Hola people living in Japan,
My husband and I have been thinking of opening a Mexican restaurant (a small cafe-like shop with a few seats, or a food truck). It would be a small menu of Los Angeles style Mexican food with Birra tacos, homemade tortillas, and aqua frescas. Along with seasonal foods like tamales and pozole in the winter. We have been to Japan a few times and we are wanting to settle in Fukuoka, we have enough to buy a house and invest in this business however, I am still doing research, and this is where you come along!
For those living in Japan (Foreigner and Native) do you think that there is enough of a demand for this type of food to make a successful business, is Mexican a style of food that locals will come to try? My vision is a small place that sells a few well-made items that not only foreigners, but the native community comes to eat and enjoy my culture through the best way possible, FOOD!
I would love to know your thoughts and your perspective on Mexican food as a person living in Japan, especially if you live in Fukuoka or the Kyushu area!
\*Side note: Yes, I am aware how hard it is for a restaurant to be successful. Yes, I know it is a ton of hard work. Yes, I know as a foreigner that it will be hard to break in and build a name for myself within the community. I am in the stages of investigating to see if my dreams can become a reality, so thank you for your input, this helps with my market analysis!
3 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Thoughts on opening a Mexican Restaurant in Fukuoka**
Hola people living in Japan,
My husband and I have been thinking of opening a Mexican restaurant (a small cafe-like shop with a few seats, or a food truck). It would be a small menu of Los Angeles style Mexican food with Birra tacos, homemade tortillas, and aqua frescas. Along with seasonal foods like tamales and pozole in the winter. We have been to Japan a few times and we are wanting to settle in Fukuoka, we have enough to buy a house and invest in this business however, I am still doing research, and this is where you come along!
For those living in Japan (Foreigner and Native) do you think that there is enough of a demand for this type of food to make a successful business, is Mexican a style of food that locals will come to try? My vision is a small place that sells a few well-made items that not only foreigners, but the native community comes to eat and enjoy my culture through the best way possible, FOOD!
I would love to know your thoughts and your perspective on Mexican food as a person living in Japan, especially if you live in Fukuoka or the Kyushu area!
*Side note: Yes, I am aware how hard it is for a restaurant to be successful. Yes, I know it is a ton of hard work. Yes, I know as a foreigner that it will be hard to break in and build a name for myself within the community. I am in the stages of investigating to see if my dreams can become a reality, so thank you for your input, this helps with my market analysis!
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I would just point out that Japanese folks have a higher rate of lactose intolerance, so they tend to eat less cheese than westerners do. Keep that in mind when putting together your menu.
The other thing is that the number of westerners living in or visiting Fukuoka is much smaller than in the Tokyo region or other large cities on Honshu. Worth considering because a lot of expatriates I’ve heard from would love to have more Mexican restaurants in Japan, but there aren’t as many of those folks in Fukuoka. I went to a concert in Fukuoka with around 500+ people and as nearly as I can tell, I was the only white person there.
There are a lot of Korean tourists in Fukuoka but I have no idea how they feel about Mexican food.
This Japanese guy seems to be making it work: [https://www.cnn.com/travel/mexican-tacos-tokyo-3hermanos-cmd/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/travel/mexican-tacos-tokyo-3hermanos-cmd/index.html)