From Japan to Houston
Ginza Japanese Restaurant—proudly serving Houston since 1975.
Konnichiwa, and welcome to Ginza. My name is Giang "Yang", and I am the proud owner of Ginza Japanese Restaurant. Since 2018, my wife and I have had the honor of carrying Ginza’s remarkable legacy forward—but its story began more than four decades before we became part of it.
To understand what makes Ginza so special today, we have to return to where it all began in 1975.
Ginza Japanese Restaurant was founded in 1975 by a Japanese family from Tokyo. The original restaurant occupied approximately 1,800 square feet—about half the size of Ginza today.
During those early years, Ginza primarily served Japanese professionals working in the office building directly across the street, on the property where H-E-B now stands. For those early guests, Ginza provided familiar Japanese food and warm hospitality far from home.
Tokyo Roots in Houston
By the early 1980s, sushi and Japanese cuisine were becoming increasingly popular with Houston diners. Ginza soon began welcoming growing crowds of Houston diners eager to experience sushi and Japanese food.
To accommodate the growing demand, Ginza knocked down a wall and expanded into the neighboring space. The restaurant grew from approximately 1,800 to 3,500 square feet, creating the larger restaurant footprint that Ginza occupies today.
The expansion represented more than physical growth. It marked a time when Japanese cuisine was becoming an important part of Houston’s diverse dining culture—and Ginza was there to help introduce it to a new generation of diners.
Growing With Houston
A Tradition Passed Forward
The founding family operated Ginza for approximately 20 years. In the mid-1990s, they decided to return home to Tokyo and sold the restaurant to one of the servers who had worked at Ginza.
He and his wife continued operating the restaurant with their family for more than two decades. Through their hard work and dedication, Ginza’s traditions were preserved and its story continued into another generation.
From Customer to Owner
By 2018, Ginza’s second owner was ready to retire and searching for someone to carry the restaurant forward. At the time, I was a Ginza customer working in a nearby office building.
By the grace of God, I began an entirely new journey. After spending 18 years in the corporate world, I decided to leave my career and purchase Ginza. It was a major leap of faith and the beginning of one of the most meaningful chapters of my life.
Since then, my wife and I have been proud to operate Ginza together. We understood that we were taking responsibility for more than a restaurant—we were becoming caretakers of a Houston legacy already shared by generations of guests.
Carrying the Legacy Forward
Today, Ginza continues to evolve while remaining grounded in the values that have sustained it for more than half a century. Our commitment to fresh sushi, high-quality ingredients, carefully prepared favorites, and warm hospitality remains at the heart of everything we do.
We continue to create new experiences and Asian-inspired dishes for longtime regulars and first-time guests alike. While the restaurant has changed throughout the decades, the spirit of hard work, family, and hospitality behind Ginza has remained constant.
As Houston’s oldest Japanese restaurant, we are honored to carry this tradition forward with the help of our dedicated team and the continued support of our guests.
