Audio By Carbonatix
A restaurant owner on Ishigakijima Island, Japan, has had enough of his countrymen’s bad banners, so he banned all Japanese customers, serving only overseas tourists instead.
Yaeyama Style, a small ramen restaurant in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture should be packed this time of year, but owner Akio Arima says he only serves a couple of bowls of ramen on some days. But it’s not that people don’t want to eat there, but rather that Arima doesn’t want to serve them, even if it means losing money. Starting this month, he posted a recent notice on the front door of his restaurant letting would-be Japanese patrons know that they are no longer welcome at Yaeyama Style due to their bad manners.
ã€é¨’然】沖縄・石垣島ã®ãƒ©ãƒ¼ãƒ¡ãƒ³åº—ãŒã€Œæ—¥æœ¬äººå®¢ãŠæ–りã€ã‚’決æ–ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½—ï½— https://t.co/7m1f58yQVp pic.twitter.com/jMXwIntrJf
— è‰ç”Ÿãˆã‚‹ãƒ‹ãƒ¥ãƒ¼ã‚¹ (@kusahaerunews) July 12, 2019
The notice reads:
To Japanese customers,
Japanese tourists’ manners have been becoming progressively worse year by year, and so we will not be allowing Japanese customers to dine at our restaurant until after September.
We will only be accepting overseas customers, and we apologize to local Japanese and customers who have eaten here every year, and also ask for their cooperation.
We are currently thinking to resume regular service from October.
Akio Arima’s drastic decision has sparked a lot of controversy in Japan, but the restaurant owner feels it was justified by the rude conduct of his countrymen, who simply refuse to obey the rules of his restaurant. In contrast, he has never had any problems with foreign patrons, so he would rather just serve them instead.
SoraNews24 reports that because Yaeyama Style is a small place, with only around a dozen available seats, Arima asks his customers to order at least a bowl of ramen each. Despite putting up signs with the requirement all over the restaurant, some Japanese customers still insisted to split a bowl between two people. Others brought food and drinks from outside to consume inside his venue, or bring their babies and toddlers, which Yaeyama Style does not allow. Sick of putting up with their rudeness, the owner decided to simply ban all Japanese customers.
“Japanese people think ‘The customer is God’, any people are aggravated by the poor manners of tourists, so I think my actions are justified,” Arima said. “I don’t have any customers. Yesterday, only two came. And as I expected, a lot of people have complained to me about the new rule. It’s tough from an economic standpoint, but I’m going to stick with it for now, and take some time to relax and clean the restaurant.”
The 42-year-old entrepreneur continues to enforce his rule, only allowing foreign customers into Yaeyama Style, but admits that his decision may have been to drastic. Although he has only had problems with fellow Japanese, he admits that they are not all bad, so he is considering allowing some of them to eat at his restaurant on a membership basis. This way he can be rest assured that his patrons follow the proper etiquette.
It’s unclear whether Arima plans to implement the membership program now or if he’ll wait until the general ban comes to an end in October.
Latest Stories
-
Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation announces homecoming of scholarship beneficiaries
23 minutes -
Gastro Feastival 2025 wraps up with food, music and mastery at Palms Convention Centre
37 minutes -
Australian High Commissioner rallies Ghanaian men to shift toward positive masculinity
41 minutes -
Dove Nicol officially releases self-titled debut EP
54 minutes -
Local Government Minister declares Zoomlion “essential” to Ghana’s development
1 hour -
NPA hosts 2025 Downstream CEOs Meeting to advance sector innovation and collaboration
2 hours -
Neglected Tropical Diseases: Leading WHO expert on NTDs, sounds alarm at REMAPSEN Media Forum
2 hours -
This Saturday, Newsfile to discuss Kpandai rerun and OSP repeal bill
2 hours -
WHO Sounds Alarm: Africa falling behind as only 58 countries eliminate neglected tropical diseases
2 hours -
Ghanaian journalist Dela Aglanu wins top award at inaugural Global South Video News Awards in Abu Dhabi
2 hours -
E&P, Azumah Resources sign $37.5m deal with FLSmidth to accelerate gold projects
2 hours -
Corona Sunset Session: A golden reset for Accra’s overworked young professionals
2 hours -
EOCO confirms arrest of notorious cybercriminal Abu Trica in $8m romance-scam
3 hours -
Finance minister calls for more aggressive and proactive tax collection
3 hours -
Qatar invites African countries for knowledge-sharing in tournament hosting
3 hours
