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Outdoor “kotatsu” tables keeping diners warm in New York

Kotatsu is a traditional Japanese low table with a thick blanket laid over it and a built-in electric heater underneath it. (Shutterstock)
Kotatsu is a traditional Japanese low table with a thick blanket laid over it and a built-in electric heater underneath it. (Shutterstock)
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29 Dec 2020 06:12:37 GMT9
29 Dec 2020 06:12:37 GMT9

NEW YORK: A Japanese restaurant in New York is drawing attention in this coronavirus-plagued winter with its outdoor dining service at “kotatsu” tables that enable diners to keep warm.

Offering kotatsu, a traditional Japanese low table with a thick blanket laid over it and a built-in electric heater underneath it, is Dr Clark, which serves the cuisine of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture.

The restaurant’s owner, Yudai Kanayama, 30, conceived the idea of the kotatsu service when he watched a video of a person in a T-shirt enjoying a Japanese mutton and vegetable dish while sitting at a kotatsu table placed inside a snow hut in Hokkaido. Kanayama is from Hokkaido.

After he set up eight sunken kotatsu tables, each of which can seat up to six people, outside his restaurant in autumn, customers who choose to dine outdoors to enjoy the kotatsu service surged even though indoor dining was still allowed at the time.

“While there are some people who worry about the sanitary conditions of where they place their feet, the kotatsu service has generally enjoyed a good reputation,” Kanayama said. “People who use kotatsu for the first time give a look of surprise the moment they put their feet underneath the blanket.”

In New York, where indoor dining is now banned due to the spread of COVID-19, many people are worried that they may be completely prohibited from dining out again.

Kanayama, however, remains eager to challenge the adversity, making preparations to launch kitchen car and chef dispatch services. He has even received an offer to become a local kotatsu heater agent, in connection with the kotatsu service at his restaurant.

JIJI Press

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