The lacquerware tray and tableware signal the start of a serious sushi meal: A perfectly rolled warm towel, crisply folded napkin, chopsticks and a geta (wooden serving board) beckon the arrival of freshly made nigiri sushi.
But there's one piece of tableware that seems both familiar yet unfamiliar — an oblong tatami coaster for a smartphone.
This is the scene at Sushi Yatagarasu, a high-end omakase (chef’s choice) restaurant that opened in September 2024. Part of the Isseki Sancho group, the restaurant and its sister sushi and kaiseki (Japanese haute cuisine) establishments have adopted tatami coasters for smartphones to improve the dining experience for ever-connected customers.
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