Noriki Tamura holds Japa Dog’s most popular menu item, the Terimayo, outside the vendor’s Richmond food cart. Matthew Hoekstra photo

A street meat phenomenon that’s proven a big hit with Vancouverites is now in Richmond.

Japa Dog began selling its unique hotdogs earlier this month from the Canadian Tire parking lot on No. 3 Road in North Richmond.

The street food vendor operates three hot dog carts in Vancouver and a small Robson Street restaurant, selling nine different hot dogs with a Japanese twist. The company has attracted plenty of attention from media and celebrity customers, whose photos adorn its Richmond trailer-based kitchen.

Its most popular hotdog is the $4.75 Terimayo, a beef sausage and white bun dressed with teriyaki sauce, julienned seaweed shavings, Japanese mayonnaise and fried onion.

Manager Toshiaki Tanaka said he can’t explain why Japa Dog has become so popular.

“I do not know exactly why,” he said. “We’d like to be (the biggest) hotdog shop in the world.”

Its mission statement is simple: “Making the world happy and alive through hotdogs.”

Japanese native Noriki Tamura started the business in 2005 and, buoyed by success during the 2010 Olympics​, is now eyeing international expansion. Tamura, who was unavailable to speak to The Review, is said to be busy securing new locations in major U.S. cities.

Japa Dog’s offerings include the Oroshi, a bratwurst hotdog with grated radish, green onion and special soy sauce; the Negimiso, a turkey hotdog with miso sauce, green onion and fried cabbage; the Okonomi, a kurobuta sausage with “special Japanese sauce,” Japanese mayonnaise, bonito flakes and friend cabbage.

The Richmond cart has operated throughout July noon to 6 p.m. at 3500 No. 3 Rd., but the vendor is working to secure a new location in Richmond.

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A veteran councillor is serving up an idea for on-street food vendors the city could allow in the future—SOUL food.

The acronym is short for sustainable, organic, unprocessed and primarily local food, a diet growing in popularity and encouraged by nutritionists.

“If we are the healthiest city in Canada and the least obese city in Canada than we should make sure the street vendors are selling healthy food to the public,” said Coun. Harold Steves this week.

City staff are mulling the idea of allowing food carts to sell food to pedestrians in high-traffic areas along the Canada Line. According to a report considered Monday, retail operations are being explored on city property near Aberdeen Station and near the No. 3 Road and Westminster Highway intersection.

Vancouver recently opened up its streets to food vendors through a selective bidding process. Among those who favour food carts here is Coun. Sue Halsey-Brandt.

“The inclusion of vendors on street corners will animate and enliven the street and provide our citizens services they want and services they require,” she said.

Robert Kates , manager of real estate services for the city, said staff still must determine what interest the market has, but noted he already received a call this week from an interested vendor.

Staff must also decide what locations and types of vendors the city would welcome. Kates said his intention would be to work with existing bricks-and-mortar businesses, and not offer them up new street-side competition.

Said Kates: “Certainly the intent is to have something different lively and something to animate the street, so to speak.”

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