Fast Food & Japan

TAG Manager

TAG Manager

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Stumbled across this article today:

http://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Wendy-s-Japan-eyes-rebound-under-McDonald-s-alumnus

It's an old article now, but I hadn't seen it till today.

Wendy's was in Japan when I moved here and then closed up all of there locations not too long after i arrived. Then, it was brought back again by a local business man which saw a new style of Wendy's open up in Omotesando and then followed by a Roppongi location.

Now... they are back to suck-mode (and have been for awhile) since mixing shops with Wendy's and First Kitchen.

- I used to like the Wendy's Chili Burger
- I still love Frostys (and Chili-cheese fries!)

Anyway... my go-to fast food for right now is Shake Shack. McDonald's is a (dead) last resort... Burger King and Carl's Jr. are 'ok' every now and then.

What's everyone's take on fast food these days? (those that partake in the gluttony of grease and fried things...)
 
Can't stand Shake Shack, isn't even fast food, the lines are ridiculous! Plus the burgers at AS Classics, 7025 Franklin Ave and Blacows are so much better... Still sad that A&G Diner closed though, was my favorite :-(
 
I guess Kua Aina's taste itself is not bad actually however, my memory attaching to the place is very bad indeed.
Whenever I think about the place, it reminds me how terrible my ex was....He never ever even wanted to try any Japanesee food although he lives in Japan for years.

I am not a big fan of fast food in general anyway but like Mos burger, I like the sauce. Also, I get so craving for KFC and its fries once in half an year or so. Donno why.
I don't eat them on Chiristmas eve though:playful:
 
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For whatever reason I actually rarely get a chance to eat fast food whenever I visit Japan. However the last 3 times I've visited, I've always made an effort to at least get a Zeppin burger from Lotteria. I don't know what it is, but I love that puny little burger!
 
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Jack Hammer said:
I just had my first taco bell a few weeks ago at shibuya, now thats all im craving for recently.
Click to expand...

I didn't like it... what did you think about it?

I've been to the American Naval base where there is/was a Taco Bell; that was good.
 
TAG Manager said:
I didn't like it... what did you think about it?

I've been to the American Naval base where there is/was a Taco Bell; that was good.
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I actually love it, never been to taco bell on the base, but if its better than the one in shibuya, i gotta get me some.
 
I haven't heard them do it lately, but In and Out Burger used to do a "pop up restaurant" once a year in Japan and a few other countries.

Apparently some Chinese company squatted on a few of their trademarks like double-double in some Asian countries including Japan, so In and Out shows up once a year just so when the inevitable lawsuit happens they can prove they do business in those countries.
 
McDonalds for breakfast

Every so often I will try one of the weird promo burgers the chains do on and off but they are always crap.
 
Manami TMK said:
Also, I get so craving for KFC and its fries once in half an year or so. Donno why.
I don't eat them on Chiristmas eve though:playful:
Click to expand...

In case anyone is unaware of the fact, the association of KFC with Christmas does not exist AT ALL in the US, not even a little bit! It was created in Japan (and maybe elsewhere?) by a KFC advertising campaign that featured dressing the figuries of Colonel Sanders i Santa gear at the holiday season. Seeing "the Colonel" as a Santa figure also doesnot exist in the US. I have never heard a word about either connection/idea except in Japan.

-Ww
 
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Wwanderer said:
In case anyone is unaware of the fact, the association of KFC with Christmas does not exist AT ALL in the US, not even a little bit! It was created in Japan (and maybe elsewhere?) by a KFC advertising campaign that featured dressing the figuries of Colonel Sanders i Santa gear at the holiday season. Seeing "the Colonel" as a Santa figure also doesnot exist in the US. I have never heard a word about either connection/idea except in Japan.

-Ww
Click to expand...

Not exactly on topic, but I always made the joke that in the US, people spend Christmas with their families and New Years trying to get laid, and just the opposite in Japan. :)
 
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Wwanderer said:
In case anyone is unaware of the fact, the association of KFC with Christmas does not exist AT ALL in the US, not even a little bit! It was created in Japan (and maybe elsewhere?) by a KFC advertising campaign that featured dressing the figuries of Colonel Sanders i Santa gear at the holiday season. Seeing "the Colonel" as a Santa figure also doesnot exist in the US. I have never heard a word about either connection/idea except in Japan.

-Ww
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Wiki time!
Wiki said:
From December 1974, KFC Japan began to promote fried chicken as a Christmas meal, with its long running "Kentucky for Christmas" (Japanese: クリスマスはケンタッキー) advertising campaign.Eating KFC as a Christmas time meal has since become a widely practised custom in Japan.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFC_in_Japan

And it shocked the hell out of me when made my first trip to Japan in late November, early December and saw the reservation signs at KFC for Christmas dinner.
 
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KFC Christmas and Tabasco on pizza are the two biggest marketing triumphs in the history of Japan, I swear.
 
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By the 70s Japanese kids were accustomed to the idea of eating chicken for special occasions through "Tom and Jerry" cartoon (so, to be precise, what they saw could be turkey), and their chicken consumption was high for Christmas (which is the day kids get what they want - without thinking of a nativity play) even before KFC.
 
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Ken1988 said:
By the 70s Japanese kids were accustomed to the idea of eating chicken for special occasions through "Tom and Jerry" cartoon (so, to be precise, what they saw could be turkey), and their chicken consumption was high for Christmas (which is the day kids get what they want - without thinking of a nativity play) even before KFC.
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Interesting...

themoreuk.png
 
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The line was super-long at Wendy's when it re-opened in Omotesando. I think 3-4 months later I went back and the place was nearly empty. Haven't looked lately to see if it's still open.
 
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meiji said:
The line was super-long at Wendy's when it re-opened in Omotesando. I think 3-4 months later I went back and the place was nearly empty. Haven't looked lately to see if it's still open.
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It's gone. Long gone. Sadly... I liked it actually.

This is all that's left:
東京都新宿区住吉町8番24号
(a former McDonalds location)
https://goo.gl/maps/Y65mnttY7eu
 
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cabbie said:
How long was the line? I went down there a couple of times not after they opened and the line to get in was unreal. I didn't bother.
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Lunch time can be a little long, but it's not nearly as bad as it was at the start. It's settled down now...

Shake Shack on the other hand still gets a line from time to time that takes awhile. :/
 
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Apart from the Roast Katsu Burger at Mos I can't think of any non-japanese fast-food I've enjoyed in Cipangu. McD was one of the few places for a reasonably priced coffee until the convenience stores started putting up coffee machines, but now...
 
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