So you've spent one year too many teaching English conversation and it's time for a serious career change. You want a job that's stimulating and creative. You want to be your own boss and perhaps even the boss of others. Maybe, just maybe, you want to run your own cafe, right here in Japan.

It's not an unfeasible plan, even for a foreigner. If you're the hard-working and meticulous type and also have lots of cash on hand (think towering piles of the stuff), then acquiring your own java joint will be a matter of clearing a set of technical and bureaucratic hurdles.

As the step-by-step guide below shows, your main concerns will be securing space and then complying with an extensive set of health and safety regulations. And did we mention money?