Dear Customers,

I arrived in the 1970s and set up the first version of Japan Centre in 1976, building the business was extremely difficult as I tried to find a market for Japanese martial arts equipment, food and books and make a life for myself and my young family.

There were many ups and downs along the way, however today it is heartbreaking to see how precarious a position we in the hospitality and retail trade really all are in. In a flash over 40 years of hard work balances on a knife edge. It is with a heavy heart that I have taken the difficult decision to close all our restaurants including delivery until the national situation stabilises and for the safety of all our customers and staff.

I have experienced tough times in the past, but nothing compares to this and the hard conversations I have had to have recently with our loyal and hardworking team, some of whom have been by my side for 20 years. Thanks to the help from the Government, we will be financially supporting our entire Shoryu team through the next few months which means no one will be losing their jobs.

I am an eternal optimist, Shoryu even means ‘rising dragon’, so I am confident we will return to serve you, our loyal customers, the Japanese food you know and love soon. In the meantime our Japanese grocery stores - Japan Centre and Ichiba remain open to service the local communities, NHS and key workers.

You can also support us by shopping your essential groceries online at Japancentre.com so that our future remains prosperous. Thank you for opening your arms to a young man from Japan with dreams all those years ago and helping grow the UK’s love for Japanese cuisine with me.

Importantly, take care of yourselves, family and friends and thank you so much for all your support and custom to this point.

It has been an honour.

Tak Tokumine, CEO

Japan Centre
Shoryu Ramen
Sakagura
Ichiba
Showaken