Japanese Restaurants in HK Struggle to Survive

Hongkongers now go to Japan for food at cheaper prices

It is really sad to read that Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong are being decimated by the government's ban on importing Japanese seafood from specific prefectures for fear of contamination from the release of radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant.

Almost one-third of all Hong Kong's Japanese restaurants have shuttered this year not only because of the ban, but also the drop in tourism in the city.

Radioactive water is being released at Fukushima

High-end omakase restaurants are hit the hardest, as Hongkongers are opting to head to Japan to take advantage of the low yen and eat there instead.

It was the complete opposite during the Covid-19 pandemic, when diners had no choice but to patronise Hong Kong-based restaurants.

It used to be that the city had the most Japanese restaurants outside of Japan with 1,400 as of last year, but now many of them located in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui have closed.

If people aren't traveling to Japan, they are certainly ordering the seafood online from prefectures not affected by the ban, and isn't very expensive.

Or they are throwing caution to the wind and eating in the banned prefectures, which include Tokyo.

Michelle Chiu of global real estate service JLL, said she noticed a trend of Japanese and Western restaurants having to close down or change their business operations to stay alive.

High-end omakase restaurants being hit hardest

"Some of our clients who operate omakase restaurants need to switch to more affordable meals," she said, adding her restaurant clients had found business was "worse than during the pandemic".

Hopefully the employees of restaurants that have shut down have found work elsewhere... parlaying their experience into something else! Other restaurants could use a helping hand or two...