McDonald's in Japan - Differences and curiosities

Today we are going to talk about one of the largest fast food hamburger chains in the world, the famous McDonald’s (マクドナルド). We will discuss McDonald’s in Japan, its origin, snacks, history, differences, and curiosities.

Origin of McDonald’s in Japan

The first McDonald’s in the world was started in 1940 by the McDonald brothers in San Bernardino, California, United States. The marketing was the “fast service system,” a factory-style hamburger manufacturing method and self-service mechanism.

In 1967, Den Fujita fell in love with how popular and efficient the restaurant chain of McDonald’s was, so he worked hard to bring these restaurants to Japan. In Japan, McDonald’s is nicknamed makku [マック] or makudo [マクド].

In July 1971, the first McDonald’s opened in a department store in Ginza, Tokyo, and it was the first McDonald’s in all of Asia. The restaurant was already open to the Japanese palate by launching the Teriyaki McBurger and the Tatsuta Chicken.

Fujita even said that the Japanese were yellow because they only ate fish and rice. He said they should eat more hamburgers and fries. And after many years and many Japanese inventions, McDonald’s is a great success in Japan, making life easier for many people who need to eat something good and quickly.

Currently, Japan is the second most popular country for the fast-food chain after the USA with over 3,000 restaurants.

Marketing Campaign

The same marketing campaigns used in other countries are used in the restaurants in Japan. What really differentiates Japan from other countries is its huge range of sandwich varieties and ingredients.

Japan is famous for creating various snacks with diverse and strange flavors to break the monotony, thus various hamburgers with seasonal flavors, breakfast items, various different drinks, and teas emerged, in addition to other products launched for a short time.

McDonald’s is quite popular in Japan for its service and speed. Another thing that makes McDonald’s popular is the fact that it has outlets to charge your cell phone. I myself needed to go to McDonald’s several times with the intention of charging my phone and enjoying buying a snack.

In addition to making various advertisements, references, and appearances in several movies and anime, McDonald’s made a marketing campaign with its own animation:

McDonald’s in Japan is very cheap, with just 680 yen (15R$) you can order a combo with a BigMac or any other type of snack. Below we will talk in detail about McDonald’s Prices.

It may seem expensive to us Brazilians, since 15R$ gives you a X-tudo, but 500 yen for the Japanese is like spending 5 reais. It is worth noting that with this amount it is possible to eat many different dishes in restaurants in Japan like soba, gyudon, etc.

Types of McDonald’s in Japan

Almost all the ingredients used in McDonald’s are imported from various different countries. McDonald’s in Japan has also been responsible for inventing several different and strange snacks such as chocolate fries, avocado burgers, potato pies with bacon, and a giant combo with 4 layers of hamburgers. Among these strange inventions, we will mention others for you to know:

Tatsuta Chicken with wasabi and tartar sauce;
Mega Potato – Equivalent to 2 large fries;
McNuggets with wasabi or plum sauce;
Karaage – Chicken with tomato and basil powder;
Seasonal snacks with Sakura (cherry blossom) flavor;
Snack with black bread;
Hawaiian Burger;
Gracoro Burger – With a creamy croquette with white sauce, shrimp, and pasta;
Chocolate pie in a triangle shape;
Grilled fish burger;
Anko Pies – Pie filled with sweet red bean;
Fries seasoned with sakura (cherry blossom);
Shakachiki – Crunchy breaded chicken with onion and garlic sauces, cheddar cheese, or pepper.

McDonald’s Pies

As already mentioned, the Anko Pie, McDonald’s in Japan usually launches different types of seasonal pies on its menu. During the winter, it usually launches a chocolate pie, in summer a strawberry pie, and there is also a savory potato and bacon pie. Generally, they are named after the ingredients followed by the word pie in English.

These are some of the thousands of different types of dishes launched at McDonald’s in Japan, the list is quite extensive, and we have chosen only the most impactful to share with you in this small and quick article. I hope you enjoyed it. xD

McDonald's in Japan - Differences and curiosities

How much does McDonald’s cost in Japan?

In Brazil, McDonald’s had a certain reputation as a rich person’s thing due to its prices, although nowadays fast-food chains are more accessible in the country. Still, it is good to highlight how affordable McDonald’s is in Japan.

A hamburger costs about 200 yen, while a set of BigMac with fries and a drink costs around 680 yen. Prices may change depending on the date you are reading the article. If I do a direct conversion with real, it may seem unfair during times of high dollar.

The highlight is that with 1 hour of work in Japan, you can order up to 2 snack combos at McDonald’s. While in Brazil, about a day’s salary is needed for that. In Japan, McDonald’s is popular precisely because it is cheaper.

There may be price and menu changes depending on the region and locality. Drinks range from 100 yen to 250 depending on the size. In Japan, the abbreviations [S] [M] and [L] are used for small (small), medium (medium), and large (large).

Curiosities about McDonald’s in Japan

Since 2006, there have been attempts to extend the service hours, and the number of stores that operate 24 hours has increased, however, due to profitability and the difficulty of hiring crew members, the number of stores that close 24 hours has increased again.

Several companies have provided Wi-Fi hotspots since the second half of the 2000s to attract customers, and some stores are equipped with power service points.

Since 2018, McDonald’s has been conducting a “Toy Recycling Project” to collect toys from the Happy Set from stores across the country to recycle them into trays used in the stores.

McDonald’s Vocabulary in Japanese

Do you want to look at the McDonald’s menu in Japanese without getting lost? Now let’s see a list of related words in Japanese. Remember to swipe the table sideways to see it fully if you are on a mobile device.

Japanese	Romaji	Portuguese
いらっしゃいませ	irasshaimase	Welcome
ご注文は	go-chuumon wa	What would you like?
お飲み物はいかがですか	o-nomimono wa ikaga desu ka	Something to drink?
ビッグマック	biggumakku	BigMac
セット	setto	Combo
サイズ	saizu	Size
ハンバーガー	hanbāgā	Hamburger
チーズバーガー	chīzubāgā	Cheeseburger
てりやきマックバーガー	teriyaki makkubāgā	Teriyaki MacBurger
フィレオフィッシュ	fireofisshu	Filet-O-Fish
マックシェイク	makkusheiku	MacShake
メガマック	megamakku	MegaMac

Generally, when choosing a hamburger, the McDonald’s attendant asks if you would like the setto, and asks what drink you want. Then you pay and wait for your order number on the screen. Simple and easy… I wish you great experiences at McDonald’s in Japan!

List of McDonald’s Snacks in Japan

We have already made a list of McDonald’s snacks in this article, but only to demonstrate a bit of the main snacks. Now let’s see an intense and complete list with over 40 exclusive items from Japan:

American Funky BBQ Beef – 2 patties 100% beef, cheddar cheese, 2 strips of grilled bacon, lettuce, pickles, barbecue sauce, mustard;
American Funky BBQ Chicken – Chicken patty, cheddar cheese, lettuce, pickles, barbecue sauce, mustard taste;
Bacon and Lettuce Burger – Beef patty, bacon, lettuce, cheese, yellow mustard sauce;
Bacon and Potato Pie – Pie crust, white cream sauce with potato, chopped bacon, and onion;
Beverly Hills Burger – 1/4 100% beef patty, lettuce, onion, avocado sauce, rich Caesar salad dressing;
Broadway Burger – Bacon, lettuce, peppers, cream cheese sauce, patty, mustard sauce;
California Burger – Patty, special red wine sauce, tomato, lettuce, bacon, Monterey Jack cheese, special buns topped with grated cheese;
Carbonara Chicken – Creamy sauce with black pepper and cheese, chicken, buns cooked with black pepper, scrambled eggs, bacon, mozzarella cheese;
Cheese Aussie Deli: Japan Edition – Thinly sliced pastrami, cheese, lettuce;
Cheese Fondue Chicken – Buns with grated cheese, chicken steak, lettuce, bacon;
Cheese Katsu Burger – Sesame buns, shredded cabbage, cheese cutlet, brown sauce, and sweet lemon sauce;
Cheese Tsukimi Burger – Sesame seed buns, 2 slices of bacon, fried eggs, aurora sauce (ketchup and mayonnaise), cheddar cheese, chicken patty;
Chicken Salsa Burger – Tomato, red/yellow/green bell pepper, onion, salsa sauce, jalapeno cheese sauce, chicken patty, lettuce;
Chicken Tatsuta – Buns, chicken patty, shredded cabbage, sauce;
Chicken Tatsuta with wasabi and tartar sauce – Chicken patty with ginger and soy sauce, wasabi tartar sauce, original steamed buns, lettuce;
Demi-glace and Cheese Gratin Korokke Burger – Buns, cheddar cheese, demi-glace sauce, finely chopped onion, cabbage, mayonnaise sauce, gratin croquette;
Diner Double Beef – Double beef;
Diner Honey Mustard – Honey mustard sauce, bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, special buns, chicken;
Doble Beef Salsa Burger – Tomato, red/yellow/green bell pepper, onion, salsa sauce, jalapeno cheese sauce, 2 beef patties, cheese, lettuce;
German Sausage Chicken – Chicken patty with lemon flavor, bologna sausage, rye bread, dill mustard, pickled cabbage, mozzarella cheese;
Grand Canyon Burger – Sesame seed buns, meatloaf, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, egg, steak sauce, onion sauce, lettuce, middle bun;
Hawaiian Burger – Sauce, meat patty, egg, bacon, cheese, lettuce, special buns topped with grated cheese;
Hot and Groovy Beef – White cheddar cheese, tartar sauce, lettuce;
Hot and Groovy Chicken – Garlic-flavored chicken patty, cheddar cheese, salsa, jalapeno sauce;
Hot Gold Masala: Japan Edition – Chicken, tomato, curry sauce, buns, lettuce;
Idaho Burger – Potato patty, beef patty, onion-flavored bread, bacon, cheese, mustard and black pepper sauce;
Kit Kat and Strawberry Mcflurry – Kit Kat pieces, strawberry sauce, cream;
Las Vegas Burger – Patty, sliced beef, onion, cream cheese sauce;
Le Gran Sausage: Japan Edition – Ciabatta, pepper sausage, meat puff pastry, mustard;
Le Gran Tomato: Japan Edition – Ciabatta, beef patty, butter sauce, tomato;
Manhattan Burger – Mozzarella cheese, lettuce, onion, sour cream sauce, pastrami, beef patty;
McDonald’s Mega Potato – Potato, salt;
McDonald’s Salad Marinade Wrap – Tortilla, tomato, pepper and onion marine sauce, cheese;
McDonald’s Shaka Shaka Chicken – Shake the chicken to coat it with the seasoning powder in the package before eating;
McPork Double – Buns, 2 pork patties, lettuce;
Mega Beef Mac – Sesame seed buns, 4 beef patties, pickles, cheese, lettuce, middle bun;
Mega McMuffin – Buns, fried eggs, 2 patties, cheese, ketchup;
Mega Sausage – Bread, mustard sauce, ketchup, sausage;
Mega Tamago – Sesame seed buns, fried eggs, middle bun, sauce with mustard and black pepper, cheese, lettuce, bacon;
Mega Teriyaki Burger – 2 pork patties, 2 sesame buns, 1 middle bun, lettuce, cheese, teriyaki sauce;
Miami Burger – Shredded lettuce, tomato sauce, taco meat, buns, cheese, meat dough;
Mild Gold Masala: Japan Edition – Chicken, curry sauce, buns, lettuce, mayonnaise, cheese;
New York Burger – Beef patty, Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, tomato, lettuce, mustard seed sauce, whole wheat bread;
Sakura Teritama Burger – Pork patty, fried eggs, sakura-flavored buns (cherry blossom), mayonnaise sauce with sakura radish (Sakura daikon);
Sesame Ebi Filet-O Sesame Buns – Sesame seed buns, shrimp cutlet, lettuce, cheese, Thousand Island sauce;
Shrimp Salsa Burger – Tomato, red/yellow/green bell pepper, onion, salsa sauce, jalapeno cheese sauce, shrimp patty, lettuce;
Texas Burger – Barbecue sauce flavored mustard, meatloaf, special 3-layer buns, fried onion, cheese, bacon;
Ume(sour plums) McNugget Sauce – Ume nugget;
Wasabi McNugget Sauce – Wasabi sauce for nuggets;
Texas Burger 2 – 3 layers of sesame seed buns, beef patty, beans, mustard seed flavor, onion, bacon, cheese;

The list below even serves as a recipe for you to create your own sandwiches in the McDonald’s style. I hope you enjoyed the article, if you did, don’t forget to share and leave your comments.