Why the Deli Started with a Simple Question

December 24, 2024

Shinji Hashizume runs Okazuya Wawawa, a small deli in Rikuzentakata. But it wasn’t just a business idea. It started from something much more personal.

“In the aftermath of the disaster, I spent a lot of time volunteering, helping in whatever way I could. But as time passed, I started thinking that I wouldn’t be able to make a living like this,” he said.

It was April, just a month after the tsunami, when something shifted for him. He was driving around, delivering supplies to evacuation centers, when he came across a group of children and their mothers standing on the side of the road.

“They stopped me and asked, ‘Do you have anything to eat?’” he recalled. At that time, food donations were getting distributed—onigiri, bread, instant noodles. Most people were getting by with the basics. But when he asked the children what they wanted, their answer surprised him.

“They didn’t ask for more rice or another bowl of instant ramen. The kids asked, ‘Do you have sausage?’”

It wasn’t a demand for more food, but for something comforting. “As adults, we could manage eating whatever was available. But it made me realize that for children, food isn’t just about filling their stomachs—it’s about comfort and the little joys in life.”

From that small moment came the idea to create something that could bring that comfort back into people’s everyday routines. Okazuya Wawawa isn’t just about side dishes. It's more about familiarity and rebuilding a sense of normalcy, one bite at a time.