It was quite noticeable for me the last 2 times I went to Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka, as a visitor from the US, that food costs were pretty much never an issue. I guess the dollar being strong has something to do with that.
One big difference I see between the two is the level of service expected. In the US, the waiters are constantly interrupting and bugging the customers, hoping for a bigger tip. In Europe and Japan, this doesn't happen; you need to signal to your server that you need something, and there generally seems to be less staff as a result, which reduces costs.
Basically, this is just another way that America is broken compared to the rest of the developed world, and it's not just the strength of the dollar.
There are restaurants in Seattle that I've stopped visiting for anything beyond takeaway because my wife and I can't hold a conversation for more than a few minutes without being interrupted. It is very frustrating.
On the other hand, when we have taken friends to the places we like that are far more laid back, at least one person has commented on how the service is "poor" or "inattentive." I think we are culturally used to being asked if we need service and are reticent to go find help or do for ourselves (except when it comes to using a machine at the grocery). So I'm not sure it's solely in search of a better tip, except that everything in a US restaurant is for that.
Foodservice in Europe, broadly, is one of those amazing but unexpected things I tell people who are preparing to travel for the first time to really look at and try to enjoy. It's wonderful, in my opinion.
This is the problem. Most American diners actually want the server to act like their best friend and constantly interrupt them. People like you are a minority.
>Foodservice in Europe, broadly, is one of those amazing but unexpected things I tell people who are preparing to travel for the first time to really look at and try to enjoy. It's wonderful, in my opinion.
I love it too, and the service here in Japan, but most Americans would hate it I think.
Seriously ? Don't Americans see how fake it is ? The French waiter does its job curtly and efficiently, neither him nor I pretend we are fond of each other and that is perfectly fine.
The key is perfecting the “walk slowly past checking” without verbally interrupting.
I guess not. Many Americans want to be treated like they're royalty anyway; just look at how entitled they act in public. Expecting some server to wait on them hand and foot without even being asked is part of the entitlement mentality that is prevalent in America, I think.
Anyways, I would really like to see a breakdown of costs between an American restaurant and various foreign ones. I suspect floor space cost is a big part of the difference.
It is those greedy Americans that have to have coins with head and tails".
Maybe we should stop trying to fool ourselves into thinking that tails is a necessary evil and understand that it’s just an evil.
Im not sure why real estate moguls don’t have a field day, buying everything they see. Anyone knows? Is it the earthquakes and tsunamis? Exponential taxes on owning several properties?