“There is a way where there is a will.” Hazlitt, William There are occasions that we find disappointing when we don’t have enough money while we were still students in college or university.

Some people are fortunate to be born into a wealthy family, while others are not. There are days when pupils from modest families find it difficult since they just have allowances from their parents to use for the day. In certain cases, their low budget prevents them from purchasing their favorite food.

In Demachi, Kyoto, a Japanese restaurant owner known as “The King of Dumplings” has permitted students who cannot afford to eat to wash dishes for 30 minutes in exchange for the price of their dinner.

He has served over 30,000 complimentary lunches to needy youngsters over the course of several decades. The restaurant’s proprietor is now 70 years old, and the establishment will close at the end of this month, according to the report.

According to the Sankei Shimbun, “The King of Dumplings” restaurant is close to Kyoto University and Doshisha University. A banner on the entryway of the restaurant states, “Those who do not have the money to eat can dine for free.”

Touhiro Inoue, the shop’s owner, was born in Fushimi-Ku, Kyoto. His family abandoned him at the age of 20 because they rejected his marriage to his wife.

They moved to Osaka after he married, but they had a difficult existence and could not afford to buy food.

Inoue then went to Kyoto to work at “The King of Dumplings,” a restaurant. When he was promoted to restaurant manager in 1982, he reflected on how he had endured a lot as a young man and how it was now time for him to help others who were going through the same hardships he had.

So he devised the plan of having students wash the dishes for 30 minutes in exchange for free food. Inoue pursued this idea after becoming the owner of a dumpling shop in Demachi in 1995, and he was liked by local students.

To date, he has provided more than 30,000 meals for free. Although two years ago, a student was no longer allowed to wash plates for hygienic reasons. However, he continued to provide free food for students who did not have the money to eat.

Inoue says that the most heart-warming thing is that some of the students who have graduated come back to visit his restaurant. There was once a male student from Doshisha University who came to Tokyo to start a business after he graduated.

After getting married and having children, he brought his children to visit Inoue. He said that because of Inoue, he was able to marry and have children. Inoue hugged the boy and wept with joy.

Inoue has now reached the age to retire. Since no one would inherit the restaurant, he decided to close the establishment. Apparently, he worries about the plight of the students, especially now when the world is plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic.

People who heard the news of the restaurant’s closure began to come back and visit the restaurant. Many people came, some of them former students who had eaten there and some who had washed dishes for their meals.

Most of the students who came to visit were already adults, and soon the restaurant was filled with old and new customers. Many of them wanted to thank Inoue for his service and his restaurant, where they felt welcome to have a good meal for free.