by Cornelia Reiher

Although men dominate the Japanese restaurant scene in Berlin, women play a vital role in various capacities across the city’s Japanese foodscape. They are entrepreneurs who run their own restaurants, online stores, food stalls or stores, they cook, help in the kitchen, import food and drinks, serve food, and plan menus and events. Japanese women who work in Japanese eateries in Berlin are students, young women on working holiday visas, freelance artists or the wives of Japanese expatriates or German men. Some have studied German in Japan. Others are interested in art and came to Berlin to study or work. Only a few of the women have previous experience in the food industry. As only a handful of Japanese women actually own the eateries where they work, they more often work in and manage places owned by their German or Japanese partners, work as freelancers, or are employed at restaurants owned by others. Female freelance chefs also offer cooking workshops and catering. (Reiher 2026).

For women involved in Berlin’s culinary field, the reasons for leaving Japan are diverse. Especially women who previously worked in the Japanese food industry wanted to escape their male-dominated workplaces (cf. Reiher 2022, 108). Some relocated to Berlin, because they were worried about food safety and wanted to leave Japan after the 2011 triple disaster of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear catastrophe (cf. Reiher 2023, 1061). Others, who were trained in Japan’s culinary field, left Japan, because they did not see any job options in the food sector. And especially single women in their thirties and forties left Japan to escape their families’ expectations to get married.

Japanese women in Berlin’s Japanese foodscape face many difficulties in their everyday work. They often have precarious jobs, sometimes several jobs at the same time. This economic insecurity is often accompanied by social insecurity. At the same time, this lifestyle also offers them a certain degree of freedom they were missing in Japan. However, their degree of agency and freedom to shape Berlin’s Japanese foodscape as well as their own lives and careers varies depending on their position, experience and skills. At the same time, the position of all female Japanese food producers in Berlin is characterized by a double marginalization as both women and migrants. (Reiher 2026).

All women I have talked to agreed that working in the catering business is easier as a woman in Germany than in Japan. In Berlin, many intentionally or accidentally ended up in women-only workplaces or created them because they felt more comfortable working with women. Negotiating gender roles also means finding a balance between working in a restaurant and family life. Social support from family and friends is important in achieving this balance. However, the co-ethnic networks of Japanese migrants in Berlin are not as well developed as those of other migrant groups. Therefore, Japanese migrant women cannot rely on the help of co-ethnic networks to the same extent as other migrant entrepreneurs in Berlin. Not only is the number of Japanese migrants in Berlin comparatively small, but there are also different groups of Japanese migrants who are not connected to each other, especially because many left Japan to distance themselves from Japan and other Japanese people (cf. Reiher 2022, 108).

This double marginalization as both women and migrants also explains why so few women are in charge of the Japanese eateries where they work. In order to overcome the significant legal, administrative and linguistic hurdles migrant restaurateurs face, many Japanese women rely on local men. They manage financial matters and paperwork due to the women’s limited language skills and unfamiliarity with the networks and resources needed in a new city. Additionally, the insecurity surrounding the duration of Japanese women’s stay in Berlin makes them more hesitant to establish their own businesses. Some Japanese female chefs, however, prefer not to open their own restaurants, valuing the freedom to travel and the avoidance of the dual burden of managing both a business and family responsibilities.

In summary, Japanese women in Berlin’s Japanese foodscape tend to rent temporary alternative spaces such as pop-up restaurants, stalls at events or markets rather than open their own eatery to try out new concepts and formats of Japanese cuisine due to the associated social and economic risks. Even though a few women stand out and are heavily promoted in the culinary media and are therefore highly visible, this publicity belies the fact that many Japanese women who dream of owning their own restaurant or becoming more independent in other ways work as employees and have to make many compromises in their everyday working lives.

References

Reiher, Cornelia (2026), „Women in Berlin’s Japanese foodscapes: Gender hierarchies, culinary creativity and food entrepreneurship,” in: Kimminich, Eva und Schröer, Marie (Hrsg.), Kulinarische Codierungen: Semiotik des Essens in Alltag, Medien und Gesellschaft, Baden Baden: Ergon, pp. 107–126.

Reiher, Cornelia (2023), “Negotiating authenticity: Berlin’s Japanese food producers and the vegan/vegetarian consumer,” Food, Culture & Society 26, 5: 1056–1071.

Reiher, Cornelia (2022), “Berlin’s Japanese foodscapes during the Covid-19 crisis: Restaurateurs’ experiences and practices during the spring 2020 restaurant shutdown,” Berliner Blätter 86: 105−122.

In their video, Lidia Salvador and Lena Danz show how the practice of „eating alone“ in restaurants has traveled from Japan to Germany and how it materializes in a Ramen restaurant in Berlin. Please watch the video here:

Lena Danz is a  a student in the Master program Global East Asia at Freie Universität Berlin. Lidia Salvador is a student in the Master program Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin.

Cornelia Reiher published a book chapter based on data from this project on Berlin’s Japanese foodscape. It focuses on female Japanese food entrepreneurs and chefs.

Reiher, Cornelia (2026), „Women in Berlin’s Japanese foodscapes: Gender hierarchies, culinary creativity and food entrepreneurship,” in: Kimminich, Eva und Schröer, Marie (Hrsg.), Kulinarische Codierungen: Semiotik des Essens in Alltag, Medien und Gesellschaft, Baden Baden: Ergon, S. 107–126.

Please check it out here: Kulinarische Codierungen – 978-3-98740-241-8 | Nomos

In their illustrated report on Chinese restaurants in Berlin, Mariia Safonova, Julia Mąkosa,Julia Marchlik and Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi present their findings on regional diversity of Chinese cuisine in Berlin’s Chinese foodscape. Please read the report here:

Julia Mąkosa, Julia Marchlik, Mariia Safonova and Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi are students in the Master program Global East Asia at Freie Universität Berlin.

Please check out this report on Isabell Frank’s and Nils Ohnesorge’s project about Japanese perspectives and lived culinary experiences in Berlin. Based on a qualitative survey of 20 Japanese people living in Berlin, they discuss Japanese stereotypes about German food and how these have changed during their stay in Germany.

Nils Ohnesorge is a student in the Master program Global East Asia at Freie Universität Berlin. Isabell Frank is a student in the Master program Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin.

In their video, filmed in Korea and Germany, Lisa and Sarah compare experiences in convenience stores and Spätis in Seoul and Berlin. Please watch the video here:

Lisa and Sarah are students in the MA program Global East Asia at Freie Universität Berlin.

Please watch the newest video created by our students Nai Harano Grey, Wai Yi Lam, Christoph Barann and Athanasios Samaras about the role of food and community for Japanese students in Berlin.

by Ian “Nai” Harano Grey, Wai Yi Lam, Lisa Hetterling

For our class in Professor Reiher’s course we were tasked and paired up with a student from Japan to interview. Our group was lucky enough to interview Yurika Kudo, a student from Seikei University. We set up an interview on Zoom and spoke with her in Japanese about food cultures in Japan. Our objectives were to understand the globalization of food within the area Yurika lived within. For many of us, it was the first time conducting an interview in Japanese or even our first interview with a total stranger, making it a valuable hands-on experience.

Even though at first, we were a bit nervous we ended up becoming more and more comfortable the more we spoke.  It allowed us to put into practice the theories we had learned in our methods class and served as a meaningful cultural and language exchange. The experience also helped us become more familiar with an interview setting and prepared us for future research. At the beginning, we worked to have more fun simple topics and added more complicated questions as the interview progressed.

After the brief self-introductions and some light-hearted small talk, we transitioned naturally into the conversation, which flowed effortlessly thanks to Yurika’s openness and the easy dynamic among all of us. Since she is originally from Akita, we first discussed the specialty food of the region. As we learned, Kiritanpo and Okomen are Akita’s specialties. Her favorite food is sushi, more specifically salmon sushi, and she enjoys Japanese cuisine a lot.

Talking with Yurika also offered us a glimpse into how culinary cultures appear in Tokyo. Korean food, for instance, is super popular among her peers. She especially loves tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and gejang (marinated crab) and likes to visit Shin-Okubo (Tokyo’s Koreatown) for new flavours. Indian curry, she noted, has also established itself as a simple yet tasty favourite. For all of Tokyo’s international options though, we reflected that foreign dishes often arrive more-or-less subtly reinterpreted, familiar in some ways, but distinctly local.

Similarly, when comparing notes on how Japanese food travels abroad, we came to an intriguing conclusion. California rolls for example, with their avocado and cream cheese filling, initially struck Yurika as very odd, but she saw them as part of a familiar pattern. We recognised that every culture and market tweaks more foreign flavours to their own palate and that of its consumers, whether that means toning down spices or adding familiar, local ingredients. With all of these fantastic exchanges we left the call feeling very energized about such a wonderful interaction.

This experience was not only a fantastic challenge, but also a great deal of fun! After the initial nerves we were able to have such a wonderful cultural exchange even though none of us were native in any of each other’s languages. Yurika was such a kind and high-spirited person and gave us really wonderful insights. Not only could we relate to so many aspects of foods that have travelled from Japan, but also the interview also showed how food does change when it travels. We all have a different connection to Japanese food and that connection was able to have us bond even upon first meeting.

When wrapping up we all were so happy and even took a screenshot to remember the moment. Interviewing in another language leaves some fear of misunderstandings or awkward miscommunications, but luckily even when there were complications, we were able to speak around the language gap to get to our points with haste. When both parties are willing to learn and exchange with each other it really makes for an energetic atmosphere. We are lucky that Yurika could foster that with us and are very thankful for such a wonderful experience.

Seit zehn Jahren führen Studierende der Japanologie in der „Forschungswerkstatt japanische Küche“ eigene Projekte zu japanischen Restaurants, Lebensmitteln und kulinarischen Trends in Berlin durch. Die Ergebnisse haben sie in Videos festgehalten, die während der Langen Nacht gezeigt werden. Neben dem Filmscreening werden Akteure der japanischen Foodszene in einer Diskussionsrunde miteinander und mit Studierenden über den Wandel der japanischen Küche in Berlin diskutieren.

Wir möchten alle Interessierten herzlich zur Veranstaltung der Japanologie im Rahmen der Langen Nacht der Wissenschaften am 28. Juni 2025 ab 17 Uhr einladen. In der Holzlaube bieten wir ein buntes Programm aus Filmvorführungen, Diskussionsrunden, Vorträgen und Mitmachangeboten. An verschiedenen Ständen können Besucher*innen mit Studierenden der Japanologie über Japan sprechen, origami falten, Einblicke in Kalligraphie und temari erhalten, onigiri herstellen oder ihre Fähigkeiten mit Essstäbchen erproben.

Ort: Holzlaube (Fabeckstr. 23-25), Raum 2.2058 und Raum 2.2059

Zeit: 28.06.2025, 17:00-22:30 Uhr

Tickets: https://lndw-tickets.reservix.de/tickets-die-lange-nacht-der-wissenschaften-25-jaehriges-jubilaeum-in-berlin-rund-50-einrichtungen-am-28-6-2025/e2394242

Lara Fischer, Arian Malek und Nicole Risto have interviewed three Japanese entrepreneurs who run eateries in Berlin. The video the students have produced, presents these interviews and gives insights into their migration experience, their work and their everyday life in Berlin. Please watch the video here: