History of HARIJYU

The history of HARIJYU, which is nestled at the entrance to Dotonbori Street in Osaka, dates back to about 100 years ago.
The first president, Kizo Fujimoto, opened a small restaurant in Sakai City, Osaka, in 1919.
A few years later, he opened a Sukiyaki restaurant with a meat shop in Shinsekai, one of the busiest districts in Osaka at the time, and became very successful.

HARIJYU moved to its current location, Dotonbori, in 1948.
Upon relocation, Western dishes were added to the HARIJYU menu, which originally only served Japanese cuisine.
The newly-added Western dishes were very well accepted by the sophisticated crowd in Dotonbori and brought huge success to the restaurant.

There used to be many theaters in Dotonbori in those days, which attracted many play-lovers.
Stylish gentlemen, madams, and geishas from the Hanamachi district often frequented our restaurant to enjoy a feast after watching plays. Actors, entertainers, cultural figures, and foreign visitors soon became regular customers as well.
Being the golden age of film entertainment, movie stars and famous singers were also known to stop by to enjoy our food.

In 1970, our second free-standing restaurant, Daihoji, was opened in the Nishi-Shinsaibashi district.
The district is now known as “Amerikamura,” and is one of Osaka’s busiest quarters where young people flock. When the Daihoji restaurant was opened, however, it was a rather quiet business district.
At the time of its opening, the restaurant served mainly Sukiyaki (still remains in the menu) and other Japanese dishes along with some light meals. In 1986, Western dishes were added to the menu and the restaurant was enlarged to what you see today.

The restaurant still stands along the busy street, but once you pass through gate, you step into a quiet and peaceful little world. Our guests are always pleased with our traditional Japanese scenery, which boasts a Japanese garden occupying more than half of the property, a pond with Koi fish, and trees of the four seasons.

HARIJYU can also be found in department stores.
A meat shop was opened in 1966 and an eat-in restaurant was added in 2005 in Daimaru Shinsaibashi department store.
In 2010, a delicatessen with an eat-in restaurant was opened in Osaka Takashimaya department store and has since been enjoyed by many customers.
We also built a dormitory for employees and a food factory in Kishinosato in 1970.
We’ll continue to devote ourselves to serving our customers to their utmost satisfaction.