Japanese ‘Food Fighter’ in KK

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KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is well known for good food that many visitors can enjoy, especially seafood.

‘Food Fighter’ Yuri Ishizeki from Japan currently visiting Kota Kinabalu is one who can sample literally all the food Sabah is famous for.

‘Food fighters’ or big eaters, are popular Japanese pop culture figures. They enjoy their celebrity status and frequently appear on local TV shows. Food fighters consider their ability to put away plates of food a sport, and will try to outdo their competitors to get the title or win prizes.

Yuri Ishizeki, a makeup artist by profession, is from the Gunma prefecture in Japan.

“I come from the interior of Japan which is very far from the sea. I feel like a movie star,” she said while taken on a sunset cruise in the city.

She will also visit other attractions around the city in between meals.

“Yuri is a popular YouTuber and blogger. We identified her and worked with Tourism Malaysia Japan and Malaysia Airlines Berhad sponsored her and another travel blogger, Yuko Arakawa, over to Sabah,” Sabah Tourism chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai said.

“Japan is within six hours flight to Sabah and is still a market source for us. Japanese visitors traditionally love our natural attractions. But we also have to look at other ways to attract them here especially in the digital age. We have been doing this using our own social media brand, ‘Kota Kinako’.” Joniston added.