News Foreign sushi chains open in Kyoto's tourist districts

Overseas sushi chains rapidly expand into Kyoto, aiming to capitalize on the growing number of international tourists. In September, Kyoto-Senryo opened near JR Kyoto Station. This new restaurant is operated by Genki Global Dining Concepts Corp., formerly known as Genki Sushi Co., and reflects the company's diversification strategy. Genki Global is well-known for its conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, including Genki Sushi and Uobei, which use a touch-panel ordering system. The company has pioneered international expansion, opening its first overseas outlet in Hawaii in 1993. Since then, it has established over 240 locations worldwide, surpassing its domestic presence.

Among all Genki Global's brands, Senryo is mainly marketed as "authentic" sushi, and chefs carefully craft each piece of sushi. The Senryo brand has 24 restaurants overseas in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Singapore and elsewhere, all popular despite their relatively high prices. The newly opened Kyoto-Senryo restaurant further refined its image as a luxury fish restaurant chain, making waves abroad to be successfully "reimported" to sushi's home country. The restaurant's target demographic is overseas travellers in Kyoto. However, Kyoto-Senryo also hopes to attract Japanese customers who want to wine and dine with foreign officials from their client businesses. In addition to sushi, Kyoto-Senryo serves "hassun" appetizers, sashimi, steamed meals, grilled dishes and other specialities, each carefully selected in "omakase" style as recommended by the chefs. For its sushi, Kyoto-Senryo mainly uses seafood that non-Japanese patrons prefer, such as salmon and tuna. The course meal featuring Japanese beef sukiyaki costs 20,000 yen ($133).

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Sushi Azabu Higashiyama, a Michelin-starred New York City sushi restaurant, opened in September in Kyoto's Higashiyama district. This new restaurant is near the famous Yasaka Pagoda and targets the city's growing international tourist market. This is the second Azabu sushi restaurant in Japan. Plan Do See Inc., a Tokyo-based hospitality company, owns it. The Kyoto location is in a historic building, the former residence of renowned painter Takeuchi Seiho. Despite being in Kyoto, the restaurant offers Edo-style sushi, a style popular with foreign visitors. Currently, the restaurant offers lunch and dinner courses, priced at 4,800 yen and 9,800 yen, respectively.

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