Born from The Tasmanian-Japanese Friendship, Liquor and Shared Plates Accord of 1952, Tasmania and Japan have always been two peas in the same lightly salted edamame pod.

Maybe it's just the isolated island way of doing things. We share a love of foreboding landscapes and furtive coastlines, alongside an obsession with craft and quiet mastery; Michelin stars and UNESCO Gastronomy sashes. Consider the first intercontinental miso ramen pipeline, from Tokyo to Launceston.

Stepping into Hanashi is like stepping into an otherworldly reality. Everything feels familiar, yet strangely off. Japan starts where Tasmania ends, and Tasmania starts where Japan ends. Stories flow like local whiskey here. Guests debate whether these obscure histories are even real.

It's within this former art deco Gospel Hall that neon lights up traditional tonkotsu ramen, made with fresh Tasmanian ingredients. Shochu sours arrive infused with Tasmanian mountain pepper. Meiji-era woodblock paintings depict the opening of Allgoods in 1956. Japanese beer posters show local celebrity Valerie Sheriff hugging a giant Kirin bottle. Even Launcestonian gets translated into Japanese. For the uninitiated: Hanashi takes the very essence of the izakaya, the liveliness, the randomness, the colour and the noise, and does something Japanese-Tasmanian with it. It brings it together with you, over a beer or gyoza, as a good story.