Japanese Turned Off Hawaii's Restaurants

[Mulboyne]

MSNBC: Japanese visitors find less to like at mealtime
They can be finicky, difficult to please and easy to insult. But Japanese customers are not really unlike any other customer seeking a good meal and service in one of Hawaii's restaurants...A recent state survey commissioned by the Hawaii Tourism Authority found a 2 percentage-point drop in overall satisfaction levels from Japanese visitors, and they were most critical of their restaurant experiences...Top complaints include a lack of quality food and service, according to the survey..."The good old days of Hawaii fine dining -- half of them are gone," he said. "First-time visitors spend most of their time in Waikiki. But to go to a good restaurant, you have to go out of Waikiki."...more...

[canman]

I keep hearing that Japanese cuisine is so high quality and that people are only used to the best. But is that really true. I mean the average person. Sure the people dining at Wolgang Puck's or whatever trendy places are fashionable now, but I think that is a myth that Japanese eat better than other people. If you disagree please let me know.
I think a lot of people are reading magazines about what they should be eating just like the fashion magazines telling people what fashions they should be wearing. I get the feeling a lot of Japanese live vicariously through magazines and tv shows.

[Mike Oxlong]

In the last decade, the service in Japanese restaurants has really suffered. Oshibori are becoming rarer, green tea service is a thing of the past, and wait-staff are often unable to answer basic questions. And, a lot more attention is paid to how the food looks rather than how it tastes...

[blackcat]

Its because japanese are so goddamned GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY GREEDY

they NEVER miss a meal and are always feeding thier faces.

They CANT eat spicy food and think everthing has to be like thier own food....FUSSY isnt the word!

They are in Asia but have been so bent over by their own government they have never eaten other types of rice and think chopsticks are unique to japan!

[fatslug]

i love a good meal....but too much of Japanese ppls lives r based on food !!!

food TV shows
food magazines
food comics
food anime
food fuck

[Neo-Rio]

I agree. The Japanese can bitchmoan in an anal retentive fashion about anything they can come up with - I'll hand them that.
But by the same token, service levels in the US suck pretty badly too.... combine that wit the fact that Japanese don't tip, and you have a match made in service hell

[ketchupkatsu]

The Japanese may complain, but Hawaii has a lot to be responsible for in a vicious downward spiral.

The government in what they call the revitalization of Waikiki condemns land and sells it off to large developers. These large developers then dislocate local businesses that over the years learned to cater to Japanese travelers. These developers then bring in chain restaurants / stores. These chain stores don't understand or realize that what worked for their customers in the rest of the U.S. might not work in Hawaii.

Add to this mess, there is the Japanese who over the years have come to expect business to offer bilingual staff, signs, menus, and such.

There is a lot of blame to go around.

oh yeah, Hawaii also banned smoking in most indoor areas. This also causes some problems with Japanese trying to smoke after dinner, and non bilingual staff trying to be polite and inform them that it is illegal.

Sorry for the long soapbox rant.

kk

[Blah Pete]

Ketchupkatsu is about right. Service is most places in Waikiki sucks and the Japanese tour groups get funneled into some of the worst.
There are still a few good places there but they aren't cheap.

Waikiki is for the cheap tourist anyway. What do they expect?

[Mennon]

If the food gets really bad, you could always try this with your friends.
It's called "Guess what I just ate!"

http://www.uselessjunk.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1892

She's so cute when she's... well, you'll see.

[GomiGirl]

If the food gets really bad, you could always try this with your friends.
It's called "Guess what I just ate!"

http://www.uselessjunk.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1892

She's so cute when she's... well, you'll see.

Why oh why did I click on that link?

That is just nasty!!

(Of course now all of you are going to click on it - dirty little buggers the lot of you. )

[FG Lurker]

If the food gets really bad, you could always try this with your friends.
It's called "Guess what I just ate!"

http://www.uselessjunk.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1892

She's so cute when she's... well, you'll see.

Why oh why did I click on that link?

That is just nasty!!

(Of course now all of you are going to click on it - dirty little buggers the lot of you. )

I've seen that before somewhere, but can't remember where. Who knows, with J-TV it might actually have been on some weird late-night show.

[Andocrates]

It's people!, The solient raman is people! Don't click that link, there's no titties or anything, just grossness.

I ate some raman today and it was too tough to bite, so I'm stuck in public with this huge bunch of raman in my mouth.

[Buraku]

In the last decade, the service in Japanese restaurants has really suffered. Oshibori are becoming rarer, green tea service is a thing of the past, and wait-staff are often unable to answer basic questions. And, a lot more attention is paid to how the food looks rather than how it tastes...

Ooieshiiiii !