Tonkatsu Matsunoya is a popular Japanese restaurant chain specialising in tonkatsu, Japan’s much-loved breaded pork cutlet. Operated by Matsuya Foods, the same company behind the well-known Matsuya gyudon restaurants, Matsunoya brings the group’s trademark focus on value, speed, and consistency to a menu built around fried cutlet set meals.
Overnight sleeper trains were once a common way to travel long distances across Japan, but today they are a rarity. As faster shinkansen services and affordable flights have taken over, most sleeper routes have disappeared. The Sunrise Izumo and Sunrise Seto now stand as Japan’s last regularly scheduled sleeper trains, offering a unique way to travel while you sleep.
When people think of Japanese fried chicken, karaage usually steals the spotlight. But if you’re travelling through southern Japan, there’s another crispy chicken dish that’s just as deserving of your attention, Chicken Nanban (チキン南蛮).
Kishimen is a distinctive style of Japanese noodle dish closely associated with Nagoya and the surrounding Aichi Prefecture. Unlike the round noodles used in most udon dishes, kishimen noodles are wide, flat, and ribbon-like, giving them a unique texture that sets them apart from other Japanese noodles.
Travelling around Japan is famously efficient, but navigating busy train stations and airports with large suitcases can still be a challenge. This is where Yamato Transport comes in. Known for its instantly recognisable black cat carrying a kitten logo, Yamato operates one of Japan’s most useful and widely used luggage delivery services.
Round1 is one of Japan’s most popular entertainment chains, offering a wide mix of activities under one roof. Part bowling alley, part arcade, part sports bar, and part karaoke venue, Round1 is designed as a place where people can spend hours, or even an entire evening, without needing to go anywhere else.
Yoshinoya is a popular Japanese fast-food chain celebrated for its gyudon, or beef bowls. Established in 1899 by Eikichi Matsuda at Tokyo’s Nihonbashi fish market, Yoshinoya has grown into a global brand with over 1,200 locations in Japan and more than 700 internationally.
Japanese convenience stores are famous for far more than snacks and drinks, and one of their most popular offerings is fried chicken. Freshly cooked, affordable, and available 24 hours a day,
Ginza is best known as Tokyo’s most elegant shopping district, lined with department stores, flagship boutiques, and historic cafés. On weekends and public holidays, however, the area takes on a very different character when its main streets are closed to traffic and transformed into a vast pedestrian zone.
Although first cultivated in China, the chrysanthemum is one of Japan’s most cherished flowers. So important is it that the Emperor and Imperial Family are often referred to as the Chrysanthemum Throne, with the flower featured on the official seal.