At A Loss

[oxymoron]

I'm an Aussie, in my mid sixties with a Japanese wife. I'm retired but have a farm producing organic, free range eggs in Oz. My wife and I drift in and out of Japan on a regular basis, but are looking to move back there permanenly. My problem is that I'm at a loss what to do when we get there. I have an MBA (so not a total dummy), am financially comfortable and have a spousal visa.

In previous posts, I've asked about doing the Eikawa entertainer thing again (I spent 7 pointless but fun years with Nova in the 90s). I've also posted about being a marriage celebrant. That sounds like fun, but not a regular gig, I'm told. My thanks to those of you who gave me good advice in those posts. Both of those involve working for someone else, which I'm not good at. We're considering the Inaka, self sufficiency thing, but I'm a bit farmed out and my wife, being an Osaka lady, misses the bright lights.

So, my question, to all you enlightened people, is what can you suggest as a start up business in Japan? And no, I'm not interested in buying or taking over a mobile dim sim stall!

I look forward to well thought out, intelligent responses.

[BackDoor_Man]

A good investment is food and drink. People love to eat and drink, if you do it right you can have a moneymaker and your wife can get the licenses no sweat.

[KansaiBen]

So, my question, to all you enlightened people, is what can you suggest as a start up business in Japan? And no, I'm not interested in buying or taking over a mobile dim sim stall!

I look forward to well thought out, intelligent responses.

The biggest growth industry in Japan will be old people. Japan is rapidly aging, in 10 years 30% of the population will be over the age of 65. Old peoples homes. Home helpers, rebuilding houses to accommodate the elderly.

[hml]

If you're financially stable, why not just take it easy and raise chickens? Open an omelette shop.

[Call_It_Like_Eye_See_It]

Being a private English teacher lets you set your own hours and rates...

[oxymoron]

A good investment is food and drink. People love to eat and drink, if you do it right you can have a moneymaker and your wife can get the licenses no sweat.

That's how I made my money, possibly what I'll do again, but hard work if you want to be successful.
Thanks for your input.
Same response to hml. Thanks.

[oxymoron]

The biggest growth industry in Japan will be old people. Japan is rapidly aging, in 10 years 30% of the population will be over the age of 65. Old peoples homes. Home helpers, rebuilding houses to accommodate the elderly.

I agree! It's the largest growth industry in the world! If you want to make millions, open up-market retirement villages.
Thanks for the input, KB. Always good posts.

[oxymoron]

Being a private English teacher lets you set your own hours and rates...

Thanks.
Thinking about it, but concerned that I'm too old to appeal even to obasan, although I still cut a damn fine figure for an old fart, or so I tell myself.

[beavis]

Well, there has never been a better time in the last hundred or so years to start a business.
Thanks to the internet you dont need bricks and mortar and all the other overhead as I am sure
you are well aware.

There are a few companies in Japan that can help foreigners set up a website geared to
selling goods or services to/from Japan.

You just need to figure out your niche. A bit of research into things you can import/export
should yield plenty of ideas.

Just do a search on "japanese english web design company" to get started.
This blog has a few more ideas http://tinyurl.com/7a3z2hv

[oxymoron]

Well, there has never been a better time in the last hundred or so years to start a business.
Thanks to the internet you dont need bricks and mortar and all the other overhead as I am sure
you are well aware.

There are a few companies in Japan that can help foreigners set up a website geared to
selling goods or services to/from Japan.

You just need to figure out your niche. A bit of research into things you can import/export
should yield plenty of ideas.

Just do a search on "japanese english web design company" to get started.
This blog has a few more ideas http://tinyurl.com/7a3z2hv

A good idea. My wife is a graphic designer and we both make websites. Just need a niche market. I have some good ideas for the food industry, just need to check it out more thoroughly when I next come over. No dim sims, though!

[spacetiger]

If I was looking to do a semi-retirement gig in Japan, I'd opt for a little village by the sea down in Wakayama. Somewehere a short walk from a train station so you can take the Nankai line into Osaka for the day. You could run a half-assed combeni or an oden joint, or something like that. A placed that doesn't open until late & closes early. If you wanted to live in the city, I'd have a retro goods store on Tachibana & live above it.

[oxymoron]

If I was looking to do a semi-retirement gig in Japan, I'd opt for a little village by the sea down in Wakayama. Somewehere a short walk from a train station so you can take the Nankai line into Osaka for the day. You could run a half-assed combeni or an oden joint, or something like that. A placed that doesn't open until late & closes early. If you wanted to live in the city, I'd have a retro goods store on Tachibana & live above it.

I've never thought about a retro goods store. Sounds interesting. We have a house in Ikoma, Nara, so handy to Nara, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe. Lots of empty shops that can be bought quite cheaply in all those areas, except maybe Kyoto.
Just mentioned the idea to my wife. She raised an eyebrow. That's a sign that she likes the idea. Being the person that she is, this is going to cost me a bloody fortune in phone calls to her family, gathering info. Thanks a lot! lol.

[crazy1]

why not keep doing what you doing now, organic eggs? Not that easy to find in Japan, at least Osaka anyway, and for the right price could sell quite well! (first big customer, me!) Oh, and yes, selling freezer burnt dimsims won't get you very far, unless of course you are as stubborn as the dimsim man!

[AW1]

You're not going to sell the farm or the golden goose in retirement .

Here's a little story .


Osaka was my old stamping ground and many times I would drive up into the hills and look down on the city lights, I had my favorite spots to brainstorm ideas and the monkeys were always fun to watch, I was living in Suminoe Koen area Nanko port town to be exact . The 95 Hanshin job changed my thinking when the connection to Kobe port altered my plans. Long story in between me leaving Oaska and eventually finding a place to settled in Saitama

Back on sound ground again in Saitama and able to put bread on the table I bought the family a second car and needed a parking space. Well, as luck had it I found a guy in my local snack (serve yourself snack) who had a field which the government was paying him for the ground to remain uncultivated .

He wouldn't accept any money and I dropped him off a case of Asahi Dry and he dropped me back a bottle of Four roses to my house and bought out my bottle keep bill at the bar. It was getting ridiculous to talk to this guy, All he wanted was for me to use the ground but never grow anything on it. Exact words Keep an Elephant or a horse on it or anything to keep the grass low and the field tidy. So another cultural lesson learned.

I also learned that about 20% of the Kanto plain is deliberately not used so that prices on veg ,fruit and rice hold their price. There's also some strange goings on during a bumper rice harvest that is never investigated , anyway that's another story.

Back to the field which I had now acquired rent free to park a kei car My mother in law gave me 20 Red Island chickens and a couple of cockerels , These birds look after themselves all they need is a coup for the night ,a bag of pellets and a play ground.

I always bought my meat from Jason the meat guy in Nagoya , my daughters 16th birthday was coming up and old dad here was going to splash out on a sweet sixteen birthday bash. I had the field , catering is not a problem in my trade. I built the BBQ. All I needed was the Marquee , and a couple of extra generators and got clearance with the local copper who was also invited.

The biggest hit with the food on that day was the Ostrich , children kept coming back time and time again asking for “dacho” I quickly realized i had to ration it out and hold back as adult guests were still arriving . The kitchen plan was to change the menu a little with the children and we put out a mixed bbq grill on a stick for that mob.

Ostrich is still a great conversation piece in my circle of friends . I know for a fact that Jason the meat guy would be interested in a supplier , the skins are worth big money and the feathers ? just ask a taxi man a silly question like . “Do you have a feather duster in the trunk”

I have looked at the idea and it's very doable with a return on investment with a breeding pair producing birds for slaughter in three years ... .......... Just a business idea,

[YokohamaTommy]

I have looked at the idea and it's very doable with a return on investment with a breeding pair producing birds for slaughter in three years ... .......... Just a business idea,

Raising Ostriches? Sounds like an excellent idea,
But wouldn't that violate some zoning or public health law?

[AW1]

Raising Ostriches? Sounds like an excellent idea,
But wouldn't that violate some zoning or public health law?

Tom

I have looked at the idea = I have checked the feasibility of keeping these big birds in Saitama , of course there is regulation to keeping a bird capable of speeds of up 40 kilometers an hour should the bird escape. I doubt if permission would be allowed in an urban area .

I have never kept one of these birds . I have however kept a horse and have had to hobble it many times when it got excited.

[YokohamaTommy]

Tom
I have never kept one of these birds . I have however kept a horse and have had to hobble it many times when it got excited.

I am caught between the deliciousness of Ostrich, and the unsavory idea of hobbling an Ostrich.

Don't they need a bit of land to run around?
Or is it more akin to standard chicken farming?
Would they just mill about on the property?

[KansaiBen]

Raising Ostriches? Sounds like an excellent idea,
But wouldn't that violate some zoning or public health law?

I found this Q& A about raising ostriches in India, hope this helps

http://www.agricultureinformation.co...rich-farm.html


Your biggest worry would be cost and avian flu in my opinion.

[oxymoron]

Avian flu is the main reason I wouldn't farm poultry in Japan. A hell of a way to go out of business!

[AW1]

Thanks Ben you have answer Toms questions in a nut shell, On a lighter note I really don't fancy getting into a cage with a big bird guarding a clutch of eggs , walking over to another one and asking it to bend over so I can taser it's head and then dragging it out in front of the whole family.

I think if I had anything to do with this business I would be more interested in having charge of the incubators and clean room associated with the business.

[AW1]

Avian flu is the main reason I wouldn't farm poultry in Japan. A hell of a way to go out of business!

good point, Newcastle disease being the enemy alongside bird flu if you have gambled the lot and had no exit plan . You're an entrepreneur same as me.. it's all a gamble.


Anyway we are just kicking around a few ideas ... something may come of it

[oxymoron]

OK, here's an idea you may want to kick around. My best mate and I did this 22 times, over 15 years, until Oz went into recession in the '80s. We made plenty 18 times and did our collective assses the other 4.
We both had successful businesses, at the time. I had a Marketing Consultancy and he was a Toyota Dealer. Got you interested yet?

As a paying hobby, we hunted out a restaurant that was poorly managed and about to go out of business, but was in a good location. There are plenty of those. We would then approach the desperate owner and offer to take over the lease of the premises and pay out his loans on plant and equipment, if he signed the business over to us. If he agreed, and they usually did, we would approach his lenders and negotiate a cheap payout for the P & E.
Usually, we would get a fully fitted out restaurant for less than $5k. We would then spend up tp $10k renaming the business, some cosmetic refurbishing etc.
The next job was to find the right chef. He had to be married, a home buyer and have a good credit rating. We then offered him the job as a salaried restaurant manager, with the option of buying the business after 12 months for an agreed amount, usually around $60k.
So, we took the trading profit for a year and then sold it for $60k to an already committed buyer; the chef.
It was a win/win situation, with us making a handy profit with little effort and the chef getting an already established business that he knew inside out for a fair price.

I'm too old and don't have the drive to do that stuff anymore, but its something you may consider doing. Bear in mind, the $ I referred to were in the 70's and 80's.

[ruserious]

In all seriousness, with your background, you should go look at the country living forum. It used to be a category on gaijinpot, but disappeared a while ago. Ken, the main guy from that category, now hosts a forum. bcountrylivingjapan.runboard.com

With the current economy, you can buy land out in the countryside for next to nothing.

[edin日本]

Being the person that she is, this is going to cost me a bloody fortune in phone calls to her family, gathering info. Thanks a lot! lol.

Just one word, Skype.

[hml]

Just one word, Skype.

I believe his name is "oxymoron".

[AW1]

Something with a bit more excitement, taking tourists to the top of Mount Ikuma for tea and buns. 10,000 an hour

[AW1]

I believe his name is "oxymoron".

I don't believe you understand the word.

Test yourself by adding an oxymoron to the list below. If you get it wrong I'll help you out. Your clue is Skype.

Jumbo shrimp
Meatless hamburger
Fun run
Working vacation
Roaring silence
The living dead
Virtual real estate
Genuine imitation
Tight slacks

[hml]

I don't believe you understand the word.

Test yourself by adding an oxymoron to the list below. If you get it wrong I'll help you out. Your clue is Skype.

Jumbo shrimp
Meatless hamburger
Fun run
Working vacation
Roaring silence
The living dead
Virtual real estate
Genuine imitation
Tight slacks

I know what an oxymoron is, thanks.

[oxymoron]

I look forward to well thought out, intelligent responses.

I believe his name is "oxymoron".

Sigh! An erudite hml. Wait, is that an oxymoron?

[ダニエル]

I don't believe you understand the word.

Test yourself by adding an oxymoron to the list below. If you get it wrong I'll help you out. Your clue is Skype.

Jumbo shrimp
Meatless hamburger
Fun run
Working vacation
Roaring silence
The living dead
Virtual real estate
Genuine imitation
Tight slacks

Intellectual Property

Or in regular terms: thought property.

[Jpnpro]

Raise ostriches, sell the eggs. Advertise your eggs as "radiation free".
Make ostrich-meat dim sums, charge a lot and serve to wealthy retired people who stay in your bed & breakfast in the countryside.
Steal old clothes from your elderly guests. Sell the items in your retro shop. Use ostrich-feather dusters to keep your shop clean.

[edin日本]

Raise ostriches, sell the eggs. Advertise your eggs as "radiation free".
Make ostrich-meat dim sums, charge a lot and serve to wealthy retired people who stay in your bed & breakfast in the countryside.
Steal old clothes from your elderly guests. Sell the items in your retro shop. Use ostrich-feather dusters to keep your shop clean.

The eggs are too large and they are fertile. Japanese don't like fertile eggs.

[oxymoron]

..........

[Wonky]

The biggest growth industry in Japan will be old people. Japan is rapidly aging, in 10 years 30% of the population will be over the age of 65. Old peoples homes. Home helpers, rebuilding houses to accommodate the elderly.

One of my neighbors owned a printing company. He recently knocked it down and built an old folks home in its place.

[KansaiBen]

One of my neighbors owned a printing company. He recently knocked it down and built an old folks home in its place.

If you have a home-helpers licence (2-kyu) you will never be out of work. Cleaning bedpans, bathing people and putting them on the toilet but its a growth industry.

Rest home fees cost an absolute fortune in Japan as well.

[Wonky]

OK, here's an idea you may want to kick around. My best mate and I did this 22 times, over 15 years, until Oz went into recession in the '80s. We made plenty 18 times and did our collective assses the other 4.
We both had successful businesses, at the time. I had a Marketing Consultancy and he was a Toyota Dealer. Got you interested yet?

As a paying hobby, we hunted out a restaurant that was poorly managed and about to go out of business, but was in a good location. There are plenty of those. We would then approach the desperate owner and offer to take over the lease of the premises and pay out his loans on plant and equipment, if he signed the business over to us. If he agreed, and they usually did, we would approach his lenders and negotiate a cheap payout for the P & E.
Usually, we would get a fully fitted out restaurant for less than $5k. We would then spend up tp $10k renaming the business, some cosmetic refurbishing etc.
The next job was to find the right chef. He had to be married, a home buyer and have a good credit rating. We then offered him the job as a salaried restaurant manager, with the option of buying the business after 12 months for an agreed amount, usually around $60k.
So, we took the trading profit for a year and then sold it for $60k to an already committed buyer; the chef.
It was a win/win situation, with us making a handy profit with little effort and the chef getting an already established business that he knew inside out for a fair price.

I'm too old and don't have the drive to do that stuff anymore, but its something you may consider doing. Bear in mind, the $ I referred to were in the 70's and 80's.

Actually, I know this guy with a cart...

[Call_It_Like_Eye_See_It]

And I know this guy with a worthless chair....

http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthrea...-Serious-Sh1t-!

[Wonky]

If you have a home-helpers licence (2-kyu) you will never be out of work. Cleaning bedpans, bathing people and putting them on the toilet but its a growth industry.

Rest home fees cost an absolute fortune in Japan as well.

Does it pay more than eikaiwa?

[yu_ominae]

Being a private English teacher lets you set your own hours and rates...

Following that line of thought I'd open an international kindergarten or something like that. People tend not the save when the invest in their kids and all the Japanese want their children to be future English geniuses. Much more money to be made than teaching adults I reckon and probably more rewarding as well.

[KansaiBen]

Does it pay more than eikaiwa?

some people will do anything rather than teach eikaiwa. With a licence you can work at any welfare facility in the country. Its 3-K (Kitsui Kitanai and Kiken) work but some people do it because they like to help people.