{"id":4308,"date":"2020-09-21T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T01:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=4308"},"modified":"2020-10-14T10:38:54","modified_gmt":"2020-10-14T01:38:54","slug":"western-restaurants-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/western-restaurants-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Restaurants in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Japan is home to\nsome of the greatest foods on the planet, but that hasn\u2019t stopped the people\nwho live from enjoying many western restaurants and the food they offer. Check\nout our article on western restaurants in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Japan is home to\nsome of the best food in the world. There is a style and art to making the\ntraditional foods that the people there eat regularly. Sometimes, though,\npeople want to try something different. There are many times when eating the\nsame fish, beef, or chicken dinner will get old and you will crave something\nthat isn\u2019t from your immediate surroundings. The same has happened in Japan,\nand many western-style fast foods and sit-down family restaurants have made\ntheir way to the country. Many of these restaurants serve the same foods and\ngive the same style of hospitality as their western counterparts. Others have\nonly been brought over in name and have been tailored to more traditional\nJapanese family restaurant styles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will look at\nwestern restaurants in Japan that cover the range from fast food to family\nrestaurants and discuss how they differ from their western counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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McDonald\u2019s<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This will come as\na shock to no one since McDonald\u2019s is in almost every country on the planet.\nThis fast food establishment is the most recognizable western restaurant in\nJapan and has locations throughout the country. It has everything that you\nwould expect to see at any McDonald\u2019s worldwide including their high service\nstandards. The food even looks the same as the pictures in the advertisements\nand usually comes out hot and fresh. What makes McDonald\u2019s Japan so unique is\nthat it runs special meals and burgers during different times of the year. Some\nitems return as seasonal variants, such as the sakura drinks, sweets, and\nburgers. The same for their chocolate fries during Halloween. They even offer special\nburgers that can only be found in Japan and run them at random times of the\nyear. It is always interesting to see what kind of promotion McDonald\u2019s Japan\nwill be running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Burger King<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Burger King is\nanother fast food restaurant that didn\u2019t change much from its original presentation\nand menu. They have the same western-style aesthetics and decorating styles and\nhave made only a few changes to the menu. Burger King treats their business the\nsame as McDonald\u2019s in that they try to give the same high level of customer service.\nAlthough Burger King does not offer as many promotions as McDonald\u2019s, they\nstill have their specials that draw in customers. For example, when the Chinese\ncalendar changed Burger King ran a special red burger to celebrate it. They\nhave special lunch menus to assist workers in Japan that need meals that\naccommodate their busy clientele. They don\u2019t have as many locations as their\nopposition, but Burger King is still a good option when you want a taste of\nhome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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KFC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

KFC is another restaurant that come to mind when Japanese people think of western restaurants in Japan. It has been in the country for a long time and has become a staple restaurant option for everyone who lives there. They have most of the same menu options offered in the U.S., though the prices have been slightly raised for the type of food they serve. The main deal that you see from KFC in Japan is their KFC Christmas dinners. Every year, people in Japan line up for hours to get their bucket of KFC chicken. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can see the Colonel displayed in front of every restaurant, and they dress the statue in season clothes as well as samurai armor during celebrations. The recipe is the same as in the U.S. and so is the taste. There are many locations all over the country so you can get your fried chicken fix anytime you like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Carl\u2019s Jr.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For a western restaurant\nin Japan, Carl\u2019s Jr. has not changed its menu at all. The same foods and menu\ndeals are brought from the U.S. and because of this, they have increased the\nprice of the food. A burger meal that may cost $8 in the U.S. will be 1,200\nyen. All beef and no mixing of meat tend to make prices go higher in Japan, but\nthe taste and service are still high quality. There are few restaurants\nscattered across major cities of Japan and they are mostly in high traffic\nareas, such as Akihabara in Tokyo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shake Shack<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Shake Shack is\nanother fast-food burger restaurant that brought the full U.S. style dining experience\nto Japan. The same menu and ingredients are used in their foods. This tends to\nmake the prices a little higher than other places, but the taste of the food is\nthe same. There are few locations in Japan, and many are in Tokyo. You can find\nthem closer to the center of the city. Some Japanese costumers like to go to\nShake Shack to try and get the feeling of eating in a restaurant in California.\nThese customers will often visit the same restaurants when they travel to\nCalifornia for vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Taco Bell<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Taco Bell is one\nof the newest western restaurants in Japan. They have begun to open more stores\nover the years, and have become more recognizable by Japanese locals. The\nJapanese version of Taco Bell is close to the original restaurants in the U.S.,\nbut there are a few differences. The style and d\u00e9cor of the inside is similar\nto the locations in the U.S., but the menu has been changed slightly. Many\nitems are not offered on the menu, such as the great value menu that had $1\nitems on it. You can still get their signature burritos and tacos as well as\nother standard Taco Bell favorites. The biggest difference is the pricing, as everything\nis significantly more expensive. A burrito with a side and a drink will usually\nbe 1,000 yen, $10 U.S. If you\u2019re feeling nostalgic this is a good place to grab\na bite to eat, but eating there regularly will take a toll on your wallet.\nThere aren\u2019t many locations and most of them are in Tokyo, with Shibuya having\ntwo locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Outback Steakhouse<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It is interesting to see the U.S. chain pop up in Japan. The decorating on the inside is an exact copy of the original restaurants, and the menu contains the same items with a few Japanese staples thrown in. Getting rice and soup there was interesting when the typical menu stays away from those types of foods. There are the usual menu staples and you will be treated to the same high level of service you would come to expect in Japan. There are a few locations in the major metropolitan areas and Tokyo has a few locations around its major areas. Outback sees a good amount of patronage, but it hasn\u2019t yet become a highly sought after the restaurant chain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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T.G.I.Fridays<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

T.G.I.Fridays is\nusually seen as the most western restaurant in Japan and many Japanese people\nfrequent it. The menu is the same as it is in the U.S. and everything tastes\nthe same. The pricing is the same as well as the service experience. The layout\nof the restaurant, the worker’s uniform, and even the bar area is the same as\nthe original restaurant. It is a good way to enjoy a typical U.S. family-style\nrestaurant in Japan. There are locations spread throughout the major cities of\nJapan and they are easy to spot. Just look for the typical T.G.I. Fridays sign.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Denny\u2019s<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Denny\u2019s is\nwestern only in its name. It is a case of the Japanese owners purchasing the\nname but not following the original menu. The d\u00e9cor and employee uniforms are\nthe same, and the feeling of a family restaurant is still there. The menu,\nhowever, has been turned into a typical Japanese style family restaurant. You\nwill have choices of hamburger steak, curry, rice dishes, and sides that you\nwill find in other restaurants. If you are hoping to get a grand slam breakfast\nyou will be disappointed. It is a popular restaurant, and the chain is spread\nacross the country. You can find them in suburban areas that are more family\nheavy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Many restaurants\nthat have opened in Japan and are western based have seen a large amount of\nsuccess. Some examples are Pizza Hut, Domino\u2019s, In-n-Out Burger, Starbucks, and\nothers. More chains are looking to break into the Japanese market and get a\npiece of the fast-food action. Who knows what restaurants will make the next\nleap across the ocean.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japan is home to some of the greatest foods on the planet, but that hasn\u2019t stopped the people who live from enjoying many western restaurants and the food they offer. Check out our article on western restaurants in Japan. Japan is home to some of the best food in the world. There is a style […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4308\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}