How Takagi Takaaki went from a centuries-old sake legacy to launching Tampopo in Singapore

When you chat with someone born into a Japanese family that’s been brewing sake for 300 years, the last thing you would expect is to hear him describe himself as “80% Singaporean”.

Then again, Takagi Takaaki, 73, has lived here for almost five decades and built a restaurant chain that occupies a spot in the memories of many Lion City denizens: Tampopo.

Born in Gifu Prefecture, he spoke to MS News during an interview at Tampopo’s fourth-floor outlet at Ngee Ann City. Mr Takagi was originally set to take over the family sake brewery, Okuhida (which, yes, dates back to 1720).

Instead, after graduating from university, he asked for permission to leave to “see the world,” before eventually settling down and taking the reins.

Building a life and business across countries

At the time, Pokka, the Japanese beverage company partially owned by his father, was expanding overseas, including to Singapore.

He arrived in 1977 as a sales executive, intending to stay no more than five years before heading back by the age of 30.

What was meant to be a short stint stretched into decades.

While Pokka is now a household name in Singapore, its local operation...