Before meeting her, I imagined her to be a very Americanized, strong woman. Masako Kawashima, the owner of Sno:la, a frozen yogurt shop located on Beverly Drive in Rodeo Eve, completely changed my preconceptions. She was a gentle and flexible "Yamato Nadeshiko."
"I've been working in the entertainment industry for a long time. I invite events (concerts, sports, etc.) to Japan and organize tours. I've had the opportunity to tour with a variety of people, including the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and Prince."
Even before starting "Sno:la", Kawashima's main job was as a promoter who arranged for Western artists to perform in Japan, and he is still busy flying around the world. In 1991, he moved to LA. Since most of the artists' agencies are in LA, every time he signed a contract, his desire to study law in America grew stronger, so he decided to move to LA, attended university while working, and obtained a diploma.
Kawashima, who has absolutely no experience in the restaurant or food business, decided by chance to leave his day job and start a frozen yogurt shop.
"Musicians who are always on the road often talk about wanting to eat something sweet, but not wanting to get fat (laughs)." At that time, the topic of frozen yogurt came up, and before he knew it, Kawashima began to seriously consider opening a store in LA.
"I can't make yogurt myself, so I gave the lab an idea for the flavor I wanted to create, and it took more than a year to develop it. My basic requests were that it be organic and that they not use white sugar."
What does "this kind of taste" mean? "I wanted to make something that wasn't available anywhere else. Something that wasn't gelato, ice cream, sorbet, or traditional frozen yogurt." After tasting hundreds of times, "Snorla" was born. "Finally, I was able to create something that had the texture and bite I wanted, was delicious, and was also healthy."
It's not ice cream or frozen yogurt? So what should we call it? "Snowra (laughs). I started making it with the passion that it would become a common noun, not a proper noun."
The first store opened in Beverly Hills in September 2007. Since then, branches have been opened in Kyoto and Santa Monica (the Santa Monica store is scheduled to open in July). The Kyoto store has become known as a store where customers can line up. The two stores in Los Angeles are just starting to get into their prime as the weather heats up, but since opening, they have been covered by many media outlets, including CNN.
"They seemed to be interested in our concern for the environment. Within a month of opening, CNN came to visit us. The mayor of Beverly Hills also said, 'We support green businesses like Snowra.' After that, we started receiving more and more interviews."
"Sno:la" is a "green business" (an environmentally conscious business), which is the latest trend. Now that President Obama has been elected, environmental businesses are expected to play a key role in economic recovery, but two years ago, even in California, the state most enthusiastic about environmental issues in the United States, it was rare for someone like Kawashima to fully incorporate the environment into their business.
Sno:la is committed to being environmentally friendly. First of all, the milk, yogurt, and fruit they use are as organic as possible. This is not only good for your health, but also for the soil. The containers are made from corn and sugar cane, which will return to nature without polluting the soil and are also an effective use of waste materials. The take-out boxes are recycled, and the printing ink is soy ink, which does not use chemicals.
"We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors. We borrow it from our future children." - A favorite Indian saying of Kawashima. He wants to make the future of the Earth better for his children. With that single-minded determination, he is working on environmentally friendly management.
He had experienced the tough business of being a promoter, but doing business was a whole different story. He was able to create the "Snorla" he wanted, but when he started running the store, he had more trouble than he'd imagined.
"I didn't think it would be so hard to make one store. I wanted to relax because my entertainment work was so hard. But even now, I send tours to Japan, and doing that job makes me feel relieved (laughs). Here, from deciding on the location, to dealing with the landlord and real estate company, to hiring an architect... What's harder than Japan is getting permission from the health department and the city. The city of Beverly Hills was really mean (at first). It took four months to get permission for the sign. They told me to change the color, what the shape was, etc. Now? We've all become friends. That's why all the city people come to eat here. At first, I'd never even been to City Hall, it looks scary, doesn't it? I got to know the faces after going there many times. I've become friends with all kinds of people. In that sense, I've become one with the city. I've become a real resident, more than when I was just living there. Before, I was just a customer. It's like I'm doing work (for Japan) and they're letting me live here." Besides the Beverly Hills public servants? Hollywood celebrities are also regulars at "Sno:la". Tyra Banks, Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon are among those who make frequent appearances.
He also served as the secretary for the writer Shusaku Endo in charge of overseas affairs. He was highly trusted, and started working part-time as a student, and continued to work there even after he moved to the United States until Endo's death. He was a personal friend of John Denver, who died in a plane crash. He was also friends with Queen's Bran Anne May, who would visit his home. The other day, when he had caught a cold and went to a nearby clinic, he happened to meet Rod Stewart again, and we both had our eyes wide open. Kawashima-san had an immeasurable network of contacts, gained experience, and built a career, but he was determined to open a store, so he took a big leap of faith and jumped into a new industry. He had a hard time planning and getting approval for a store he had no experience in, and once it opened, he struggled to train young American staff. However, he overcame these challenges by finding a reliable manager. Kawashima-san is modest and sincere, and has a broad-mindedness that allows him to tolerate even the most difficult situations, so perhaps the solution came to him.
Sitting at "Sno:la," I can only bow my head in respect that he built the place from scratch. However, the humble Kawashima-san has people he is grateful to. They are the Japanese and Japanese-Americans living in America who built the foundation for what we are today.
"When I first studied abroad (at high school in the US) in the 1970s, it was a time when cheap Japanese products were bad. It was a time when labour costs were low and the products were bad. Then, because the Japanese have incredible energy, after the war they started to make better and better products. Now, on the other hand, when something is made in Japan, it is assumed that it is good. That's why I feel it is easy to work here. It's all thanks to the hard-working Japanese people. Our company was founded in Beverly Hills, and started here, so it's not (born in) Japan, but I think that because we have Japan behind us and I'm Japanese, people in the US trust us."
"Next, I want to take it to Paris, and then Berlin," he says, and the "Sno:la" plans are still ongoing. He also looks after the students at his alma mater, International Christian University (ICU). While he feels encouraged by his young juniors, saying, "They're all taking on bold challenges," Kawashima has now become one of the Japanese people they respect.
I am pleased to be able to introduce on Discover Nikkei the activities of Japanese people like Kawashima, who have the "Yamato Nadeshiko" temperament that is becoming rare even in Japan, and are active overseas.
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Sno:la Main Store (Snolayogurt.com)
Address: 244 N. Beverly Dr. Beverly Hills CA
Phone: 310-274-2435
Sno:la Santa Monica 3rd Street Promenade
314 Santa Monica Blvd., Santa Monica, CA (next to La Salsa)
Phone: 310-458-3700
Sno:la Kyoto Kawaramachi-dori store Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, Nakagyo Ward, Kawaramachi-dori Sanjo Shimonarayacho 303 (Takoyakushi-dori corner)
Phone: 075-212-7839
© 2009 Yumiko Hashimoto
