Moved to Tokyo & Started Business in 3 Months!

Dining Bar Kiwi

If someone asked you to pack your bags and move to the other side of the planet, locate and completely refit new business premises while dealing with frustrating communication hurdles, and open your doors to customers in only 90 days, would you think the person was absolutely crazy? Perhaps, but that’s exactly what recently married NZ-Japanese husband and wife team Alex and Miyuki, who recently opened New Zealand-themed Dining Bar Kiwi in Tokyo on July 1st after moving to Japan in March 2007, have done.

“We decided to come to Japan from New Zealand to start a business like this in order to allow us to do something together,” Alex says. “I wanted to learn Japanese, and to create a life for Miyuki that was fun, challenging, and that would allow us to learn about each other, and grow together, as we have only known each other for just over 20 months.”

“We did not know where we would locate until we got here and started looking for locations on the Internet,” Alex says. Once the couple had found a property, they set about obtaining quotes to carry out alteration and redecoration work. But then they hit a major snag. The couple accepted the cheapest of three offered quotes but it soon became obvious that the contractor had under-quoted in order to get the job, hoping to be able take shortcuts along the way to save money. “Fortunately, with me having had an architectural design background, I had anticipated such a possibility, and thus we had many costly delays in completion whilst arguments were resolved,” Alex recalls.

“The biggest problem in running the bar after we opened in July,” Alex says, “has been the language problem between Miyuki and myself, and myself and other Japanese people. This was most evident during the renovation process, trying to get Miyuki and the builders to understand what I wanted. Miyuki’s English is not good, and for her to be expected to translate from these perspectives was too much to expect, and is something that I had not prepared for. Looking back, this was the biggest weakness in this whole project. We succeeded in the end, but I can honestly tell you that the project almost failed because of this.”

“The major highlight of running this business to date has been meeting some very nice down to earth Japanese people. The lowlight to date has been dealing with customers who have not fitted into the place. They have tended to be drunken, loud types, who have tended to try to talk down to our younger customers. Miyuki has had to ask a number of them to leave.”

Alex says “The main aim of the business is not to create money but to provide a lifestyle for its owners and a safe and friendly environment for guests where customers can meet and become friends, and where the owners can make friends with their customers, and enjoy future social activities together, such as local sightseeing, eating out, and overseas travel.”

Dining Bar KIWI
www.kiwi-japan.com

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