Sukiya found a rat in its miso soup — so it shut 2,000 stores for four days

In January 2025, a customer at a Sukiya outlet in Tottori Prefecture discovered a rat floating in a bowl of miso soup. The company confirmed the rodent was found before it was eaten, and an investigation traced the entry point to a crack in a refrigerator door. A second incident followed in late March 2025, when a cockroach was found in a meal at a Tokyo outlet.

On March 29, 2025, Sukiya announced the temporary closure of nearly all of its approximately 2,000 stores across Japan, from March 31 to April 4. The four-day shutdown was intended to implement stricter hygiene measures across the entire chain. It was an unprecedented response for Japan's largest beef bowl chain, which had built its reputation on speed and convenience — including 24-hour operations at many locations.

The financial impact of closing nearly 2,000 stores for four days was significant, though the company did not disclose specific figures. More importantly, Sukiya announced it would abandon 24-hour store operations, a major strategic shift for a chain that had long marketed itself as available around the clock. The parent company Zensho Holdings saw its brand reputation damaged by the back-to-back contamination incidents and the scale of the response.