Uber Finds Job in Food Delivery Services

Perhaps you've heard about "demae" commonly practiced in Japan by popular noodle houses and pizza shops - a kind of home food delivery that brings ready-cooked food right up to your door. A really good business for both the houses and the customers.

You've no doubt heard of Uber - the American multinational online transportation network company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its leg in Japan has just got on the gravy train to do the same for those eating joints and restaurants lacking such services.

Masami Takahashi, president of Uer's Japan office says Japan tops the world both in quality and quantity of food, adding:

"That's why food delivery service has a rich future ahead here in Japan - also why we find it high time to take it up this time."

UBER Japan employs bicycles and scooter under 125 cc to bypass legal obligations and have its registered members deliver food to wherever points of delivery - straight to home or working places.

Customarily, Soba-udon noodle houses have their own home delivery service offered independently by junior helpers, but regular eating joints, except for pizza and sushi shops, do not.

Uber Japan is the eighth in the world to start food delivery services and for the time being concentrates in Shibuya, Ebisu and Roppingi areas - free of charge subject to the distance covered. Those popular restaurants without extra hands and vehicles for delivery are the first to solicit their services - notably popular Italian restaurants and busy Yakiniku restaurants in town.

By the way, "demae" is one of fascinating practices often seen proudly demonstrated by seasoned delivery men. As some of you might know, soba noodles come in a framed wooden case, 3 by 8 inches, and one normally eats a stack of two cases. A single home delivery by a family of, say, five - two cases each - can amount to a tall stack of ten to twelve cases - often ten ft.

A seasoned deliver man goes on cycling with a stack of soba-noddle that high on his shoulder - whistling along his way. That's quite a practice, wouldn't you say? (Nathan Shiga)