The Small Eateries Creating Community in Japan and the Threats They Face

Tokyo’s world-beating food scene ranges from Michelin-starred temples of gastronomy to fast food chains and everything in between, but the mainstay of Tokyo’s neighborhood foodways has always been small independent restaurants, bars, and cafes run on a shoestring budget. These are not just places to eat and drink but community “third places” where people seek companionship, conviviality, and social support and – through their emotional and social involvement – make the neighborhood a real “authentic” place. Although beloved, such establishments face many threats. Beyond economic precarity, systemic pressures include aging owners, urban redevelopment, and mass tourism. Why do people stay in business, and how do they survive? This presentation addresses these questions by looking at eateries in one Tokyo neighborhood over a decade of observations and interviews.

To join use this link to register with Zoom

You will need the link and passcode provided in the confirmation email.

This event is a part of YCAPS' "Getting to Know Japan Series".

Speaker:

James Farrer has been observing and writing about urban life in Asian cities since he arrived in Taiwan in the late 1980s. For the past two decades, his research has focused on urban foodways in Shanghai, Tokyo, and other cities. His recent publications include The Global Japanese Restaurant: Mobilities, Imaginaries and Politics (with David Wank), Globalization and Asian Cuisines: Transnational Networks and Contact Zones, and Shanghai Nightscapes: A Nocturnal Biography of a Global City (with Andrew Field). For over a decade, he has been studying small businesses in the Tokyo neighborhood of Nishi-Ogikubo, the results of which are recorded on a public ethnography project on neighborhood Tokyo foodways (www.nishiogiology.org). He received his PhD from the University of Chicago and is Professor of Sociology and Global Studies at Sophia University in Tokyo. He is a frequent contributor to media programming on urban life in Asia, including NHK World's "Tokyo Eye 2020” and “Matsuko’s Unknown World” (Matsuko no Shiranai Sekai).

Format: This event will be recorded and published in our web archive. Questions are encouraged during the live event.

Registration: Required Link

Moderators: Amani Kidd and Jeffery Mazziotta

Webinar Cost: Free of charge