KFC – chicken’s number one fan – knows the importance of giving it the respect it deserves at this time of year so it’s created a dreamy Christmas dinner box. The 15-minute movie premieres on Lifetime on Sunday and will be available online to stream after. Since Christmas is not a Japanese tradition, it’s also not traditional to exchange gifts for the occasion. I don't think Japanese people ate a lot of chicken at Christmas before Kentucky Fried Chicken came to Japan. Required fields are marked *. On its Japanese website, KFC sells a variety of “party barrels” and family packs to celebrate the holiday, despite Japan hosting only a 1.5 percent Christian population. At home, KFC debuted its annual “Colonel Santa” bucket in November, designed by children’s book author and illustrator Nicholas John Frith. Winter (December/January/February) in Tokyo is cold but not too cold for traveling. Japan’s Christmas KFC tradition began in 1974, when the company launched a new holiday marketing campaign. Online users who have tried it swear by it, and KFC’s international social media presence is now trying to expand on its popularity. Every year, KFC stores in Japan expect queues in … The Japanese tradition of eating fried chicken on Christmas may be built on a lie. Many packages contain cake, which has been an important part of Christmas in Japan since before KFC's expansion in the country. Your email address will not be published. Yes, it’s a Merry KFC Christmas for the Ando family. Some have reported that KFC became a Christmas following the inspiration of a group of foreign Christians stranded in Japan on Christmas, who settled for the fried chicken as the closest thing to a Western Christmas dinner they could find. The origin story of KFC as annual Christmas tradition begins in 1970, when Takeshi Okawara gives up a lucrative job offer in Germany to open the first-ever KFC in Japan. KFC’s Japanese menu includes some local deviations from the American menu, such as “Special Fried Chicken Soup Curry.”. Over the years, Japan’s KFC Christmas tradition has continued to develop. there are four of them on the regular menu. The setting is Japan, where KFC has long been the go-to restaurant for Christmas dinner. So when Japan’s foreign Christian population couldn’t get their hands on any come December, they settled on the familiar fried chicken brand instead – the next best thing to turkey. Start Order. Each holiday season, statues of the Colonel outside of KFC restaurants continue to get dressed up like Santa Claus (some Japanese people are even known to get the two characters mixed up!). Kentucky Christmas! Over the last four decades, KFC has managed to make fried chicken synonymous with Christmas in the country. His performance was a hit and guaranteed a few more schools’ business. Their campaign was a massive success and they have been able to continue the “tradition” to this day. Christmas in Japan is not a national holiday and isn’t celebrated for any of its … Instead, you may bring the bowl close to your mouth and drink it. For those who celebrate Christmas, you’ll know food plays a big role in the festive season. The store manager, Takeshi Okawara, struggled to drive sales. Menus: Click for larger view KFC Menu 1 KFC Menu 2 KFC Menu 3 It remains Japan’s major religion alongside Buddhism . The Northerner, the student newspaper of Northern Kentucky University, noted that the school’s Japanese club ended the semester with a “Christmas dinner” of KFC chicken. Traditional Christmas dinner features turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and vegetables such as carrots, turnip, parsnips, etc. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. Step 3: Order . For soup served in larger bowls — often containing noodles such as ramen, soba and udon — use the spoon provided for the broth. Branches that I know of: One on 329 near Kadena gate #3, one by Kadena Marina, one in Awase, one on 330 by Plaza house and one on 58 on the way to Kinser. Millions of people weather long lines to order fried chicken weeks in advance to carry on the tradition. Slowly but surely, an entire nation was convinced that going to KFC was a Christmas tradition. A line outside the Okamoto Kentucky Fried Chicken on December 24, 2012. “It filled a void,” Rokka says. A typical KFC Christmas ad from the 1970s or '80s likely would have showcased a family enjoying a luscious feast of golden, fried chicken as the song "My Old Kentucky Home" played in the background. The burger set comes with a chicken fillet burger of your choice, a piece of chicken, fries, a medium size drink and an apple pie stick. Is it chocolate?”. Party barrels are either “original” or “variety,” referring to … Christmas in Japan. The numbers are finger-lickin' good. Step 2: Check Availability/Pick your Date & Time for pickup. All of this for a domestically-unfathomable $40 price tag on the meal. Your email address will not be published. As BBC reports: Every Christmas season an estimated 3.6 million Japanese families treat themselves to fried chicken, in what has become a nationwide tradition. Party Planner Need some help planning the perfect KFC Catering party? Mario Lopez stars as the iconic Colonel Sanders, whose character harbors a "secret recipe that's gonna change the world," according to the trailer. Shinto (“the way of the gods”) is the indigenous faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan itself. He noted that he chose KFC because he was inspired by the true story of Colonel Harland Sanders and the fact that he created the iconic brand at age 60. An estimated 3.6 million Japanese families eat KFC during the Christmas season, reported the BBC. Start Order. Japan it’s about illuminated areas, major shopping and many sales, Christmas cakes and it’s about the love shared by relationships and family. Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan. This may be because Japan already has a December gift exchange of its own, the Japanese work-culture tradition of oseibo, when coworkers exchange gifts. Build: KFC02182021:b6a7137bKFC02182021:b6a7137b But people, people like it because [it’s] something good in the U.S. or European countries. Every Christmas season, an estimated 3.6 million Japanese families treat themselves to Kentucky Fried Chicken , in what has become a nationwide tradition. They asked him to dress up as Santa Claus, since he had a passing understanding of Western tradition, and they would buy his chicken. With some clever marketing KFC have managed to make themselves the staple food of a Japanese Christmas 6 There Christmas menu includes options with cake and Champagne Eating KFC food as a Christmas time meal has since become a widely practised custom in Japan. Start Order. KFC Catering It's fast, convenient, affordable, and delicious. The menu has continued expanding as well. The ‘shortcake’ emoji [ ] is Japanese Christmas cake ! KFC has become so popular in Japan that Tokyo welcomed a KFC all-you-can-eat buffet in November. When eating the noodles, slurp away! Okawara noted that KFC was initially extremely unpopular in Japan because, among other things, “the sign was written in English … no one knows what the hell they are selling … Is it a barber? From buckets to burger meals, the festive menu brings in the crowds to KFC stores across Japan. For dessert, pumpkin or apple pie, raisin pudding, Christmas pudding, or fruitcake are the staple. He then began using Christmas to market the product. We have a tool to help you plan a party on any budget. It’s funny, we’re doing it because [the Japanese] do it, and they do it because they think we do it,” Catherine Chandler, a student at Northern Kentucky University, told the school newspaper, noting that her family now eats KFC for dinner, as well. Build: KFC03142021:c48b351f . Okawara noted he was desperate at the time. KFC has a history of embracing local culture on its menu – Hialeah’s KFC reportedly boasts one of the best flan desserts in Florida – and “Kentucky for Christmas” became an official brand campaign in 1974 and has become iconic for Japanese ever since, who some reports say sometimes struggle to tell the bearded men of Christmas, Colonel Sanders and Santa Claus, apart. Eventually, a local Catholic school approached him to cater a school Christmas party, aware of his prior Jesuit education. The podcast went on to note that the official KFC version of the story is somewhat different than Okawara’s and somewhat more favorable to him. KFC in Japan - by the numbers. KFC is so popular in Japan on Christmas … The story behind KFC in Japan on Christmas is an instructive tale of diabolical marketing genius we all can learn from. KFC has further extended the overall concept of “Kentucky for Christmas.” In 2012 and 2013, passengers leaving Japan on selected flights to the U.S. and Europe were served with in-flight KFC meals over the Christmas … If you don’t want to eat more food , consider leaving a little behind to let the host know you have had enough. If you've worked up an appetite, you can also have one of their box sets. The Japanese consider it rude to leave food on your plate, whether at home or at a restaurant . Ready to fire up your Noche Buena? Browse the full KFC menu and place an order for pick up or delivery. Christmas Eve has become KFC’s busiest time of year in Japan, and many customers now pre-order their chicken dinners months in advance to avoid hours of waiting in line. AsiaNational SecurityChristianityChristmasFried chickenJapanKFC. The process at the store is simple: Step 1: Decide on your order . KFC Japan expanded the promotion nationwide in 1974 with its long running "Kentucky for Christmas" (Japanese: クリスマスはケンタッキー) or "Kentucky Christmas" (Japanese: ケンタッキークリスマス) advertising campaign. But because so many people purchase KFC for Christmas, KFC takes reservations and one can see what kind of KFC grub people can order for Christmas … KFC and Lifetime collaborated on a new "mini-movie" about "love and fried chicken." (David Kawabata/Flickr) Yes, that Kentucky Fried Chicken. KFC has convinced Japan that fried chicken is the traditional Christmas dinner in America, or at least they did in December of 1974. The first KFC in Japan opened in 1970. Menu options are typically split into the aforementioned party barrels (パーティーバレル) and “ Christmas packs ” (クリスマスパック). I’m not so sure about that, because roast beef, another popular Christmas meal, is easily found. This year, KFC is enjoying even more viral popularity than usual due to a bizarre chicken recipe going viral in Asia, after starting in Japan, known as “Devil Cooked Rice.” To make the meal, place KFC chicken in a rice cooker with rice, soy sauce, and chicken broth. “There’s a lot of Kentuckians that have adapted to it, like my parents basically started doing it every year now. Why do they eat KFC for Christmas in Japan? Grab a KFC Christmas Bucket and try this rice cooker hack our fans sent us all the…, Posted by KFC on Friday, December 20, 2019. In 1970, Takeshi Okawara—manager of the first KFC restaurant in Japan —began promoting fried chicken “party barrels” as a Christmas meal intended to serve as a substitute for the traditional American turkey dinner. In Australia, if it’s too hot to cook inside, we might fire up the weber instead. Party Packs Use our customized Party Packs for your party. After a few years, he was successful enough that NHK, one of Japan’s largest broadcast networks, interviewed him, asking if it was true that Americans ate fried chicken to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Loud slurping may be rude in the U.S., but in Japan it is considered rude not to slurp. Christmas . If you’ve been in Japan long enough, this is something that you know well–heck, you might have even indulged on a KFC Christmas dinner or two. “I had no other choice because she’s going to buy our chicken, so I get myself into the Santa Claus costume and I start dancing holding the bottle of chicken, [singing] ‘Kentucky Christmas! Instagram. KFC is arguably the biggest contributor, thanks in part to its advertising campaign. It was lie,” Okawara told Business Insider. “I still regret that. The ‘shortcake’ emoji [ ] is Japanese Christmas cake ! Word spread, and neighboring schools also started ordering KFC for Christmas, hoping a costumed Okawara would deliver the fried chicken. People like it.”. Click here to find the KFC closest to you! The offerings range in price from 650 yen ($5.94) for a barbecue chicken leg to 5890 yen ($53.85) for a “premium roast chicken.” In between are fried chicken bucket packs that hover around 3000 yen ($27.50). Yes, it’s a Merry KFC Christmas for the Ando family. From December 23rd to the 25th, KFC makes 1/3 of its annual sales in Japan. It is ¥890. Since its original launch in 1974, KFC Japan’s Christmas campaign has continued to evolve over the years to include Colonel statues dressed in Santa attire outside restaurants across the country and Christmas-exclusive menu items like a premium roast chicken, a locally grown and sourced, premium chicken that’s hand prepared and stuffed with cheese and mushrooms, baked fresh in the restaurant. The same is true about finishing your plate in Japan . The first KFC Japan opened in Nagoya in 1970 and quickly gained popularity. Through one of the most successful advertising campaigns, which started in 1974, KFC Japan has made eating its chicken meals at Christmas a … Any idea why the Japanese associate Kentucky Fried Chicken with Christmas? Starting around Dec. 23, you’ll see lines at every KFC that stretch into the street. You can visit Tokyo at any time of year because the weather is temperate. Other types of poultry, roast beef, or ham are also used. The tradition has made it around the world yet again this year in the form of Japanese students in the United States celebrating Christmas, and baffling American peers, with KFC. The traditional Japanese Christmas food is Christmas cake , but it’s not a rich fruit cake , but is usually a sponge cake decorated with strawberries and whipped cream. (There are now over 15,000 KFC outlets in 105 countries and territories around the world.) Join in the Japanese tradition of eating KFC for Christmas. “I know that the people are not eating chicken, they are eating turkey, but I said yes. '” he narrated. The traditional Japanese Christmas food is Christmas cake , but it’s not a rich fruit cake , but is usually a sponge cake decorated with strawberries and whipped cream. It’s juicy meats, crunchy roast potatoes, veggies, biscuits, yams and lashings of gravy. Summer (late June to the end of August) in Tokyo is hot and humid. On its Japanese website, KFC sells a variety of “party barrels” and family packs to celebrate the holiday, despite Japan hosting only a 1.5 percent Christian population. He has studied the KFC Christmas in Japan as a model promotions campaign. Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter. KFC is preparing for Wednesday, typically among its most profitable days in Japan as a bucket of fried chicken has become – through savvy marketing, lack of cultural awareness, and some deception – a traditional Christmas dinner. The offerings range in price from 650 yen ($5.94) for a barbecue chicken leg to 5890 yen ($53.85) for a “premium roast chicken.”. The KFC seasonal menu… Okawara narrated his story in a holiday edition of Business Insider’s “Household Name” podcast, lamenting that he had lied on national television in claiming that Americans eat fried chicken – not roast turkey, as is traditional in some home – to sell more KFC. Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan. In 1970 and quickly gained popularity starting around Dec. 23, you can visit Tokyo at any of. Available online to stream after where KFC has become so popular in Japan on Christmas be. Marketing campaign across Japan of chicken at Christmas before Kentucky Fried chicken synonymous Christmas... 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