la strada

pieter asked me to “keep my eyes open” for possible business plans in tokyo. an interesting perspective – I don’t really look at the world through business glasses. of course, everything already exists here. maybe more so than anywhere else. still the margin seems large enough for initiative – I see a lot of relatively young people setting up their own business. a couple of stains for example, especially in daykanyama and nakameguro, trendy neighborhoods around the office.
for a while I thought a good take out pizzeria could be something to start with for pieter. preferably around the office. tomo agreed, as long as he would capitalize on his "wild" (sic) physical assets... but the other day, pizzeria "la strada" landed right outside our front door, its small sign saying “fresh hand made pizza, please allow ten minutes for preparing”.


45°C where katosan is walking


300°C where the pizzaman is working


check out the details... two pizzas are ready, neatly wrapped in customized bags

and... the pizza was delicious, without mayonaise, unlike most of its japanese nephews. but don’t give up hopes pieter - from krista and fara I know competition is good for a business.

on a bus ride to immigration, I talked to an australian guy who set up business in tokyo a couple of years ago. he’s selling fresh dutch cookies, mainly to hotels and restaurant buffets.
he confirmed that strong concepts and good products go a long way here.



jan's guide to tokyo business
> choose a specific concept (a parisian bakery, a leuven bar, an upper east side chocolate house, an milanese risotteria) and make no compromises
> don’t translate, even if the result is completely cryptical to most of your potential customers
> invest in design to construct your concept on a couple of square meters