All good things must come to an end. And that includes Japan’s first-ever Saizeriya location. While the location has been kept running as a museum, plans for new development have doomed it to obsoletion.
If you don’t know Saizeriya, I strongly suggest trying it at least once while visiting or living in Japan. Some people won’t touch the chain with a 10-foot pole. For many, however, the faux Italian restaurant is a lifesaver.
Saizeriya serves what’s best described as “Italian tapas” or “Italian izakaya.” Most of its small plates sell between 180 yen (USD $1.14) and 400 yen ($2.54). Not to be outdone by Trader Joe’s in the United States, it also offers bargain-basement wine prices: you can get a 120mL glass for 91 yen ($0.58) and a 1500mL bottle for 1,000 yen ($6.33).
The chain has an interesting history, starting as a “Western food” (yoshoku) restaurant in 1967 until that burned down. It re-opened as an Italian food – or, at least, the Japanese interpretation of Italian food – joint in 1973 with its new first location in Ichikawa City, Chiba Prefecture, near Motoyawata Station. Saizeriya now has over 1,500 stores – 1,069 in Japan, 474 abroad.
Saizeriya closed the location in Chiba in 2000. However, Saezeriya head Masagaki Yasuhiro was dedicated to keeping it open in some form. So the chain kept it open as an educational museum, making zero changes except installing a Washlet toilet. (I mean, who can blame them?)
However, the location is now slated to disappear in 2027 as developers want to tear down the area and build something new. A post about the closure on X was liked over 56K times and generated a slew of comments from people who’re sad to see this piece of history fade away.
Oyama Tatsuo, who heads the preservation committee for the first store, says there are calls to replace it with another educational museum but no concrete plans. In the meantime, he encourages people to visit while they still can.
Location: 2 Chome-6-5 Yawata, Ichikawa, Chiba 272-0021
Discuss this article with other UJ fans on our Bluesky account or Discord server!
Join Us And Get More
We’re an independent site that keeps our content free of intrusive ads. If you love what we do, help us do more. Donors of $5/month or more (paid monthly or yearly) join Unseen Japan Insider and get a newsletter with bonus content and commentary every week.
What to read next
Is This Ramen Chain Closing Stores Because It Sucks?
Why is this chain about to close a third of its stores in the Tokyo area? Some fans are blaming its lack of consistency.
Japanese Girls Charged Over “Food Terrorism” at a Sukiya
It’s not just foreign influencers causing trouble in Japan. Two girls in Osaka are facing charges after going viral for disgusting behavior.
Japan’s Teaboo UK Ambassador Gets Grilled Over Crumpet Topping
Hiroshi Suzuki, Japan’s ambassador to the UK, caused a stir when he brought together two British tastes that some insist don’t go together.
