Naming things is hard but fun.
For example, a store name called "Bokumo."
It was 14 years ago when we came up with various options, narrowed it down to two, and finally asked the chef which one he preferred, and he chose Bokumo.
The origin of the word Bokumo comes from the lyrics of a RADWIMPS song.
When I was a radio director, I came across RADWIMPS' recordings from their indie days and I really wanted to do a program with them, so I wrote a proposal. Luckily my proposal was accepted and I got to work with them for a total of one year, six months before and six months after their debut.
That one year experience was very special to me. It was a valuable experience to see up close the masses of energy of people about to take flight.
When I opened my shop, I wanted to incorporate the energy I felt at that time into the name of the shop, so I borrowed part of the lyrics of a song I like, "What Do You Think of the Dreaming Moon?" and thought "Bokumo" would be a good name.
When I asked both Yojiro Noda and the president of my agency if I could borrow it, they told me that, for better or worse, "me too" is a phrase that doesn't belong to anyone in particular, and I thought that made sense, so I decided to use it.
By the way, after we opened the store, Yojiro Noda said to us, "Isn't Bokumo actually a copy of Bokuchin?" Bokuchin is the name of their agency.
I didn't mean to do it, but somehow I ended up leaning towards it. Maybe somewhere in my heart I had a desire to steal it.
Looking back now, I think I had a lot of fun thinking about the name of the restaurant. I was excited to think that many people would call the restaurant by the name I chose and that it would eventually take on a life of its own. I still remember how nervous I was when I presented my options to the chef.
As a result, 14 years have passed since we first opened in 2009, and Bokumo is still the name I like. I'm glad I chose Bokumo.
Now, what I'm currently thinking about is a name for this new dessert that will be available from spring.
Although it's not as big a theme as the restaurant name, the menu names still play a big role in whether or not the restaurant will be loved in the future.
The contents of this dessert are:
- "Hokey Pokey" is a vanilla ice cream with caramel (very famous in NZ)
- Rice ice cream made with Mikawa mirin
- Topped with the classic New Zealand dessert "apple crumble"
- Topped with kiwi fruit sauce
- Served in a nostalgic sundae bowl
That's it.
It feels like a mix of New Zealand elements and Aichi, Japan elements.
It's difficult to name something with so many elements like this.
I can't tell you everything, so I have to choose what information to include. But each element is important, so it's hard to cut out any. So I wonder if it would be better to use a vague "name that conveys the atmosphere" without explaining the contents.
If you want a name that organizes information while conveying its contents,
"Hockey Pokey & Mikawa Mirin Sunday"
Or
"Double ice cream with apple crumble"
Or something like that.
If you go for the atmosphere
"New Zealand + Japan Sunday"
Or
"The Cross-Cultural Fusion Ice Cream"
Is this wrong?
Hmm, what should I do? I'll think about it a bit more.
If you have any ideas, please let me know. It would be fun to interact with various people.
By the way, these are the last two choices when naming your Bokumo store.
The other candidate was "Jennifer."
If the chef had said, "Let's go with Jennifer," the restaurant might have had a completely different feel by now.
