In February, a kitchen-only restaurant opened in a residential area of Tokyo’s Nakano Ward. The menu ranges from Japanese dishes such as ochazuke — rice with tea poured on it — to Chinese dishes and salads. Food orders are accepted online, delivered home by specialized companies such as Uber Eats.
“Of course, there are no customers in the restaurant,” said Kenichiro Yamaji, who founded startup X Kitchen Inc. that runs the restaurant.
The recent concept of “ghost restaurant", which originated in New York, is getting more attention. Although Japan isn’t new to take-out food, such a kitchen-only style is expected to be more popular given that it can be operated with small space and companies, such as Uber Eats, can take care of orders and delivery.