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Great idea! 2007/3/16 09:03
Personally, I think it's a great idea to open a Greek restaurant in Japan. My wife never tried Greek food until she came to Canada. Now, she and her Japanese friends are in love with it.
by Chan Konabe rate this post as useful

Greek food - opa! 2007/3/16 19:40
I really think a Greek restaurant could succeed in Tokyo and other big cities. The key is to make it beautiful, a great location, and to get word-of-mouth publicity. This may mean modifying or "Nihonizing" the experience slightly - especially regarding the interior design. It has to have the Japanese "flair" - super-cleanliness; subtle, stylish, but brilliant lighting; unified style (not 'cluttered' or 'eclectic').
As far as the food goes, I disagree with previous postings about 'watering down' the spiciness or sweetness of Greek food - I've had pastry in Tokyo that was twice as sweet as the sweetest baklava. And yesterday I had a bowl of ramen at a "Kohmen" that was blisteringly hot!
So I say make it totally greek, in a Japan-style Greek setting.
PS I hope you can find 'real' Greek feta in Melbourne or wherever - I was in Tel Aviv recently and they only had Bulgarian feta which really wasn't working for me! Good Luck!
by lee rate this post as useful

hmmm 2007/3/16 22:33
hey buddy, I seriously think that you eventually should do some market research and if possible sampling first. As some people already mentioned: "Japan is a whole different story". I am currently doing some sampling with chocolates in Japan (Swiss Chocolates) and I tell you, it is not easy to get your product to the "man".

Japanese people like decoration and the whole thing around it. So in terms of food, I guess you would have to Japanze it a little...good look anyway!


AUCH
by AUCH rate this post as useful

carryout? 2007/3/17 17:13
You might find it's profitable to offer a small take out menu as well as the sit-down experience depending on where you locate.
by ms rate this post as useful

greek restaraunt 2007/3/21 09:28
Ive been living in Japan for 6 years coming from melbourne and of course are greek....have searched all over Japan for a greek restaraunt and discovered there are two in Tokyo from the internet. Patronized both and found them not so good. 2 years ago took a group of japanese people to Greece. I found that in the first couple of days they were not so happy with the greek dishes. The main comment was that they were too heavy!!! and the greek salad was the staple salad found in all restaraunts boring !!!
After the third day they all seemed to be getting into the food a lot better....but I really think that a traditional greek restaraunt here in Japan is going to be a little risky....you should do some thorough research before you embark on your investment dream....
by mooyio rate this post as useful

Heavy? 2007/5/19 12:23
I must protest on the suggestion that Greek food is heavy!! I am not sure what kind of restaurants you may have taken your Japanese guests in Greece, but, our experience in Japan (as I stated in my previous contribution on this topic, I am a Greek food and wine importer), authentic Greek food, once tasted, is very popular here in Japan. It is a fact though that in many restaurants in popular holiday locations in Greece, are not the best advertisement for the Greek gastronomic tradition.
by Thana rate this post as useful

Greek Restaurant in Harajuku. 2007/7/4 23:46
My wife and I went to a nice Greek restaurant in Harajuku. The food was good and didn't taste watered down.
If the Japanese can eat Yakitori, then I don't see a problem with Souvlakia. Also seafood is big in Greece. At least on the Islands. Uni(urchin), tako(octopus),etc is often eaten on Andros. As metioned previously, each area of Greece has its own menu.
Good luck.
by Andros rate this post as useful

Greek yogurt 2007/9/13 10:43
Great news!!!
Early in October,FAGE's TOTAL Greek yogurt will be in Japan!
Check www.nostimia.com
by A. Fragkis rate this post as useful

Greek Food 2007/11/7 12:57
Three Greek restaurants in Tokyo and all three don't have a great reputation with the Greek and Japanese community, as proof they are all not very busy. However I feel Tokyo is desperate for a GOOD restaurant and I know it could succeed. I presently own and operate some restaurants in Tokyo and am considering opening one myself.
by M.S. rate this post as useful

fetta 2007/11/7 14:34
lee said "PS I hope you can find 'real' Greek feta in Melbourne or wherever - I was in Tel Aviv recently and they only had Bulgarian feta which really wasn't working for me!"

Melbourne, Australia, has the LARGEST Greek population of ANY city in the world except Athens!!!!
..............................
There are two Greek restaurants in Yokohama that I know of.
by Sandy rate this post as useful

Greek restaurants around tokyo 2008/11/19 05:19
Apologies for resurrecting this old thread but I wonder of the original poster realized his dream.

e-food.jp brings up several restaurants in the Tokyo area: http://e-food.jp/cgi-bin/restfind/view.cgi?fo=gr
A couple even look promising, I may check them out this coming spring.
by Epsilon rate this post as useful

so, what happened 2009/10/20 14:26
so, here we are, three years later.. and we'd like to know what happened.. did the restaurant take off, or what?!?!?
by Taki (guest) rate this post as useful

No But Yes 2009/10/24 11:59
I just got back to Australia yesterday from Japan and I didn't see any Greek restaurants. I spent four weeks there so I did a lot of eating.

The Japanese are obsessed with eating and everything to them seems to be 'oishii' (delicious) They will give any food a try so a Greek restaurant will do well.

Set it up near a big city's train station or even better IN IT.
by Chelsea (guest) rate this post as useful

my 5 cents 2009/11/14 19:57
I don't know in general, but my Japanese friend loved the food when he visited Sifnos. Not souvlaki though, he had a sofisticated taste, so he went for xtapodaki, kalamarakia, tyrokroketes, tzatziki, hummus, kleftiko, giaxni, spanakopittes etc :)
by ego (guest) rate this post as useful

Risky choice but... 2009/11/14 21:44
After 3 years and some visits in Japan, i managed to visit some Greek restaurants (in Tokyo and Yokohama). The quality of some of them is pretty satisfactory but the prices comparing with restaurants in Greece or in USA are unfortunately very high. I consider this period as a very risky one to start a new business, especially in Japan. However, i have not fully quit this idea and i am already testing any possible options. As a matter of fact, i believe that a classical Greek cuisine restaurant would be much better than the common "tourist-Greek-souvlaki-mousaka" options. This requires a lot of time, funds and thinking.
by Greek person (guest) rate this post as useful

A common mistake... 2011/3/20 13:10
I think I'm a bit late but I had to clear things up... Greek Food isn't consider to be the popular souvlaki. Souvlaki is a kind of fast food/street food.Greeks will it mostly when they are bored to cook or decided to visit the city's center for a walk and light shopping. The GReek cusine isn't heavier than the most well known european ones due to the ingredients. Olive oil, fresh vegetables and fruit are a big deal in every meal.

In my opinion you should research the "arxaion geuseis" (anicient tastes)restaurant in athens that specializes in ancient greek dishes. If you consider the fact that Japan has a great familiarity with rice why not add everyday greek dishes as stuffed peppers and tomatoes, ntolmadakia, lahanontolmades, stuffed squash etc You could try ryzogalo as a desert etc.

A taverna will not work in japan so you better be prepered to invest well in a suitable menu and quite a budget.
by KAE (guest) rate this post as useful

Big Challange 2011/3/21 12:27
Well done for considering opening a restaurant in Japan. I hope you are successful. Japan are a nation of foodies, and word of mouth can make or break a place, so be sure to do everything you can to be praiseworthy. There is a challenge I think has not been mentioned thus far, that is Greek food's use of lamb.

1. Japanese palates are still warming slowly to the taste. Genghis Khan is a name for a popular Lamb dish (a type of Mongolian BBQ/stirfry), but it is mostly consumed by Japanese holidaying in Hokkaido. Lamb is still not a meat the Japanese eat regularly (this can work in your favour, though. Japanese LOVE a new angle, gimmick, flavour of the week! The trick is to harness that interest).

2. Because lamb is not widely eaten, supply could be a challenge. Lamb prices are at a premium!! In theory, lamb souvlaki at 500yen a piece would be a hard sell compared to Dai-kichi Yakitori at 80-100yen etc...


Another poster mentioned Ouzo or its scarcity in Japan. Japan is a nation of enthusiasts. Look hard enough and you will probably not just find a supplier who stocks it, you will probably find an importer that has devoted his life to it!

Good luck. I hope it works and I can come and eat at your restaurant one day.


Gdaynate
by gdaynate rate this post as useful

update 2011/6/14 17:59
Any updates on how the restaurant idea went? As a half greek living in Tokyo I am sorely missing many of my greek favorites. Many of the posters before mentioned it but the two decidedly greek restaurants here are mediocre at best and the rest are so-so Mediterranean ''fusion'' places that leave a lot to be desired.

For the love of god open up an amazing restaurant and help the greeks (all 10 of us?) living in Tokyo!
by nsmith4 rate this post as useful

I miss Cretan salad 2011/8/11 22:32
While I visited Greek two years ago, I has fascinated by Greek food. But we cannot eat good Greek in Japan.
If we can enjoy Greek foods in Japan, we will be happy. Otherwise, I give you four advises.

1) Japanese does not eat so much
Most of Japanese eats half to 2/3 of European. Japanese also like many small dishes with various cuisine. We cannot eat one dish Musaka by two men.
2) Vegetable taste
Japanese vegetables have another taste that you image. Most of them have light taste, because sunshine is not stronger than in Greece. You can import olive oil for your use, but you cannot import all vegetables. Therefore, you should adjust taste for vegetables.
3) Olive oil
Japanese does not like oily food usually. We do not soil bread to olive oil. But some of them loves oily food, such as Chinese or Italian. I suggest you that less oil would be better for us.
4) We do not know Greek manner.
We do not know how to order and eat Greek foods. I learned by kind restaurant staff that dinner is a set of Appetizer, Main, Dessert. Kind guide book written by Japanese is very helpful for us and restaurant owner.

Oh I remember the most important attention.
'Taverna' sounds 'TABERUNA' for Japanese. It means 'Don't eat'
by skoba in Japan (guest) rate this post as useful

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