Tanzania, Japan ties great boost to Dar hotel

Ramada Resort Dar es Salaam promotes Japanese traditional foods as it capitalises on friendly bilateral relations between Tanzania and Japan to attract visitors.

At least 7,000 Japanese visited Tanzania last year on humanitarian, trade and investment, among other reasons, according to data from the Japanese Embassy in Dar es Salaam.

However, there is only one restaurant in the city that specifically prepares Japanese traditional foods.

“Despite growing ties, there is only one restaurant in Dar es Salaam that prepares Japanese traditional foods...Japan’s kitchen is one of the best in the world...For Japanese, food is tradition and culture and that is why we decided to come up with the Japanese food festival,” said the Ramada Resort Dar es Salaam general manager Dieter Prachner.

He said the festival was not only centred on business, but also a way through which the hotel thanked Japan for its contribution to Tanzania’s development, which was largely pronounced in the construction sector.

According to Japanese ambassador to Tanzania Masaharu Yoshida, Tanzania is the leading recipient of Japanese official development assistant (Oda) in East Africa. Japan-manufactured vehicles are dominating Tanzania’s roads.

The Asian nation has also been engaged in the construction of road infrastructure in the country, with the Tazara Flyover now seen as a symbol of Japanese Oda to Tanzania.