Japanese grocery stores and ingredient suppliers in Switzerland

This page is for food lovers and professional chefs in Switzerland that are looking for Japanese cooking supplies.

Japanese Cooking Supplies

Rice

In Switzerland, you can buy California rice or Japonica rice grown in Italy.

You can also get Japanese Koshihikari etc. at some Japanese supermarkets.

Soy sauce

Kikkoman soy sauce is available at most supermarkets.

Miso

Although mainly red miso is available, the number of stores selling both red and white miso is increasing.

Seafood

Most of the seafood used in Japanese cuisine is procured locally. But in Switzerland, which is landlocked,

most seafood is imported from around Europe, from the Atlantic or Mediterranean seas. Bluefin tuna comes from the Mediterranean, farmed tuna comes from Spain, and salmon is imported from Ireland, Norway and Scotland. Other than that, sweet shrimp comes from the Scandinavian countries, mackerel comes from Norway,
and octopus comes from Italy.

Currently there are many barriers to importing seafood from Japan to the EU or Switzerland.

This is because the EU requires Japan to implement HACCP standards of food control, and Switzerland has similar requirements. Since opening the HACCP-compliant Toyosu market in October, 2018, it is likely that the number of Japanese companies able to export seafood to the EU and Switzerland will increase.

Alcohol

Asahi, Kirin beer and CHOYA plum wine all have European factories, and are readily available.

Sake and Shochu are mainly imported from Japan.

Liquors with an alcohol content is 15% or more are required to pay a liquor tax, so the higher proof (20 to 25%) types of Shochu have not really made inroads in Europe.

List of Japanese grocery stores and ingredient suppliers

Below is a list of vendors who can get the ingredients needed to make Japanese food, such as Japanese food importers who wholesale to supermarkets and restaurants, as well as supermarkets that sell Japanese food to the general public.

This list consists of vendors frequently used by Japanese expats. (Some shops carry not only Japanese cooking supplies but also kitchen ware)

GmbHTheodorstrasse 293, 40472 Düsseldorf Germany
*Sales area includes Switzerland
https://www.jfc.eu/en/contact/

Bureau Rue de Riant-Coteau 11 1196 Gland
http://www.foodex.ch/index.php?lang=fr

■ Lausanne Branch
Ruelle de Grand Saint Jean 5 1003 Lausanne
■ Geneve Branch
Rue Ferrier 13-15 1202 Geneve
https://uchitomi.ch/

Rue de Zurich 45 1201 Genève
https://www.uchino.ch/

■ Nishi Japan Shop 1
Schaffhauser­strasse 120, 8057 Zürich
■ Nishi Japan Shop 2
Falkenstrasse 26, 8008 Zürich
https://www.nishishop.ch/

Schützengasse 4 8001 Zürich
https://www.yumihana-zuerich.ch/

https://www.japantee.ch/Shop

Number of Local Japanese People

10,982 Japanese people live in Switzerland, as of 2018.

Number of Local Japanese Restaurants

There are about 500 Japanese restaurants in Switzerland. (Numbers based on tripadvisor, January, 2020)

For Swiss People Wanting to Study Japanese Cuisine in Japan

Do you want to study Japanese cuisine in Japan one day? Chefs Wonderland, an agency for helping foreign visitors study cooking in Japan, can make all your cooking school dreams come true.

There are two main ways to study Japanese cuisine in Japan.

One way is to enroll in a culinary school.

The other is to find work at a Japanese restaurant in Japan, although this is not very easy to do.

How Many Swiss People are Living in Japan?

As of 2018, there are 1,142 Swiss people living in Japan.

In addition, 52,099 Swiss people visited to Japan in 2018.

Study Japanese Cuisine at a Culinary School

If you want to attend a Culinary Technical College for Japanese people, you need to be able to speak fluent Japanese, but even if you can’t speak Japanese, you can study Japanese cuisine at one of the following schools that offer English courses lasting anywhere from one day to three months.

There are classes for beginners, short-term intensive courses to get a certificate, and private classes for professional chefs.

Study Japanese Cuisine While Working

Under the current immigration laws, foreigners have very limited opportunities to work in restaurants in Japan, you would need a working holiday visa, a spouse visas, or a type of special activity visa issued only to a few people. If you want more information on studying Japanese cuisine while working in Japan,

please see the following article.

Would you like to know more?