Rocky Aoki: Hibachi’s a Bitch and Then You Die | 163

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 16 June 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Rocky Aoki, the son of a vaudeville performer and a tango dancer, grows up in the wreckage of post-war Tokyo. With his natural flair for entertainment, he opens his first Benihana restaurant in Manhattan, making sure to entertain his customers via knife-wielding chefs. Rocky builds his business up throughout the 80s, stopping at nothing to make his restaurant empire bullet-proof, but he ends up almost bringing the ship down after having several affairs, a secret family, and a conviction for insider trading. To this day his kids and his widow, Keiko Aoki, are still battling it out over the Benihana trust and its flashy legacy.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, scam influencers listeners. If you're as hooked on these jaw-dropping schemes as we are,
0:04.7	you'll love Wondry Plus. Think of it as you're all access past the world of scams.
0:09.4	Add free episodes, early access, and exclusive deep dives that uncover even more shocking details.
0:15.5	Don't just listen. Emmerse yourself in the chaos with Wondry Plus.
0:19.5	Just a disclaimer before we start this episode.
0:22.8	I lost my voice for a few days.
0:24.8	It's finally back, but I'm now left with this sexy rasp,
0:29.6	which you all have to enjoy.
0:46.7	Sachi, do you have, like, a dream dining experience, like, something that you just want to experience so badly?
0:47.6	No.
0:51.4	No, not really.
0:52.1	It's okay.
0:53.5	I'll throw one out for you. Okay.
0:54.7	Mine is very attainable. It's okay. I'll throw one out for you. Okay. Mine is very attainable.
0:57.4	It is literally just to go to Benny Hana.
1:00.2	Hmm.
1:01.2	I don't know why I haven't gone.
1:02.8	Like, I've clearly been around one, but I feel like now it has to be so special.
1:08.2	Yeah, dinner and a show.
1:09.3	I get it.
1:09.8	I would go with you.
1:11.5	We should go.
	...

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