Japanese grocery stores and ingredient suppliers in Portugal

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

Japanese Cooking Supplies

Rice

Japanese rice grown in Spain or Italy is usually used in Japanese restaurants in Portugal.

Soy sauce

Kikkoman soy sauce bottled in the Netherlands is available at Asian grocery stores and general supermarkets.

Miso

You can get miso at Asian grocery stores and health food stores.

Seafood

Although there’s an abundance seafood in Portugal, Japanese restaurants seem to have a hard time finding suitable ingredients for sushi because the culture is not geared towards eating raw seafood.

Tuna, salmon, Aji (horse mackerel), mackerel, shrimp, sea bream, etc. can be found for use in sushi.

Alcohol

Beer such as Asahi and Kirin can be found at Asian supermarkets, but sake and shochu, etc. need to be imported via a liquor importer, and it seems that there are few that deal in these liquors.

List of Japanese grocery stores and ingredient suppliers

Below is a list of 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 in your country. (Some shops carry not only Japanese cooking supplies but also kitchen ware)

Number of Local Japanese People

673 Japanese people live in Portugal, as of 2018.

Number of Local Japanese Restaurants

According to the information on TripAdvisor, as of January 2021, there are about 800 Japanese restaurants in Portugal.

For Portuguese 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 Portuguese People are Living in Japan?

As of 2018, there are 681 Portuguese people living in Japan.

In addition, 26,506 Portuguese 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.

Culinary Schools in Japan

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.

Working Holiday in Japan

Working holiday visas are issued to Portuguese nationals between the ages of 18 and 30. If you can get a Working Holiday Visa, you can enjoy vacationing and working in Japan for up to one year.

If you are thinking about going on a Working Holiday to Japan, please see the following article.
Japan Working Holiday Guide – 15,000 youth get working holiday visa every year

Would you like to know more?