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A restaurant in the Jinbōchō district of Tokyo, Japan named Mirai Shokudo (translated as Future Eatery), accepts 50 minutes worth of labour as payment from customers who can’t afford to buy a decent meal.
The restaurant is owned by former engineer Sekai Kobayashi, 33, who is the sole staff member of the restaurant, which seats 12 at a counter, according to The Japan News via AsiaOne.
Kobayashi said, “I use this system because I want to connect with hungry people who otherwise couldn’t eat at restaurants because they don’t have money.”
Further talking about her dream restaurant she said that when she opened her restaurant two years ago, she aimed to create “a place where everyone is welcome and everyone fits in.”
Kobayashi did not jump into the food and beverage (F&B) industry. She started off by dabbling in shop management back when she was still a student.
She further stated, “I dabbled in shop management as a university student. Each year at the university’s annual festival, I ran a dimly lit cafe stocked with books. The cafe won first prize in the festival popularity contest in all four years when I was a student. I even opened cafes at other school festivals.”
“I posted the restaurant’s business plan and finances on its website so I can collect input from the public on how to make improvements. This information is also available for those who want to open their own restaurants. Sharing something with others means supporting those with ambition. That underpins my approach to work.”
The restaurant still accepts money as payment, but the labour is just an option for customers who can’t afford the meal, especially for the less fortunate ones and university students who are on a tight budget.
More than 500 people have reportedly tried to work for their own meals, receiving a free-meal coupon that can be deposited at the entrance of the restaurant.
A 56-year-old former teacher has also been helping Kobayashi at Mirai Shokudo since July 2017.
Well, this is quite a novel idea to help people and also earn money at the same time.
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