Horror in the Bowl: Dead Mouse Found in Customer’s Soup Shuts Down Popular Japanese Restaurant

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In Japan, the beef bowl chain known as Sukiya had to temporarily close for remodeling following an unpleasant incident where a customer found a deceased mouse in their bowl of miso soup, and shared this discovery on social media.

As a dedicated food enthusiast, I’ve come to appreciate the charm of Japan’s fast-casual dining scene, which offers quality, unpretentious meals at budget-friendly prices. One such gem is Sukiya, a popular choice for its gyudon (beef over rice) and an assortment of curry dishes. The menu is compact yet satisfying, making it an ideal spot for those who value simplicity and affordability.

On the other hand, every meal often comes accompanied by a bowl of miso soup as part of its value set. Regrettably, that day turned out to be unlucky for one customer, who unfortunately selected the wrong day to receive their soup.

On January 21, 2025, I stumbled upon an unpleasant situation when I discovered a dead mouse in my soup. This distressing image circulated online for quite some time before Sukiya acknowledged and apologized on March 22. They admitted that, unfortunately, the rodent was not a figment of our imagination.

Sukiya apologizes & temporarily shuts down restaurant

As a passionate enthusiast, I’d like to share some intriguing insights based on a report from Yahoo News Japan. It appears the viral image originated from a Google review, specifically for one of their Tottori City establishments. This review, quite vividly, showcased the carcass in question within their serving bowl.

Following several months of customer worry and conjecture, Sukiya eventually acknowledged that the image was authentic and dealt with the issue accordingly.

While the original google review has been pulled, the image is still out there.

すき家の味噌汁にネズミ入ってた動画これガチ？

— さささ (@yhp_m) January 21, 2025

Sukiya Japan had this to say in response:

At approximately 8:00 a.m. on January 21st, a customer at the store noticed and reported to an employee that there was a foreign item in a bowl of miso soup before it was consumed. Upon visual examination, the employee confirmed the presence of the foreign object. An investigation traced the contamination back to one of the bowls during the preparation of the miso soup ingredients.

The worker failed to check the product thoroughly beforehand, and an unnoticed object ended up in the soup being served. It’s important to note that the store didn’t intentionally serve potentially harmful items to anyone else besides the specific customer.

Despite waiting over two months for a response from the company following the online posting of the image, they assert that the store was promptly shut down once the mouse was discovered.

Following the incident, we promptly shut down the store for a temporary cleanup, carried out a thorough sanitation check, addressed potential building cracks that might have caused contamination, and intensified employee training on maintaining cleanliness, including a careful examination of goods before serving them.

Two days following the discovery of the rat, the restaurant chose to reopen. Given this timing and the delay of two months in their response, locals expressed disappointment with their handling of the situation.

Following a customer’s disturbing photo of a deceased mouse in their soup spreading online, Japanese internet users playfully harassed Sukiya on Google Maps by changing the name of the branch where the incident happened. They added a mouse icon and labeled it as the “Disneyland branch.

— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) March 23, 2025

Consequently, for a short while, this particular site was renamed as “Disneyland Branch”, but later, Google manually undid the renaming and prevented further changes to its name.

Nonetheless, images of mice continue to be posted on the location’s Google reviews, with individuals warning others against visiting the place.

Even though I unknowingly indulged in mouse soup for two whole months, they remained silent about it. It wasn’t until the dish was exposed on social media that they felt compelled to address the issue the following day, making it seem like someone else’s fault.” (First person perspective)

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2025-03-23 19:18