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Jeremy Wilgus
For Jeremy Wilgus's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Restaurant Do's and Don'ts
Mar 3, 2018
Getting a restaurant started is hard, but stopping is even harder
We've gotten this far, and now it's time for the final lesson: how to hit the ground running, and how to know if it's time to stop. You're going to need to make sure that when you open, everything is running right, all the food looks and tastes as good as it can, and that little things like your exhaust fan work.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Restaurant Do's and Don'ts
Feb 3, 2018
Setting up shop needn't be an expensive task
Professional level kitchen equipment is incredibly expensive, and without the resources available to a large chain or restaurant corporation, buying equipment new is a reckless gamble. Stores like Tenpos Holdings, Inc. are a godsend, as they are large warehouses selling everything from professional level gas ranges and refrigerators to plates and silverware sets.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Restaurant Do's and Don'ts
Jan 6, 2018
Finding and keeping restaurant and bar staff in Japan can be its own full-time job
Even if you think you're fully staffed, the constant turnover in the industry means you'll never really be finished with the cycle of searching for, hiring and training new employees.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Restaurant Do's and Don'ts
Dec 2, 2017
Restaurants and bars live or die in the margins
Since I haven't yet been able to convince you that opening a restaurant or bar is a bad idea, the next step is to start asking you questions. What is your vision for the shop? What do you plan to serve? Are you going to provide something new? Are you sure there's a market for that new thing? Are you going to give people more of something that's already out there? If so, what is it that you're going to do to stand out? How, for example, is your Italian restaurant going to bring in customers in a city like Tokyo, which seems like it has thousands of Italian restaurants? And most importantly, can you keep your restaurant open with the prices you charge?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Restaurant Do's and Don'ts
Nov 4, 2017
Accessibility, visibility and foot traffic are key ingredients to a restaurant's success
Try to remember: What was the last bar or restaurant you walked into without knowing anything about it at all — no recommendations from a friend, no glowing online reviews?
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / Restaurant Do's and Don'ts
Sep 30, 2017
The do's and don'ts of opening a restaurant or bar in Japan
If you've lived and worked in Japan for any length of time, there's a chance you've at least daydreamed about how great it would be to run your own restaurant or bar.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree