#tabelog — every rant tagged

A foreign man sits at a Tokyo ramen counter at night, staring at his phone with a bowl of ramen in front of him.

culture4 min read

FIVE STARS OF PRAISE, TWO STARS OF SPITE: THE JAPANESE REVIEW

Japanese online reviews are a masterclass in tatemae: glowing paragraphs of praise attached to a savage 2/5 rating. Welcome to the most passive-aggressive scoring system on Earth.

8 July 2026300