Hot dogs are a far cry from crepes, but you don’t have to tell Noriki Tamura that.
The former Tokyo ad salesman immigrated to Canada in 2005, along with his wife, Misa, to open a crepe stand on the streets of Vancouver. But their plan was quickly derailed by city bylaws, which limited Vancouver’s available street food to hot dogs.
He admits he felt some disappointment, but “I was excited by the challenge,” he says through a translator. “I knew there was more than just ketchup and mustard. I thought I could try something out of Japan, something different from the ordinary, and take hot dogs to the next level.”

He hadn’t eaten too many hot dogs before arriving in Canada, but that would soon change. “I experimented with different Japanese flavours at home,” he says. “We ate a lot of hot dogs when we came to Vancouver.”

In 2006, the couple won a spot for their first Japa Dog location through the city’s annual street-food lottery. The Tamuras manned the stand themselves, and witnessed customers’ attitudes shifting in favour of their $5 hot dogs garnished with condiments such as wasabi, teriyaki and seaweed – celebs Steven Seagal and Zac Efron have been spotted waiting in the queue with other hungry patrons. Subsequently, Vancouver eased the restrictions that had prevented street vendors from trying more ambitious fare, and last year, the city launched a pilot program introducing everything from dim sum to satay to tacos.

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