5 Must-Visit Tokyo Chain Restaurants

If you’re looking for something quick to eat in Tokyo, or for a place to eat alone with zero judgement, a fast food restaurant is the easiest place to go. Japanese chain restaurants are cheap, serve very quickly, but can be very tasty too.

From Japanese style burgers to rice bowls with freshly fried tempura, here are five of the best go-to fast food chains in Tokyo.

Ichiran Ramen

Ichiran Ramen has gained international appeal over the years for its delicious tonkotsu ramen. Tonkotsu ramen is a rich pork broth ramen that comes from southern Japan, where Ichiran started up. They also pride themselves on their original red sauce, that is made with 30 different spices, and their noodles that are cooked to perfection.

But it’s not just the delicious ramen that makes Ichiran interesting, it is also their unique serving style. You can choose your dish at the multi-lingual ticket machine before sitting, and your seat can be entirely private thanks to walls between each seat. The ramen bowls are then served to your table through a curtain, so you can have complete privacy all meal long! To top it all off, you barely have to wait any time for your piping hot bowl of ramen, so it’s a great option for a filling pit-stop.

Yoshinoya

Have you ever heard of gyudon? It’s a simple dish of thinly sliced beef and onions in a sweet and salty sauce, served on rice. It’s also Yoshinoya’s specialty.

Although beef is usually considered an expensive meat, Yoshinoya manages to make their gyudon very affordable yet rich in flavour. You’ll find this gyudon chain restaurant all over the place in Japan, especially in Tokyo. It’s a favourite among office workers in the city because it is served so quickly and is easy to eat on a short lunch break.

Yoshinoya has been in business since 1899, but still manages to keep things interesting. They often have time-limited and seasonal variations on the classic beef bowl, but they also have different options like chicken or pork. You can even order larger or smaller amounts of rice and meat. But you’ll be pretty hard-pressed to find any vegetarian options here!

Sushi Zanmai

Although there are a lot of sushi chain restaurants in Japan, but Sushi Zanmai is a great option to see the sushi chefs in action. While some of the conveyor belt restaurants can feel robotic and impersonal, at Sushi Zanmai you can sit right at the counter to see them at work.

Although you have to order your meal through a waiter rather than a touchscreen, the menu is available in English and has pictures of all the different options. Especially if you go to one of the chains branches in a popular tourist area like Shinjuku, you’ll have no problem.

The menu itself is very varied, with sushi sets, tempura, seasonal options, and even sushi rice bowls known as “kaisendon” which are very tasty and filling.

Mos Burger

If you were worried our list of chain restaurants wasn’t going to feature a burger place, worry no longer! Japan’s very own burger chain, MOS Burger, features Japanese original flavours and even some vegetarian options at affordable prices.

The restaurant chain began in Tokyo but has now spread throughout Japan and even abroad. Their signature burger is topped with a meat sauce and fresh tomato slice. But they also have teriyaki burgers, salad burgers where the buns are replaced with lettuce, double decker burgers, and even unbelievably tall burgers stacked high with other fillings.

Something that sets Mos Burger apart from many of Tokyo’s other chain restaurants is that it also has vegetarian options. They have soy meat patties and have even been rolling out soy-based fish burgers. However, these are primarily marketed as a light alternative to a burger, rather than as a vegetarian option, so make sure to check online or with staff if it is vegetarian before ordering.

Tempura Tendon Tenya

Also going by the shorter name of Tenya, this tempura chain restaurant can be found all over Tokyo. It is quick, filling, and easy to order, so ticks all the boxes of a convenient fast food chain.

Most of their menu is made up of set meals that come with miso soup and rice or soba noodles. The main difference between each set is how large it is and what exactly has been deep fried into tasty tempura. The “Tendon” part of the chain’s name actually means “tempura donburi,” or tempura on rice.

Most of their tempura consists of vegetables like sweet potato and maitake mushroom, but they also have chicken, prawn, squid, and white fish.

Fast and Filling

We’ve had a look at some of the quickest and easiest options for a meal in Tokyo, but if you’re looking for some more authentic slow food around Japan, have a look at our list of top 10 popular Japanese foods to try when you’re here!