Use zone, drainage and health-centre conditions to check before choosing a delivery-only (ghost kitchen) property

The key point: Even a delivery/takeout-only operation (a ghost kitchen) with no dine-in needs a restaurant-business permit if it cooks food served to customers (Food Sanitation Act (Act No. 233 of 1947) art. 55(1); Enforcement Order art. 35 item 1 "restaurant business"). In choosing a property, three points bite first: the use zone, drainage, and the health centre's facility standards. The use zone is set by the Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950) art. 48 and Appended Table 2: restaurants in principle cannot be built in a Category 1 low-rise exclusive residential zone; up to 150 m² of floor area in a Category 2 low-rise, 500 m² in a Category 1 mid/high-rise, 1,500 m² in a Category 2 mid/high-rise, 3,000 m² in a Category 1 residential zone; and they cannot be built in an exclusive industrial zone. For drainage, the Sewerage Act (Act No. 79 of 1958) art. 10 requires drainage equipment, and oily kitchen wastewater usually requires a grease trap (oil separator) under 1975 Ministry of Construction Notice No. 1597 and each municipality's sewerage ordinance/drainage standards. The property survey and lease brokerage are ours (a real-estate transaction business); the restaurant-business permit application and health-centre documents are a certified administrative scrivener's; prior consultation on facility standards is the health centre's; and use-zone conformity and use-change applications are an architect's/building authority's, each an independent business contracted with separately (no referral fees are exchanged).

For those who want to start low-investment with delivery/takeout only, or who are looking for a small fitted-out unit or a shared kitchen, this article organises what can be checked on the property side before contracting, in the order of the statutory text and national materials. This is general information; the final judgment on which use a particular property is, and which permit is needed, rests with the building authority, the health centre and qualified professionals.

Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (四葉不動産株式会社), based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, provides surveys of commercial property and brokerage of leases and sales. For a delivery-only unit, you can consult us from what can be confirmed before contracting.

In which use zone can a delivery-only kitchen open?

Even delivery-only, so long as cooking takes place in the kitchen, it is generally treated as a "restaurant" under the Building Standards Act. Whether it is allowed and the size cap per use zone are set by art. 48 and Appended Table 2. The absence of dine-in does not remove this floor-area cap. Roughly as follows (an outline; floor-area counting, the building authority's ordinances and district plans may narrow it further).

Use zone	Restaurant: allowed / size guide
Category 1 low-rise exclusive residential	In principle not allowed (only exceptions such as a combined-use house with a store part of 50 m² or less)
Category 2 low-rise exclusive residential	2 storeys or fewer and floor area 150 m² or less
Category 1 mid/high-rise exclusive residential	2 storeys or fewer and floor area 500 m² or less
Category 2 mid/high-rise exclusive residential	2 storeys or fewer and floor area 1,500 m² or less
Category 1 residential	Floor area 3,000 m² or less
Category 2 residential / quasi-residential / neighbourhood commercial / commercial / quasi-industrial	Restaurants allowed (caps are large)
Industrial	Restaurants allowed
Exclusive industrial	Not allowed

When looking for a small low-investment unit in a residential zone, this floor-area cap is the first gate. Note that if the operation leans towards large-scale cooking running several brands in one kitchen, it can in some cases be treated closer to a "factory" under the Building Standards Act, and the classification of use splits by property. Confirm which use it is, and whether a use-change application is needed, with an architect/building authority.

Is a restaurant-business permit needed even without dine-in, and what does the health centre look at?

It is. An operation that cooks food served to customers is subject to a restaurant-business permit regardless of whether people eat on-site (Food Sanitation Act art. 55(1); "restaurant business" under Enforcement Order art. 35 item 1). With the 2018 amendment (fully in force 1 June 2021), the permit business types were reorganised from the 34 set by Cabinet Order to 32, HACCP-based hygiene control was made mandatory, and a notification system was newly created for operations not needing a permit (art. 57).

What the health centre looks at on the facility is the facility standards that Food Sanitation Act art. 54 delegates to ordinances. On top of the common standards in the Enforcement Regulations in force since 1 June 2021 sit the ordinances of prefectures and designated cities. Even for a delivery-only unit, points such as dividing the work area, a handwashing station, refrigeration/freezing equipment, a two-tub sink and hot water, and floors/walls that are easy to clean do not change. Even running several brands in one kitchen, a permit is in principle taken per facility. Whether the structure and equipment can meet the standards is safest consulted with the health centre before you secure the property. The classification of the permit and drafting the application are a certified administrative scrivener's; the individual conformity judgment of the facility standards is the health centre's.

How much of the drainage, grease trap and water supply is provided on the property side?

Restaurant kitchen wastewater carries oils and residue, so discharging it as is causes pipe clogging and harm to the sewer. In a public-sewer service area, Sewerage Act art. 10 requires drainage equipment, and a grease trap (oil separator) that separates and catches oil is usually required under 1975 Ministry of Construction Notice No. 1597 (technical standards for drainage equipment) and each municipality's sewerage ordinance/drainage standards. Where wastewater may exceed the standards, an ordinance may order a pollutant-removal facility (Sewerage Act arts. 12, 12-11).

In a fitted-out (居抜き) unit, even if the previous tenant was a restaurant, you need to check before contracting whether the grease trap's capacity suits your operation, whether it has been inspected/cleaned, and whether the water supply/drainage/hot-water bore and exhaust duct are usable. Where there is no grease trap or its capacity is short, later installation/expansion is needed, and the underfloor pipe work bears on restoration and fixtures under the lease. See also points to check on a skeleton/fitted-out restaurant unit, which handled oil and exhaust, and property requirements for a kitchen-car prep site, where cooking is not completed in the vehicle—both are useful on how drainage and permits are thought about. The design and capacity judgment of piping and exhaust are an architect's/equipment contractor's field.

How do fitted-out units, shared kitchens and whole-building leases differ in contract and restoration?

Delivery-only entry forms broadly divide into renting a unit in a shared kitchen (cloud kitchen) where the operator already holds a permit, and leasing a unit/whole building yourself and fitting it out from fitted-out or skeleton condition. The contract and restoration issues differ.

Form	Points to check
Shared kitchen (use a unit by the hour or month)	Whether the restaurant-business permit is on the facility operator's side or can be taken separately for your unit / the permit holder and renewal / the scope of exclusive vs. shared use of the unit / how heavy restoration is on exit
Fitted-out lease (kitchen equipment remains)	Capacity and current state of water supply/drainage/grease trap/exhaust duct / whether fixtures are transferred and at what cost / whether restoration is skeleton-return or as-is / whether the lease purpose includes a restaurant business
Skeleton lease (no interior)	Whether water/gas/electricity capacity can be brought in / whether a new grease trap is possible / use-change application / initial investment and removal cost on exit

If you want to start low-investment and short-term, a shared kitchen is easy to enter, but constraints can appear later over the permit holder and the handling of the exclusive unit. If you lease yourself, confirm before contracting whether the lease purpose includes a "restaurant business (delivery)" and whether subleasing or swapping brands is allowed. The final evaluation of whether contract clauses are favourable is a lawyer's field.

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What points in consideration for neighbours (smell, delivery-rider traffic, noise) bear on property choice?

A delivery-only operation, in exchange for no dine-in customers, tends to rub against neighbours through delivery riders' motorbike/bicycle traffic and waiting, kitchen-exhaust smells, and the sounds of prep and late-night operation. Checking the following at the property-choice stage makes post-opening trouble easier to avoid.

• Exhaust smell: the position and direction of the exhaust duct, distance to neighbours' windows/balconies. Odour can fall under the Offensive Odor Control Act or a municipality's living-environment ordinance
• Delivery-rider flow: whether a waiting/parking space for motorbikes/bicycles can be secured on-site, whether waiting on the frontage road obstructs passage
• Noise/time of day: cooking and vehicle sounds late at night/early morning. For a ground-floor unit in a condominium, the use/time limits of the management rules

Separately from whether a permit can be obtained, these can be factors that restrict the operation itself through the lease or management rules. We provide the property's location and the neighbourhood situation in a current-state survey before contracting.

Who do you consult for each procedure?

A delivery-only opening spans separate professional fields: property, permit, building, neighbours. What we handle is the property survey and lease/sale brokerage; everything else we connect to each professional/authority, each an independent business contracted with separately.

Trouble	Who to ask
Preliminary check of use zone, location and drainage; lease/sale brokerage	Us (a real-estate transaction business)
Classification of the restaurant-business permit and drafting the application; representation in health-centre consultations	Certified administrative scrivener
Prior consultation on and conformity check of facility structure/equipment standards	The health centre with jurisdiction
Judgment of use-zone conformity, use-change applications, design of exhaust/piping	Architect / building authority
Disputes over lease clauses	Lawyer

These are each independent businesses, contracted with separately. We neither receive nor pay referral or introduction fees. Looking at the property, we take consultations from separating the issues—use zone, drainage, prior consultation with the health centre—and arranging who to consult on each. For how to find commercial property, see also the consultation desk for commercial/investment real estate (Japanese); for choosing a base to open, the store/office property consultation (Japanese).

Consult Yotsuba Real Estate about delivery-only kitchen properties—initial consultation is free

In your message, write "delivery-only property" and include the use zone you have in mind, whether it is fitted-out or a shared kitchen, and whether there is a grease trap. Without presuming whether a permit will be granted, we begin with the preliminary check of use zone and drainage and with arranging which parts to refer to the health centre, the certified administrative scrivener and the architect.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is a restaurant-business permit needed for a delivery-only operation with no dine-in?
A. So long as food served to customers is cooked in the kitchen, a restaurant-business permit is needed regardless of dine-in (Food Sanitation Act art. 55(1); Enforcement Order art. 35 item 1). With the 2018 amendment (fully in force 1 June 2021) the permit types were reorganised from 34 to 32, and operations not needing a permit moved to a notification system (art. 57). Judging which classification applies and drafting the application are a certified administrative scrivener's field; the conformity judgment of facility standards is the health centre's.

Q. Can I open a delivery-only kitchen even in a residential property?
A. It depends on the use zone. Restaurants in principle cannot be built in a Category 1 low-rise exclusive residential zone, and have size caps such as 150 m² in Category 2 low-rise and 500 m² in Category 1 mid/high-rise (Building Standards Act art. 48, Appended Table 2). Delivery-only is generally treated as a restaurant under the Building Standards Act, and this floor-area cap is not removed just because there is no dine-in. Confirm the classification of use and whether a use-change is needed with an architect/building authority.

Q. Can I use the grease trap as is in a fitted-out property?
A. Not necessarily. You need to check whether the previous tenant's operation and capacity suit yours, and whether it has been inspected/cleaned. In a public-sewer area, installing drainage equipment is mandatory (Sewerage Act art. 10), and a grease trap is usually required for oily kitchen wastewater under a notice and the municipality's ordinance. If capacity is short or there is none, installation/expansion is needed, and pipe work bears on restoration and fixtures. The capacity judgment is an architect's/equipment contractor's field.

Q. Can I run several delivery brands in one kitchen?
A. It is done as an operating form, but a restaurant-business permit is in principle taken per facility. In a shared kitchen, check the permit holder on the operator's side and the handling of the exclusive unit; if you lease yourself, check whether the lease purpose includes swapping brands and subleasing—all before contracting. The permit classification is the health centre's/certified administrative scrivener's field, and the evaluation of contract clauses is a lawyer's.

Sources

The following public materials are starting points. Laws are amended, so check the current text, paragraph, item, enforcement date and latest amendment on e-Gov Law Search. Facility standards and drainage specifics differ by municipal ordinance, so confirm with the health centre, sewerage bureau and building guidance section where the property is located. All were consulted on 29 October 2026. They do not guarantee the permittability of any particular property. The sources below are in Japanese.

• e-Gov Law Search: Food Sanitation Act (Act No. 233 of 1947; art. 54 = delegation of facility standards to ordinances, art. 55(1) = business permit, art. 57 = business notification. The permit system was revised by Act No. 46 of 2018, fully in force 1 June 2021) / Food Sanitation Act Enforcement Order (art. 35 = types of business requiring a permit [item 1 = restaurant business]; reorganised from 34 to 32 types in force 1 June 2021)
• e-Gov Law Search: Building Standards Act (Act No. 201 of 1950; art. 48 = restrictions on buildings within use zones, Appended Table 2 = buildings that can/cannot be built by use zone. Restaurants are in principle not allowed in Category 1 low-rise exclusive residential, 150 m² or less in Category 2 low-rise, 500 m² or less in Category 1 mid/high-rise, 1,500 m² or less in Category 2 mid/high-rise, 3,000 m² or less in Category 1 residential, and not allowed in exclusive industrial)
• e-Gov Law Search: Sewerage Act (Act No. 79 of 1958; art. 10 = obligation to install drainage equipment, arts. 12, 12-11 = pollutant-removal facilities, etc.). A grease trap (oil separator) is based on 1975 Ministry of Construction Notice No. 1597 (technical standards for drainage equipment) and each municipality's sewerage ordinance/drainage standards (consulted 29 October 2026; capacity/installation standards vary by municipality)
• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, "Outline of building-use restrictions by use zone" (material organising Building Standards Act Appended Table 2 by use zone; consulted 29 October 2026). The actual use restriction for a property varies with the building authority's ordinance/district plan

This article provides general information and does not guarantee whether a permit will be granted for a particular property or which use it is. The judgment of use-zone conformity and use-change applications are by an architect/building authority; the classification of the restaurant-business permit and drafting the application by a certified administrative scrivener; the conformity of facility structure/equipment standards by the health centre; and disputes over the lease by a lawyer.

Joji Uramatsu (浦松 丈二), Representative Director and licensed real estate transaction specialist, Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd. (四葉不動産株式会社). We provide surveys of commercial property and brokerage of leases and sales. Author profile

Updated: 29 October 2026