Japanese Restaurant Chains Making Waves Stateside

New York has become the go-to market for countless Japanese chains looking to open their first stateside locations. The emerging trend is so far giving New Yorkers outposts of popular Japanese chains like Ikinari, TsuruTonTan, and E.A.K Ramen. And they’ve been well received, with ramen chain Ichiran, for example, handling a line of over 200 people by 11:00 a.m. on opening day: a Wednesday in October on an industrial stretch of Bushwick.

Japanese chains continue to prepare for New York openings at a breakneck pace, with a location of Naoki set to open in July and an upcoming Chelsea location of Zauo, the restaurant where diners fish for their dinner, on track for fall. Follow along with this burgeoning trend in the story stream below.