Irina S. Tikhotskaya

• Occupation: Associate Professor, Department of Social and Economic Geography of Foreign Countries, Faculty of Geography
• Affiliation: Lomonosov Moscow State University
  
• Address: Russian Federation

Elizaveta Velichko

• Occupation: , student, Faculty of Geography
• Affiliation: Lomonosov Moscow State University
  
• Address: Russian Federation, Moscow

Japanese cuisine, one of the few national cuisines considered as intangible cultural heritage of humankind, has gained great popularity around the world. Among the main reasons of its attractiveness to people is the association with a healthy diet due to its natural taste and nutritional balance. The aesthetic component - "food as art" also plays an important role, along with the interest of foreigners in Japanese culture. The deliberate policy of the Japanese government promoting the national cuisine abroad, has become an instrument of "soft power", and is bringing its results.

By analyzing the differences in the distribution of Japanese restaurants in cities, countries and regions of the world, the authors show and interpret the heterogeneity of Japanese cuisine worldwide at different scales. The popularity of Japanese cuisine in a given country depends on its involvement in the process of globalization. One of the most striking examples of the intra-country heterogeneity of Japanese cuisine is the United States.

The study of the microgeography of Japanese cuisine based on a core estimate of restaurant density showed that the geography of Japanese cuisine in the cities is determined by the presence or absence of a Japanese ethnic district. In case if there is one, the core of its concentration is located there, otherwise it coincides with the core of the restaurants and city as a whole.