Japan : fastfood paradise ?

[Maciamo]

We already knew that Japan had more McDonald's restaurants than any European country (per capita or total number). We already knew that Japan was also a big fan of KFC, Subway, Mister Donuts, Denny's, Jonathan's and other American fastfood chains. They also made their own McDonald copies like Mos Burger and Freshness Burger. Japan is also the land of 24h convenience stores, fastfood bento (e.g. Origin Bento, Hokka Hokka Tei...) and fastfood almost everything (Yoshinoya, Matsuya, Tenya...).

Confident that Japan is a dream market for fastfood, Burger King, which had left Japan 5 years ago is poised to come back, with a vengeance, and with the cooperation of two Japanese companies, Lotte and Revamp.

BBc News : Burger King plans push in Japan

[taeter_tot]

Do Japan have home grown hamburger franchises compete head on with American imports like McDonald's or Wendy's

[nurizeko]

MOSburger!

Nice burgers.

[Goldiegirl]

I like the 24H convenience stores. Where I live everything is closed by 9pm...and that's considered late and that is just for Friday and Saturday. I really appreciated that I could get a late night snack. I also ate at Jonathon's. It was ok. I had some curry noodles and rice. Is Jonathon's an American chain? I never heard of it until I was in Japan. I also had pizza from Pizza Hut as well, and it was better than the Pizza Hut here.

[yukio_michael]

I hope this thread silences all of the ill-informed Western dilettantes who make every attempt to extol the virtues of Japan based on their every-so-healthy diet. I suppose then, that they'll claim that this sort of food was forced upon the Japanese, by the Franchise-Colonialists, imposing their will upon Japan.

I think the Japanese diet is much more diverse and expressive than other diets, but I wouldn't go out of my way to talk about how especially healthy their food options are--- I've never seen an empty Mr. Doughnut, or Mac'Do...

I looooove Jonathons (Jona' shite ne!?) though, and I really do like the Denny's in Japan... Hell, I miss it right now, wish I were there.

ps. Anyone who has lived in Japan for a prominent amount of time, especially locals, should know what an ICON Colonel Sanders is/was...

pps. I have NEVER been to a Famimart... odd... Lawsons yes, Famimart, no... Has anyone seen SHOPQQ (the kyu kyu being the .99 in the 99 yen... clever clever) ?

[craftsman]

Here's a popularity ranking of fast food outlets in Japan:

1. McDonald’s
2. Mos Burger
3. Mister Donuts
4. Yoshinoya (gyudon, beef bowl)
5. Kentucky Fried Chicken
6. Matsuya (gyudon, beef bowl)
7. Sukiya (gyudon, beef bowl)
8. Lotteria (burgers)
9. Nakau (gyudon, beef bowl)
10. Freshness Burger
11. Subway (sandwich)
12. First Kitchen (burger)
13. Wendy’s (burger)
14. Tom Tom Hamburger
15. Becker’s (hamburger)

Based on this poll.

How can anyone rate a Big Mac over a Moss Chilli burger? It's madness. A whole different category of grilled meat pleasure.

But lets face it - they may read like a list of different outlets and meals but it's the same slop in different packaging.

If only that slop didn't taste so damn good sometimes.

[Gentleman10]

When I go back, I've *got* to go to Yoshinoya.... yummy!!!!

[Maciamo]

pps. I have NEVER been to a Famimart... odd... Lawsons yes, Famimart, no... Has anyone seen SHOPQQ (the kyu kyu being the .99 in the 99 yen... clever clever) ?

The presence of convenience stores depends a lot on the area in which you live. In Kyoto you see Circle K everywhere, but there are very few in Tokyo. On the contrary Am Pm is almost only found in Tokyo. I am still amazed at the number of combini per square kilometer in Tokyo. Within 5 to 10 min walk of my house in Tokyo there were 5 Family Mart, 4 7Eleven, 4 Sun Kus, 4 Am Pm, 2 Mini Mart, Daily 1 Yamazaki, 1 Poplar... and not a single Lawson. 21 combini within a 1 km radius, that's madness !

[Bucko]

Two covenience stores within 100m from my place in residential southern Osaka. There are a lot AM PM stores in Osaka too, I use one everyday to get my coffees, but they're not as prevalent as Lawson.

Japanese like to think that this type of food is 'western', but I'm sure there are more per capita in Japan than Australia. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if MacDonalds opened in Japan before Australia.

Just had an evil idea...next time a Japanese person asks whether I can eat Japanese food, I'll say, 「ハンバーガーとフライドポテトみたい？」

[Bucko]

Just did some quick research. McDonald's opened in Japan and Australia in the same year, 1971.

Japan had McDonald's before the following western countries: the UK, Sweden, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Norway.

The following countries had McDonalds before Japan: USA, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Source: http://www.mcspotlight.org/company/company_history.html

[nurizeko]

Combini should be called convenie, because their so handy.

Especially in a country where shopping for the up-coming week is nearly un-heard of.

also...

MOSBURGER!!!!!

[Mrjones]

Wow nurizeko.. I want to taste mosburger now . I has to be amazing.

[sabro]

Interesting. Japan is sounding a bit more like home! I'm not far from the Birthplace of McDonalds: San Bernardino, CA.

It's also where Taco Tia, Taco Bell, Del Taco, Juan Pollo, and Baker's began.

Not far away is Baldwin Park where In-N-Out burgers began...
A bit west on the 10 freeway is The Hat and Spikes!
and a bit further at Rampart and Beverly in Los Angeles is the Original Tommy Burgers...

Carl's Jr, which is Hardy's back East, is from Glendale, CA
Denny's is from Lakewood, CA
am/pm is also a southern California native...

(What a legacy????)

[Elizabeth]

Just had an evil idea...next time a Japanese person asks whether I can eat Japanese food, I'll say, 「ハンバーガーとフライドポテトみたい？」

And they'll probably respond can you make that an AM/PM rice burger instead, like I would...Those are the best and a lot cheaper than the MosBurger brand.

[Maciamo]

Just did some quick research. McDonald's opened in Japan and Australia in the same year, 1971.

Japan had McDonald's before the following western countries: the UK, Sweden, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Spain, Denmark, Norway.

The following countries had McDonalds before Japan: USA, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Source: http://www.mcspotlight.org/company/company_history.html

So McDonald (and derivatives like Mos Burger) is more Japanese than European or Australian, that is for sure... Hardly what I would call "Western food". At best American food, as Japan is very Americanised... Puerto Rico is not a country but a US territory (like Guam or Saipan). Canada is (North) American, and very "USA-ised" too.

Wow nurizeko.. I want to taste mosburger now . I has to be amazing.

MOS Burger is the only kind of American-style fastfood which I have liked so far.

[bezz]

By the way when did Burger King withdrew from Japanese market last time after the unsuccessful attempt to find its nitch under Japan Tobacco management.


Burger King to Return to Japanese Market after 5-year Absence

[taeter_tot]

Japanese have large holding in some of those foreign franchises

[sabro]

From Bucko's site:

McDonald's Japanese President, Den Fujita, stated "the reason Japanese people are so short and have yellow skins is because they have eaten nothing but fish and rice for two thousand years"; "if we eat McDonald's hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years we will become taller, our skin become white and our hair blonde".

I thought that it was interesting. Although the food is an American invention... it borrows at least the names of foods from European sources- Hamburgers and French fries...

[Maciamo]

McDonald's Japanese President, Den Fujita, stated "the reason Japanese people are so short and have yellow skins is because they have eaten nothing but fish and rice for two thousand years"; "if we eat McDonald's hamburgers and potatoes for a thousand years we will become taller, our skin become white and our hair blonde".

This is exactly the kind of comment, from a big company president, which makes me think that even the most educated Japanese are absolutely ignorant of things of the world...

First of all, it could be argued that the Japanese have the same white skin as Caucasians, as they lack the slightly yellowish complexion of some Chinese people. So even the Japanese have fallen for that false stereotypes about East Asian people which doesn't apply to them.
Secondly, the yellow complexion of the Chinese is "supposedly" due to the loess sediement of the Yellow River, which is found in food grow in that region (apricots and oranges are originally from China) - hence the absence of yellow pigmentation among the Japanese.

Thirdly, the Chinese eat much less fish than the Japanese, and also much less rice in the North, which is where people have the most yellow skin. Europeans have also eaten rice for centuries, especially in Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. Same for fish, again especially in the Mediterranean, but also in Northern Europe (less in Eastern Europe).

Japanese hair will never become blond, nor their eyes blue. I am flattered that they think of it as an enviable trait, but it takes tens of thousands of years of evolution in northern latitudes to achieve that. Japan being at the latitude of the Mediterranean, things won't change with time. What is more, a genetic change is required for hair and eye colour toc change, and Mongoloid people living in Northern latitudes (e.g. Siberians, Inuits) seem more resistant to this genetic change. Maybe it is just due to remnants of Neanderthal DNA in Caucasian genes, a theory increasingly popular among experts.
In any case Den Fujita is an imbecile.

[undrentide]

I don't think Den Fujii's comment is something to be taken seriously in the first place...

[Maciamo]

I don't think Den Fujii's comment is something to be taken seriously in the first place...

Everything a big company's president says must be taken seriously. Each of his words is a reflexion of the image of his company, especially in Japan where corporate image an appearances are so important.

[Mike Cash]

Within 5 to 10 min walk of my house in Tokyo there were 5 Family Mart, 4 7Eleven, 4 Sun Kus, 4 Am Pm, 2 Mini Mart, Daily 1 Yamazaki, 1 Poplar... and not a single Lawson. 21 combini within a 1 km radius, that's madness !

There are even places where there is a convenience store located next door to....another convenience store. There are plenty where they are located on diagonally opposite corners of the same intersection.

They build new 7-11s within a couple hundred meters of where a previous 7-11 went broke. Even out here in the wilds of Gunma you can often stand at one convenience store and see the sign of the next one down the road.

I can remember when they used to be useful reference points for drawing maps or giving directions. Now they're so common that including them more often adds to the confusion than it provides clarity.

[undrentide]

Everything a big company's president says must be taken seriously. Each of his words is a reflexion of the image of his company, especially in Japan where corporate image an appearances are so important.

Maybe I should have written "not something to be taken literally".

[Maciamo]

There are even places where there is a convenience store located next door to....another convenience store.
There are plenty where they are located on diagonally opposite corners of the same intersection.

It is the case in the neighbourhood where I lived. There are clusters of 2 or 3 combini at a few major intersections. There are also 5 family marts on the same road on a 1km stretch (so 1 every 250m in average). Rectification, there are 5 but 6 Family Marts within 10min walk from my house in Tokyo, so 22 combini in total.

[nurizeko]

Hmmm by the sounds of it I must have been staying it a relative Combini desert.

There was only 3 that I knew of it reasonable walking distance.

A good few more though if you consider longer walks.