restaurant | My Eyes Tokyo

Every time I say “Thank you,” it makes me happy. I want to say “Thank you” from the bottom of my heart to my customers and to this town.

October 25 2023

日本語 Interview by Isao Tokuhashi Edited by Jennifer A. Hoff info@myeyestokyo.com Arutan Kobayashi (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China) Restaurant manager One day we were browsing through our Facebook feed when we came across a captivating post. It was from a participant of an event we once organized, who visited a “Silk Road Cuisine” restaurant in Yokohama. A quick Google search revealed that the restaurant serves cuisine from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Hearing that the restaurant offers Xinjiang food culture, which is considerably rare in Japan, we decided to visit the restaurant on the day of our upcoming meeting

We’re delivering dreams and excitement to the world—not just selling hot dogs

September 11 2023

日本語 Interview by Isao Tokuhashi and Jennifer A. Hoff Edited by Jennifer A. Hoff info@myeyestokyo.com Noriki Tamura Entrepreneur When we at My Eyes Tokyo (MET) planned to travel to Canada this year (2023), Jennifer, MET’s English editor-in-chief who is a native Vancouverite, told us about a hot dog chain that she had been familiar with for many years — “JAPADOG“, a Japanese-style hotdog restaurant that operates both in Vancouver and in the United States. It has been featured in numerous media outlets for its uniqueness and has become so integrated into the everyday lives of the locals that all

The war may not end anytime soon, but we will focus on what we can do now.

October 18 2022

日本語 Interview by Isao Tokuhashi Edited by Daniel Penso info@myeyestokyo.com Matrëshka Russian restaurant When interviewing people from various countries, we have tried to avoid (1) biasing the country or region of origin of interviewees, (2) avoid asking them about religion, politics, or other personal matters, and (3) listen to the voices of people from both countries or regions that are said to be hostile to each other. The experience of (3) in particular was inspired by a TV documentary that My Eyes Tokyo editor-in-chief Tokuhashi once saw, in which young people from allegedly hostile countries were interacting with each

Indian cuisine possesses much potential. So I cannot understand why some people don’t want to teach how to cook it.

November 21 2010

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Savari Muthu (India) Indian cuisine chef/instructor (He’s been in Japan since ’94) My Eyes Tokyo brings you interviews with teachers of “Niki’s Kitchen“. It’s a cooking school in which foreigners teach their homeland dishes to Japanese people. The 1st interviewee is Savari Muthu, a managing chef of an Indian restaurant chain called “Muthu“. He owns three restaurants in Tokyo and Chiba. He says on Niki’s homepage; “You may associate India with Hinduism, but I’m a Christian. Therefore I can cook anything including beef, pork and chicken.” We got interested in a Christian

I didn’t want to close my business because I’d worked hard for 20 years to have my own restaurant.

December 28 2009

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com MD Humayun (Bangladesh) Managing chef of a Bangladeshi restaurant (He’s been in Japan since ’87) Have you enjoyed a great New Year’s vacation? My Eyes Tokyo wishes you and your families the best during the year 2010. We bring you the first interview in this year with a guy from Bangladesh. He is MD Humayun, who is managing a Bangladeshi restaurant in Tokyo. Humayun has been living in Tokyo for more than 20 years and he speaks Japanese very fluently. He doesn’t uncap his toque blanche even at lunchtime. He

I felt Japan was better than I expected. But everything is more expensive than I expected.

December 16 2009

Interviewed by Chinatsu Suzuki Written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Dilnath Sapkota (Nepal) Indian restaurant manager (He’s been in Japan since 2008) This is the first interview with a guy from Nepal, a landlocked country which is surrounded by two big powers, China and India. Dilnath Sapkota is a chef at an Indian restaurant in Chiba, east of the Tokyo Megalopolis. He is running a shop with his younger brother. Sapkota has been in Japan for only a year and he is still struggling with the Japanese language. But his smile soothes his customers. His smile leaps over any language

Kebab61

September 05 2009

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi & Chinatsu Suzuki Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Kabab stall (Chuo-ku, Chiba) *It’s been a Turkish restaurant called “Karadeniz61” since 2015. There are so many kebab stalls in the middle of Tokyo. But once you step in the suburb area called Chiba Prefecture, that kind of shop becomes a curiosity. Kebab61 is in the central Chiba City, which is located 40km (25 miles) east of Tokyo. When you walk on the station road in the city center, the spicy savor of doner kebab titillates your nasal passage. This stall is run by the Kucuk brothers

I have to scare even yakuzas in this town in order to survive.

August 25 2009

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Iyad Mansour (Palestine) Managing chef of a Palestinian restautant (He’s been in Japan since 1997) Nishi-kawaguchi – It is located near the river which forms a boundary between Tokyo and outskirts. We introduce you to Iyad Mansour, who’s been running his own Palestinian restaurant in that town. He is a “man in a million” guy. His heart is direct and pure so he hates anything crooked. But he is not only stubborn but also mischievous. He holds belly dance shows on Fridays and Saturdays at his restaurant. He starts dancing

Minsk

April 29 2009

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Belarussian restaurant (Roppongi) Republic of Belarus – It used to be a part of the former Soviet Union and it achieved nationality after the fall of the Soviet Union. It’s been called “Belorussia” for a long time. We happened upon a restaurant called “Minsk” when we were walking around the Roppongi area. We have been interested in this restaurant for several years since then. The other day we opened the door of and entered that restaurant. We didn’t imagine that there would be so many Japanese customers. We had meat-stuffed

“Hey, I would be dead if I tried to achieve that sales figure.” But he said that he wouldn’t care if I died.

April 29 2009

Interviewed & written by Isao Tokuhashi Mail to: itokuhashi@myeyestokyo.com Barysiuk Viktoryia (Belarus) Belarussian restaurant manager (She’s been in Japan since 2001) Long time no see! We’d been writing my book “My Eyes Tokyo” for six months (If you want to learn details of the book, click here!). We will keep on interviewing expats strenuously. BTW, we would like to introduce you to Barysiuk Viktoryia, a manager of a Belarussian restaurant in the central Tokyo. She speaks Japanese very fluently and it sounds really gentle. But she is not just sleek. She has sparkling eyes. As a manager, as a woman,

Interviews with Tokyo People Achieving Dreams