It’s hard to believe that it’s already been five years since Burger King re-entered the Japanese market (they first tried and failed here about fifteen years ago.)
Well, to commemorate their fifth anniversary in Japan, Burger King is offering a new, unusual burger called 「非常識の黒いバーガー」 (the “Insane, Black Burger“)!
The weather is still hot and humid in Tokyo now, but some signs of Autumn (秋 (Aki) in Japanese) can be seen now that it’s September.
The leaves haven’t begun to change color yet. That’s called 紅葉 (Kouyou) in Japanese and it does happen in late October or so and it’s very beautiful…especially to someone like me who came to Japan from Florida where the leaves on trees are green all year round.
The signs of Autumn that can be see every year in Japan at this time of year are some foods and drinks that can be purchased now.
All of the major domestic beer brewers in Japan offer special seasonal brews at the turn of each of the seasons. Right now, they’re all offering their various Autumn beers.
I currently have in my house a case of Suntory 「秋楽」 (“Aki-raku“) beer.
Suntory "Aki-raku" autumn brew with 6% alcohol!
This beer’s name translates to “Comfortable Autumn”.
Kirin Beer offers a beer in a similar can called 「秋味」 (“Aki-aji“), which means “The Flavor of Autumn”.
Another sign that autumn is near is when McDonalds in Japan offers their special, popular 「月見バーガー」 (“Tsukimi Burger“).
This burger is only available for a limited-time each year in autumn. And it’s currently on the menu again.
The "Tsukimi Burger" is currently available at McDonalds Japan
The Tsukimi Burger has an egg on it because the egg looks like a full-moon in the sky.
You may wonder what an egg resembling the moon has to do with anything…
But you’d need to understand that for centuries, 月見 (tsukimi)…which means “moon watching”…has been a popular autumn past time in Japan.
月見, autumn moon-gazing parties, are popular and McDonalds capitalized on that and offered a temporary burger for the occasion every year.
Another recent sign that autumn is approaching in Japan is the increasing number of stores that put up Halloween decorations.
When I came to Japan in 1990, Halloween was unheard of here…but, recently, it’s become much more well-known. But it’s still not really celebrated. Going “Trick ‘R Treating” around the neighborhood isn’t done here, and private homes aren’t decorated. But many stores capitalize on the western holiday and put up Halloween decorations in an attempt to draw customers.
Are there unique customs in your country in the transition between seasons?
マックドナルド (McDonald’s) fast-food restaurants has stores around the world.
No matter which store you go into, the menu is basically the same. Some items, though, are customized for individual countries.
For example, I’ve heard that McDonald’s in India doesn’t serve beef burgers (pork or chicken instead), in Germany they serve beer 🙂 (some fast-food restaurants in Japan, such as Freshness Burger and First Kitchen serve beer…but not マックドナルド (McDonald’s Japan)), and in the Philippines they have spaghetti on the menu.
マックドナルド (McDonald’s) in Japan has many unique items on the menu, too.
Some are “limited time only“…such as the Lettuce Pepper Burger that was on the menu a few years ago. I really like that burger…but unfortunately, they don’t serve it currently.
New items on the menu at マックドナルド (McDonald’s Japan) include:
The 「マックホットドッグ」 (McHotDog) and 「マックホットドッグ・メガソーセージ」 (Mega Sausage McHotDog), which are breakfast items and only available until 10:30AM.
「マックホットドッグ」 (McHotDog) and 「マックホットドッグ・メガソーセージ」 (Mega Sausage McHotDog)
The 「チーズカツバーガー」 (Cheese Cutlet Burger), which is a cheese-filled pork cutlet sandwich.
「チーズカツバーガー」 (Cheese Cutlet Burger)
マックドナルド (McDonald’s Japan) has the regular “Cookies & Chocolate McFlurry” and “Oreo McFlurry” ice cream dessert.
But they also have the 「マックフルーリー抹茶＆オレオクッキー」 (“Green Tea & Oreo Cookies McFlurry“).
「マックフルーリー抹茶＆オレオクッキー」 (Green Tea & Oreo McFlurry)
The 「えびフィレオ」 (Shrimp Filet-o Burger):
「えびフィレオ」 (Shrimp Filet-o Burger)
「シャカシャカチキン」 (Shaka Shaka Chicken) is a chicken filet in a bag that you add spice powder (chili or black pepper) and shake the bag to mix the spice (“Shaka Shaka” is a Japanese onomatopoeia for shaking):
Besides cola, milk, coffee and orange juice, etc マックドナルド (McDonald’s Japan) sells 爽健美茶 (Blended Tea):
「爽健美茶」 (Blended Tea)
マックドナルド (McDonald’s Japan) also has a ¥100 and ¥120 (about US $0.99 and US $1.19) menus which includes hamburger for ¥100, cheeseburger for ¥120, ice cream cone for ¥100, Shaka Shaka Chicken for ¥100, milk shakes for ¥100…and the 「マックポーク」 (McPork sandwich) for ¥100:
「マックポーク」 (McPork) ¥100 (US$0.99)
And All-You-Can-Drink coffee is also only ¥120
If you visit a マックドナルド (McDonald’s) in Japan, you’ll be sure to notice people looking at their cell-phones while they’re waiting in line and when they get to the cashier, they might show their cell-phone to the person behind the counter. This is because マックドナルド (McDonald’s) in Japan offers weekly cell-phone coupons.
Have you ever tried any of these items at a マックドナルド (McDonald’s) in Japan? Does McDonald’s offer unusual menu items where you live?
BTW, I wrote a post last November when マックドナルド (McDonald’s Japan) introduced the Quarter Pounder Burger.
Click here to see it.
When I came to Japan, McDonalds Japan had quite a different menu from the McDonalds® in America. It’s still different…but it seems to be becoming more and more similar.
In the 1990’s, McDonalds® in Japan didn’t have any really large burgers, drinks or fries. The food was sold in smaller sizes…a “large cola”, for example, at McDonalds® Japan seemed to about the size of a “medium” at the U.S. McDonalds®. Japanese people who visited America often would be surprised at the size of the food portions at restaurants there.
Also, McDonalds® here has always had some items on the menu that are unique to Japan…some of which are seasonal (such as the “Lettuce Pepper Burger” and the 月見バーガー (“Tsukimi Burger” *) and others are always on the menu (such as the 「てりやきマック・バーガー」 (“Teriyaki Mac Burger“)).
(* The 月見バーガー (“Tsukimi Burger“) is available every Autumn at McDonalds® in Japan. 月見 (Tsukimi) is a traditional Autumn moon festival. (Click here to visit “McDonalds Japan’s Tsukimi Burger page).)
But recently, McDonalds® Japan has added some larger “American style” burgers to their menu. First, was the 「メガマック (“Mega-Mac“)…with four beef patties!
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And more recently, McDonalds® Japan has brought the 「クォーターパウンダー」 (“Quarter-Pounder“)…and even the 「ダブルクォーターパウンダー」 (“Double Quarter-Pounder“) from America and added them to their menus here! (Japan doesn’t use the American system of measure…so noone here knows that the name “Quarter-Pounder” means that the burger is a ¼ pound of beef (about 114 grams)).
In addition to adding the 「クォーターパウンダー」 (“Quarter-Pounder“) to their menu in Japan. McDonalds® Japan has opened two Quarter Pounder Shops in Tokyo. These are McDonalds® owned…but the famous McDonalds® logo is nowhere on or in the stores! And the menu at these Quarter Pounder Shops consist of only two items: the 「クォーターパウンダー」 (“Quarter-Pounder“) and the 「ダブルクォーターパウンダー」 (“Double Quarter-Pounder“).
Click here to see the Quarter Pounder Shop website (日本語 (Japanese) only).
Due to McDonalds® success with these bigger burgers, other fast-food restaurants in Japan have also begun to include larger burgers in their menus now, too.
I think Japanese people should eat less fast-food and more tradional Japanese food.
I do like McDonalds® also, though…but we don’t eat any of those giant burgers. When we go to McDonalds®, it’s just for a regular size burger and coffee (cola or tea for the kids).
McDonalds® Japan has a “¥100” menu (about US $1.05*) with things like coffee, ice cream, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, McPork burger, etc all for ¥100. (Recently, some items on this menu, such as the cheeseburger and McPork, have gone up in price to ¥120 (about US $1.26*)).
(* The U.S. Dollar has weakened against the Japanese Yen recently).
If you want to see McDonalds® Japan’s menu…click here (it’s all in 日本語 (Japanese)).
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What type of 携帯電話 (cellular phone) do you use? Does it have alot of functions?
I use the most popular company in Japan: NTT DoCoMo.
My phone’s kinda old…so it doesn’t have the latest functions. But I don’t care. All I need is Email, Internet and the phone.
Like most people here, I mainly use my 携帯電話 (cellular phone) to send and receive emails. But I also use a website on it to check the train schedules.
My 携帯電話 (cellular phone) also has a photo camera and video camera that I occasionally use…and GPS that I never use.
Nowadays, people in Japan use their phone as a “wallet” (make purchases, including train fare, like a debit card), to watch TV, and like an I-pod®…in addition to email and internet.
Those functions are popular in Japan now.
This isn’t my 携帯電話 (cellular phone)…but it’s a popular style now:
Nokia, the Finnish cell-phone company, seems to be make very popular cell-phones in every country…except Japan.
Nokia came to Japan a couple of years ago with big plans to take over the lucrative Japanese market. But the Japanese were unimpressed with Nokia‘s products and design. I guess Nokia didn’t do enough market research before coming here and they didn’t offer what is popular here.
They just announced that they’re leaving Japan.
Vodafone, the large English cell-phone company, had a similar experience a few years ago. This company also, it seems, is quite popular overseas…so they came to Japan with high-hopes.
Two years ago, Vodafone Japan was bought out by a Japanese company called Softbank…and is currently the number two 携帯電話 (cellular phone) provider in Japan (NTT DoCoMo, the company I use, is number one here).
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