Restaurant Worker In Tokyo Has Ultimate Spin When Asked If He Charges Tourists More

There's a controversy brewing in Tokyo amid claims that restaurants and bars are purposely charging foreigners more, but one worker offered one hell of a spin on the topic.

A visit to Japan is at the top of my bucket list. The food looks incredible, and I'd love to hit up Tokyo Disneyland, catch a robot dinner show and go for a soak in one of those hot springs with the monkeys (which sounds like a cool idea, but I get the sense that I'd show up to the monkey hot springs and then have some kind of, "Wait… I flew half-way around the world to sit in hot monkey water?" epiphany).

So, I was a little dismayed to see an article about allegations that establishments in Tokyo were charging foreign tourists — read: possibly me — more than they charge locals for the same grub or services.

CNN published the piece about foreigner gouging — which is thought to be a relatively new phenomenon in the Land of the Rising Sun — and did their best to get to the bottom of it. 

People dine at a restaurant in Shibuya, Tokyo where some restaurants are accused of raising prices for tourists. (Photo by Christopher Jue/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Part of that involved interviewing a man named Shogo Yonemitsu who runs an all-you-can-eat (challenge accepted, by the way) seafood restaurant called Tamatebako in Shibuya, a shopping district in Tokyo.

"People say it’s discrimination, but it is really hard for us to serve foreigners, and it is beyond our capacity," Yonemitsu said.

So, CNN (for once) pressed him on whether or not he charged tourists more, and that's when Yonemitsu offered this gem as written in the piece: "He maintains that he doesn’t charge tourists extra. Instead, he offers a 1,000 yen ($6.50) discount to locals."

The dude might fall over dizzy with a spin like that. Does he charge tourists more? Hell no, he just gives locals discounts.

"We need (this pricing system) for cost reasons," Yonemitsu added.

This guy needs to get into politics. The Tokyo mayor's race has somewhat famously been a sideshow this year, but I think Yonemitsu could hold his own with some quick answers like that.

I'm not big on the concept, but strangely, I respect the answer and would pay the extra $6.50 as a tip of the cap to some next-level spinning.