Japanese Chain Restaurants

Everyday Food

Komeda’s Coffee: The Japanese Café Chain Where the Food Is Bigger Than the Photos

Komeda’s Coffee looks like a nationwide café chain, but its roots are in Nagoya’s old-school kissaten culture. From morning toast to famously enormous sandwiches and the affectionate “reverse photo scam” meme, here is why Komeda feels so different.
Everyday Food

Bamiyan: Japan’s Chinese Family Restaurant Named After an Afghan City

Bamiyan is a casual Chinese restaurant chain in Japan. Its food is carefully standardized, its logo is a peach, and its name comes from an ancient city in Afghanistan.
Everyday Places

What Yoshinoya Shows Us About Ordinary Japan

Yoshinoya is more than a Japanese beef bowl chain. Its changing image shows how ordinary dining spaces in Japan have become more open to women, students, and families.