Tokuya Hirose, 82, is the second-generation owner of Ze-roku, a tiny ice-cream shop in Osaka city's Hommachi area. Established in 1913, Ze-roku served traditional Japanese sweets till 1952, when Tokuya's father and this three sons came up with a brilliant combination that melted everyone's hearts: the Ze-roku monaka. This sweet of delicious creamy ice cream served inside crisp mochi rice wafers is still made to the original recipe every morning by Tokuya and his son Mitsunori. Fans drop by for a daily dose of the Ze-roku experience, which includes not only morsels of monaka with sips of freshly brewed hot coffee but also the cheerful banter between members of the Hirose family and other regulars, who all squeeze themselves into the 10 sq. meters of this retro shop. Cramped it is, but that's the fun of Ze-roku, where at ¥100 a monaka and ¥200 a cup of joe, you only need pennies to experience something out of this world.

It's OK to repeat yourself. I use four expressions over and over again: "Thank you," "thank God," "sorry" and "I'll do it." That's enough for life.

Hang on to the excited and happy feeling you had the moment you got your dream job. That's how I have felt every morning since 1950. When you work for a long time, it's easy to forget how you felt when you first started. Don't let that happen to you. Being blown around like a leaf is not good; you'll get carried away and you'll never know where you might end up.