You're in a breezy, open space, bathed in light. Frothy indoor plants and burnished wood surrounds vibrant splashes of azure. While sipping a "green fairy," that traditional spirit of artists around the world, someone passes you a shisha, or water pipe, and you inhale sweet, fruit-soaked tobacco. You could be anywhere along the Mediterranean Sea, from Greece to Israel to Morocco, but you're not. You're in Cafe Absinthe in Osaka and your host is Russian Dmitri Farberov.

Farberov and his wife, Miho Irie, have created an international oasis for musicians and artists, a true slice of Bohemia in Japan. For Farberov, however, it's not about where you are. "Basically what is important is who surrounds you. It is not really about the country or the city you live in, but the world that you create around yourself."

With two successful Mediterranean-style restaurants in the Osaka area after 10 years in the business, Farberov says, "I'm still amazed that we did it. It's not easy to survive in the restaurant business in Japan, as there is so much competition and a lot of people out there who know what they're doing. And we didn't, really. Maybe that was part of our success because always we looked at things from a customer's point of view and never from a business point of view."