Krispy Kreme in Japan: Believe the Hype!December 13th, 2006 by Adamu |
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At Last, Melt-in-your-mouth Donuts are Coming to Japan for the First Time!
On Tuesday, popular American donut chain Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) let reporters get a look at the inside of their first store in Japan, located on the south side of JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, before its official opening on December 15.
KKD was founded in the US in 1937. It currently operates approximately 400 stores in 10 countries including Canada and the UK. The store’s flagship product “original glazed,” which will sell for 150 yen, features a crunchy outside and melts in the mouth.
In Japan, a Japan-based corporation jointly owned by the Lotte coroporation and management services company Revamp (PDF) will will manage the restaurants. The company plans to open 50 stores in the Kanto region within 5 years.
Comment: I can’t wait for this. I haven’t had KK since July and Mrs. Adamu’s been without for even longer.
December 13th, 2006 at 6:39 am
I hope this is better than the Dunkin’ Donuts I had in New York and which really made me appreciate Mr Donuts in Japan. Pity I don’t live in the Kanto – or should that be ‘luckily’? Anyway, I’d take a good Shoe Cream over a donut any day of the week….
December 13th, 2006 at 8:12 am
Will the donuts be less sweet? When I’ve eaten them in the US I keep thinking my teeth are going to fall out.
I like how pastries are less sweet in Japan.
December 13th, 2006 at 9:11 am
Well, if the launch is anything like the one for Donut Plant or, gasp. Coldstone Creamery, then be prepared to wait a loooooong time in line before you get to munch on those donuts…
December 13th, 2006 at 9:44 am
[...] I have never been a huge fan of Krispy Kreme, but it is interesting. I found out from this site that it will open on December 15th. [...]
December 13th, 2006 at 9:54 am
I plan to issue a report on this fascinating development. Stay tuned!
December 14th, 2006 at 6:46 pm
[...] Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, the wildly popular donut chain from America, is opening its first store in Japan today, December 15, 2006. The first Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store will be in Shinjuku, on the south side of JR station. [...]
December 14th, 2006 at 8:43 pm
They better have hot doughnuts ALL THE TIME!
December 15th, 2006 at 4:24 am
[...] The gaijin blogging community is full of excitement over the opening of the first Krispy Kreme Doughnuts to Japan. Here’s a report on the store from Real Time News earlier this week: [...]
December 15th, 2006 at 10:20 am
Hmm…I’ve never been to one in the US - don’t think they were on the East Coast when I was growing up there, but I might have to try. On the South side of the station, you say? Might have to head over on the way to Kinokuniya…
December 15th, 2006 at 9:10 pm
I think Krispy Kreme is way overrated. Yet, their donuts are fantastic if you eat them fresh out of the oven, before they’ve had time to cool down- but if you miss that window of maybe 2 minutes then it’s just an oversweetened greasy lump, and nowhere near as good as a nice doughy donut.
December 15th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Bastards didn’t open until 10 on Friday. How are us working folk supposed to get a hot donut for breakfast?!
KK is located on the Southern Terrace, next to the JR East building (i.e. just across the tracks from Takashimaya). Not a bad spot, if you ask me, but a little out of the way…
December 16th, 2006 at 2:20 am
DOUGHNUTS
!
December 16th, 2006 at 2:21 am
DOUGHNUTS
! I LOVE DOUGHNUTS
December 19th, 2006 at 2:58 am
Doughnuts for breakfast?! Yuck. What do you wash it down with? Mountain Dew?
I’m not sure I see what all the fuss is about, but then I went nuts when I discovered there was a place in Roppongi that sold real New Zealand hamburgers (and I’m only here for two months and therefore should be eating nothing but in-country tempura, yakitori and sushi while I can), so I guess it is to each his own nostalgia junk food trip.
December 19th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
What on earth is a ‘real New Zealand’ hamburger? One made with kiwi patties?
Don’t knock doughnuts for breakfast though. Nothing like a huge blood-sugar spike to put you right back to sleep again….
December 20th, 2006 at 7:23 am
‘What on earth is a ‘real New Zealand’ hamburger?’
The bun is slightly greasier, there MUST be a slice of beetroot and an egg – and, it goes without saying, other ingredients native to a green salad – somewhere in the mix, and the cows that generously sacrificed their lives will have been fed on grass not corn or grain. Beef from grass fed cows retains moisture, which makes the whole thing juicier. If you are in Tokyo, you can taste one for yourself. The restaurant is on the little road in Roppongi between Almond Cafe and the Tsujiki sushi shop. A steal at only 900 yen.
Oh, and no pickle.
December 20th, 2006 at 9:02 pm
That does sound like a good burger. Too bad real Western style food (aside from fast food chains) barely exists anywhere in Kyoto.
December 20th, 2006 at 9:56 pm
Damn straight it sounds like a real burger. And it has the added bonus of not being sold by a shop that sounds like a porn name.
I’m back in Kansai as of Christmas day by the way, MF, so I’ll likely see you in the next few weeks.
December 21st, 2006 at 6:52 am
I stood the line in cold for about 45min in Shinjyuku yesterday,only I trusted the word of you guys about KK.
The doughnuts were not bad but they were TOO sweet for any J-people.At least Mr.Donuts has the alternative like Curry-pan or sweet potatoes.I don’t think Tokyoites would keep the business running without some kind of localization in the menu.
February 10th, 2007 at 4:43 am
I have been to the Shinjuku Southern Terrace area three times, always in the evening hours, since KK opened there, and the lines have always been more than 200 people long. On two of those occasions, it was pouring rain outside. Most people were walking out out of the store with a box of 8 or 12 donuts. I went to an Italian restaurant next door, and afterwards went back to the KK and noticed its line was widdling down, but only because it closes at 11 or 11:30 pm. I was surprised to see they were still manufacturing donuts inside though – presumably for the next day. Some comments have noted that a KK donut is best eaten fresh from the end of the assembly line. I agree. So, if you want a good KK donut here in Tokyo, best you wait a few months until the fad dies down. Speaking of the fad, I can’t imagine this line will be this long for many more months, as the Japanese are not into eating such sweet pastries – and KK donuts are simply laced and adorned with sugar. Then again, Coldstone Creamery, which serves up ice cream with your favorite heavy sweets, and is located in Roppongi Hills of Tokyo, is still drawing lines well of over 100 people on any given weekend evening – and they have been operating for more than a year here. Finally, does anyone know if the second-attempt Burger King, opening in mid-2007, will be serving American beef burgers? (FYI, KK and BK are both being opened in Japan by Lotte).