Restaurant HACHI
A Miyagi-based Japanese yoshoku restaurant chain known for its hamburger steak and its award-winning 'Japan's No.1 Napolitan' pasta.
Last updated September 27, 2026
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Overview
Restaurant HACHI (レストランHACHI) is a Japanese yoshoku (Western-style Japanese food) restaurant chain based in Miyagi Prefecture, centered on Sendai and Natori. It is operated by All Spice Co., Ltd. (株式会社オールスパイス), a private company founded in 2011 as the corporate successor to a business that began in 1979. The chain's two signature categories are hamburger steak (hanbāgu) and Napolitan spaghetti, and it markets itself with the tagline 'Japan's No.1 Napolitan and traditional hamburger steak specialty store.' The brand originated in November 1979, when Shoji Tsunoda and his wife Nobuko opened a small yoshoku restaurant in Natori, Miyagi. The name 'HACHI' comes from the '八' (eight) character in the founder's given name, Shoji, chosen because eight is considered an auspicious, ever-expanding number in Japan. The original restaurant is today's HACHI Natori Main Store. The founder's eldest son, Hideharu Tsunoda, later took over the business and serves as representative director and chairman. HACHI gained wider recognition in November 2013, when it won the grand prize at the first 'Kagome Napolitan Stadium' held at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse, earning the title 'Japan's No.1 Napolitan.' Its winning dish, a hamburger-topped extra-thick Napolitan, became a signature menu item. In 2023 the chain also won the Tohoku regional round of the 'Kagome Omurice Stadium 2023.' Beyond its restaurants, HACHI has expanded through collaborations and retail products. Its 'Koperitan' — a hamburger Napolitan stuffed into a koppepan roll — was commercialized after comedian Takeshi Tomizawa of the Sendai-born comedy duo Sandwichman proposed it on a TV program in January 2021. The chain has also worked with Yamazaki Baking on a 'Koperitan-style dog' and with Hachi Foods of Osaka on an 'HACHI×HACHI' collaboration, and in 2026 it supplied chilled Koperitan and Napolitan products to JR East's NewDays station convenience stores. As of 2026, Restaurant HACHI operates six restaurants, mainly in Sendai and Natori, and runs an online shop. The company describes its management philosophy as 'We are another family that creates happiness,' a creed it reaffirmed after the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
History
Restaurant HACHI traces its origins to November 1979, when Shoji Tsunoda and his wife Nobuko opened a small yoshoku (Japanese-style Western food) restaurant in the outskirts of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture. That restaurant is today's HACHI Natori Main Store. The name 'HACHI' was taken from the '八' (eight) character in the founder's given name, Shoji, chosen because eight is regarded as an auspicious, ever-expanding number. The founder was born in 1933 in a farming family in what is now Rokuchonome, Wakabayashi Ward, Sendai, and was named Shoji because he was the eighth child of that year's cycle. After his two elder brothers went to war — one killed, one detained in Siberia — he left the family farm to learn a trade, becoming a Western-food cook at the age of 24 at a restaurant called 'Restaurant Hōgetsu' in front of Sendai Station. He rose to head chef there, married Nobuko at 29, and finally opened his own restaurant at 47. Early years were difficult; the couple had little experience in restaurant service and management, and sales were slow for several years. It was after independence that Shoji Tsunoda was able to exercise his 'spirit of ingenuity' (創意工夫), developing the distinctive fluffy hamburger steak with a particular egg content that remains a HACHI signature. In April 1990 the business was incorporated as Yugen Kaisha All Spice, and HACHI became recognized as a hamburger steak specialty store. In September 2006 it opened Restaurant HACHI Sendai Store (closed in 2014 due to redevelopment), and in November 2007 it launched a collaboration product with a major convenience store chain. In March 2011 the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Although the company suffered damage, employees voluntarily cooked and delivered meals to evacuation centers, an experience that led the company to reaffirm the importance of a family-like organization. In August 2011 the company was reorganized as Kabushiki Kaisha All Spice, adopting the management philosophy 'We are another family that creates happiness' and starting a new management plan. In August 2012 it opened Akiu Café HACHI. A turning point came in November 2013, when HACHI entered the first 'Kagome Napolitan Stadium' at Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse under the name 'Tokyo Napolitan ⑧ Maruhachi.' Competing against 16 establishments including 15 from Japan and one Chinese restaurant from Shanghai, it won the grand prize with its 'Golden-ratio hamburger-topped red Napolitan,' made with 2.2 mm extra-thick noodles and topped with a hamburger steak. The judges praised its refreshing acidity that did not rely on ketchup alone. The chain has since claimed the title 'Japan's No.1 Napolitan,' and the dish became its signature. In 2023 it also won the Tohoku regional round of 'Kagome Omurice Stadium 2023.' Expansion continued with the October 2014 opening of Delivery Restaurant HACHI Kasuga Store, the December 2015 opening of Restaurant Hachi Sendai Station Store (now Sendai Main Store), the November 2019 opening of HACHI's Cafe & Dining on the 40th anniversary of founding, and the October 2020 opening of Yuriage Minato Shokudo HACHI in Natori, a facility symbolizing the area's reconstruction. In January 2021 the chain began selling 'Koperitan,' a takeout item created after comedian Takeshi Tomizawa of the Sendai-born duo Sandwichman proposed a hamburger Napolitan in a koppepan roll on the TBS program 'Banana Sand.' In November 2022 Yamazaki Baking released a 'Koperitan-style dog' deli bread reproducing the item, sold in supermarkets and convenience stores across Tohoku and re-released in spring 2026. In October 2025 HACHI began an 'HACHI×HACHI' collaboration with Hachi Foods of Osaka, known as a pioneer of curry powder, serving menus using Hachi Foods' 'Hachi Curry' at HACHI restaurants; in March 2026 a home-use retort 'Restaurant HACHI Napolitan Sauce' supervised by the chain was released. From May 19 to June 8, 2026, JR East's NewDays station convenience stores sold HACHI-supervised chilled 'Koperitan' and 'Napolitan' products, initially in the Tokyo metropolitan area and later expanded to Shizuoka, Nagano, Yamanashi, and the Tohoku prefectures. Founder Shoji Tsunoda lived healthily until his death at age 82 on November 5, 2015. The chain's cook mascot character, 'Shoji-san,' is modeled on him. His eldest son, Hideharu Tsunoda, took over the business and serves as representative director and chairman; Gentaro Sasaki is director and president. As of 2026 the company operates six restaurants — HACHI Natori Main Store, HACHI Sendai Main Store, HACHI Nagamachi Store, HACHI Akiu Onsen Store, Yuriage Minato Shokudo HACHI, and MAGO HACHI KITCHEN in Kokubuncho, Sendai — and runs an online shop. The company reported 47 employees and 64 part-time/contract staff as of August 2026, with headquarters at 8LAB, 1-4-15-101 Katahira, Aoba Ward, Sendai.
Shoji and Nobuko Tsunoda open a yoshoku restaurant in Natori, the origin of today's HACHI Natori Main Store.
Yugen Kaisha All Spice is established; HACHI becomes recognized as a hamburger steak specialty store.
Restaurant HACHI Sendai Store opens (closed in 2014 due to redevelopment).
Collaboration product launched with a major convenience store chain.
Kabushiki Kaisha All Spice is established; new management plan and philosophy 'We are another family that creates happiness' begin after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Akiu Café HACHI opens.
HACHI wins the grand prize at the first Kagome Napolitan Stadium, earning the 'Japan's No.1 Napolitan' title.
Delivery Restaurant HACHI Kasuga Store opens.
Founder Shoji Tsunoda dies at age 82.
Restaurant Hachi Sendai Station Store (now Sendai Main Store) opens.
Products and positioning
Regional Japanese yoshoku family restaurant chain positioning itself around handmade 'family cooking and family service,' traditional hamburger steak, and the 'Japan's No.1 Napolitan' title.
Hamburger steak (hanbāgu)
Traditional fluffy hamburger steak developed by founder Shoji Tsunoda through his 'spirit of ingenuity,' distinguished by its egg content.
Golden-ratio hamburger-topped red Napolitan
The grand-prize-winning dish using 2.2 mm extra-thick noodles topped with a hamburger steak, praised for a refreshing acidity not reliant on ketchup alone.
Koperitan
Takeout item of hamburger Napolitan stuffed into a koppepan roll, proposed by comedian Takeshi Tomizawa on TV in January 2021.
Restaurant HACHI Napolitan Sauce (retort)
Home-use retort pasta sauce released in March 2026 under the Hachi Foods collaboration.
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