A number of Sun staffers live in Redlands, and I am hearing a lot of new talk in the newsroom about the proliferation of Japanese restaurants there.
“It seems like Redlands has a Japanese restaurant on every corner now,” one colleague said to me.
Another colleague counted off, on his hand, five Japanese restaurants that have opened recently in the city.
I’ve heard others talking about it, too.
I don’t think Redlands is on the verge of adopting “Turning Japanese,” the 1980 hit by The Vapors, as its new city song. But this is an interesting development, all the same.
Many of the new restaurants specialize in sushi, and sushi is especially popular these days with young sophisticates of the kind that abound in Redlands.
Middle-aged sophisticates, too.
Even old, gray sophisticates.
Those who know their Inland Empire history will remember that Redlands once was known as the City of Churches. There was a church on every corner, it was said.
Now, maybe, it’s a sushi joint on every corner.
If you are among those who consider sushi to be heavenly, you will see a certain continuity to it all.
