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LILI EN FLORIDA

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Japanese Educator, Content Writer and Traveler

Japanese Restaurant

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by

LILI FLORIDA

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Today I went to the Japanese restaurant with my friend in Boca Raton. The restaurant was nice. I ordered hibachi (teppanyaki) scallops.

In America, hibachi is well known as a grilling style. In Japan, it is a fire bowl (火鉢).

On my way home, I passed by the old workplace. Seventeen years ago, I worked there as a server. The restaurant owner was a sushi chef from Tokyo, and his father and grandfather were also sushi chefs. My father had trained at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo, so he knew their restaurant.

I did almost everything—serving customers, washing dishes, cooking, and cleaning. One day, the owner decided to return to Tokyo. After the restaurant closed, I got a new job.

Now, there’s a new restaurant.

Photos by LILI＆Pixabay

@liliflorida on Tumblr

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18 responses to “Japanese Restaurant”

  1. aniruddhakaul Avatar
    aniruddhakaul

    Wonderful restaurant. Nice to know about your journey from a server to your new job

    Reply
    1. LILI FLORIDA Avatar
      LILI FLORIDA

      Soon after I moved to Florida, I couldn’t speak English well. So I studied with her (my friend I met today) in English class.

      We now have other jobs. I liked the restaurant job. At the time, I was studying at college and required 1300 working hours in the hospitality industry.

      The next job was a tour guide for tourists, and then I became a Japanese teacher 🙂

      Reply
      1. aniruddhakaul Avatar
        aniruddhakaul

        That’s so amazing!! Teacher is the best profession that is what we believe here. That is probably why you could relate Sanskrit words within Japanese

      2. LILI FLORIDA Avatar
        LILI FLORIDA

        Thank you. Well, nowadays AI replaces language-related jobs…😅 but I like studying foreign language, culture, and history.

  2. Sushmita Sahay Avatar
    Sushmita Sahay

    Wonderful pics and a mouthwatering account… 😋food grabs my eyeballs anytime!

    Reply
    1. LILI FLORIDA Avatar
      LILI FLORIDA

      Thank you 😊 Do you like Japanese food?

      Reply
  3. Sushmita Sahay Avatar
    Sushmita Sahay

    Oh yes! Korean too, and Chinese, Singaporean, Malaysian, Thai++… 😆😆

    Reply
    1. LILI FLORIDA Avatar
      LILI FLORIDA

      😊😊

      Reply
  4. aniruddhakaul Avatar
    aniruddhakaul

    Nice to know that you like to study about languages, culture and history.

    Reply
  5. Hazel Avatar
    Hazel

    Sounds like a great restaurant, Lili, and you learn a lot from there

    Reply
    1. LILI FLORIDA Avatar
      LILI FLORIDA

      Yes, well I like eating more than cooking. I can survive on instant noodles…😅

      Reply
  6. vermavkv Avatar
    vermavkv

    This is such a quietly beautiful piece—it feels simple on the surface, but there’s a lot of heart underneath.

    I love how you begin with a present-day moment at Sushi Sake Boca Raton. It sets a calm, everyday scene—good food, good company —and then gently opens the door to something deeper. That small detail about hibachi versus 火鉢 adds a cultural layer that feels personal, not forced.

    Reply
    1. LILI FLORIDA Avatar
      LILI FLORIDA

      Thank you 😊 I am sharing a little about the restaurant business. In the US, only half of restaurants survive in the first five years. I think many Asian restaurants are family-owned, so they don’t close their restaurants soon. My old workplace was also family-run. They opened the first restaurant in New Jersey and then moved to Florida. The owner decided to close the restaurant because his sons chose other careers.

      Before closing the restaurant, I was asked to take over the business. But the starting cost was $400,000, due to a good location and luxury restaurant. I was in my 20s. I couldn’t afford to pay and asked for a loan either. I asked my dad if he was interested in coming to Florida, but he wanted to stay in Japan. I briefly worked in the other casual restaurant. The owner said that the starting cost was $100,000 at the time.

      The restaurant industry is competitive.

      Reply
      1. vermavkv Avatar
        vermavkv

        Thank you for sharing this—it’s such a real, behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant world. People often see the finished experience—the food, the ambiance—but not the huge risks and decisions happening underneath it all.

        That moment when you were asked to take over the business… that’s big. Especially in your 20s, being presented with something that comes with both opportunity and a $400,000 price tag? That’s not just a career choice, that’s a life-defining crossroads. It makes complete sense why you paused—those kinds of decisions aren’t just about passion, they’re about timing, support, and what’s realistically possible.

  7. pedmar10 Avatar
    pedmar10

    My father own restaurant in NJ and it is very competitve , we had for about 3 years and then sold it never came back to the business again. I was never involved. Boca Raton is a nice area ,one friend from work and another from high school in NJ now lives there. Cheers

    Reply
    1. LILI FLORIDA Avatar
      LILI FLORIDA

      What type of restaurant did your father own?

      $400,000 was too expensive…😱 My cousin is a chef and currently owns his restaurant in my hometown. I hope he will be successful😊

      Reply
  8. pedmar10 Avatar
    pedmar10

    Spanish Cuban mix. But à lot cheaper than 400k! Best of luck to your brother. Cheers

    Reply
    1. pedmar10 Avatar
      pedmar10

      Sorry cousin then.

      Reply

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