Moving to Tokyo, opening cafe, neither Japanese...

Bren5 New member

Member since 27 July 2017

Bren5New member09 February 2021 23:02:45

The 'Grand plan' would be (post CV19) to get the Tokyo metropolitan government business visa, (invest 50k in a business) , find a cafe to rent near Okubo where there'd be good foot traffic and open for business... Is this unrealistic or has anyone else succeeded at something similar...?

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Osaka house New member

Member since 13 January 2020

Osaka houseNew member05 April 2021 06:59:14

You’ll need 2 full time Japanese staff to secure that visa also, and about USD$300,000 to pay upfront costs on a cafe.....are you familiar with upfront deposits in Japan? A teeny tiny place will set you back around $20,000 a month in rent, and overheads are crazy too....lunch is Japan is crazy cheap, between ¥500~¥800 gets a very good meal, including drink, so profit margin is very slim. Dinners and drinks are were money needs to be made, but it’s a cut throat industry and you’ll need to stand out. (Yep I’ve done everything on your list )

alexanijah18 New member

Member since 01 April 2021

alexanijah18New member05 April 2021 12:56:36

Thanks s for your response, but please what do I do

Osaka house New member

Member since 13 January 2020

Osaka houseNew member05 April 2021 13:50:50

If you can afford the start up costs, you may get lucky and make money.....but very few places stay open more than a couple of years

Bren5 New member

Member since 27 July 2017

Bren5New member08 April 2021 19:19:43

Thanks for the reply, I'm under no illusions of the challenges that'd be involved especially in Japan as neither of us are Japanese but it's on the 'check out' list. Only other place to check is Paris which is EU so we wouldn't need visas to work there. Japan is still more appealing tho despite that.