve under to?". They answered something but I was clueless (as I said my Japanese wasn't good). They looked at me weirdly "what happen to this girl?". Luckily, one of my senior saw it and recognised them. She immediately rectified the situation. Later Okami-san learnt about the situation. She told me to take a beer (which they ordered) and apologised to them, which I did and we had a really long and fun conversation. I'm really thankful for her and the staff. If not for them, who treated me like a normal staff and forgave me for the mistakes that I have done, I would not have learnt anything during my internship period.
Fun Activities
Okami-san knew my purpose for the internship - Learning Japanese culture and hospitality. She is eager to teach me anything that I wanted to learn and even paid me for the activity that I'm interested in.
One of the activities is flower arrangement. Coincidentally, Okami-san is an expert in flower arrangement (Ikebana). Most of the decorations in the premise were done by her. Therefore, she gave me a short lesson on it. Never would I have known that flower arrangement is a delicate yet require a little strength activity. The plants are delicate and should be handle with care. However to make it stand on the flower frog (kenzan) is a little tough for me. Need to exert adequate strength but be careful of the extremely sharp base at the same time. Due to my carelessness, I got 3 holes from it. The flowers that I arranged:
 |
| The rose arranged by Okami-san. Didn't it look like Beauty and the Beast? |
 |
| Basket arranged by Okami-san |
Another activity is trying kimono and furisode. I love traditional clothing. To be able to wear them, daily and during working, is an indescribable honour. Okami-san allowed me to choose the kimono I like among the kimonos that they have and I was dressed by the staff. They even allowed me to try different ones.
 |
| Different obi style |
For furisode (the most formal kimono for the unmarried), Okami-san even brought me to a salon to have my hair tied and make up done. I was even dressed up by an award-winning Kimono dresser Maria-san. She even brought me to have a professional photoshoot done by a cheerful, energetic professional photographer. The amount of effort that she put in to let me fully indulge in the Japanese culture!
Facts I learnt from Maria-sensei:
- Kimono is considered nicely worn when there is no "S" shape, which is why sometime bra is not needed
- One cannot simply choose a Kimono to wear. Different colours and patterns of Kimono represents different age groups. For example, brightly colour Kimonos are for the unmarried while dull to black colour (usually lesser patterns) are for the married and higher age group
- The obi (belt) pattern can be styled however the stylist like. There is no fixed pattern to follow, it all follows the stylist heart and creativity
- Taking picture of one wearing a Kimono has a typical pattern (maybe I should write this in the next post?)
Another cultural thing, food. There is one food, more like dessert that I wanted to try so much. It's a summer special dessert. Since I was there for autumn and winter, I couldn't try it. I kinda told my desire to Okami-san. On the last day, I suddenly received a gift - 水饅頭 (Water Manjyuu) from one of the chefs. It's made from kudzu powder as the outer layer with red bean paste in it. Extremely cooling during summer.
 |
| Don't they look like frog eggs? |
Off Day
I had a one day off per week. It was a very busy period, especially during the year end when there's lots of events. Both of my knees hurt from the constant kneeling and standing up. When it was busy, I kinda forgot the pain, but when it wasn't that busy, kneeling killed me that I thought my legs are gone forever (applause to those that work there). I was so tired that towards the end, I had fever from the stress. 1 day off was definitely not enough for me. However, the thought of not helping them during the busy period, I could not forgive myself for that. So, I worked.
Meals
I was given 2 meals in this workplace, not because there aren't food around, but because the Okami-san is too kind to me. She is like my second mother, taking care of my needs and worried for my safety and comfort. The meals that the company provided were very home-cooked food, which I really enjoyed. Simple, yet delicious!
For dinner, she even ordered bento for me seeing that they did not have the time to prepare dinner for me.
Accommodation
Being my second mother, she provided me with an extremely modern yet comfortable housing for me. It's the mansion that she owned. Saying it is a mansion, but it is more like an apartment. Coincidentally, there was one person who moved out and I was lucky to have the room.
The mansion is closely located to the workplace. When I said close is like within 1 minute walking distance. Just opposite the restaurant. A very good location. Definitely not cheap, if it is for rental.
Overall, I was well taken care by all the staff in Sukeroku. They tolerated my mistakes but I'm glad that they didn't oversee it; and taught me a lot of Japanese hospitality and cultural thing. I appreciated every effort that they put on me. Even though it is tough at first, but the moment I got the hang of it, I gradually enjoyed working there. It's tiring but fun at the same time.
That's all for my internship experience. Till then~
Comments
Post a Comment