Sunday, May 22, 2005
It's not all raw fish. Really.
The State Administration of Industry and Commerce in China issued a notice this weekend banning meals served on naked bodies, officially terminating a service offered by a Japanese restaurant in southwestern China that served sushi on unclothed female university students. The ruling was that the practice "spreads commercial activity with poor culture" and insults people's moral quality. According to the Beijing Times, the service had upset many conservative city residents.
Until then, the Huaishi Cuisine Restaurant in Yunnan Province was serving sushi and other Japanese food on two naked university students as they lay on their backs. Flowers, shells and rocks also adorned the women's bodies. Customers would pay 1,000 yuan (about $120) each for the meal after making reservations up to three days in advance. A restaurant manager said that the women lay calmly as people ate, and that this style of dining existed in "ancient Japan."
I personally have two problems with this story. First, in all of my travels in Japan, and I've been to some pretty ancient-looking places, I don't recall ever seing the above service offered. And something like that, I am sure I would have remembered. Second, I just don't believe that the restaurant was shut down for morality reasons. I'll bet someone complained that the tuna and akagai weren't fresh.
No pictures today (sorry, you perverts).
- posted by Woofwoof @ 6:25 AM
