Currently, one of the most fashionable trends in the restaurant business is the opening of Japanese cuisine restaurants. However, when designing, decorating the interior of such an institution, few people pay attention to studying the mentality of the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun, the peculiarities of the arrangement of restaurants in Japan. Therefore, many make mistakes. Let's try to understand some of the nuances that you need to know when planning the opening of an institution.
Let's talk about design and design
The design and decoration of the interior by our design organizations often puzzles the Japanese themselves when visiting our restaurants. Suffice it to say that the Japanese themselves in Russia are scanty. According to official figures, 1,500 people were registered with the diplomatic corps in Moscow, and about 1,000 in St. Petersburg.
Among the Japanese, there are no people who will illegally arrive in the territory of another country, illegally conduct business, even if this goes against their interests. This is not to say that the Japanese perceive Russia as a third world country, but in Russia their wage premium (for harmfulness) is practically the highest, except for the countries of Central Africa.
Real Japanese design is directly related to the psychological state of the Japanese. By all accounts, this is rationalism and straightforward thinking. I will make a reservation right away, no one considers the Japanese as near-minded, but the features of the language and culture leave their mark on the mentality.
Our over the past three years, collaborates with a real Japanese brand in the restaurant business "Marugame Seimen".
During this time, our design organization completely prepared the project documentation, carried out the installation of engineering systems and commissioned a network of Japanese restaurants, while the design of restaurants was carried out on time established by the customer.
I want to say right away that we were not engaged in design work. The company’s head office has a permanent design studio that serves more than 700 restaurants in Japan and beyond.
A very positive feature of the Japanese as partners is that with a positive work experience, the Japanese will never change partners, will not “jump over their heads” and will never use your connections, partners, even if they know them for more than one year.
Traditions and features of Japanese restaurants
The overall design of the restaurants is simple, functional, universal. There are no sakura flowers. There are no ubiquitous characters.
One moment, the Japanese do not change signs, so signs are obscure hieroglyphs, black on a red background. An ordinary person will not read and understand - whether they are Japanese, or Chinese, or even some kind of Asian.
In the materials no ivory, crystal, leather and other expensive elements. According to the Japanese, if a person came to eat noodles, it is better not to interfere and not to distract him, otherwise he will lose a lot of time at lunchtime and will not be able to finish the work day well.
It is also important to understand the concept of the institution itself, whether it is a cafe project or a restaurant chain. If the Japanese talk about their restaurants, then the concept of fast food is unacceptable to them. American and European brands are represented in the country as exotic and that is why they are popular.
Well, how can you say that you have lunch at a fast food restaurant if the soup broth is cooked for 6 hours?
In high-class restaurants, especially in Japan itself, you can see many small booths where food is served. The Japanese are very fond of privacy and security. True, the very feeling of solitude and self-awareness sometimes reaches the point of absurdity. Very often young people, coming on a date at some eatery, do not look at each other and do not talk, but communicate on the phone.
A very interesting concept in Japan itself, in restaurants, when a guest, a group of guests is served by a waiter, and he is always next to the guests, pours tea, distributes food directly to the guests on a plate, constantly pours alcoholic drinks. The Japanese, by the way, are completely “not fools to drink,” but they always drink high-quality alcohol. At the same time, the portions are scanty, they cost, for our money, a penny, but in the end it turns out that the guest has overeaten everything and consumed alcohol for a decent amount of money.
In the end, I want to say that the design of almost all Japanese restaurants in Moscow is not Japanese, the Japanese themselves say that the design is Asian, remade in a Japanese way.
Photos of existing restaurants can be viewed
The only thing that is not clear how to understand the kitchen, but this is a separate issue.