"far east" news and stories

I remember a friend once telling me that it is considered to rude to get up and step away from the table to use the restroom in the middle of a meal. Either "take care of business" before sitting down at the table, or wait until after dinner is over. Well, now you don't have to worry about it either way, because the bathroom is the restaurant!

Well, not exactly. This is a toilet-themed restaurant. Patrons sit on toilets at a table that looks like a glass top over a very large basin/sink. Sitting on toilets might be weird enough, but eating out of dishware that looks like toilets and urinals? Uh, no thank you. I'm not exactly sure which country this restuarant calls home - it looks to be Chinese, but for some reason, something as silly and weird as a toilet-themed restaurant just screams "Japanese!" to me.

It looks like coffee drinking is officially a fad - in China. What makes it a fad? It's a fad because people who don't like it are continuing to order it - since it's hip to be seen drinking it. The manager of a popular cafe, Ms. Linda Liu "observed that most of her customers do not seem to like coffee, but they keep buying it." According to her, "some regulars order coffee all the time, but never finish it." According to a government survey, 10,000 trained baristas are needed to meet the growing demand for the brew. The problem is not a shortage of people, but a shortage of skills. Many potential employees have never made a cup of coffee, and a few have never had one.

Who's claiming credit for the coffee revolution? Starbucks. With 230 Starbucks outlets in operation and plans for thousands more in place, is it is hardly surprising to hear that Howard Schultz said "we turned them into coffee drinkers." Coffee is a status symbol and, though that seems to be the primary factor driving the trend at the moment, it seems likely that once it is established as a part of the culture, it will be a permanent one.

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Just as in so many other places around the world, obesity is on the rise in Japan. While some nutritionists are advocating that people follow a Japanese diet to lose weight, many in Japan are eating more foods more of the time, including traditional foods in addition to junk foods. 24% of Japanese over the age of 15 are overweight or obese and the number is rising. The same pattern can be seen in children, where 10% are obese or at risk for becoming obese. Children are more likely than their parents and grandparents to indulge in a diet of hamburgers and french fries on a regular basis, though the highest obesity statistics are seen among middle-aged men.

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