"To Be Here, It's Good" Determination and Dedication featuring Mr. Naoyuki Sato

“To Be Here, It’s Good” is a brand new interview series brought to you by the Youth Development Commission, in connection with the “Youth Development Blueprint” of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau. The series not only depicts the appearance of Hong Kong as a city but also reveals the stories of the non-locally born citizens who have already regarded Hong Kong as their “home away from home”. Starting from “852”, the international area code of Hong Kong, the series invites foreigners who have been living in Hong Kong for various durations to share their stories. Each of them came to Hong Kong for a different reason. How did they adapt to Hong Kong and, deal with the difficulties? What does Hong Kong look like in their eyes? And how did they discover the uniqueness of Hong Kong?Often times, we would be inspired by others’ stories. And sometimes we would even uncover something that has been forgotten or ignored. This series of little-known, genuine yet extraordinary "852" stories highlight that Hong Kong is multi-cultural, highly inclusive, full of opportunities and potentials.The public is welcome to watch the related interview videos or articles. Let’s rediscover Hong Kong and explore the infinite possibilities of “852” together. Determination and Dedication featuring Mr. Naoyuki Sato "Realising a dream is a long and enduring process. During the process, we would encounter different people and different situations. Some are good and some are bad. When facing challenges, we need to keep our perseverance. And to taste the fruit of success does not mean that one has to work on myriad things or trying multiple pathways. It actually means that we need to be focused and take every step with dedication." Mr. Naoyuki Sato aspired to become a chef since he was a child. When he was small, he enjoyed cooking with his mother in the kitchen a lot. After becoming a chef, he realised that working in a restaurant was not an easy job, especially the long working hours. Because of that, he struggled a lot. And during the process, he learned to be honest to himself and confirmed that becoming a chief chef is the calling of his life. Thereafter, he persists and strives towards this goal no matter what difficulty may lie ahead. Mr. Sato used to be a chief chef in Japan. He has experience serving in the restaurant of a renowned Japanese hotel as well as at the banquet welcoming leaders from various countries to Japan. In 1994, he received a secondment invitation to work in Hong Kong. At that time, he always wanted to work abroad. Despite having limited knowledge about Hong Kong, he believed that it was an invaluable opportunity and thus he accepted offer. And as a father, Mr Sato hoped to broaden his children’s horizons and let them experience the life abroad. That is why he decided to move to Hong Kong together with his family and ready to start a new chapter in a city with marked differences compared with Tokyo. Stepping out of the Kai Tak International Airport of Hong Kong, the first scenery that Mr. Sato saw was “tong lau” — which literally means 'Chinese building', and with people hanging laundry items and clothes outdoor. That gave him an impression that Hong Kong was not very developed. On the bright side, he was well taken care of, by both his Japanese and local Hong Kong colleagues, at the new workplace. Moreover, there was a Japanese department store near his home. Despite all the differences in culture, language and the environment, he adapted to the life in Hong Kong much faster than he would have imagined. At the beginning, he did not even set Hong Kong as part of his development objective. It was beyond his imagination that he would discover the charming aspects of this city and slowly fall in love with Hong Kong. The friendliness and hospitality of local Hong Kong people towards Japanese played a role in the process. "Compared with Japan, the transportation network in Hong Kong is very convenient. There are country trails near the urban area and I can see the mountains and the sea when I open the window. That’s why I like Hong Kong a lot." The easy access to nature in Hong Kong has made Mr Sato a hiking fans. "I have been to Hong Kong for 28 years. Hong Kong’s development has surpassed that of Japan in many aspects. Also, Hong Kong does not impose many restrictions on importing food ingredients. A lot of the food ingredients that I use are imported from Japan. Such convenience enables me to prepare top-notch Japanese cuisine here in Hong Kong and the quality in Hong Kong can be even better than that in Japan. At times, I place orders with local suppliers in Japan during late night. And in a few hours flight time, my orders arrive safely in Hong Kong. I can then prepare and serve them to my customers on the same day. Hong Kong is really a convenient place" Mr. Sato hopes to continue to promote Japanese cuisine in Hong Kong and introduce a wider variety of Japanese fresh food to Hong Kong, so that Hong Kong people can gain access to the best-in-class cuisine. To honour his contribution and dedication in promoting Japanese cuisine abroad, the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong awarded him the Consul-General’s Commendation in 2020. It has never been an easy task to be a chef. Similar to that in Japan, working hours are long and training younger chefs is not at all easy as well. However, cooking is the way of life of Mr Sato and he would stay on with it for the rest of his life. It is the determination that keeps him going and, now it has been 45 years. "Now as long as my customers appreciate the food that I prepared, I would be very satisfied" Some may use cooking as a metaphor for life. Varied ingredients coupled with different cooking methods offer boundless experience. And the motto of Mr Sato’s cooking life would be – “Be clear about your direction. And pursue it persistently.” Youth Development Commission"To Be Here, It's Good" Campaign webpage : www.ydc.gov.hk/852IG : www.instagram.com/youthdevelopmentcommission/Facebook : www.facebook.com/YDCgovhk  

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[Youth Hostel] Home2 Youth Hostel

To further address the housing needs of young people, the Government announced in the 2022 Policy Address and the Youth Development Blueprint the initiative to expand the Youth Hostel Scheme by subsidising NGOs to rent suitable hotels and guesthouses for use as youth hostels. The "Home² Youth Hostel" project located at Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West, is collabprated and operated by the Y.Elites Association and the Nina Hospitality. Four levels of hotel rooms of the Nina Hotel Tsuen Wan West will be converted into youth hostels, providing 4 types of room for application. Eligibility - Hong Kong permanent resident aged 18 or above but below 31 as at the application deadline- Working youth (e.g. Full-time, Part-time, Self-employed) Full-time students are not eligible- Monthly income not exceeding 75% of the monthly employment earnings of employed persons aged 18-30 as per the latest statistics issued by the Census and Statistics Department of the Governement (current data: HKD26,000) for a one-person applicant (The income level of a two-person applicant should not exceed twice that of a one-person applicant)- Total net asset not exceeding HKD390,000 and HKD780,000 respectively for a one-person household and a two-person household- Do not own or co-own any residential property in Hong Kong- If the applicants are public housing tenants, the public housing or interm housing should not be left vacant due to the youth hostel tenancy- Have not been living in the youth hostels under the Youth Hostel Scheme of the Government, for more than three years Details and Application https://www.home2yh.hk/registration/web/register2.php?lang=en Enquiry No. 2111 2970

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