A baritone voice boomed across the dark ballroom of the Imperial Hotel, Tokyo near Hibiya Station. It belonged to actor Ken Ishiguro. Dressed in an old-fashioned sailor coat, he emerged from the rear of the room and walked theatrically toward the stage, narrating a story of Japan's bountiful produce and how it has shaped the country’s food culture.
Dreamy visuals of various ingredients played on a large screen behind him. This wasn’t a prelude to a musical but the opening of The Tabelog Award 2025, the annual prize-giving ceremony of the crowd-sourced restaurant review site..