Japan Restaurant to Fine Patrons Who Don't Finish Their Meal

By Erica Ho, TIME

Credit: GOLD RUSH

A bowl of tsukko meshi is displayed at Hachikyo restaurant in Japan.

February 18, 2013 Updated Feb 18, 2013 at 2:02 PM PDT

In this restaurant, everyone cleans their plates.

An eatery in Sapporo, Japan has announced it will fine restaurant patrons if they don’t finish every last morsel – every tiny grain of rice – on their plate. TheHachikyo seafood restaurant is known for its tsukko meshi, a dish of salmon roe piled sky-high on a bed of rice — for anyone who can finish it.

Though the fine may seem ridiculous for a dish that costs about $20, there’s a reason for the surcharge. As Midori Yokoyama, a Japanese blogger, wrote after a personal visit to the local eatery:

According to the explanation in the menu: "...the working conditions for fishermen are harsh and so dangerous that it’s not unknown for lives to be lost. To show our gratitude and appreciation for the food they provide, it is forbidden to leave even one grain of rice in your bowl. Customers who do not finish their tsukko meshi must give a donation."

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