What Makes Dining in Japan So Special?
March 15, 2010

I just returned from a month-long visit back home in Tokyo. Throughout my stay in Japan, I tried many wonderful foods that you can read about on the Global Feast page. But aside from the food, one thing that struck me strongly this time was that the level of service you receive at restaurants in Japan consistently beats by far the service you can receive anywhere else in the world. The kind of service and dedication you find at even modest restaurants in Japan is something you rarely see anywhere else, even at high end restauarants, in other countries.

For me, great service is not all about a sophisticated European style or attentive American waiters. It is about sharing all the information and knowledge the restaurant has with their customers and having the flexibility to customize the whole dining experience with not only the food itself but also the atmosphere. It is a willingness to collaborate with their own customers. At the end of the meal, you feel you earned something through the meal.

I had several memorable dinners and lunches in Japan this time and every time, I learned something. About new vegetables I have never seen, a new way to cook the familiar ingredients or even about the special titanium necklace all the waiters were wearing to help the stiffness of their shoulders. At some restaurants, the waiters came out from the restaurants with us to chat and thank us when we left.

They really made me want to fly back there soon.