Hooters in Japan

Yay! We finally got a real Hooters in Japan! I can’t remember whether I shared this a while back, but two summers ago, they opened up a temporary outdoor Hooters with a limited menu on the river. About a year later, Osaka opened its own permanent Hooters restaurant!

The temporary Hooters. Fun nonetheless.

I finally got to check it out a couple months ago. It was interesting to compare it to the ones in America. First, it had a completely different atmosphere. The ones I’ve been to America kind of have like an old shack feel to them with lots of wood and Christmas lights on the front porch area. The atmosphere of the American ones exemplify their slogan, “Delightfully tacky, yet unrefined.”

When walking into the Osaka branch, I was surprised by how big, open, shiny, and bright it was. There were neon orange lights everywhere and other bright lights on the ceiling. Like everything was orange! The floors, chairs, etc. I would compare it to a sports bar-type atmosphere.

This is from the outside. So bright!

Triple date.

Next, I’m sure you are all wondering about the girls. They wore the same sexy uniforms as they do back in the U.S. The only difference between the waitresses in Japan and America is that about every hour, the Japanese waitress come out together into the dining area and perform a routine dance. From an American perspective, it’s incredibly silly and kind of embarrassing. If American waitresses did that, the customers would probably just watch and be like, “Wow, that’s kind of embarrassing and awkward. What are they doing? I feel sorry they have to do that.” In Japan, however, I could see how this kind of thing appeals to Japanese customers. For some reason, it just seems more fitting for a cute little Japanese girl in uniform to do a staged dance to some pop music. Probably because that’s basically what all their pop star groups are like. Honestly though, I still felt a little awkward. I think my guy friends and boyfriend enjoyed their dance though! xD

So the next thing you are probably wondering about is the food. How was it?! Well, it was freaking fantastic! ER MAI GERD it tasted the same as America! The only set back is that it’s quite a bit more expensive here which makes sense I suppose. Secretly, I want to go back to Hooters alone so I don’t have to worry about keeping face or the food being too spicy for other people and just stuff myself with the hottest chicken wings and shrimp, some curly fries, margaritas and daiquiris until I can’t feel feelings. Oh, and I can’t forget blue cheese dip for the wings and nacho cheese for the fries!! Maybe throw in a side of fried pickles and ranch for good measure. I probably would have to save up a pretty penny for that trip lol….and then not eat for a week after.

Oh dear sweet baby Jesus!

Anyway, I definitely recommend going if you are an expat in Japan and are craving the flavors of home or you want to introduce your Japanese friends to some real American style food. There are all sorts of other things on the menu, too like ribs, burgers, nachos, and salad.

By the way, for those of you who are curious to know what other American chains there are in Japan, here is a list of places I can think of in no particular order (this list may not be complete. Leave me a comment if you know of some others!): McDonalds, KFC, Wendy’s, Garret’s Popcorn, Burger King, Krispy Kreme, TGI Friday’s, Baskin Robbins, Denny’s, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Hard Rock Café, Subway, A&W, Auntie Anne’s, Big Boy, Domino’s, and Red Lobster.