Japan Dining - Fast Food

Fast food
Japanese fast food restaurants offer decent quality at reasonable prices. Many chains offer interesting seasonal choices that are quite tasty. Some chains to look out for:
Yoshinoya (吉野家), Matsuya (松屋), and Sukiya (すき家) are gyūdon (beef bowl) specialists. All have been hit hard by the recent BSE scare, and have switched much of their menus to pork.

Tenya (てんや), the best tempura you'll ever eat for less than ¥500

MOS Burger seems like just another fast food chain, but actually has a pretty interesting menu — for hamburgers with a twist, how about grilled eel between two rice buns? Notice also the list of local produce suppliers posted in each shop. Made to order, so guaranteed fresh, and unlike some fast-food places, Mosburger products generally look like their advertising photos. A bit more expensive than McDonalds, but worth the extra. MOS stands for Mountain, Ocean, Sun, by the way.

Freshness Burger tries to be a bit less fast-foody and more like an "all-American" joint. The food's decent, but just be prepared for the tiniest burgers you've ever seen.

Beckers Operated by JR, these fastfood burger restaurants are often found in and near JR stations in greater Tokyo and Yokohama. Beckers offers made to order burgers and Menchi burgers (minced black pork). Unlike most shops, their buns are fresh and baked inside the stores. Unused buns are thrown away if not used 1.5 hours after baking them. Their Pork Teriyaki burger is awesome. They also offer Poutine, which is of course a French Canadian snack consisting of french fries, gravy and cheese. The chilli topping needs to be tried. More often than not, you can pay with the JR Suica pre-paid re-chargeable multi use traincard.

Ooto-ya (大戸屋) is really too good to call fast food, with a menu and atmosphere that matches any "home-style" Japanese restaurant. While there are illustrated menus on signboards, ordering can be confusing: at some stores you order at the counter before taking a seat, while at others servers come to your table.

Soup Stock Tokyo is a trendy soup kitchen chain that serves delicious soup all-year round, with a selection of cold soups in summer. It is a bit more expensive than most other fast food chains but you may consider it a healthier alternative to burgers.

Lotteria Standard burger-type place.

First Kitchen This chain offers a few dishes outside of the standard fast-food fare, including pasta, pizza, and fries with a wide assortment of flavorings.

Coco Ichiban serves Japanese style curry rice with a vast array of ingredient choices. English menus available.

American fast food chains are also ubiquitous, including McDonald's, Wendy's, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. McDonalds restaurants are almost as ubiquitous as vending machines.
There are also a number of Japanese "family restaurants", serving a wide variety of dishes, including steak, pasta, Chinese style dishes, sandwiches, and other foods. Though their food is relatively uninteresting, these restaurants usually have illustrated menus, so travellers who cannot read Japanese can use the photos to choose and communicate their orders. Some chains across the country are:
Jonathan's is probably the most ubiquitous local chain. Skylark is owned by the same company and has similar fare, including a cheap and unlimited "drink bar" which makes these restaurants good places for reading or resting over extended periods. Denny's also has many stores in Japan.
Royal Host - tries to market itself as a bit up-scale
Sunday Sun - reasonable, decent food and menus
Volks - specializes in steaks, and offers a large salad bar.