Restaurants are highly important tourist attraction and supplier of regional tastes in food tourism.Although Hall and Sharples described food as one component of tourism, it is yet such an integral part of the whole tourist experience that it has become a subject of study in its own right. However, the role of restaurant in food tourism is still underexplored. In this paper, restaurants in Shonai region of Yamagata prefecture is surveyed to illuminate the city’s status and potential as a Gastronomic City. Overall, the external and internal assessment suggests that Shonai requires a symbolic food to market the food tourism more effectively. While public awareness of the Shonai cuisine culture needs to be propagated to further attract and diversify the clientele base, working towards a higher ranking in the Michelin Guidebook is paramount to establish Shonai as a recognized Gastronomic City.

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