Career Guide

Top 11 Highly Paid Food Jobs in Japan

Top 11 Highly Paid Food Jobs in Japan

Jobs in the food industry are one of the most popular careers. For Japanese people, food is beyond eating and drinking. It is a means of socialising, bonding, and boosting relationships between friends, families or co-workers.

Japanese foods are well-known for being innovative, unique and exciting, so there are a variety of food jobs out there, such as chefs, restaurant managers, food stylists, baristas, cookbook authors and food technologists.

If you are passionate about the culinary, why not start a food career in Japan? We will introduce the top 11 highly paid jobs in the food industry.

Executive Chef

A chef is the most traditional occupation in the food industry. Culinary culture has rapidly developed in Japan. You will see colourful cuisines from conventional Japanese, to Italian, to French, to South Korean. It brings many opportunities to work in a kitchen. The most common way to be a chef is to take formal training at a culinary school. The beginners start from a low position and get used to long working hours in a hectic kitchen.

After many year's experience, they can be promoted to an executive chef. An executive chef is responsible for all of the activities related to the kitchen. It includes menu creation, plating design, ordering and purchasing ingredients, hiring, training, and managing kitchen staff.The average annual income is 5-6 million yen.

Restaurant Manager

A restaurant manager focuses on operations. The managers are responsible for leading and managing restaurants, shops and catering businesses. They need to make sure that superior guest service is being delivered to customers and ensure customers are satisfied with their service.

Planning and developing new marketing strategies, organising staff shifts, hiring and training new employees, managing restaurant supplies, and controlling costs. Depending on the workplace, a variety of responsibilities will be on your shoulders. The average annual income is 6,3 million yen.

Cookbook Author

This job will be the best for those with excellent writing skill and a passion for food. The cookbook can be released in digital and print form. To do it, you need to decide a theme for the book, try and taste your recipes many times, write how to cook and tips, and take photos of dishes.

It is advisable that debuting as a food blogger before the first issue will give you a chance to get as many followers as possible, which helps create publicity for your book. The average annual income is 8,6 million yen.

Food Entrepreneur

Food entrepreneurs sell their specialities developed in their kitchens. For example, farmer's markets sell multiple types of products made by an individual or speciality shops, such as jams, cakes, cookies and candles.

It requires professional skills of food production, creativity and knowledge of business and marketing. Food entrepreneurs use the Internet to promote their products all over the world. If you want to be your own boss, it may be a good fit. The average annual income is 7 million yen.

Hotel Operations Manager

A hotel operations manager is in charge of all operative aspects of a hotel to provide guests with a positive experience and meet their expectations. The manager's responsibilities include staffing the hotel, managing the foodservice, housekeeping, security, public relations, sales and financials. A wide range of tasks is usually involved, such as the development of new business strategies, setting up and maintaining standards, and reviewing employee's performance.

The role requires strong leadership, communication and organisational skills, a high level of responsibility and accountability. It is a rewarding job if you like juggling with multiple tasks. The average annual income is 9 million yen.


Sommeliers often work at restaurants and wineries. They possess an in-depth knowledge of wine and vineyards. Restaurant sommeliers create and update a wine list, manage wine stocks, recommend wine and food pairings, supervise wine service, introduce a variety of wines.

Winery sommeliers are in charge of organising a wine tour and run a wine tasting course, in which they teach an in-depth knowledge of wine and a tasting skill. Professional expertise and experience of a wine-related business are required. The average annual income is 3,8 million yen.

Executive Pastry Chef

Hands-on practice is essential to become a professional pastry chef. The majority of chefs start from washing dishes in a kitchen. They usually learn skills on the job. However, some go to a community college or a cooking school to learn the basics. Apprenticeships are about two years. After gaining over five years' experience, chefs can be promoted to the executive position.

Executive pastry chefs are responsible for restaurant's baking and desert operations. They supervise pastry preparation, observe good sanitation, order supplies, and manage budgets. The most attractive aspect of this job is creation, execution and presentation of desserts and pastries, so that executive chefs must possess expert skills and creativity to produce eye-catching products. Also, it requires stamina, time-management and supervising skills, with strong communication skills. The average annual income is 3,8 million yen.

Professional Food Forager

A food forager works to collaborate with restaurants. Traditionally, they work in the wild, such as forests, to find natural ingredients to meet the restaurant's expectation. However, in modern times, food foragers go to farmers' markets or local shops to find the best items for their clients.

The job includes presenting the origin of the things to chefs. As the growing trend is that many people have concerns about environment so that restaurants serving meals made with local ingredients are in their favour. Food foragers' career perspective will be promising. The average annual income is 8 million yen.

Restaurant publicist

A restaurant publicist is responsible for promoting a restaurant's right image. The publicist develops the brand image and prevails the presence of the restaurant to the public, steering clear of any negative perceptions and improves it in the public eye.

The publicists plan events, advertising campaigns, write newsletters and blogs, manage social media activity, go through media for any comments and draft press releases. To be a restaurant publicist, you should have a good understanding of restaurant operations. The average annual income is 3-5 million yen.

Waiter and Waitress

Waiters and waitresses primary duties are to provide customers with an excellent dining experience. Their responsibilities include greeting and escorting customers to their tables, presenting a menu and answering customer's questions, taking accurate orders, serving food and drinks, and collecting bills. Being attentive to ensure that customers enjoy the meals is the focal point. Politeness and good communication skills are required. The average annual income is 3 million yen.

Food Delivery Staff

Food delivery staff deliver food items to the person who placed an order, collect the payment from customers, maintain a delivery car and pieces of equipment, communicate with takeaway shops or restaurants and inform of undelivered food items or any problems to managers.

It requires a driving license, excellent communication and customer service skills and the ability to work under pressure. The average annual income is 4 million yen.

Last Remarks

Have you discovered an exciting food job? If you are motivated, why not take action? Working in the food industry is well-known for perks, such as free or discounted food products. Not only for that, meeting new people and working as a team in a vibrant workplace will be fun and be an excellent opportunity to develop good friendships with co-workers.