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Hokkaido resort offering vibrant bounty of gelato lookalikes…made of potato?!?

Krista Rogers
Aug 12, 2020
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Potato lovers rejoice: Choose from 100 varieties of potato salad disguised as colorful cones of gelato during upcoming campaign.

Japan
(COK • cool • dining • food • gelato • Hokkaido • Hoshino Resort • potato salad • potatoes • Tomamu • weird)

Japan’s first 100 percent non-alcoholic and vegan bar to open in Tokyo’s Roppongi district

Krista Rogers
Jul 12, 2020

Get ready to enjoy stylish non-alcoholic beverages and vegan bites in a chic setting on your next night, or morning, out.

Japan
(0% Non-Alcohol Experience • bar • dining • drinking • non-alcoholic • Roppongi • Shingo Gokan • stylish • Tokyo • vegan)

Social distanced dining is a cinch with these stuffed capybara companions【Photos】

Katy Kelly
May 29, 2020

This zoo’s thought up the cutest possible way to keep some barriers up between diners at their eatery.

Japan
(capybara • cute • dining • Izu Shaboten Zoo • restaurants • social distancing • stuffed animals • zoo)

Cosplay Yokocho: Tokyo alley where customers eat and drink in cosplay costumes

Oona McGee
Jul 14, 2017

With photo booths, cosplaying staff, and costume rental for diners, this is one of the most unusual food courts you’ll find in Japan.

Japan
(anime • characters • cosplay • cosplay costumes • cosplayers • dining • izakaya • manga • restaurants • Tokyo)

GINZA SIX, Tokyo’s newest tourist destination, set to open April 20

Jessica
Apr 18, 2017

From modern art to classic Noh, with world-class shopping and dining to boot. Let’s take a look!

Japan
(dining • shopping • Tokyo • tourism)

New Japanese dish combines two summertime greats – soba noodles and kakigori shaved ice

Oona McGee
Jul 7, 2016

Now you can enjoy your main dish and dessert together in one meal.

Japan
(cool • dining • food • Hankyu Soba Wakana • Hyogo • kakigori • Noodles • Osaka • restaurants • shaved ice • soba • summer • udon)

Japanese naked restaurant lifts age and weight restrictions

Oona McGee
Jul 6, 2016

After making international headlines for its strict entry policy, The Amrita has made a number of surprising changes to their nude dining experience.

Japan
(Amrita • Bunyadi • cute girls • dining • models • muscles • naked restaurant • new openings • nude restaurant • restaurants • Tokyo)

Enliven your next lunar party with these beautiful Moon Glasses

Preston Phro
Sep 29, 2015

**Moon watching parties and festivals abound the world over—**and with good reason! There’s nothing quite like drinking in the light of a full moon, is there? It’s magical and fun in just the right proportions. And now, thanks to the Korean design company Tale, you can buy the perfect glasses for your next moon viewing party!

These beautiful Moon Glasses mimic the phases of the moon as they’re filled, going from a new moon to a full moon as your pour in your liquid of choice.

Internet, Korea
(cool • design • dining • drinking • Moon Glass • sake)

We visit a reasonably-priced sushi shop so good you’ll forget all about that “Jiro” guy

Mike
Mar 4, 2015

With a whole documentary devoted to him and a coveted place in the Michelin Guide, the (reportedly) rather ornery owner of renowned sushi shop Sushi Jiro has ruled the sushi world with a nori-wrapped fist for some time now. Jiro’s tiny shop, located in an underground mall in Ginza, commands about US$300 per 30-minute “omakase” meal and reservations need to be made months in advance – which is a pretty huge investment for a meal.

That daunting investment seems downright silly, though, when you realize that you can get incredible, world-class sushi in your maw for around a third of the cost just down the road!

Japan
(dining • food • sushi • Tokyo)

Restaurant refuses to serve couples on Dec. 24 so singles won’t be reminded of their loneliness

Mike
Dec 11, 2014

Ah, December 24, Christmas Eve. The time to spend with parents, siblings, drunken aunts and that one crazy uncle that’s always telling you about chemtrails after four or five eggnogs. Or, the time for romantic dinner dates, proposals and convenience store chicken, if you’re in Japan.

The holiday has long been the bane of Tokyo singles, who are forced to watch thousands of happy couples marching all over town Christmas Eve, hand-in-hand, checking out the Christmas “illumination” shows that have become so popular over the years. That it’s one of the few times public displays of affection are relatively accepted in polite Japanese society just makes it all the more difficult for lonely guys and gals to bear.

But, this year, one Tokyo restaurant has a plan to give all those Forever Alones out there a safe haven to dine in peace on Christmas Eve and, who knows, maybe even find a potential partner.

Japan
(Christmas • dining • food • funny • Tokyo)

The Yakiniku Rules: dating advice from the front line

Fran W
Oct 29, 2014

“When you take a girl out for yakiniku, you have to follow the rules“, says Natsuko. “Too many men these days forget about TPO“, she adds, referring to the importance of the three things – Time, Place, and Occasion – that are supposed to dictate appropriate behaviour in social situations.

We asked one yakiniku-loving Japanese girl to give us her honest opinion on the dating game, and – well, it was pretty brutal.

Japan
(dating advice • dining • Restaurant • yakiniku)

New portable Napkin Table is indispensable for all your picnic needs

Krista Rogers
May 30, 2014

We here at RocketNews24 take pride in introducing you to all manner of strange things to come out of Asia, which most definitely includes news about any bizarre inventions we see floating around.

This time, our “Pointless Asian Invention of the Week” is sure to make you chortle. Introducing the Napkin Table, the perfect portable table for whenever you find yourself out in the wilderness with your partner and need a place to picnic!

Taiwan
(dining • invention • napkin table • picnic • pointless • portable • table)

The man who has eaten at every Michelin 3-star restaurant says the ‘Jiro Dreams Of Sushi’ spot is not worth the hype

BUSINESS INSIDER
May 4, 2014

Last week, President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had dinner at Sukiyabashi Jiro, considered by many to be one of the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo, if not the world.

It’s certainly the most famous sushi spot on the planet thanks to the 2011 documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” The three-star Michelin restaurant is located in the basement of an office building near the Ginza station, with a modest wooden counter and only 10 tables in the entire establishment. 89-year-old master chef Jiro Ono serves a tasting menu of roughly 20 courses, for a total of 30,000 Japanese yen (just under $300).

But some people question if the experience is actually worth the money.

While there’s no question that diners are eating some of the freshest and most perfectly prepared fish available, the meal is often rushed. The Michelin Tokyo Guide warns “don’t be surprised to be finished within 30 minutes.” That’s the equivalent of spending 1,000 Japanese Yen — or $10 — per minute.

Japan
(dining • Michelin rating • Pull Partners • Sukiyabashi Jiro • sushi)

There’s a restaurant in China where all the food is prepared and served by robots

BUSINESS INSIDER
Apr 27, 2014

The Robot Restaurant in China’s Heilongjiang Province is a conventional restaurant in every sense, save the glaring exception that the food is prepared and served entirely by an army of 20 robots with just a modicum of human oversight.

China
(dining • food • Pull Partners • Restaurant • robot • technology • weird)

Japanese casual steak joint set to debut in New York

Mike
Apr 9, 2014

When one thinks of exported Japanese food, one tends to imagine sushi, miso, and other dishes that have become so ingrained in the English lexicon that they no longer warrant italics.

One thing you almost definitely don’t consider when thinking about Japanese food is steak. Why would you? Steak is the territory of Western food, often associated specifically with American diners; Which is what makes the New York debut of Ikinari Steak – a Ginza-area chain – so much more surprising.

Japan, USA
(dining • food • Ginza • Restaurant • steak • Tokyo)

Japan’s cat food restaurant is back!

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Mar 25, 2014

In celebration of Cat Day on February 22, Nestle Purina created a cat food-themed dining experience inspired by their popular “luxury cat food,” Mon Petit. Diners were treated to a full course set meal with items that resemble the snacks you’d feed to your beloved pet. With feline waiters and plenty of kitty products, the bizarre restaurant actually turned out to be a huge success. But since it was only around for a total of four days, many cat lovers and adventurous eaters were left without a chance to dine like an animal, so Restaurant Mon Petit is now back in Tokyo for an entire month.

Japan
(cat food • dining • food • Mon Petit • Restaurant • weird • wtf)

Stingy people rejoice as Japanese restaurants in New York introduce a ban on tipping

Fran W
Mar 23, 2014

“Please can I give you a tip? In America, we have this custom, you know. I have to tip the pizza guy. And you came all the way out here in this weather…”

The rain-drenched delivery man on the doorstep of the Japanese apartment looked mildly embarrassed as he waved away my friend’s money. It was a typhoon day – classes cancelled, school closed, and the English teachers from my school had piled into one apartment for a party. Not wanting to brave the lashing wind and rain to go out and get food, we had ordered pizza, but hadn’t counted on the guilt we would feel when the delivery guy turned up on a moped looking like he’d just jumped into a swimming pool fully clothed.

In Japan, there’s no custom of tipping. In fact, leaving a tip could potentially be considered rude, as the cost of the service is already supposed to be included in the price you pay. My American buddy’s attempt to follow his home custom in Japan ended in the delivery driver apologising profusely for not accepting the tip! In New York City, meanwhile, Japanese restaurants are bringing the no-tipping custom Stateside, as Restaurant Riki becomes the latest Manhattan establishment to ban their customers from tipping.

Japan, USA
(dining • Japan • Restaurant • sushi • tipping)

21 photos of Sukiyabashi Jiro sushi, probably the best in all the world

Preston Phro
Mar 19, 2014

Cooking, like any art, requires an incredible amount of skill, dedication, creativity, and perhaps most important of all, technique. So, you would think that when it comes to a niche style like sushi, the competition for “best in the world” would be the very definition of intense. But it turns out that for most sushi connoisseurs, the answer is simple: Jiro Ono, owner and sushi master of Sukiyabashi Jiro.

With an entire documentary dedicated to the now 89-year-old sushi master, he’s become well-known throughout the world for his legendary cuisine–but not many of us will ever have the chance to try his perfectly prepared delicacies ourselves. While it’s not quite the same, we’ve found the next best thing: Close up photos of his creations waiting to be devoured! Just try not to lick your screen, okay?

Internet, Japan
(dining • Jiro Ono • Nakazawa • sushi • travel)

Japanese restaurant chain turns boring old chopstick sleeves into fun origami

Preston Phro
Jan 20, 2014

Family restaurants like Saizeriya are a staple of Japan’s cheap culinary world. From fake Italian food to fake Mexican-Indian hybrids that taste far better than they really should, family restaurants are a great place to hangout for high school students, to grab a quick meal between meetings for harried salarymen, or to take hungry kids for frazzled parents. Though convenient, the chains aren’t exactly known for their high class presentation.

However, Aiya, a family restaurant focused on Japanese-style cooking, has come up with a way to offer their customers a bit more pizazz!

Japan
(Aiya • chopsticks • dining • origami • restaurants)

12 culinary delights from Japan that you can find in New York City

Philip Kendall
Dec 12, 2013

As much as we at RocketNews24 love talking about Japanese food and introducing our readers to new places to eat or our own crazy culinary creations, we appreciate that for many, popping over to Tokyo or Osaka for a week of washoku dining bliss simply isn’t on the cards. But thankfully, great Japanese food can be found all over the world – if you know where to look!

For those of you to whom New York is a heck of a lot closer than Tokyo, Susan Miyagi Hamaker, one of our friends from JapanCulture•NYC, has prepared a fantastic list of 12 authentic Japanese foods that are available within the city, even sharing some tips on which restaurants to check out if you’re in town. Yup, the real just got that little bit closer!