Lion Kitchen, a Western restaurant in Kyoto's Kamigyo Ward, from which the store's symbol lion figurine was stolen two and a half years ago, has had its lion figurine restored. He said he was waiting for it to come back someday, but gave up and had the same wood carver make it for him. The second generation owner has a calm expression on his face and his eyes are closed, and the owner hopes that, ''I want him to be loved by the people of the town, just like his predecessor.''

The owner, Daisuke Yagura, looks at the second-generation lion. Like his predecessors, he hopes to "become a presence that is loved by the people of the town" (Lion Kitchen, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City)

The store is located at the west entrance of Demachi Masugata shopping street. According to the owner, Daisuke Yagura, 45, the first generation carving displayed in the store was a teak wood carving made in Bali, Indonesia, and was 120 centimeters long and weighed about 30 kilograms.

It was a precious gift that a friend had given him to celebrate the store's opening, and it was said to have been petted and loved so much by the neighborhood children that it was glowing.

The first lion figurine. It weighed nearly 30 kg, but was stolen in the middle of the night.

However, in November 2021, it was stolen in the middle of the night. Daisuke Yagura asked for information on Twitter (currently known as X), but was unable to obtain any information that would lead to a discovery.

Around the summer of 2022, a friend of his told me that he had found the craftsman who carved the first model in Bali, so I decided to order the second model. Daisuke Yagura said, ''Many people told me that they missed the lion. He felt the same way.''

The second generation is slightly smaller than its predecessor, with a total length of 90 cm and 25 km. To prevent it from being stolen this time, I had a friend make a stand so that it could be fixed to the ground or to the lion. It was installed on March 11th in perfect condition.

The theft was a sad event, but it also had unexpected repercussions. The Twitter account complaining about the theft went viral, and there was media coverage, increasing the store's profile. When Daisuke Yagura told people he met for the first time the name of the store, they often said, ''That's the store where the lion was stolen.''

Thanks to this, the store is thriving, and the days are so busy that there are long lines on weekends. Looking at the second generation, Daisuke Yagura said with a smile, ''Everything is thanks to Lion.I want to continue working with the people of the community.''