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Burger King offers every fast food franchisee in Japan 40M yen to jump ship and join them

McWhoNow? I’ll take the 40 mil.Burger King has been on quite the tear in Japan recently. Their explosive post-pandemic expansion saw them grow from 77 locations to 352, with a target of 600 by 2028. These ambitions caught the attention of Goldman Sachs, who purchased the Japanese chain for 78.5 billion yen (US$493M), and provided them with even more financial backing to grow rapidly.Burger King is certainly holding up their end of the deal by launching quite possibly the most aggressive expansio

Visiting Tokyo’s newest unmanned Self Cafe in Shibuya

 Skip the guilt of camping at a coffee shop and work for hours at this staffless oasis.While cafes are fantastic places to call in on your day off for a light meal while you’re doing your errands, many people also like to use them as a “remote office” or study location, often spending many hours sitting at a table. Ordinarily this doesn’t pose much of a problem, but in the larger cities, with a lot more foot traffic, the sense of guilt of occupying a table for so long can get a little too m

Shinkansen operator apologizes for three-minute delay because conductor was napping

The apology may have taken longer than the delay.Enough has been said about the extreme punctuality of trains in Japan that it’s become as famous a cultural feature as sushi or decorative manhole lids. It’s so much a part of life here that people rely on its precise, to-the-minute accuracy, and even a slight deviation can throw someone’s itinerary completely off.That is why JR East’s Aomori division had to issue a public apology for a three-minute delay due to a conductor not waking

Burger King Japan’s All Heavy customisation hack may not be all it’s cracked up to be

The results of this taste test are truly baffling. If you’re walking around town with a hankering for burgers and a big appetite to fill, Burger King is usually one of the top options. Not only does this chain serve good-sized burgers but it also offers limited-time all-you-can-eat specials, and now there’s a new way to get more burger for your yen, with a customisation called “All Heavy”.This upsize option, which lets you request extra lettuce, onions, pickles, ketchup,

7-Eleven Japan releases Uji matcha smoothies… but only at select locations

Japanese convenience store chain serves up two green tea drinks for a limited time.7-Eleven struck gold when it launched an exclusive line of smoothies at its stores around Japan in 2023. The freshly made drinks quickly became a hit with local customers and those visiting from overseas, spawning new flavours like Acai, Banana, and even Sweet Potato.Amongst all these flavours, however, there was one that was particularly popular, but it was a blink-and-you’ll miss it release. Only available

Here’s the best spot to take in a panoramic view at “the most beautiful Starbucks in the world”

Sip your coffee to the backdrop of a magnificent, panoramic view next to this Starbucks in Toyama Prefecture.Starbucks Japan will often go to great lengths in designing its branches to blend in with the local atmosphere. We’ve previously visited one such branch that is often said to be the most beautiful Starbucks in the world, which also underwent renovations not quite six years ago. That location is the one within Toyama City’sFugan Unga Kansui Koen, called Kansui Park by the local

Studio Ghibli announces first new short anime film in 8 years, exclusive to Ghibli Park

Anime will premier this summer and is the first made specifically for the Nagoya-area theme park.If you’re planning a trip to Ghibli Park, the Studio Ghibli anime theme park near Nagoya, before you reserve your tickets you’ll want to check the schedule of the park’s Cinema Orion. Located within the Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse section of the park, Cinema Orion shows short anime films produced by Studio Ghibli that can only be seen at Ghibli Park or Tokyo’s Ghibli Museum.Right now, for example, Boro

Japanese government creates new word for cruelly hot summer days

Summer in Japan keeps getting hotter and forces linguistic evolution.As we get into the back half of spring, it’s time to start getting ready for summer, doing things like taking your linen shirts out of storage, hitting the gym to get your beach body ready, and creating new vocabulary words for when the weather is really, really, really hot.OK that last one might not be on most of our to-do lists, but it was something the Japan Meteorological Agency, part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure

Temple with 600-year-old tree near busy Tokyo station is like a tranquil pocket dimension

Who’d have guessed there was a centuries-old snack shop too just a quick stroll away from one of downtown’s busiest rail hubs?Ikebukuro might not be as world-famous as Shibuya or Shinjuku, but it is, without a doubt, one of the busiest, most developed parts of downtown Tokyo. As you can see in the picture above, massive department stores, multi-level shopping complexes, and office towers surround Ikebukuro Station.But believe it or not, just a 10-minute-walk away from Ikebukuro is a place that m

Mr. Sato shares his own secret Ministop hack to help save the ailing convenience store

Hopefully, this is just a mini stop on Ministop’s road to success.The convenience store ecosystem in Japan is dominated by three apex predators: Family Mart, 7-Eleven, and Lawson. Then, there exists a secondary tier of stores like Daily Yamazaki and Ministop, the latter of which has been dealing with some money troubles as of late. It was recently reported that Ministop experienced their third straight year of net losses.One of the causes is said to be a scandal involving falsified best-be

Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]

Two hours north of Tokyo is one of Japan’s best post-sakura springtime flower spots.Sakura season may be pretty much over and done with, but that just means it’s time for Japan’s other varieties of flowering flora to get their moments in the springtime spotlight. For example, mid-April is when the Nemophila, or baby blue-eye, flowers start to bloom.Hitachi Seaside Park, in the town of Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture, is loved by flower fans for its Nemophila hill. The last time we checked in on the

Immerse yourself in TeamLab Yoro Valley’s outdoor nighttime art exhibition in Chiba’s wilderness

TeamLab’s newest artistic “digitized nature” vision features interactive light and sound elements as you traverse an ancient forest.The town of Otaki, Chiba Prefecture, is an area known for its unspoiled forest, the Isumi and Yoro Rivers, hot springs, and rock faces, all located centrally within the Boso Peninsula. Its natural charms are also currently experiencing a modern artistic touch thanks to TeamLab’sYoro Valley event, a fully outdoor, nighttime exhibition that blu

New Totoro carabiner pouches are ready to clip/tag along with you on all your adventures[Photos]

Two Totoros, and one other Studio Ghibli character, are cute, fuzzy, and useful in new accessory lineup.Aesthetic tastes are subjective, and that’s especially so for fashion and accessories. But let’s be honest here. We can all agree that a pouch that’s shaped like Totoro is superior to a pouch that doesn’t look like Studio Ghibli’s beloved anime forest spirit, right?Ah, but here we run into a problem. Because if you have your pouch stuffed into a bag, inside a drawer, or somewhere else where it

Japanese-style afternoon tea in this Japanese manor house outside downtown Tokyo is something special

The atmosphere is as elegant as the cuisine at this amazing restaurant.Ganko is a Japanese restaurant group with most of its locations in the Osaka area. They’ve got a whole bunch of sub-brands with different specialties, such as Ganko conveyor belt sushi or curry restaurants. Today, though, we’re talking about Ganko’s Oyashiki locations, which are restaurants converted from yashiki, or classical Japanese manor houses.▼ Photos of some of Ganko’s Oyashiki restaurantsYashiki are architectural work

Haikyu fan event lets you step onto the court, see what it’s like to play with the anime athletes

“Haikyu on the Court” is more than just a cool name.Sports anime/manga Haikyu has a fan event coming to Tokyo and Osaka, and yes, it’ll have the new illustrations and merch expected for such a celebration. But the name of the event, Haikyu on the Court, isn’t just a nod to the source material, but because fans will actually get to step onto the volleyball court and experience what it’s like to play with and against the series’ cast of characters.The experience portion of the event is divided int

Studio Ghibli croquettes not to eat, but to keep your stuff in, going on sale in Japan[Photos]

Resist the urge to eat this Ghibli food.From Up on Poppy Hill is one of Studio Ghibli’s more grounded anime films, and in multiple senses of the word. Taking place entirely in real-world Yokohama in the 1960s, it doesn’t feature any of the magical or whimsical-contraption flying scenes that are often found in the studio’s other works.However, From Up on Poppy Hill does carry on the Ghibli tradition of lovingly drawn food that looks so good that you almost want to reach out towards the screen and

Pokémon hot spring footbath opening in Japan this spring

A relaxing, adorable, and free place to soak your toes with Pikachu, Gyarados, and more.We recently took a look at Japan’s newest Pokéfuta, a collection of six Pokémon-themed manhole covers being installed later this month on the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture. Each of the covers has a different design, highlighting local culture and attractions, since part of the purpose of the Pokéfuta (also called Poké Lids) is to encourage travelers to visit less-famous parts of Japan and help support

Almost all Japanese women say they dislike random gacha/blind-box toys in survey

Instead of the supposed excitement and mystery, many fans just want the item they want.Between capsule toy machines and blind-box figures, pins, and other trinkets, you could say this is the golden age for random-purchase fan merch in Japan. Part of the appeal, ostensibly, is the excitement born from uncertainty, since you won’t know what you’ve got until after you make the purchase, but are fans really happy about this arrangement?To investigate, Tokyo-based consulting firm Hamaru Strategy cond

Move aside, convenience store egg sando – there’s a better version of the iconic sandwich in Japan

At just around a buck, the egg sandwich at this chain is enough to make convenience stores weep.As the world goes crazy for Japanese convenience store egg sandwiches, or “egg sando” as they’re commonly known in the English-speaking community, locals in Japan have discovered a new place to buy them, at a supermarket called Trial.This Fukuoka-born chain has been making inroads into the rest of the country recently, impressing everyone with its bargain-priced food, and its ambassa

Japan’s awesomely beautiful Alpen Route snow corridor is now open

This part of Japan gets so much snow you have to wait until spring to see it, but the wait is over!We’re half-way through spring, but it’s only now that one of Japan’s best snow sightseeing spots can be fully enjoyed. The Tateyama Kurobe Alpen Route is a is a series of bus, cable car, and ropeway routes that connect Toyama City with the town of Omachi in Nagano, passing through breathtaking mountain scenery along the way.Because of the high altitude, the route becomes snowed in during the winter