https://dodai-studio.com/en/ We help open, fill and sustain restaurants, bars, cafés, shops and hotels in Japan. From Tokyo, across the whole country, in French, English and Japanese. en Dodai Studio Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/open-a-coffee-shop-in-japan/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/open-a-coffee-shop-in-japan/ From takeaway kiosk to roastery café: the formats, the real costs, the licences, the equipment and the traps specific to the Japanese market. Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Alexandre Gérard Practical guide https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/structures-to-open-in-japan/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/structures-to-open-in-japan/ Subsidiary, branch, representative office, master franchise, joint venture. What each form changes for the lease, the licences and the money. Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Alexandre Gérard Practical guide https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/blue-bottle-in-japan/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/blue-bottle-in-japan/ 28 cafés, five-hour queues on day one, a loss-making sale eleven years later. What that trajectory really says about the Japanese market. Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Alexandre Gérard Case study https://dodai-studio.com/en/newsletter/issue-03/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/newsletter/issue-03/ A motsuyaki institution from 1950, a wood-fire kitchen, a matcha room with no takeaway lattes, and two fashion flagships. Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Dodai Studio 土台 Journal https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/experiential-tourism-in-tokyo/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/experiential-tourism-in-tokyo/ 42.7 million visitors and a shift toward experiences, with a misreading in the middle. What brings a customer back, and what does not. Mon, 24 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Alexandre Gérard Analysis https://dodai-studio.com/en/newsletter/issue-02/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/newsletter/issue-02/ A sumo ring at Tokyo Tower, Google's first own-brand store outside the US, and a miso-only tsukemen in Mita. Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Dodai Studio 土台 Journal https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/hiring-and-keeping-staff/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/hiring-and-keeping-staff/ 1.29 million unfilled positions, wages up 10.7%, and the posts still empty. Five approaches that work, and one that no longer does. Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guillaume Dupérier Practical guide https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/japan-business-manager-visa/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/japan-business-manager-visa/ Capital multiplied by six, a mandatory employee, JLPT N2 required. What the October 2025 reform changes for any business project in Japan. Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Alexandre Gérard Practical guide https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/three-invisible-leaks/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/three-invisible-leaks/ Average net margin in Japanese food service has fallen to 5.2%. Three losses nobody sees, because nobody measures them. Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guillaume Dupérier Analysis https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/why-tokyo-restaurants-close/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/why-tokyo-restaurants-close/ Bankruptcies in Japanese food service are at record highs. Behind the figure, five causes that turn up in almost every file we audit. Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Alexandre Gérard Analysis https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/cost-to-open-a-restaurant-in-tokyo/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/cost-to-open-a-restaurant-in-tokyo/ Space, renovation, equipment, licences, hiring, working capital. The real orders of magnitude behind a Tokyo opening, costed line by line. Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Alexandre Gérard Practical guide https://dodai-studio.com/en/newsletter/issue-01/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/newsletter/issue-01/ A Kyoto ramen legend, Mos Burger's first cocktail bar, a Hong Kong roaster and two shops that travelled to get here. Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:00:00 GMT Dodai Studio 土台 Journal https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/opening-a-restaurant-in-japan/ https://dodai-studio.com/en/field-notes/opening-a-restaurant-in-japan/ Licences, lease, key money, visa, hiring, suppliers. The real path to opening a Food & Beverage venue in Tokyo, and the mistakes that cost dearly. Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:00:00 GMT Guillaume Dupérier Practical guide