Hibachi in America

Hibachi is a traditional Japanese style of cooking, in which the food is cooked on a large metal plate in large portions, and often performed right inside of the customers. Hibachi has been around in Japan for a very long time, as the first hibachi-style restaurant opened in the 1940’s in Japan. However, over the last 30 years, hibachi has caught fire in America, as almost every city or town typically has at least one hibachi restaurant.

So why has hibachi become so popular in America? Well, in order to answer this we need to look at the rise of cell phones and social media. Recently, there has been a surge in social media apps that are driven and depend on instant satisfaction. Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter all alike leave the users desperately scrolling and refreshing their feed in order to see the latest stories and posts from their friends or internet celebrities. The constant use of these apps by so many people has resulted in a continuous decrease of attention span and a deep need for instant satisfaction across the world. However, not surprisingly, the United States has at least double the users of any other country for each of these three apps. Thus, the effects of these apps are much more prevalent in American society. To me, this is why hibachi has become so popular in America. From the intense flames to the flying food and silverware, hibachi is very in-your-face, and is very good at keeping the audience/customers constantly entertained, which evidently is becoming a more and more important factor in American society.

Another crucial reason why hibachi has caught on in America specifically is that unless you arrive with a very large party, most hibachi restaurants will leave you sitting next to people that you have never met. I think that there is a part of this that is also intriguing to Americans and is responsible for the success of hibachi in America. The United States is one of the most culturally diverse nations in the world, and Americans have become accustomed to encountering and learning about a vast variety of different cultures. As a result, Americans are perhaps more accepting to the idea of eating dinner with a group of strangers than other countries may be.

As a whole, Hibachi is a unique change of pace and the combination of its entertainment value and large seating creates an intriguing experience for Americans. In the future, it will be interesting to see if hibachi will become this popular in other countries, or if America is just one of the few perfect places for hibachi to thrive.