On June 17, 2026, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Ho Chi Minh City office of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Consulate-General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City held a food-culture event featuring live washoku demonstrations. The consulate\u2019s head chef, a goodwill ambassador for Japanese cuisine in Vietnam, and the Consul-General himself took the stage to introduce the \u201cthinking behind the food\u201d\u2014dashi, seasonality, and hospitality. In Vietnam, where images of sushi and sashimi have led the way, the reception of Japanese cuisine is now being quietly updated. Let\u2019s read this scene from the viewpoint of Japanese readers traveling in Vietnam.<\/p>\n
The event was hosted by JETRO\u2019s Ho Chi Minh City office, which supports Japanese trade and investment, and the Consulate-General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City. Behind the two joining forces on the theme of washoku is the aim to deepen mutual understanding between Japan and Vietnam through food as a gateway. Consul-General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City Masuo Ono described the day\u2019s purpose as wanting \u201cto deepen mutual understanding through food and drink, strengthen friendship, and advance the two countries\u2019 cooperation further.\u201d<\/p>\n
Giving the demonstration was Mr. Shuto, the consulate\u2019s head chef. Grilling a wagyu steak, he explained that the ingredient kombu forms the foundation of washoku, and described the underlying philosophy as \u201creflecting the spirit of harmony at the heart of Japanese cuisine.\u201d The venue served saut\u00e9ed white fish with a sauce combining miso, yuzu, and lemongrass, sushi of salmon and tuna, and wagyu, while the words umami, respect for the seasons, and omotenashi (hospitality) were repeated. Washoku was inscribed on UNESCO\u2019s Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013, and the day\u2019s table took on the character less of a meal than of a cultural briefing.<\/p>\n
The popularity of Japanese cuisine in Vietnam, especially in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, has moved beyond the stage of a boom and blended into daily life. Residents and travelers well know that the area around Le Thanh Ton Street is called \u201cLittle Tokyo\u201d and that Phan Van Chi Street has grown into a second Japantown. There, everything lines up, from casual set-meal eateries to high-end restaurants serving omakase courses.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s interesting about this event is that what was discussed wasn\u2019t a push to \u201ceat more washoku,\u201d but an update in interpretation of \u201chow to savor washoku.\u201d Nguyen Ba Phuoc, a goodwill ambassador for Japanese cuisine in Vietnam who studied and worked in Japan for more than ten years, put it this way: \u201cIn the past, many people thought of Japanese cuisine mainly as sushi and sashimi. Now interest in dashi, omakase, kaiseki, and seasonal ingredients is rising.\u201d He continued, \u201cThis shows that more Vietnamese consumers are beginning to see Japanese cuisine not merely as a dining option, but as a cultural experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
This remark can\u2019t be lightly skimmed. Sushi is \u201ca dish that\u2019s easy to grasp visually.\u201d There\u2019s a topping, a form, and it photographs well. Dashi and kaiseki, on the other hand, are \u201cdishes that are hard to see.\u201d The umami of a bowl of clear soup, or the way a single dish conceals the season within its composition, is hard to notice unless explained. The fact that Vietnamese diners have begun turning their attention to that \u201cinvisibility\u201d is the surest proof the market has matured.<\/p>\n
The rising interest shows in the number of shops, too. According to 2024 data compiled and reported by the restaurant-information service Foody, the counts of Japanese restaurants in Vietnam\u2019s major cities are as follows.<\/p>\n
Ho Chi Minh City\u2019s figure of 944 is nearly double Hanoi\u2019s. Given that the coastal resort areas of Da Nang and Nha Trang have counts in the triple and double digits, it\u2019s clear that washoku has spread beyond the frame of \u201cfor expats in big cities\u201d into a dining option at tourist destinations. Note that this tally is Foody\u2019s and is registration-based, so it should be read with a degree of caution. Even so, a scale approaching a thousand shops in the single city of Ho Chi Minh City tells clearly that washoku plays a part in this city\u2019s dining-out culture.<\/p>\n
From this event and the Vietnamese washoku scene behind it, voices from several different positions can be heard overlapping.<\/p>\n
First, from the diplomatic front. Consul-General Ono positioning food as \u201ca means of mutual understanding\u201d shows that washoku is no longer merely an export product but is treated as a thread weaving Japan-Vietnam relations. When food rises to the diplomatic table, it\u2019s also proof of being recognized as culture.<\/p>\n
Second, from the chef\u2019s standpoint. Just as head chef Shuto spoke of kombu while grilling wagyu, the maker shone a light not on a \u201cflashy plate\u201d but on the \u201cfoundational ingredient.\u201d The stance of trying to convey the depth of dashi rather than the freshness of sushi echoes the shift in Vietnamese diners\u2019 interest.<\/p>\n
Third, from the standpoint of the bridge-builders. That figures like Phuoc, who trained long in Japan, stand between the local scene and Japan as \u201cgoodwill ambassadors\u201d itself tells that Vietnam\u2019s reception of washoku has entered the stage of \u201ctranslation and taking root\u201d from \u201cimport.\u201d They aren\u2019t selling sushi; they\u2019re explaining the grammar of washoku in the local language.<\/p>\n
From here, let\u2019s think a bit further. What does the fact that washoku in Vietnam is broadening its interpretation toward \u201cdashi, kaiseki, and a sense of season\u201d mean for Japanese people who visit?<\/p>\n
One thing is the mindset of \u201cnot underestimating local washoku.\u201d When it came to Japanese food abroad, it was once standard to talk about \u201cknockoff sushi\u201d half as a joke. But the Ho Chi Minh City scene has long since passed that stage, with diners and makers growing who try to understand the context of omakase and kaiseki. When you step into a washoku shop on your trip, viewing it not as \u201ca degraded copy of Japan\u201d but observing \u201chow Japanese food has been translated locally\u201d raises the resolution of your travels a notch.<\/p>\n
Another is the perspective that washoku becomes \u201ca mirror reflecting Vietnamese food.\u201d Vietnamese cuisine, too, shares a surprisingly close sensibility with washoku that values dashi and seasonality\u2014in the fermented umami of nuoc mam and in expressing season and place through herbs. After tasting washoku at a Saigon table, savor home-style Vietnamese cooking in the same city and you\u2019re sure to notice that the two are linked by the shared language of umami and season. Using washoku as a gateway to understand local food more deeply\u2014that kind of back-and-forth comes naturally in this city.<\/p>\n
The crossover of food cultures doesn\u2019t end on the table alone. Once Vietnamese diners begin turning to \u201cingredient quality\u201d like dashi and seasonality, the ingredients in demand change too. There\u2019s a chance that Japanese ingredients forming the foundation of washoku\u2014kombu, katsuobushi, miso, soy sauce\u2014will get more of a turn. From the stage of selling fresh fish for sushi to the stage of selling dried goods and seasonings that are the source of umami\u2014you can see the groundwork advancing, through the accumulation of events like this, for exports to move up a phase.<\/p>\n
On the dining-industry side, too, the winning path will split into two poles: \u201cauthentic\u201d and \u201clocalized.\u201d On one side, higher-priced shops that carefully convey the context of kaiseki and omakase. On the other, fusion-style shops that hew to Vietnamese palates. The \u201cwashoku as culture\u201d that this event pushed forward is a tailwind for the former. Dishes whose value comes across through explanation grow stronger the more they have a place to be explained. For Japanese food-related companies, Vietnam is changing in character from \u201ca market to win on numbers\u201d to \u201ca market to win on context.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, let\u2019s lay out some useful viewpoints for actually enjoying washoku in places like Ho Chi Minh City.<\/p>\n
The washoku event held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 17, 2026, was not news of a flashy new opening. Yet it was an evening that made visible a quiet but large shift\u2014that Vietnam\u2019s once sushi-centered view of washoku is broadening toward dashi, kaiseki, and a sense of season. Cuisine rose to the diplomatic stage, a goodwill ambassador spoke of the grammar of washoku, and diners have begun receiving it as a \u201ccultural experience.\u201d For Japanese people traveling in Vietnam, this city\u2019s washoku is changing from \u201cconfirming the taste of Japan\u201d into the joy of confirming \u201chow Japanese food has bloomed across the sea.\u201d Saigon\u2019s tables are on the front line where you can feel that change firsthand.<\/p>\n
A. It has taken root mainly in big cities. According to 2024 data compiled and reported by the restaurant-information service Foody, Ho Chi Minh City alone is said to have 944 Japanese restaurants. With 472 in Hanoi, 111 in Da Nang, and 42 in Nha Trang, it has spread to tourist areas too (source: Foody).<\/p>\n
A. Images of sushi and sashimi were once central, but according to Nguyen Ba Phuoc, a goodwill ambassador for Japanese cuisine in Vietnam, interest in dashi, omakase, kaiseki, and seasonal ingredients is now rising, and more people are coming to see washoku as a \u201ccultural experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
A. The area around Le Thanh Ton Street is called \u201cLittle Tokyo\u201d and gathers washoku shops, but in recent years capable shops have increased in other areas too. Choosing shops that tout omakase and kaiseki, or that put dashi and seasonality front and center, makes it easier to savor the depth of washoku.<\/p>\n
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