A circle of friends connected by goof-touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On May 30, the director and YouTuber Ricchan of “Funny Corporation Kayak” introduced the standing bar in Koenji, “Takeshi Shimizu, owner of TEN CLUB, a standing bar in Koenji, appeared on the program. We asked him about his reasons for running a bar despite not being able to drink, the various jobs he experienced before opening the bar, TEN CLUB’s specialties, and the surprising origin of the bar’s name.
INDEX
From working in construction to working as an apparel salesperson, I was able to run a bar.
Celeina (MC): Yesterday, Ricchan introduced you as a “bar owner who can’t drink” in one word.
Shimizu: Yes, that’s right. My constitution is such that I can’t drink anymore.
Celeina: But if you own a bar, it means you love drinking, right?
Shimizu: Yes, I do. It’s a lot of fun.
Takano (MC): I heard that you opened the bar after having various experiences.
Shimizu: I started out as an office worker in the construction industry, working as a site supervisor and at an architectural design firm, and once I was able to start my own business, I did. After that, I worked as an apparel salesperson, which is a completely different job.
Celeina: And from there, a bar?
Shimizu: Yes, that’s right.
Celeina: Why did you go to the bar?
Shimizu: When I started my own business, I was doing facility drawings, but that alone didn’t bring me much work, so I started doing design and everything else. Then I got really interested in design. I was wondering if I could somehow turn that into a career, but I had no track record. I had been an office worker until then. So I thought that if I ran a bar, I could increase my network of contacts, and if I made it a thriving business and created a cool place, I might get some work. I wanted to do all the direction and design work myself.
Celeina: So you wanted to get more design work. The bar is not the goal.
Shimizu: That’s right.
Takano: Interesting story that I haven’t heard much about.
Celeina: By the way, did you also draw the design drawings for TEN CLUB?
Shimizu: No, I wanted to involve my friends. I involved my friends and we all worked together on the interior design and the site supervisor.
Celeina: That’s amazing. So a community has already been formed around you, centering on you.
Shimizu: I’ve been in many places, so I know many people.
Takano: Do you yourself stand at the bar?
Shimizu: Yes, I do. I am there.
Takano: Then, you have experience in various industries, so you can talk about many things.
Shimizu: That’s a little bit of an advantage.
Celeina: What is TEN CLUB particular about?
Shimizu: We don’t really feel like we are selling alcohol. I think the meaning of drinking and who you drink with are more important, so we offer a discount if you share a bottle of craft beer or something. I do it with the hope that the drinks will be a conversation starter or a hook.
Takano: I see. I guess I feel that alcohol is an element of having a good time.
INDEX
TEN CLUB’s unique events and customers
Celeina: I looked at your Instagram, and there are so many cool flyers. Is this an event that you are organizing?
Shimizu: Yes, they are. I have a lot of events, and I also hold events at TEN CLUB, but recently, thankfully, I’ve been getting requests for business trips where I’m just invited to participate.
Takano: If you connect with various people, you will be asked to participate in various places.
Shimizu: That’s right.
Celeina: What kind of event is this?
Shimizu: We have music events, and I used to work in apparel, so we have a lot of apparel events, and also food events. But we do all kinds of things.
Celeina: Sounds fun. I’m sure I’ll make friends just by going there. By the way, what kind of customers do you have at TEN CLUB?
Shimizu: There are many people who come to TEN CLUB, but the staff is different from myself, so everyone is different. It depends on them what kind of customers we get. In my case, there are a lot of apparel customers. I also have a lot of creators and business owners who are working hard on their own, so I am always inspired by them.
Takano: Shimizu-san, do you have any tips on how to have fun when talking with customers without drinking a drop of alcohol?
Shimizu: When the other person is happy, I am happy too. So, I follow them, or rather, I overtake them.
Takano: That’s good. The character changes depending on the situation.
Celeina: That’s a strength.
Shimizu: Yes, it is.
Takano: Now, I asked Shimizu-san to choose a song that he would like everyone to listen to together on the radio at this time.
Shimizu: Electric Feel” by MGMT. I personally like to listen to this song at music festivals in the summer, but yesterday (May 29), my Instagram Stories were hijacked as if I lost my friends in Tokyo because they were all going to “Greenroom Festival” or “Morimichi Market. So I was listening to this song yesterday.
Celeina: So you were at the festival by yourself.
Shimizu: I was lonely too (laughs). It feels like summer, doesn’t it?
Takano: Did you feel it? Let’s listen to the song.
The name TEN CLUB comes from Street Fighter: ……
Celeina: Now that we are feeling the summer, I was wondering about the origin of the name TEN CLUB that you mentioned earlier. The logo on your Instagram is “TEN” for “Heaven”, isn’t it?
Takano: Is this logo a kind of BOREDOMS homage?
Shimizu: Yes, it is.
Takano: It shows that you know a lot about music.
Celeina: Is there an origin of the name TEN CLUB?
Shimizu: When we first opened, we were just trying to be cool and saying that it had a meaning in Buddhist terms, but recently people have started to notice (laughs). (Laughs) My personality is pretty jokey. In Street Fighter, there is a character named “Gouki” who has a move called “Shunkoku-kill,” and at the end of the move, “Ten” comes out with a bang.
Takano: Is that the origin?
Shimizu: Yes, it is (laughs).
Takano: Very unexpected. But it’s cool.
Celeina: By the way, do you have any events coming up in the near future at TEN CLUB?
Shimizu: There are two days, June 10 and 11, and we will be at Ten Club on the 10th. On the second day, we will have a joint event with five companies at a silk screen store called Asahiya in Sangenjaya, which is a good friend of ours. On the second day, five companies joined forces at a silk-screening shop called Asahiya in Sangenjaya, which is a good friend of ours. The silkscreening is also very interesting.
Takano: I like the fact that it has various elements, such as apparel and food.
Shimizu: Yes, it’s a mixture. That’s what makes TEN CLUB so unique.
Celeina: Can we or listeners who don’t usually go to TEN CLUB suddenly go to this event?
Shimizu: Of course. We are very happy.
Celeina: Thank you very much. Now, “FIST BUMP” is a circle of friends connected by Goo-Touch, so we are asking you to introduce your friends to us.
Shimizu: This is Shohei Higashi, a fashion stylist.
Takano: Is he like a business associate?
Shimizu: We don’t work together, but we were just talking the other day about what we want to do in the future.
Celeina: If you had to sum it up in one word, how would you describe it?
Shimizu: He has a mysterious charm that attracts people, and he is also lucky and multi-talented. He does a lot of different things, and I think that’s probably what leads him to his work.
Takano: It seems to bring him luck.
Shimizu: That’s right.
Takano: Thank you very much. Tomorrow, we will connect with fashion stylist Shohei Azuma.
Celeina: FIST BUMP: Today’s guest is Takeshi Shimizu, owner of TEN CLUB, a standing bar in Koenji, Tokyo. Thank you very much.
Shimizu: Thank you very much.
