--- title: "From Paris Chef to Restaurant Owner - A New Chapter in Japan" description: "Explore a personal journey of transformation: leaving Paris for Osaka, overcoming cultural hurdles, learning Japanese to represent a new beginning" lang: fr json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "SoftwareApplication", "name": "VitaeMap", "url": "https://www.vitaemap.com/", "applicationCategory": "LifestyleApplication", "applicationSubCategory": "Interactive map and timeline storytelling", "operatingSystem": "Web browser", "description": "VitaeMap is a web application to tell life stories and journeys through interactive geographic maps, timelines, images, charts and more, then share them publicly or privately.", "featureList": [ "Interactive geographic map (Mapbox)", "Chronological timeline", "Image galleries and patchwork", "Analytical charts (radar, balance, duel, wheel)", "3D journey and trek visualizations", "Multilingual VitaeMaps" ], "inLanguage": [ "fr", "en" ], "offers": { "@type": "Offer", "price": "0", "priceCurrency": "EUR", "description": "Free plan available, Premium from 3.49 EUR/month" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "VitaeMap", "url": "https://www.vitaemap.com/" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "CreativeWorkSeries", "name": "VitaeMaps", "url": "https://www.vitaemap.com/explore", "description": "A series of interactive VitaeMaps: life stories, historical journeys, places and themes told through maps, timelines, images and charts.", "inLanguage": [ "fr", "en" ], "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "VitaeMap", "url": "https://www.vitaemap.com/" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "From Paris Chef to Restaurant Owner - A New Chapter in Japan", "description": "Explore a personal journey of transformation: leaving Paris for Osaka, overcoming cultural hurdles, learning Japanese to represent a new beginning", "datePublished": "2025-08-11T13:22:43.046967+00:00", "dateModified": "2026-08-13T11:55:06.301678+00:00", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A New Beginning: Turning the Page and Writing the Next Chapter" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Person", "name": "A New Beginning: Turning the Page and Writing the Next Chapter", "description": "Explore a personal journey of transformation: leaving Paris for Osaka, overcoming cultural hurdles, learning Japanese to represent a new beginning", "url": "https://www.vitaemap.com/v/a-new-beginning-turning-the-page-and-writing-the-next-chapter", "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://www.vitaemap.com/v/a-new-beginning-turning-the-page-and-writing-the-next-chapter" } }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Accueil", "item": "https://www.vitaemap.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "A New Beginning: Turning the Page and Writing the Next Chapter", "item": "https://www.vitaemap.com/v/a-new-beginning-turning-the-page-and-writing-the-next-chapter" } ] } ] --- [![VitaeMap](/assets/logo_vitaemap_transparent-BYKjWP9O.svg)](/en) [Explore](/en/explore)[Pricing](/en/pricing)![GB](https://flagcdn.com/gb.svg)English Toggle theme [Sign in](/auth)[Create my VitaeMap](/auth-choice) ![GB](https://flagcdn.com/gb.svg)English Toggle theme Back 11 events · Created on August 11, 2025 # A New Beginning: Turning the Page and Writing the Next Chapter This VitaeMap chronicles a profound life transformation: from a pivotal career change and an international move to Japan, through the challenges of culture shock and homesickness, to the exhilarating discovery of a new passion and the exciting launch of a unique culinary venture in Osaka. Map Chronology Trek 1 10 Feb 2024 ⛰ 2 Opportunity ### The Announcement 45 Rue des Trois Bornes, Paris 11e, France She comes home from the office looking different, almost out of breath, but above all with stars in her eyes! She announces that **she's been offered the management of the Japanese subsidiary**. I can already see her there even before she has answered. I say yes immediately, with **sincere joy for her** and **a worry that I keep to myself** that night. Me too 1 2 5 Mar 2024 ⛰ -3 Challenge ### The Doubt 45 Rue des Trois Bornes, Paris 11e, France I look at my apron hanging behind the kitchen door and realize that **nobody in Osaka has ever heard of me**. Twenty years building a reputation in this neighborhood, and I'm leaving to start over from scratch to follow someone else. I'm not telling my wife, not yet. Me too 1 3 15 Jun 2024 ⛰ -1 Transition ### The Departure Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 2E, France The boxes left last week, only the suitcases remain. I close the apartment door one last time and I can't tell if what **I'm feeling is excitement or just fear in a fancy suit**. Me too 1 4 16 Jun 2024 ⛰ -2 Transition ### The Arrival Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan **I cannot read a single sign around me**. My wife is already off to a meeting the next day, suit impeccable, while I stay in a still-empty apartment trying to figure out how to get water delivered. I explore the surroundings, I see these eyes all around and I feel my awkwardness. Me too 1 5 1 Jul 2024 - 15 Oct 2024 ⛰ -5 Turning Point ### Homesickness Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka, Japan Weeks of pacing around the apartment while she works fourteen-hour days. I cook French food at home almost by reflex, as if it could replace an entire neighborhood. I feel like a stranger to everything, even to myself some days. My darling sees that **I'm not at my best**, but I reassure her... Yes, it'll be fine! Me too 1 6 20 Sept 2024 ⛰ 1 Key Connection ### The Gathering Café Kaigai, Nakazakicho, Osaka, Japan A group of French expatriates meets every two weeks in a small neighborhood café. I finally speak my language out loud for two hours. It feels good, even if it isn't enough. I see how much I need social contact. But it feels good to hear a few people who have been here longer and who reassure us! I cling to their stories. Me too 1 7 1 Oct 2024 ⛰ 0 (estimé) ### Learning Japanese, Osaka Language school in Osaka I need to learn the language and the culture, plus it will keep me busy: My wife doesn't understand that I get bored while she works non-stop! This is the perfect opportunity to launch a **new personal project** and discover a fascinating universe. I intend to fully invest myself in mastering the basics and immersing myself in Japanese culture. Me too 8 20 Dec 2024 ⛰ -1 Milestone ### A Breath of Fresh Air at Home 45 Rue des Trois Bornes, Paris 11e, France Ten days in Paris for Christmas, alone, because my wife couldn't get away. **I find my streets,** my market, my former kitchen colleagues again, and yet something rings slightly hollow. I am no longer quite from here either, and this discovery troubles me more than homesickness itself. Well, I'm not sulking though; I'm eating like never before and **bringing back a few spices that are impossible to find in Japan**! Me too 1 9 5 Jan 2025 ⛰ 3 Turning Point ### The Conscious Choice Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 2E, France In the boarding line for the return flight to Osaka, I realize that this time I am choosing to go back, I am no longer just following along. The difference is minute from the outside, but on the inside it changes everything. **I was looking forward to going home, and I am just as excited to return to Osaka!** Me too 1 10 15 Jan 2025 - 30 Dec 2025 ⛰ 2 Lesson Learned ### Japanese Culinary Techniques and Culture! Kansai Language School, Namba, Osaka, Japan My level of Japanese allows me to go further by working as an intern in a kappo kitchen to relearn a craft I thought I already knew. Filleting a fish is nothing like what I used to do in Paris. I am starting over at the bottom of the ladder, at forty-four years old. Me too 1 11 1 Mar 2026 ⛰ 4 Milestone ### The Construction Sel et Riz Restaurant, Kitashinchi, Osaka, Japan I haven't been idle these past 3 months! This is it, I'm taking the plunge: **I'm opening my own little restaurant**, with a menu that unapologetically blends what I know of Paris and what I have learned here. A regular greets me in broken French as he walks in. Osaka doesn't replace Paris, but it's no longer a waiting room either; it's my home too. Me too 1 ## Create your own VitaeMap Tell your story in an interactive and visual way Start for free