The Nissin Royal Stage Tenkara rods are very similar to the premium Zerosum rods. The Royal Stages are mid-priced rods, though, making them accessible to a lot more people.
The most obvious difference between these rods and the Zerosum rods is the longer grips on the Royal Stages. Personally, I like the longer grips. On smaller streams I like to hold the rod at the very front of the grip, with my index finger on the blank. With a longer grip you can choke up a bit more, effectively shortening the rod.
The first time I had a chance to fish with the Royal Stage Tenkara rods I brought along the comparable Zerosums so I could fish them back to back. They are not quite the same, but they are close. The penny ratings of the rods are very similar to those of the Zerosums with the same length and action.