Fast Food Chains in Japan vs. America

A menu for Dominos in Japan

This may come as a shock to...no one...but McDonalds and such can be found nearly everywhere on Earth. The Sphinx in Egypt, what is it looking at? I heard the answer is a KFC. I was personally dumbfounded to find a Starbucks put right outside the entrance to Canterbury Cathedral in England.

Japan, naturally, is no exception. Although Burger King is becoming harder and harder to find, and I've yet to see a Taco Bell, you can find Subway, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Coldstones, Dennys, Starbucks, Baskin Robbins and Dominos here. (I know that many people don't consider Starbucks to be a part of the fast food industry, but I believe it fits the description pretty well.)

To be clear, it is my firm belief that when you are in a foreign country as a tourist, it is your sworn duty to avoid fast food places available in America like the plague. I think it's absolutely ridiculous to go to, say, Italy and spend your entire time there eating at McDonalds.

However, when you are living in a foreign country for a long time, you start to miss eating some of the food from home. I mostly enjoy cooking food from home, but every now and then I like to wander into a fast food place and just see what they have from time to time.

Below is a list of what makes each fast food place different compared to its counterpart in America.



First, as a general rule to remember, portion sizes in Japan are a fraction of what they are in America. Don't walk into any of these places expecting that 100 yen will get you a hamburger the size of your fist.

Second, a little trait that I happen to love, most of Japan's fast food places offer unsweetened versions of tea (green, oolong, black) right alongside their options for Coke or Pepsi. Japan also offers, in some places, a lovely green pop called Melon Soda, which is amazing.

Burger King 
As I said, Burger King is disappearing in Japan. I have no idea why, actually. Therefore, I've only had a couple of opportunities to eat at Burger King here, and neither one left much of an impression on me. The portions were, of course, smaller, but I feel like it was about the same as America.

Taco Bell
I've never seen a Taco Bell in Japan, but I've heard rumors that it exists somewhere. I, personally, do not care about Taco Bell so I've never actively gone looking for it.

Subway
Much to my supreme disappointment, Subway in Japan does not offer the Italian herbs and cheese bread option. You have four bread options: White, wheat, honey wheat and sesame. The menu, in general, is much more bare-boned than what you expect in America's Subways. There are no chips available, either. Still, every now and then it's nice to eat a sandwich.

Pizza Hut
There is only delivery available for Pizza Hut here; no restaurants. However, I loathed the Pizza Huts in America. Their pizzas tasted disgusting. In Japan, much to my delight, Pizza Hut is actually really good. It's expensive (Japan's large is the size of America's medium, and for about double the price), but it's worth having a nice pizza from them every now and then.

McDonalds
The portions are, again, smaller, and the options available on the menu aren't fantastic, but what I love about the McDonalds in Japan is that people actually go into the restaurant and eat there. When was the last time you saw that in America? I only remember people who hadn't mastered the art of eating while driving who were condemned to eating inside. In Japan, though, people go to McDonalds to study, hang out or just relax for a bit. McDonalds has started to realize this, and they are rolling out McDonald's cafes everywhere in a kind of cute attempt to cut into Starbucks' turf.

Coldstones
Japanese people do not like incredibly sweet, rich-tasting desserts. Japanese people were born and raised on fluffy cakes with incredibly light whipped-cream frosting that has only the hint of something sweet to satisfy you with taste. Needless to say, I am not a fan of what Japan has to offer by way of cake. Their ice cream, unfortunately, was beaten into line with their cakes. Coldstones in Japan may look like the ice cream back home, but when you taste it, you will mostly taste ice with a sprinkling of sugar. It's incredibly disappointing.

Dennys
While Americans might think of the word ghetto when they think of Dennys, in Japan, Dennys is just another one of their fast food chains that are disguised as restaurants. They call them "family restaurants." This is when you want to sit down somewhere slightly nice-looking, but you don't want to spend too much money. Dennys in Japan is, therefore, about 2,000 times nicer than the ones in America.
   Other family restaurants in Japan include Big Boy (also not ghetto), Jonathans, Jolly Pasta, Bamiyan and Saizeriya.
    Each family restaurant takes a stab at appearing to specialize in a particular type of food. So Bamiyan, for example, offers attempts at Chinese food while Saizeriya offers attempts at Italian food. From what I can understand of Dennys, they offer attempts at steak. I personally like Jonathans the best because they seem to have given up specializing in anything, and, instead, just offer "Western" food.

Starbucks
To be honest, I was never a fan of Starbucks. I hate coffee, and I hate things that are overpriced. Starbucks and I were doomed to never be friends. Thus, I usually avoid going to Starbucks in Japan. However, when a friend wants to go to Starbucks, then I have no choice but to tag along. The portion-size rule applies, but the prices seem happily immune to the portions, and you'll find yourself paying around $5 for coffee in a cup that looks fit for a child's tea set. Like in America, Starbucks is designed for you to sit there and study or work if you want, but I have heard of people being kicked out of Starbucks for sitting there for too long.

Baskin Robbins
Most Japanese people don't even know they have Baskin Robbins, even though they see it everywhere. Here in Japan, it's known by how many flavors are offered, Thirty-One. So if you go around asking for a Baskin Robbins, you will be met with shrugs and looks of complete bewilderment. Baskin Robbins may not offer such amazing flavors as birthday cake or cookie dough, but I do happen to love Baskin Robbins over Coldstone for trying harder to be faithful to America's version of incredibly rich, sweet ice cream.

Dominos
I loved Dominos in America, and I love it here in Japan, too. It's a take-out place just like in America, and the menu options are, naturally, different (for reasons unknown to everyone, the Japanese prefer corn on their pizzas and think Americans are insane for wanting pepperoni on theirs), but the taste is basically the same. As a tremendous lover of cheese, especially cooked cheese, I am thrilled that Dominos in Japan is pretty faithful to Dominos in America. The prices are, naturally, terrible (for a large that's the size of America's medium, I get to pay around $30), but it's truly nice to have good pizza every now and then.