Beef Bowl Price War in Japan
Lovers of Japanese fast food rejoice! There’s a gyudon price war going on:
The chains, Yoshinoya, Sukiya and Matsuya have dropped the price of their beef-on-rice dishes to between 250 and 270 yen, albeit for a limited period. But McDonald’s, which previously launched a surprisingly cheap lineup of products, is now being supported by more expensive meals, and Japanese dining establishments’ reliance on cheap dishes has been shown to have its limits. Accordingly, there remains a risk that the restaurant chains’ battle could end up a consumption competition with no winners.
Shortly after noon on Friday, the third day of Yoshinoya’s campaign, some 50 customers including salarymen were lined up outside Yoshinoya’s Yurakucho restaurant in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward, where the price of beef-bowl dishes has been lowered by 110 yen.
“I eat out every day for lunch, so I’m happy,” said one 72-year-old security company worker who frequents the restaurant. “I’ll use the 110 yen I’ve saved as pocket money.”
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Categories: Japanese Food
International couples promote “My Darling is a Foreigner”
The film version of “My Darling is a Foreigner” opened in theaters across Japan on Saturday. On Japanese TV, there are commercials running in which Foreign male/Japanese female couples endorse the movie (it’s so VeryGood, it doesn’t even require a space between “Very” and “Good”):
And in case you missed it, here’s the teaser for the movie:
But please wait before spending money on a movie ticket – reviews by Ken Y-N at What Japan Thinks and a reader of MutantFrog warn that the film is pretty crappy. Apparently it is a cheaply produced filmed full of bad acting and painfully obvious product placement. It also seems to be set in a fantasy world where no Japanese person ever uses the word “gaijin.”
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Categories: Films, Foreigners in Japan
Natto Problems
Natto mixed with honey apparently tastes pretty good, but as this clip shows, one may not want to try eating it on live TV:
Natto – The funniest movie is here. Find it
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Categories: Japanese Food
Send in the Maids
A showcase of some of Akihabara’s most famous attractions:
It starts out with AKB48, then goes on to the maids from @home Cafe, samurai era maids from Sengoku Style Cafe & Bar Mononopu, manly girl bulters from With The Garcon, the bunny girls from Hand Maid Cafe, and the Taisho-era girls from Hogushi Chaya.
Bonus clip: Ridiculously Cute Kittens
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Categories: Animal Videos, Otaku & Anime
Japanese Kidnapping Prank
“Panic Face King” tricks a celebrity into thinking he is taking a ride to work. When he dozes off, the car pulls onto a side road, where he is ambushed by a band of ninja-like attackers:
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Categories: Japanese TV
Weird Hairstyles Promote Channel 6
TBS (Channel 6 in the Tokyo area) is using this creepy promo to advertise its evening lineup:
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Categories: Japanese TV