Wasabi Terrorism & Cranky Conductor

[bill937ca]

Tourists with big suitcases blamed for overcrowded trains and sushi bars adding excessive amounts of wasabi to foreigners meals.  Wait until the 2019 Rugby World Cup and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics begin!

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/11/japanese-train-conductor-blames-foreign-tourists-for-overcrowding

"The restaurant chain Ichibazushi apologised but denied accusations of racism, saying its chefs had decided to use excessive amounts of wasabi after other foreign diners had previously requested larger dollops for added piquancy.

“Because many of our overseas customers frequently order extra amounts of pickled ginger and wasabi, we gave them more without checking first,” the chain’s management said. “The result was unpleasant for some guests who aren’t fans of wasabi.”

It was not clear how many such incidents – labelled “wasabi terrorism” on social media – had occurred, but some disgruntled diners posted photos of sushi containing twice as much wasabi as usual."

Edited October 12, 2016 by bill937ca

[bikkuri bahn]

The announcement incident was on an airport express service, essentially a regular commuter train, not the rap:t service, which is reserved seating and thus would have no problems with crowding. One thing about all these incidents is that they occurred in Kansai and specifically Osaka, which says more about the region and its attitudes than Japan per se.

[bill937ca]

Thanks bikkuri bahn.  I removed the Rap:t from the heading.