Sixteen new restaurant concepts from Japan will make their Hawaii debut this fall as part of the Waikiki Yokocho Gourmet Alley, which will transform part of Waikiki Shopping Plaza’s basement into the type of food village that has popularized Japan’s alley districts.

Developed by PJ Select, the “yokocho,” Japanese for alley, will fill the 23,076-square-foot space left vacant a couple of years ago by the closure of the Love Culture fashion store. Earlier the space had been an uninspired food court with offerings like Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Subway. Now it will be a collection of sit-down restaurants ranging in size from 550 to 1,600 square feet.

The new development seeks to bring Japan to Hawaii, said Frank Clark, CEO of PJ Select, the company that has been creating the project over the past three years.

“It’s not a food court. This is going to be a destination experience with unique restaurants that are coming to Hawaii for the first time from Japan,” said Clark. “Everything will be very authentic.”

While Clark wasn’t ready to divulge the tenant list, he shared that Nana’s Green Tea, a modern-day Japanese teahouse, will occupy the central spot in Engawa Row, which has an open-air concept befitting its name, which means terrace.

“It’s to green tea in Asia what Starbucks is to coffee in the U.S.,” Clark said. “It’s known for green tea parfaits and smoothies. It’s enormously popular all over Asia.”

For that matter, so are alley districts throughout Japan. There’s the Amazake Yokocho intersection, or “Sweet Sake Alley,” outside Ningyocho Station. Near the Shinjuku Station west exit, townhouse-style bars also form the popular Omoide Yokocho, or memory lane. Other popular options include the Okazu Yokocho, or side-dish alley, in Torigoe and Nombei Yokocho, drunkards’ alley, in Shibuya.

Dave Erdman, president and CEO of PacRim Marketing Group Inc. & PRTech LLC, said projects like Gourmet Alley speak to the “increasingly meaningful and visible impact of two-way tourism.”

Erdman said Hawaii is a gateway for the vital Japanese-U.S. relationships that are “so important to economic and business growth and a thriving visitor and retail experience.”

“We want to bring Japan to Hawaii,” Clark said. “A lot of locals and mainland people don’t have an opportunity to visit Japan. We’re giving them an opportunity to experience a new food and a new culture.”

Clark said he expects Gourmet Alley also will draw visitors from Japan, who might gravitate toward its reasonable prices and convenient hours. He expects lunch prices to range from $10 to $20 per person and dinner prices to range from $20 to $40. Many of Gourmet Alley’s restaurants are expected to be open daily from 11 a.m. to midnight.

Entrances will be on Seaside Avenue and Kalakaua Avenue. Sakura Alley, positioned at the Kalakaua entrance, will feature 10 restaurants built in Japanese wood-framed style.

“It’s very beautiful and very traditional,” Clark said.

Green said Sakura tenants will include restaurants that offer tempura, yakiniku, soba, kushikatsu, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, curry and a sushi concept from a former competitor on “Iron Chef.” There will also be a Japanese-Italian restaurant.

Ramen Road, which is in the development’s back corner, will feature four ramen shops in a space reminiscent of Japan’s Edo era.

“It’s darker and more casual,” Clark said. “It’s a cozy space.”

Offerings could range from ramen shops most known for miso, shio or tonkatsu broth.

“They are distinctly different,” Clark said. “We wanted to make sure tenants weren’t competing against each other.”

Clark said all tenants are unique to Hawaii. Only one has even expanded to the mainland, he said.

“I’m pleased to say that restaurant has become one of the most popular in Los Angeles,” he said.

Retail analyst Stephany Sofos said she expects the project to be as popular as the Shirokiya Japan Village Walk, which has enjoyed long lines since its June opening.

“Asian immigrants and visitors will like this concept because it’s familiar, and mainland visitors will like it because it’s different,” Sofos said.

Sofos predicts Gourmet Alley will capture a portion of the market that is going to Ala Moana to eat.

“That’s good news for Waikiki. If you can keep them here, they’ll spend more,” she said.

Sofos expects Gourmet Alley traffic will be robust enough to reinvigorate the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, whose basement has long been a “dead zone.”

“It’s great to see someone reinventing something that was in dire need of repositioning,” Sofos said.

Sofos said the appeal of new concepts also could stimulate local traffic to the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.

“Younger locals like things that are new and different and exciting,” she said.

Sofos said residents comprised 60 percent of the first-year shoppers when H&M Stores entered Waikiki. Urban Outfitters and the Cheesecake Factory also drew heavily from Oahu residents, she said.

“We’re very excited,” said Kainoa Akina, Waikiki Shopping Plaza marketing director. “We know the high-quality destination that they are creating will pull in a lot of visitors for the shopping plaza.”