A circle of friends connected by goo touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On October 12, bartender Toshihiro Fukami introduces us to Chanpon Chikara, a creator who distributes drinking videos. In this interview, we not only talked about the video production he started with the Corona disaster, but also about Chanponchikara’s way of enjoying alcoholic beverages and his experience in Ireland, the sacred land of whiskey.
INDEX
A Drink Lover Turned Video Creator
Celeina (MC):We welcomed Chanpon Chikara, a creator who distributes videos of alcoholic beverages, recommended by Toshihiro Fukami, a bartender..Nice to meet you.
Chikara: Nice to meet you.
Celeina: May I call you Chikara-san?
Chikara: Yes. Please call me Chikara!
Celeina: Is this “chanpon” meaning “drinking various kinds of alcohol”?
Chikara: Also, I am from Nagasaki, so it has two meanings, that and “Nagasaki Chanpon”.
Takano (MC): I think a lot of people watch Chikara’s videos. I also saw the short video that came on and watched it, so I thought it was him! He distributes videos related to alcohol on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc. I really like the sound. Do you pay much attention to sound?
Chikara: I use an iPhone and don’t use a microphone at all. I just turn up the sound in the editing.
Celeina: There is a healing ASMR-like element to the sound.
Takano: Like the sound of a bottle of soda being released, or the sound of ice cubes being churned.
Chikara: Thank you very much.
Celeina: What made you start distributing videos in the first place?
Chikara: Before the Corona Disaster, I used to go out for three or four drinks every day, five or six at the most. But when the lockdown shut down all the places at once and I could only drink at home, I thought I wasn’t being productive, so I tried posting videos. Then I happened to get a buzz on the second day, so I thought I’d keep doing it for a while, and I’ve been doing it for about three years.
Takano: How many subscribers do you have on YouTube?
Chikara: About 370,000 or 380,000.
Celeina: Surprisingly, many people from countries other than Japan watch our videos.
Chikara: We get a lot of comments from overseas. Especially TikTok comments are mostly in English.
Takano: It seems that the taste of sake can be conveyed beyond language.
Celeina: Sake is a common language.
INDEX
Sake introduction videos that I have mastered in my own way
Takano: I was wondering what you originally did for a living.
Chikara: I was in the restaurant or service industry. People say to me, “You used to bartend, didn’t you?” But I have no experience as a bartender. I like bars and often had the opportunity to watch bartenders at work, so I studied by taking videos of them. I did it completely on my own.
Takano: Your hand movements and sharpness are very bartender-like.
Celeina: I am surprised that you have no experience as a bartender.
Chikara: I have worked at a bar, but I served customers outside the counter.
Takano: How about a bar produced by Chikara-san in the future?
Chikara: If I had the chance, I would like to do it.
Celeina: I think it may already be in the works (haha). What kind of content did you initially distribute?
Chikara: We were drinking alcohol all the time from the beginning.
Takano: Making drinks and drinking them with relish.
Chikara: I was making and drinking highballs, buying tipsy or something and making simple arranged cocktails at home, and that grew a lot.
Takano: Where do you find the long, thin ice you often use?
Chikara: That is ice from Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. After collaborating with them once in the past, they sent me some from Kanazawa, and I use it every time.
Takano: Great!
Celeina: I would like to ask you about your favorite drink.
Chikara: I like whiskey, shochu, and wine. I drink anything.
Celeina：That’s why you like chanpon.
Chikara: I can’t drink only plum wine. I don’t like pickled plums.
Celeina: Have you ever had it?
Chikara: Yes, I have. It was no good (haha).
Takano: Do you have your best cocktail?
Chikara: I drink highballs the most, so I guess it would have to be the highball.
Celeina: Do you have any tips on how to make a good highball or any other tips for drinking at home?
Chikara: I am not a bartender, so it is completely my own style, but it is important to make sure that all the ice, whiskey, and glasses are ice-cold. I think it’s important to make sure all the ice and the whiskey are ice cold and the glasses are clean.
Celeina： That’s good. I’m very happy to hear that you don’t have to put so much effort into making sake.
Takano: Do you keep your cups chilled in the freezer?
Chikara: Yes, I do. In the video, I turn the ice to cool them. I thought it would look better with that kind of footage than if they were cold from the start.
Celeina：Do you always have glasses in your freezer?
Chikara: Basically, yes.
Takano: How much alcohol do you have in stock?
Chikara: About 7 or 800 bottles at home, in the studio, and in the warehouse.
Celeina: 800 bottles?
Takano: I get lost every day.
Chikara: If I drank them all, I would die (haha).
