Yoshinoya: The Japanese fast food chain

Do you love fast food? And Japanese fast food? Yoshinoya (?野家) is a Japanese fast-food restaurant chain, specialized in serving gyudon (a rice bowl with beef). It is the second largest chain of its kind in terms of store numbers in Japan. It also has branches in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, and the United States.

In Japan, it is also known as “Yoshi-Gyu” (a Japanese abbreviation of “Yoshinoya no gyudon“, which means “gyudon from Yoshinoya”). The restaurant’s motto is: “Tasty, cheap, and quick.” Most Yoshinoya restaurants operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The establishments are located in strategic points such as near train stations or on highways.

The interior of a Yoshinoya restaurant consists of counters and tables, where beni-shoga, shichimi, and shoyu are provided for free for those eating in the establishment. It also offers takeout, except for teishokus, and some branches have a drive-thru service. In some units, soba noodles and tempura are also served.

History of Yoshinoya

Yoshinoya is quite old, founded in 1899 with headquarters in Tokyo at the Nihonbashi fish market, its founder is Eikichi Matsuda. Its name derives from Yoshino (吉野), the hometown of its founder, combined with Ya (家) which means “house” in Japanese. On September 1, 1923, the market was a victim of the earthquake known as the Great Kanto Earthquake. Then, three years later, Yoshinoya moved to the new fish market in Tokyo, Tsukiji.

The chain opened its first 24-hour store in 1952. By 1958, in order to gain more profit, the fast-food chains changed to independent restaurants for stock corporations. The first franchise of the store was opened in Shinsaibashi in 1968. In 1975, the first American fast-food chain opened was Yoshinoya, in Colorado.

The String Fixer explained more details about the Yoshinoya logo. The image resembles a bull’s horn and was invented by the founder of Yoshinoya. The idea of the bull’s horn relates to the initial letter of the English name Yoshinoya, “Y”. The rope around the horn represents a struggle of Japanese sumo.

The name of the rope “Yokozuna” (equivalent to “winner”) represents the quality of the food served at Yoshinoya. The rope is made up of 27 grains of rice; only the best sumo wrestlers receive it. The logo suggests that Yoshinoya sells the “best meat bowls”.

Most of the meat in Japan comes from the United States, but in 2003 there was a ban on beef imports due to cases of mad cow disease. At that time, there wasn’t as much variation in dishes as there is today. During that time, they had to replace the gyudon dish, which was the restaurant’s flagship, with other foods.

That’s when “butadon” (“buta” means pork and “don” bowl) emerged, which used pork instead of beef, and karê was introduced as one of the main dishes. Over time, different dishes began to emerge.

In December 2005, Japan agreed to lift the restriction on beef imports from the United States. The following year, imports stopped again because inspectors found prohibited cattle parts in a shipment from the United States. In June 2006, Japan lifted the import ban again, and on July 31, 2006, Yoshinoya published a letter promising to resume the meat bowl service in about two months.

However, only on December 1, 2006, did they start serving beef bowls daily, although at limited hours. And on March 17, 2008, Yoshinoya announced that it would resume 24-hour sales of the meat bowl, extending to its then 1,040 stores nationwide by March 20, 2008.

Yoshinoya has a network of stores in Japan, the United States, Hong Kong, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Services offered at Yoshinoya

The Yoshinoya restaurants in Japan usually serve green tea and water as courtesy. They also adjust the amount of broth in the gyudon at the customer’s request, at no extra cost. Tsuyu-daku: is a term used to request an increase in the broth of the gyudon. Tsuyu-nuki: is a term used to request a decrease in the broth of the gyudon.

At Yoshinoya, gyudon, karê, teishoku (Japanese set meal), and sides for gyudon are offered. It also serves breakfast dishes, called asa-teishoku (asa meaning morning and teishoku set meal) from 5 AM to 10 AM.

Main dishes

• Gyudon: can be chosen in 3 sizes: namimori (normal), ōmori (large), and tokumori (extra large).
• Gyu-Sara: is just the meat with onion from the gyudon, without the rice. It can also be chosen in 3 sizes like the gyudon.
• Karê: rice covered with curry sauce. It can be added with meat and onion like in the gyudon.
• Gyushake-Teishoku: small gyu-sara, trout, rice, missoshiru, and a small portion of oshinko.

Soups

• Missoshiru: soybean paste soup.
• Kenchinjiru: soy sauce soup containing edible roots, kon’nyaku, abura-age, and chicken.
• Tonjiru: miso soup containing edible roots and pork.

Sides

• Tamago: raw egg. Usually placed on top of the gyudon, mixed and enjoyed together.
• Hanjuku-Tamago: soft-boiled egg. Enjoyed in the same way as the raw egg.
• Oshinkō: pickled vegetables.
• Kimuchi: spicy pickled napa cabbage in the Korean style.

Breakfast dishes

• Nattō: fermented soybeans. Usually placed on rice, which is mixed and enjoyed together.
• Nori: crispy sheet made from seaweed.
• Nattō teishoku: nattō, raw egg, nori, rice, missoshiru, and a small portion of oshinkō.
• Yakisakana teishoku: trout, nori, rice, missoshiru, and oshinko.
• Toku-asa teishoku (special breakfast set): nattō, raw egg, trout, nori, rice, missoshiru, and oshinko.

Would you like to eat at this restaurant?