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At Jakarta’s Little Tokyo, locals pick up lessons, work ethic
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Customers arrive for an early Tuesday dinner at Daitokyo Sakaba, a Japanese restaurants located at Blok M Square in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Oct. 29. (JP/Budi Sutrisno)
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ed and yellow lanterns hang from dusty walls and terrace ceilings along busy streets surrounding Blok M Square in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, famously dubbed Jakarta's Little Tokyo.
The area is home to lines of restaurants and entertainment venues designed with Japanese-inspired wooden structures and sliding doors. Upon stepping feet inside any of these establishments, customers are greeted with “irasshaimase”, a Japanese welcome phrase.
For the waitresses in jam-packed meat-and-steak restaurant Daitokyo Sakaba, the typical phrase has not only become a part of their daily routine, but it has also influenced their work ethic regarding omotenashi (Japanese hospitality culture of offering the best services).
Juwairiah Prihatini, a senior waitress in the restaurant, said that since she first joined the team at the age of 17 after graduating from high school, she had learned many lessons. Among those was the importance of punctuality and precision while working in such an environment.
“The Japanese do not like slow work. If the boss is briefing you, you must focus and really listen, and then immediately carry out the orders with attention to detail. That is something that may make you weary at first, but then you realize it helps you grow in life,” said the 29-year-old.
While busy directing visitors who came that day into small booths walled with wooden fences, Juwairiah took the time to describe the place, saying that all workers there, from cashiers to waitresses and the chefs, were local people hired by a Japanese whom employees called Daise-san.
“Even the daily operational work is managed by an Indonesian, the boss’ right-hand man named Pak Sarwan, who also helps train the chefs. We all really learn lots of things from the Japanese from scratch,” she added.
