McDonalds in Japan is, well... different.
Since a good part of Japan is still living in the 1960s, McDonalds is definitely 1965. Some of you are too young to remember the little paper holder for french fries. That used to be the 'regular' size in Japan and it was still used until this year. Even a regular size drink was the little cup your dentist might hand you to rinse... not really, but pretty small.
All that changed this year when an American came over to run the operation. All the small stuff is gone and the push is on to fatten everyone up and stretch out their stomachs so they crave more and more food.
No Quarter Pounders yet, only cheeseburgers, hamburgers, Big Macs (not too popular) and Double Cheeseburgers plus some localized things like Teriyaki Burgers This summer, the push is on to sell large drinks, with the large container sitting near the registers. Everyone justs ignores it or thinks it's a decoration maybe. I asked a manager how many they sold a day and he said they hadn't sold one yet, since June.
Gotta love the Japanese efficiency though. Until a few years ago, if you asked for salt, you got a little package of salt... and pepper - mixed together. If you wanted catsup, you got a package of catsup... with mustard mixed in it.
When the tray is handed to you, it's a cultural rule that the company logo has to be facing the customer. No just throwing it onto a tray and shoving it at you. So, the tray has a paper placemat with the text facing the customer and the french fry container has the logo facing the customer. That means that the french fries are sticking out of the container away from you.
If Japan could harness all the rotational energy from millions of people every day turning around the french fry container, they might be able to power Tokyo. You'd think someone would have figured out by now that they could print the logo the other way.
There really isn't the stigma of a 'paper hat' job in Japan. There is a genuine respect for anyone doing any job and you don't get any clerks being surly or rude. On the contrary, everyone goes out of their way to be polite and helpful.
Burger King was in Japan for awhile, but they pulled out. There was a policy that nothing could be adapted or changed to suit Japanese tastes or customs. Everything had to be exactly as dictated from Burger King Command. Just because you're a big company doesn't mean you can't be stupid.
KFC has been in Japan as long as McDonalds. Walking into a KFC is like walking into 1965 America. Same greasy original recipe except the chicken parts look like midget chickens. $10 for 2 thighs, 2 wings and two drumsticks. The drumsticks are about the size of your thumb and no chicken breasts. And definitely no requests for white meat or anything special - the Earth will stop turning if you ask for anything special.
There are a few Wendys around, but everything is downsized and very expensive. And they've only just begun to offer breakfast. There is a false image here that Americans eat hotdogs and hamburgers for breakfast, so if you went to Wendys or Burger King at 9:30 in the morning, you'd see people eating cheesburgers and french fries.
My Kingdom for a Taco Bell...
