If you've made it this far, found a place, calculated your costs, even begun to find staff, I'd say you're doing pretty well. In fact, you're pretty much past the stage where you have to deal with massive competition for scarce resources. Now everything that's left to do is up to you, and how much work you're willing to put in toward the final stretch is going to determine how successful you'll be. This week, we'll cover what you need to do to furnish your shop and equip your kitchen.

You'll need to make sure your restaurant looks as good as it can. If you went with a bare bones, or skeleton rental, that means installing floors, walls, ceilings, and everything that goes with it. If you chose an inuki (furnished) space, you'll probably need to make some modifications to the existing setup.

If you can do some of this work on your own, that will help save money, but it's important to know what your limits are. With as many restaurants and bars to choose from as there are in Tokyo, you can't afford to have a shop that looks too shabby. Saving money by doing a bad job on your own can cost more in the long run, by which time you'll have created a negative image in the minds of people who could've become regulars.