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Journalism of Courage
On a weekday evening in Mumbai, Harajuku Tokyo Cafe, a newly launched 72-seater at Jio World Drive in Bandra-Kurla Complex, is packed to the brim with schoolchildren, teenagers, young professionals and young parents. On the tables sit matcha lattes, bowls of katsu curry, plates of smoked chicken karaage and an array of sushi, from gunkan to nigiri. For dessert, the runaway favourite is the cafe’s giant, jiggly pancakes: impossibly light, airy and Instagram-ready.
Just across the corridor, in the smaller but equally bustling Harajuku Bakehouse, customers dash in for Japanese cheesecakes, savoury pastries, boba teas and frothy matcha lattes. If the bakehouse is all pastel tones and hand-painted illustrations, the cafe channels the neon-soaked streets of Shibuya with lanterns, signboards and calligraphy.
A few kilometres away in Bandra West, Mirai, a Japanese-Korean restaurant launched last year, has recently added a dedicated omakase counter. Here, every weekend, head chef Sanjay Chauhan curates 20–25 course seasonal meals for the well-travelled clientele. Dishes range from bao kakuni (braised pork belly in a fluffy bao with caramelised onion) to pork belly kushiyaki glazed with soy–mirin tare, paired with asparagus fries. Among the regulars is Yagi Koji, Consul General of Japan in Mumbai, who we learn has dined three times and swears by the mochi.
In the same neighbourhood, Gaijin brings the elevated robata grill indoors while recreating Tokyo’s street spirit with graffiti shutters in its outdoor space. Supa San, meanwhile, leans into anime and manga with ninja-printed cocktails. South Bombay sees Otoki, which opened in April in the space once occupied by the iconic Indigo, blending minimalist design with kimono-clad servers, while Wagamama dishes out Katsu curry bowls.
The momentum is visible in Delhi-NCR as well. There’s INJA, Japonica, Kioki and Sakura while Bengaluru is buzzing with Wabi Sabi, Shiro, and the near-impossible-to-book Naru Noodles. Pune boasts Koji and Gingko, while Chennai turns to Nippon — reflecting India’s growing appetite for Japanese flavours.
The demand isn’t confined to metros alone. In Kochi, Antony Jose, a chartered accountant-turned-Cordon Bleu chef, has turned his lockdown ramen experiments into Tony’s Kitchen: Asian Eats. While ramen remains the star, the menu stretches to sashimi, donburi (rice bowls), gyoza and okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes), which Jose proudly claims to have introduced to Kochi. “It now has a cult following,” he says.
The surge reflects in data. According to Zomato, Japanese restaurant listings have grown by almost 24 per cent between 2020 and 2024. According to Aditya Mangla, CEO, Zomato, between 2020 and July 2025, listings grew nine-fold in Delhi and Bengaluru, eightfold in Mumbai, with notable expansion in Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata as well. “This trend suggests a broadening palate among Indian consumers and a decentralised expansion of diverse food cultures,” he says. In 2025 alone, users have applied the ‘Japanese’ cuisine filter over four million times.
“While sushi continues to be the most popular Japanese dish on Zomato, making up about 30 per cent of all Japanese cuisine orders in 2024, ramen follows with around 16 per cent and chicken teriyaki sandwich stands close at 13 per cent,” he adds.
Japanese cuisine is not new to India. Its presence dates back to the late 1980s, driven largely by demand from the growing Japanese expat community working with corporations such as Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda, Fujitsu and Hitachi. Tokyo, one of the first Japanese restaurants in New Delhi, opened in 1989 with support from the India Tourism Development Corporation. A decade later came Sakura at The Metropolitan Hotel in Connaught Place, followed by Mumbai’s Wasabi by Morimoto in 2004, introducing authentic Japanese flavours to India. Wasabi was meant for the well-travelled clientele, which included Ratan Tata, the Ambanis and film stars.
Executive chef Raghu Deora, The Taj Mahal Palace Mumbai, who has been with Wasabi by Morimoto, recalls that back in the day, they would fly in each ingredient — fish, rice, vinegar, nori — from Japan, twice a week. Over time, the supply chain within the country grew stronger. “Today, vendors are stocking Japanese staples like sushi rice, vinegar and soy,” he says, “Japanese products are also increasingly available off the shelf — Kewpie mayonnaise in Mumbai, soft-shell crabs from Kochi and Tamil Nadu, prawns from Gujarat. While sashimi-grade fish is still limited, locally available yellowfin tuna from the Arabian Sea is of very good quality.”
Today, restaurateurs are wary of making the cuisine elitist. “Then it was seen as something reserved for white tablecloths and special occasions,” says chef Lakhan Jethani of Mizu Izakaya, an award-winning Japanese restaurant that opened in Mumbai in 2019 and expanded to Goa early this year. “Restaurants like ours and many others have shifted the narrative. Today, there’s a Japanese restaurant opening almost every week.”
At restaurants like Otoki, staff are trained not just in hospitality but also in helping diners navigate the cuisine. “Our staff understand diner preferences and gauge whether they are seasoned Japanese food enthusiasts or first-time explorers,” says Anurag Katriar, restaurateur and founder of Otoki, “For instance, if someone is apprehensive about raw fish but wants to give it a try, we might recommend tuna. It’s milder, making it easier to explore bolder options later.”
Gaijin’s co-founder and head chef Anand Morwani says that they have spent over six months in training their servers, “The best way to navigate our menu is to get the staff to give their suggestions, because they will ask you about your palate, your preferences and basic dietary restrictions or allergies to help you choose better.” At Harajuku, guests are offered training chopsticks while at Gaijin, wooden tongs are available. The staff are quick to offer them to diners struggling with chopsticks.
The resurgence is now a given, from Jalandhar to Kochi. Seijiro Hirohama, managing director of the Kuuraku restaurant chain, agrees. In 2013, Kuuraku was brought to India when “Japanese expats said they missed proper Japanese food here. At the time, Japanese cuisine in India was often lumped under generic ‘Oriental’ offerings.” Today, nearly 80 per cent of its crowd is local Indian with 20 per cent expat community.
“Ten years ago, many Indian guests only knew sushi. I remember a group of eight people ordering one sushi dish to share — it was an adventure for them. But today, we have guests confidently ordering yakitori, gyoza, tempura and sake,” says Hirohama, who is adding 10 more Kuuraku restaurants, taking the total to 18 and entering new markets like Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata.
Harajuku began as a 300 sq ft R&D kitchen in Noida, followed by a modest seven-seater self-service QSR in Delhi’s Saket in 2021. In just a few years, it has grown into an 18,000 sq ft central kitchen capable of supplying 40 outlets. Today, the brand operates seven restaurants (70–100 covers) and bakehouses across Delhi and Mumbai, all bootstrapped. Founder Gaurav Kanwar, whose core audience is Gen Z and Gen Alpha, is looking at 90 restaurants in the next three years. “From a business standpoint, India has already explored Chinese, Thai and Italian, but Japanese is still underpenetrated,” says Kanwar. “What happened in America a decade ago is now playing out here. There’s growing demand but no clear category leader. International players like PF Chang’s and Wagamama are expanding in India because they see the opportunity. But there’s still no homegrown brand filling that gap — and that’s what we want Harajuku to become.”
For Kanwar, the mission goes beyond scale. “Unlike other Asian cuisines, Japanese food in India is often seen as premium or niche. We’ve broken that perception by making it high-quality yet approachable — casual, fun and inclusive,” he says.
The import of Japanese products further backs the growth: According to data provided by the Embassy of Japan in India, “Exports of Japanese agricultural, forestry and fishery products and foods to India have surged, reaching ¥4.7 billion in 2024 – a 283 per cent increase since 2020. Alcoholic beverages such as sake and whisky and agricultural products including green tea and matcha, have seen a rise in demand. The fisheries sector, too, including fish oil and pearls, showed a 1290 per cent increase from 2020.”
Concepts like ikigai (a reason for being) and kaizen (continuous improvement) have entered popular vocabulary. At the same time, Japanese pop culture — from anime to manga — has captured a massive following. Tourism is further accelerating this familiarity. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, 1,71,100 Indians visited Japan in the first half of 2025 alone — a 40.4 per cent jump from the same period last year.
“We’re seeing a clear cultural shift as more Indians are travelling to Japan — not just for its cities but to experience its rich culture, traditions and immersive everyday life. That same curiosity is now fueling demand for deeper, more authentic experiences back home,” said Udai Pinnali, CEO of Aditya Birla New Age Hospitality (ABNAH), which owns Supa San.
The push has also been made by The Embassy of Japan in India which has been promoting Japanese food products through various initiatives, including conducting Japanese cooking classes and providing consultations to companies seeking to expand their food businesses in India.
The pandemic that saw people hooked to their phones also has a role to play, says chef Deora. “Social media exposure and at-home cooking experiments during lockdowns sparked new curiosity. Ramen has now become comfort food. Delivery has also widened access: You can now order sushi at home.”
Delivery aggregator Swiggy has seen a growth of 45 per cent in the listings of Japanese restaurants on its platform in the last three years. “While Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru have the highest number of Japanese restaurants on their platform, Gurugram, Bengaluru and Kolkata have the fastest growth in Japanese restaurants,” says Swiggy’s spokesperson, adding that “over 220,000 sushi dishes and 150,000 ramen bowls were ordered between January 1 and July 31, 2025.”
Matcha has also gotten a bigger push from social media. While it is still a relatively young market, Siddharth Shah, who co-founded Bree Matcha with actor Sanya Malhotra, pegs it at Rs 450 crore and anticipates it growing to over Rs 850 crore within the next five years.
Most restaurants also are mindful of their vegetarian clientele. Many in Mumbai have 45 per cent of their menu vegetarian, some even have Jain options. “While some dishes have been customised for the Indian market, they remain authentic,” says Hirohama, adding that Kuuraku continues to be owned and operated by people of Japanese origin. For chef Jethani, training is non-negotiable. He immersed himself in Japanese cuisine, read books, spent nearly six months in Japan, enrolled in a specialised chef-led programme and interned at Sougo under his mentor Chef Daisuke Nomura. He continues to visit Japan, making it an annual pilgrimage of sorts so that he stays updated on culinary trends, ingredients and techniques. “To create true Japanese cuisine, you need to either train in Japan or work under a Japanese chef for several years. YouTube and AI can’t take you very far,” he warns.
In his view, there is a clear line between elevation and bastardisation. “Japanese cuisine is about minimalism, not maximalism,” says Jethani, emphasising that it is clean and thrives on the quality of its ingredients. Going forward, he foresees a surge of Japanese restaurants opening across the country, particularly in smaller cities. The format, however, he believes will shift towards “intimate, experiential cafes” rather than “loud, flashy spaces.”
