The Best Fast Food in Japan!
Japan is well-known for having some of the best food on the planet, with people coming from all over the world to try its unique cuisine. From sushi to tempura to wagyu beef, the is so much variety in Japanese cuisine that true foodies could spend months in Tokyo alone discovering all kinds of fantastic food.
But while Tokyo may have the most Michelin-starred restaurants of any city in the world, your average office worker or university student is definitely not eating at one of them every day. For all those people who need a quick and cheap bite to eat on their lunch break or after a night out, there are tons of popular fast-food restaurants in Japan that will be there for them 24/7.
So let's take a look at all the different kinds of fast food restaurants you can find in Japan so that you know about all of your options if you're on a budget, have no time to eat, are hungry after a night out drinking, or just craving something that reminds you of home.
Burger Joints in Japan
Like so much of the rest of the world, hamburger chain restaurants are popular in Japan, especially with tourists and the foreign community. You'll find McDonald's everywhere in Japan, so if you're hungry for something familiar that's always an option. If you want to eat something only available on the McDonald's menu in Japan, why not try something like the teriyaki burger?
In Tokyo and some other major cities in Japan, you'll find other Western burger chains too, like Wendy's, Burger King, Shake Shack, Carl's Jr, Fatburger, and more. Like McDonald's, these chains usually have special Japan-only menu items that are worth checking out if you are looking for a Japanese twist on something familiar.
There are also some Japanese burger chains worth checking out, like Mos Burger, Lotteria, and Freshness Burger. The menu items at these chains should be familiar to anyone who goes to burger joints, but they also have more unique burgers that are inspired by Japanese ingredients and flavors and cater more to Japanese customers than foreign ones. So be sure to check out these chains if you're looking for a new burger experience in Japan.
Beef Bowl Chain Restaurants
Beef bowl (gyudon) chain restaurants can be found all over Japan and are often the go-to fast food joint for your average Japanese person, especially around lunchtime. Some of the most popular beef bowl chains are Yoshinoya, Matsuya, and Sukiya.
Every beef bowl restaurant will have a variety of bowls available, ranging from regular beef bowls to bowls topped with cheese, kimchi, oroshi (grated radish), and more. They also usually have limited-time seasonal beef bowls and dishes that are worth checking out if you are interested in trying more unique varieties of beef bowls.
These beef bowl restaurants are very popular because the price you pay for the amount of food you get can't be beaten. Most beef bowl chains have different sizes of beef bowls available ranging from small to large (or MEGA in the case of Sukiya), while still being very cheap. At Sukiya, a MEGA-sized regular beef bowl will only set you back ¥880, and adding miso soup and a salad to your meal will only cost an extra ¥200 or so. So whether you're just a little hungry and want a light meal, or are starving and need to fill up fast without breaking the bank, beef bowl chains are a fantastic fast food option to check out while you're in Japan.
Donburi (Rice Bowl) Chain Restaurants
If you're looking to really fill yourself up during a long day of sightseeing, a rice bowl is definitely a great option. But what if, for whatever reason, you don't want to eat beef? If that's the case, there are other great fast-food rice bowl restaurants out there.
Two great options are tendon, a rice bowl topped with shrimp, fish, or vegetable tempura; and katsudon, a rice bowl topped with fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu) and egg. For tendon, chains like Tendon Tenya and Santen are good choices; and if you want to try some katsudon, Katsuya and Matsunoya are worth trying.
At katsudon chain restaurants, you can usually also order different pork cutlet dishes like pork cutlet curry, so you don't have to stick to a bowl if you don't want to. And tendon chain restaurants usually also have a wider menu that usually includes udon and soba as well, so you could have tempura with noodles instead of rice if you want.
Some of these chain restaurants might be a little slower to prepare your meal than others, so you should keep that in mind if you are in a hurry. But tonkatsu and tempura can be very expensive if you go to a nicer sit-down restaurant, which makes these places a great way to try these dishes without breaking the bank.
Udon Chain Restaurants
Udon noodles are incredibly popular all over Japan, but the most famous udon comes from Kagawa Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Luckily, thanks to the popular chain restaurants Marugame Seimen and Hanamaru Udon, you can eat this amazing udon just about anywhere in Japan.
Marugame Seimen (known as Marugame Udon overseas) has expanded beyond Japan in recent years, with very busy and popular branches in Hawaii, London, the Philippines, and more. You can watch the udon noodles being made in each and every store in Japan, meaning you'll be getting fresh, delicious udon each and every time. You'll also find that Marugame Seimen is much cheaper in Japan than overseas, and you can easily eat a full meal of udon and tempura for less than ¥1000.
Hanamaru Udon is popular because its most popular udon dish is topped with daikon radish, green onions, and lemon, making for a light, refreshing meal. They also have some other non-udon dishes available if you're with others and one person doesn't feel like eating noodles. Like Marugame Seimen, you can eat a great meal for cheap for easily under ¥1000 depending on what you order.
The first time you go to one of these restaurants, you might be a little confused because of the cafeteria-style ordering system. Once you understand how to order, it's really simple. Just pick up a tray, order the udon you want from the staff, and after they hand you the udon you can move along and pick up any tempura, rice balls, or other side dishes available. It's a fast and efficient way to quickly get some food in your belly.
Ramen, an Absolute Must-Eat!
Ramen is Japan's most iconic street food, and it is so popular in Japan that you can find it absolutely everywhere. If you're looking for a chain that is guaranteed to offer up some great great-tasting ramen, Ichiran, Kourakuen, Hidakaya, and Tankaippin are just a few options. Each chain specializes in different kinds of ramen that come from different regions in Japan, so it's worth trying out different chains to try the style and flavor you like best.
Ramen chain restaurants usually also sell side dishes like karaage (Japanese fried chicken) and gyoza (pan-fried dumplings), and the combination of ramen and gyoza is one that you must try.
While ramen chains will always be there for you when you are traveling around Japan, another fantastic option is to hit up a local late-night ramen stall instead. These stalls are usually open well into the night and are a popular place for people to go after a night of drinking. Different stalls will offer different styles of ramen, and they often serve beer and other alcoholic drinks. They can be a great alternative to going to a bar or izakaya (a Japanese-style pub).
In Tokyo, Kabukicho in Shinjuku, Kichijoji, and Kagurazaka are all famous for these late-night ramen stalls, but these kinds of stalls can be found in cities all over Japan too.
Honorable Mention: The Convenience Store
While not technically "fast food restaurants," Japanese convenience stores are worth mentioning when talking about how to get a quick and easy meal. Convenience stores, which are known as konbini in Japan, are also a great way to get a good, fast, cheap meal. They offer a wide variety of meals such as bento boxes, sandwiches, rice balls, salads, fried chicken, pasta, rice bowls, and more. They can also microwave these dishes for you so that they're hot and ready to eat anywhere. They're convenient, delicious, and affordable, and tend to be much higher quality than convenience store meals in other countries. The three biggest konbini chains in Japan are 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart, and they can be found on almost every street corner all over the country.
Spoiled for Choice!
We've covered a ton of different fast food options you can find all over Tokyo and in cities anywhere in Japan. All of these chains strive to be fast, cheap, and delicious, and their quality tends to be surprisingly high. Many of the most popular chains have English menus available for tourists and foreign residents, and those that don't tend to have simple menus that are easy to understand and navigate even if you don't speak Japanese.
So whether you've recently moved to Japan or are visiting as a tourist, you'll always have options when you're in need of a quick and easy meal just about anywhere in Japan. From burgers that taste the same as back home to amazing local ramen stalls, there's no end to your choices when you're hungry in Japan.
