Sakaguchi Kenji has starred in many films and dramas but the actor stopped acting to concentrate on treatment for “idopathic femoral head necrosis” (a disease in the hip joint) and leads to pain while walking or going up stairs, which made it difficult for him to work.
For Sakaguchi, he has had a pain in his right hip since 20-12 but has worsened in 2014. In 2015, he was diagnosed with the disease.
Sakaguchi had an operation immediately and he was unable to walk and had to sit in a wheelchair for a short time. While he had to suspend activities indefinitely and his acting contract was canceled in May 2018, Sakaguchi wanted to spend time with his family and choose a new path in life and decided to become a coffee roaster.
Sakaguchi loved coffee and when he visited Portland, Oregon, he was attracted to the coffee culture. And he learned through private lessons of roasting and Sakaguchi ended up taking the challenge of starting a coffee business which provides special roasted beans.
Sakaguchi started his coffee brand The Rising Sun Coffee in Kujukuri in Chiba prefecture, a sacred place for surfing which Sakaguchi enjoyed doing.
The first store opened in Tokyo in the Spring of 2019 (because the business is community-based, the address is not disclosed) but it is based in the beach town of Kujukuri and the shop is right near surf shops and surfing schools and is three minutes away from Kujukuri Beach where Sakaguchi often goes out to surf.
Sakaguchi said, “Due to my illness, there are some things I have lost, but I also have gained. I am enjoying seeing a new world”.
It has been two years since the brand was launched and the number of staff has increased to five and the number of wholesale customers has increased.
The Rising Sun Coffee Instagram has more than 120,000 followers and many who support the brand.
This year, like many businesses worldwide, The Rising Sun Coffee was affected by the novel coronavirus and a state of emergency was issued in Japan due to the novel coronavirus infection and coffee shops were forced to close down in April and May.
Because wholesale shops were also closed, orders dropped between April and May. Fortunately, The Rising Sun was able to sell coffee and merchandise was sold online and there has been a demand for people who want to drink delicious coffee at home.
Sakaguchi said in a recent interview with the Huffington Post, “When you grind beans and make coffee, the aroma and taste are completely different and it’s really delicious. I think some people may have felt the gratitude and importance of having a relaxing time while staying at home”.
When asked what he has planned for the future, Sakaguchi said, “Going forward, I want to see the number of customers increase that purchase ‘The Rising Sun Coffee’ products and I hope to expand in having more shops. I want to do my best for three or five years to delope the brand. The business is growing little by little, but there are also challenges. It’s hard to start from scratch and I feel that I can’t continue unless I feel a sense of purpose in life and I feel that having that feeling is more important than anything else. I ask the staff to be ‘believe in me’. I have to aim for ‘The Rising Sun Coffee’ instead of ‘Sakaguchi Kenji’s coffee shop’. I believe if I keep making coffee seriously, I believe that it will lead to more results and I will continue on doing it without ever blurring”.
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