Tokyo is first…again

Tokyo was the first city in all of Asia to host the Olympics (the 1964 Tokyo Olympics).
(Tokyo will host the Olympics again in five years).

Tokyo was the first city in the world to have a Disney amusement park outside of the U.S.

And now Tokyo is the first place in the world where two independent fast-food chains have collaborated to make one unique restaurant together.

The Japanese branch of the American fast-food chain “Wendy’s” have joined with the Japanese fast-food chain ironically named “First Kitchen” to open a store in Tokyo called “Wendy’s First Kitchen“.

“Wendy’s First Kitchen” menu has unique menu items made from items from Wendy’s and First Kitchen together.

Wendy’s back in Tokyo

I wrote before that Wendy’s, the American fast-food hamburger chain, closed all of their stores in Japan two years ago.

And then, as I wrote in another post, they announced last March that they would be re-opening their stores in Japan beginning in autumn (2011).

But, about a week after that announcement, the 2011 March 11 earthquake struck northern Japan and caused Wendy’s Japan to delay their re-opening.

Well, Wendy’s first store in Japan since they closed all of their stores here almost exactly two years ago will open tomorrow (2011 December 27th).
It is located in 表参道 (the Omotesando area of Tokyo) on the famous 「表参道通り」 (“Omotesando-doori“) road.

Their menu will include “regular” Wendy’s items…but it will also have some “only-in-Japan” things such as a “「フォアグラ・ロッシーニ」 (Foie Gras Rossini Burger)” and an “「アップル＆ナッツ・チキン・サラダ」 (Apple & Nut Chicken Salad)“.

Personally, French food isn’t one of my favorites. I don’t think I’ll be trying the “Foie Gras Rossini Burger”…but I do like Wendy’s chili!

A Happy New ポテト

With the way the economy currently is, when people in Japan eat at fast-food places, it’s because they’re cheaper (more than the speed of the service or any other reason).

In Japan, the fast-food place that understands this best seems to be McDonalds. (I think this is the reason Wendy’s left Japan after thirty years here…because their prices were higher).

Right now, McDonalds Japan is running a 「福めくりポテト」 (“Lucky Decal Fries“) campaign.

If you buy a large-size French Fries, you’ll find a decal on the fries package. When you peel it off, the decal is a coupon that can be used to get a free hamburger, 「シャカシャカチキン」 (“Shaka-shaka” chicken), or a small Coca-Cola.

The decal will specify which of the three items you’ve won (you can’t choose from the three…it’s printed on the coupon which one it can be redeemed for), and the offer expires on 2010 February 28.

Every decal is a winner. So, if you play, you will get either a hamburger, chicken, or cola for free.

Also, if you buy a set-meal that comes with a medium French Fries, you can change them to a large Fries (so you can get a 「福めくりポテト」 (“Lucky Decal Fries“) campaign decal) for only an extra ¥40.

Wendy’s is leaving Japan

The U.S. fast-food chain 「ウエンディーズ・ハンバーガー」 (Wendy’s) opened their first store in Japan in the 銀座 (Ginza) area of Tokyo in 1980.

A "Wendy's" shop in Tokyo

It was operated by the Japanese department store company Daiei until the chain began losing them money in 2002…then the hamburger chain’s Japanese stores were sold to the Japanese company Zensho.

Zensho owns the franchise rights to a number of restaurants in Japan. Mostly Japanese restaurants, but they also own the U.S.-based Mexican-food restaurant “El Torito Japan” and the American family restaurant “Coco’s Japan“, as well as Wendy’s Japan.

Their main focus is the popular chain of 牛丼 (beef-on-rice) restaurant 「すき家」 (Sukiya).

The Zensho company has been losing money with Wendy’s and has decided to end it’s franchise contract with the hamburger chain this month.

So that means that by 2009 December 31, the “Wendy’s” hamburger chain will no longer be in Japan.

Wendy’s is currently looking for another Japanese franchise partner so that they might be ale to re-enter the Japanese market.

It reminds me of Burger King‘s experience in Japan.
Burger King originally came to Japan in about 1999 but only offered a limited-menu…due to that and the fact that their prices were high compared to McDonalds, Burger King was forced to exit Japan in about 2001.
But, after researching the Japanese market, Burger King reopened their stores in Japan a couple years ago.

I wrote a post about some of the American and European companies that are doing business in Japan…click here to read it.

Fastfood Summer Campaigns

Today was a beautiful clear day, and the sounds of 蝉 (cicadas) could be heard…but it was also very hot and humid!

Definitely summer in Japan.

Alot of people like to eat spicy food in the summer. Supposedly it helps cool you off.
Whether or not that’s true, I’m not sure…but I like spicy food (especially with beer! 🙂 ).

Many fast-food chains in Japan are offering special items on the menu for the summer only. Alot of those items are spicy.

I already mentioned Lotteria‘s new burger (and special money-back guarantee) in an earlier post (Click here to see it.)

◆ McDonalds Japan is offering a 「ヨーグルト味 McShake」 (“Yogurt flavor McShake“) for only ¥100.

「ヨーグルト味 (Yogurt Flavored) McShake」

◆ McDonalds Japan also has Spicy Juicy Chicken sandwiches. They offer two flavors 「ブラック・ペッパー」 (Black Pepper) and 「赤とうがらし」 (Red Chili).

Spicy Juicy Chicken (Black Pepper or Red Chili)

◆ MOS Burger has a campaign that says: 「夏はチキンとスパイスだ！！」 (“Summer is chicken and spice!!”).
They’re offering two spicy chicken sandwiches this summer too. 「ホットチキンバーガー」 (“Hot Chicken Burger“) with salsa, and 「カレーチキンバーガー」 (“Curry Chicken Burger“).

MOS Burger's "Hot Chicken Burger" & "Chili Chicken Burger"

◆ Wendy’s Japan is also offering two chicken sandwiches this summer. One is 「和風」 (“Japanese style”) and the other is 「洋風」 (“Western style”). Their campaign poster says: 「ふたつの夏チキン、PLEASE!」 (“Two (types of) summer chicken, please!).
The “Japanese” sandwich is 「おろしチキンサンド」 (“Grated Radish Chicken Sandwich“) and the “Western” one is 「サルサチキンサンド」 (“Salsa Chicken Sandwich“).

"Japanese" or "Western" style chicken sandwiches. Which would you choose?

◆ Burger King has introduced the Angry Whopper to Japan in time for the summer. I heard that Burger King in the U.S. already had this burger…but the Japanese one is a bit different—customized to Japanese tastes. For example, the U.S. version has bacon and the Japanese version doesn’t…and U.S. one and the Japanese one have different sauces from each other.

This burger has ハラペーニョ (jalapeno peppers) and you can choose how many jalapeno peppers you want on the burger…from level one which has four peppers up to level five with twenty peppers!

Burger King Japan's "Angry Whopper"

Burger King America's "Angry Whopper"

First job interview

It’s the 梅雨 (rainy season) in Tokyo now. But at least so far, it hasn’t rained so much.

Last Tuesday night, it rained really hard…there was even 雷 (lightning and thunder).
Other than that, it’s only rained a couple days recently…and only a little bit.
So far, this year’s 梅雨 (rainy season) in Tokyo isn’t bad.

As I mentioned in an earlier post (click here), my oldest daughter wants to get a part-time job after school.

Her first job! I still think of my kids as my “babies”!

I agreed that she could work a few hours after school…as long as it doesn’t make her too tired for her “real job”—as a high school student!

So, today she went on her first job interview. It was at a ramen restaurant near our house.
They told her that they will call her on Saturday with the results of the interview.

If she begins working at that ramen restaurant, I’ll probably stop by there after work every once-in-while when she’s working! 🙂

I remember my first job interview. It was at a “Wendy’s” fast-food shop near my house in Florida when I was sixteen.
I was offered the job and I accepted it. So my first job was at that Wendy’s after school.

Western Stores in Tokyo

Many overseas companies want to open shops in Japan.
The Japanese market is very lucrative…for companies that prove to be popular here. But the Japanese consumer is very finicky. Companies that don’t meet Japanese expectations are doomed to fail.

For example, the American donut company, Dunkin’ Donuts, is popular in America. But when they opened stores in Japan, the Japanese people found their donuts too sweet…and Dunkin’ Donuts was  unable to stay in Japan.

On the other hand, the less-sweet American donut chain Mister Donuts is very popular in Japan. (Ironically, Mister Donuts isn’t very popular in America).

Krispy Kreme Donuts set up shops in Tokyo recently, too.

Some American chains have been bought by a Japanese company and were brought here by their new Japanese owners. For example, the convenience store chain 7-Eleven was bought by the Japanese department store Ito-Yokado. (A couple years ago Ito-Yokado changed the signs on their department stores to reflect their connection with the popular convenience store they own…their signs now say “Seven & i Holdings” on the Ito-Yokado stores.)

7-Eleven (and other convenience stores) are very popular in Japan. Japan is a small country, but there are almost twice as many 7-Eleven stores here than in all of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico combined!

Convenience stores in Japan are very different from their counterparts in America. Japanese convenience stores are great!

7 & i Holdings, the Japanese company that owns 7-Eleven also owns the restaurant chain Denny’s. Denny’s in Japan have a different menu than Denny’s in America. I like Denny’s Japan better (but that may be because I’ve been in Japan for awhile now, and I’m more used to Japanese style food).

デニーズ・レストラン「セブン＆アイ HLDGS」 (Denny

The American bakery Vie de France is in Japan, too. But it’s not American anymore either…Yamazaki Bread owns this company. I like Vie de France. Their bread is excellent.

Of course, American fast-food chains are here…

ケンタッキー (KFC) in Japan.

I have wrote a post about Domino’s Pizza in Japan. Click here to see it.

I like Subway sandwich shop, alot. The Japanese Subway sandwich shop. The menu is much better at Subway Japan than the U.S. branches.

There are Japanese fast-food restaurants, too.  These include MOS Burger, First Kitchen, and Freshness Burger (which has beer on the menu! 🙂 ). Occasionally you can still find a  Dom-Dom Burger, and there used to be a chain called Love Hamburger. Love Hamburger went out-of -business about 12 years ago and the U.S. chain Burger King bought all of the Love Burger shops and opened Burger King in Japan in the late ’90s…but they made the ill-fated decision to offer only a limited menu to test the Japanese market. That didn’t go over well and soon they went out-of-business in Japan, too.

But recently, Burger King decided to re-try the Japanese market…and I guess they learned from their past mistakes—they seem to be doing well in Japan now.

There are also branches of Sizzler, Outback, and Tony Romas in Japan.

All of these foreign companies that have stores in Tokyo (How many of these have stores in your town? Do you shop at any of these?):

"The Body Shop" in Tokyo	"Godiva Chocolate" in Tokyo
	Toys "Я" Us

There are other foreign companies here, too…but you get the idea.

All of these foreign companies have to keep on their toes and provide the service and products that the Japanese expect…and for each of these foreign stores in Japan, there are Japanese companies that provide similar products that they have to compete with.  But if the effort is worth it…Japan is the most profitable market for most of these companies.

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Anyways, today is Valentine’s Day.
My wife and daughters made delicious chocolate for me. ♥
(Click here to read a post I wrote about Valentines Day in Japan).

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