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The story
A firestorm broke out after a customer at Ramen Jiro’s Kyoto location posted on X that a staff member had yelled at them. The Kyoto store responded on its official X account, saying that after checking with staff, “no such conduct took place,” and stated it would not tolerate yelling at customers who had done nothing wrong — but even after that statement, more and more people online reported receiving the same kind of treatment, and the controversy shows no sign of dying down. On 5ch, a thread saw opinions ranging from the taste of Jiro-style ramen and its customer base to debates over who was really in the right, the staff or the customers.
Popular ramen chain “Ramen Jiro Kyoto Store” has found itself embroiled in an online controversy over how its staff treat customers. After a customer posted on X that they’d been yelled at by an employee, the post spread rapidly, drawing heavy criticism of the staff’s attitude.
In response, the Kyoto store stated on its official X account that after checking with staff, “no such conduct took place.” It said it would continue investigating the facts, while making clear it would not tolerate suddenly yelling at customers who had done nothing wrong.
Even after the store’s explanation, however, voices online reporting similar treatment — and general dissatisfaction with the staff’s conduct — have kept piling up. Why won’t this controversy settle down?
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Worse than standing next to a smoking area
Curry shops are just as bad
I used to be a die-hard Jiro fan (a "Jirolian") but stopped going once COVID hit, and just never started again
Turns out I was perfectly fine without it
Looking back, I feel bad for everyone on the train or bus after I'd scarfed down a bowl loaded with extra garlic oil
Never had it — is it tonkotsu?
There's always a line of creepy-looking otaku types before it even opens, so it looks tasty, but I'm not a tonkotsu fan
"You don't get it, do you, you jerk?!"
"Are you stupid? Listen when people talk to you, idiot!!"
I kind of wish they'd fire back like that instead
Maybe if they yelled while smiling, that'd work
roughly 10-12g of salt per bowl.
That's basically a murder weapon disguised as food
Including the soup?
Guess some people don't know about freedom of contract
Customers aren't exactly royalty
Shops have the right to choose their customers too
That's not the point
Yelling at someone is a crime
Well yeah, if the other guy's in the wrong, of course they're gonna yell
A stubborn old-man owner is the quiet, gruff type — not someone who arrogantly screams at customers
Going somewhere normal people wouldn't set foot, then complaining about it, is just backwards — people with sense shouldn't go near the place, and if you really must go, go in with your eyes open
It's not thugs acting tough, it's otaku acting tough — that's exactly why it feels so unpleasant
Using the word "kasuhara" (customer harassment) as a weapon, staff get to pick and choose customers based on personal likes and dislikes
Maybe think for a second about why the term "kasuhara" (customer harassment) has become such a hot topic in the first place
Seriously, this
I'm a delivery driver and a lot of restaurants act way too full of themselves
Of course, some places are genuinely kind too
You people who screech your heads off over some celebrity's tattoo that has nothing to do with you
probably can't handle anyone who isn't bowing and scraping to you 24/7
Politician: "I asked my secretary. It never happened."
Hint: security cameras
Speaking of which, remember that pathetic complainer who got shut down once the security footage was actually checked?
Saving it up for an SNS pile-on later just seems like a sneaky move
This is exactly why Japanese tourists get a bad reputation abroad too
Being a customer at a Japanese-run shop themselves, they're fine
but as hosts receiving customers, Japanese people are apparently the worst
They check out without saying a word, then badmouth the hotel online once they're back home
This is a shop where customers are privileged to be fed — not the other way around
First-timers have no way of knowing the rules
Shouldn't the shop be doing more to inform people?
Background and Key Points of This Controversy
Ramen Jiro is known for its distinctive ordering ritual, called the “call,” along with a set of unspoken rules among its regulars (“Jirolians”) — a structure that makes it easy for first-time customers unfamiliar with the etiquette to clash with staff. This latest controversy pits the customer’s claim of being yelled at squarely against the store’s statement that “no such conduct took place,” and without objective evidence like security footage being made public, it’s hard for outsiders to judge who’s telling the truth. The rise of the term “customer harassment” (kasuhara) in recent years reflects real struggles in the restaurant industry with dealing with abusive customers — but there are also concerns that the term is being used as cover to justify overly aggressive responses from the staff side. The discussion thread also branched out into Jiro-style ramen’s particular customer base and its sodium content, revealing a complexity that doesn’t boil down to a simple question of whether the shop or the customer is at fault.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “Why Did ‘Ramen Jiro Kyoto Store’ Go Up in Flames? Restaurant Accountability in the Age of Social Media.”
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