Researching: Japanese community / population in Tampa? (Brandon: home, living, restaurants)

[mishua]

Hi there,

I am considering moving my family and I to Tampa, FL. There are so many attractive traits of Tampa, but one I do not know of yet at all is the prevalence or existence of a Japanese community.

My wife is from Japan; I am from New York. I'm raising my daughter to be multi-lingual, so I wanted to see how immersed she could possibly be in Japanese language outside of the home. Furthermore, among the many cuisines we like to eat, Japanese is naturally at the top of the list. What is the prevalence of grocery stores that have Japanese products, or authentic restaurants of Japanese food?

Thank you very much, everyone!

[kmarc]

I wish I could be of more assistance, but I will repeat what I said in your other thread:

I, for one, would welcome more of a Japanese presence in Tampa Bay. The Japanese did great honor to a family member decades ago. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Japanese. I hope you move here.

[Fl1150]

If its there its probably small but I found a Japanese market Kotobuki Oriental Market - Town N Country - Tampa, FL | Yelp.

[Nooner]

I am originally from Tampa. Married Japanese & lived in Japan for about 18 years, moved back to Tampa 17 years ago, raised family here, all bilingual including the dog. Still summer in Japan every couple of years. Wife loves it here.

My wife has Japanese friends she gets together with for lunch, but I do not think Tampa has a Japanese community per se. There are quite a few Japanese living here but not to the extent where there is a "Little Tokyo" area. Maybe it’s me but seems to be more females than males.

I think you daughter will be multi-lingual from her home and not from outside the home.

Although there are many “Japanese” style restaurants in the area, most are geared toward the American taste bud and cooked by other ethnic Asians other than Japanese. Think “cold Sushi rice” and instant Miso soup. I’ve found the best authentic Japanese food is the food cooked at home. But there are a couple of small restaurants operated by Japanese.

Kotobuki is a very good oriental food store run by a very nice lady. There is also a store in Brandon and some larger all-Asian type supermarkets like MD Oriental near USF. Just check the expiration date on everything regardless of the store.

Tampa is not Seattle or San Diego when it comes to a Japanese community, but it is a very diverse town with a lot of ethnic foods available. As a matter of fact, there is a large Korean community due to MacDill Air Force base. And there is a large Phil-Am presence with a great annual festival.

Also, get “TV-Japan” on your cable. Might only be NHK type programming, but worth it. My grandkids are learning a lot of Japanese from watching the kid shows on it and it is nice to watch live Japanese newscast..

Hope this helps and welcome to Tampa. Feel free if you have other questions.