Japanese Fast Food: So Much More Than Just Burgers and Fries

If you're visiting Japan, chances are you'll want to experience the local cuisine. A meal in a traditional Japanese restaurant can be both a cultural and gastronomic delight, often lasting multiple courses served over several hours. If you have an especially busy sightseeing agenda, however, you might need to grab a quick meal on the run. But that doesn't mean you have to miss out on a unique and memorable dining experience.

Many American fast-food brands operate in Japan, including McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Denny’s, Domino’s, Big Boy, KFC and Taco Bell. Behind those familiar logos, however, are many unique and perhaps surprising menu options that are exclusive to Japan.

Under the Golden Arches, for example, you can pass on the Big Macs and Chicken McNuggets and instead try such local favorites as the Teriyaki Burger or Shaka-Shaka Chicken, which is served in a paper bag with cheese or red pepper-flavored spices. Other McDelicacies available only in Japan include the Ebi-Filet-o, Shrimp-Katsu Burger and, during the Halloween season, the Squid Ink Burger.

At a Japanese Wendy’s, known locally as Wendy’s First Kitchen, you won’t be able to order such American favorites as baked potatoes and fresh salads but you can get a Takoyaki Burger. Takoyaki, or deep-fried dough balls stuffed with octopus, is a popular Japanese street food and translates surprisingly well to a sandwich.  If you are travelling first-class, try the Truffle and Cheese Baconator, or make that a double for only ¥1950, about $13.75 at current exchange rates. The drinks menu offers more distinctive specialties, including Milk Tapioca Mix Juice and Sparking Tapioca Mix Juice.

In the mood for pizza? At a Japanese Domino’s, you can order a large pie with such exotic toppings as mayonnaise, potato slices and corn. Mama Mia! Or, more appropriately, Sugoi!

For dessert, why not treat yourself to a hot, glazed Green Tea doughnut from Krispy Kreme? If you are visiting during Cherry Blossom season, be sure to try the Sakura-themed doughnut with a pink glaze and floral flavor.

American-style fried chicken is immensely popular in Japan and, perhaps surprisingly, deeply rooted in Japanese culture. Japanese families often enjoy KFC as a traditional Christmas dinner. Supporters of the Hanshin Tigers baseball team even blamed the brand’s founder and mascot, Colonel Harlan Sanders, for the team’s lack of championships. According to legend, the Colonel’s ghost was angry because a group of ecstatic Tiger fans stole a statue of the Colonel from the front of a KFC restaurant in Kansai and dumped it in the Dotonbori River to celebrate the team’s 1985 Central League pennant. Sure enough, the cursed Tigers then went into a decades-long slump, not winning another championship until 2023, after the statue had been recovered from the river and returned to KFC Japan.

Some of the best fried chicken in Japan, however, comes from a familiar but unexpected source – 7-Eleven. Best known as the purveyors of Slurpees and salty snacks in the U.S., 7-Eleven operates somewhat differently in Japan, offering an impressive menu fully prepared meals and local favorites such as sushi, bento boxes, ramen and rice balls, as well as regional and seasonal specialties.

Japan’s fast-food scene is yet another example of how the Japanese people can take a Western concept and transform it into something entirely new and exciting. So don’t shy away from fast food on your Japanese journey – it could turn out to be one of the highlights of your trip!