レストラン

If you’ve ever been to Japan, you’ll almost immediately notice hundreds of familiar stores/restaurants from America. Subway, McDonalds, Cold Stone, KFC, Baskin Robins, Burger King, Dennys, Pizza Hut and now Aunt Annie’s Pretzels to name a few. Even Mister Donuts, now considered a staple of Japan, was once a Boston based company. I’m a little confused about AM/PM. The first time I saw them was in Japan but I’ve actually found them in Vegas and DC. Krispy Cream used to be popular in Japan, but those gross donuts finally fizzled out a few years ago.

Despite the name being extremely familiar, the store itself will likely be worlds different. And by ‘different’, I of course mean ‘better’. I know I’ve already mentioned how fantastic conbinis are in Japan, but Subway and cold stone blow America away too.

First of all, Subway in Japan has variety. There are many ‘set’ options, as well as many more types of subs. I particularly appreciate how there is more than one vegetarian sub on the menu (holy crap, did japan just beat America at vegetarianism too?). Avocado shrimp, avocado veggie, egg, herb dog, Cajun chickin are just a few of the sub choices. And you can get freakin French fries with your meal!! Also soup…but freakin French fries, hell yeah!! You can even get different types of seasoning for your fries if you’re feeling frisky. Lets not forget that you can wash this all down with a melon soda…this is making me hungry.

As for cold stone in Japan, the first thing you’ll notice is a lack of morbidly obese kids and their parents who walked a whole 10 feet today so they decided to treat themselves to a 3000 calorie shake. Cold stone in Japan is a bit expensive, but well worth hearing the employees sing in Japanese. The cold stone I found in Roppongi is a bit off the beaten path, but worth a trip, check it out. There are others throughout Tokyo and other big cities in Japan as well.

I know it sounds pretty weak to go to a foreign country only to go to the same restaurants you’d normally go to, but they are most certainly not the same thing. You can get a lot of insight into Japanese culture if you really soak in all the differences.