They have those at our local sushi place in Oakland, Kansai. It's very relaxing not to have to deal with being bugged, but to know that you'll be able to get service when you want it. - Robin Barooah

We saw the buzzers in action at dinner, which was sushi, as well. Only at that place, when the button was pressed it would light up your table number on a bigger board and everyone, from the sushi chef on down, would yell something out, presumably " patron at table 14 pressed button" which made the system slighlty less peaceful. Also, not sure if it is meant to be a reference, but Kansai is the region we are in currently. - Jon from iPhone

I'd guess it's a reference. Our Kansai has giant TV screens showing either football games, or MTV, and is too noisy to tell whether the staff shout something when those buttons are pressed! - Robin Barooah from IM