McDonald’s Japan ‘American Vintage’ 1950s American Diner

McDonald’s Japan recently released their new menu series called ‘American Vintage’. The first in the series is the 1950s American Diner, which went on sale across Japan on January 7th. It features three new menu items, which are the Diner Double Beef, Diner Honey Mustard, and Classic Fries with Cheese. Japan Australia being a burger lover and very curious ventured out to our local McDonald’s to check it out.

Diner Double Beef 

The Diner Double Beef looks very interesting and is served with Chicago-style steak sauce and mashed potatoes. It also includes cheese, onions and an egg. The Chicago-style steak sauce includes roughly grounded black pepper, roasted garlic, and is sweetened with apple juice & raisins as well as flavoured with wine. It was created to resemble a typical meal at a 1950s American Diner, or with that image in mind.

Diner Double Beef

Diner Honey Mustard 

The Diner Honey Mustard comes with a crunchy chicken breast, honey and North American mustard sauce, grilled bacon, cheddar cheese and lettuce. It was created with a harmony of flavours in mind.

Diner Honey Mustard

Classic Fries with Cheese 

Classic Fries with Cheese is your standard McDonald’s French Fries topped with a cheese sauce and bacon flavoured topping. It was created with a typical American Stand or Stadium Snack in mind.

Classic Fries with Cheese

The Taste Test 

What did we think?

The Diner Double Beef was pretty good. We liked the double beef patty and egg which made this burger very filling. The Chicago style steak sauce was tasty with strong bold flavours and very peppery. The real winner for us was the silky smooth mashed potato sauce at the bottom, which reminded us of a creamy mayonnaise.

The American Vintage 1950s American Diner Double Beef

The Diner Double Beef  Out of the Box

The Diner Double Beef Under the Skin

The Diner Honey Mustard lived up to its name and had a nice balance of flavours. The sweet honey combined well with the stronger spicier mustard sauce. This wasn't quite as filling as the Double Beef but was the better tasting burger in our opinion.

American Vintage 1950s American Diner Honey Mustard

The Diner Honey Mustard Out of the Box

The Diner Honey Mustard Up Close and Personal

The Classic Fries with Cheese was a real disappointment. The cheese had that fake processed cheese taste and the bacon flavoured topping didn't taste like bacon at all. You also have to assemble this yourself as you can see in the pictures below. Just stick to the regular fries which are great tasting on their own.

Classic Fries with Cheese Ready to be Assembled

Step 1 Regular Fries in the Box

Step 2 Add the Cheese Sauce

Step 3 Add the Bacon Flavor Topping

Classic Fries with Cheese Fully Assembled

McDonald’s Japan Website

Teaching English in Japan

Teaching English is the most common form of employment among foreigners in Japan. The demand for English teachers is still strong, but the market is a lot more competitive than it used to be in the 1980s/90s. Today you need a lot more qualifications and experience to satisfy most recruiters and get your foot in the door of the better companies out there. We will go into more detail a little later on about what recruiters look for and prefer in potential candidates. There has also been a big push recently by Mombukagakusho (Ministry of Education) for English as a compulsory subject in Elementary School in Japan. This will only increase further as the demand for English increases with the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Here is a little about the main types of teaching jobs here in Japan.

Types of Teaching Jobs in Japan 

English Conversation School 

English Conversation Schools or Eikaiwa (英会話) in Japanese are the most popular form of teaching English in Japan. These positions are usually paid by the hour with a mixed schedule involving a lot of evening and weekend work. The students usually range in age from about 2 years old in kids classes to 80 years old. Typical working hours will fall somewhere in between 10am to 9pm. Morning shifts might be from !0:00 am to 6:00 pm, and Evening shifts 1:00 pm to 9:00pm. Classes are usually around 45-50 minutes long, with class sizes typically varying from 1-10 students. Most English Conversation School positions on average will receive around 1-2 weeks holiday per year. Monthly wages on average are around ¥250,000 depending on the company. The most famous eikaiwa schools are ECC, Aeon, Nova, Gaba Corporation and Shane Corporation.

ALT Assistant Language Teacher 

Most ALTs work through a dispatch company in the public school system in Japan. Typically they are placed in Elementary or Junior High with a few working in Senior High. Typical working hours will fall between 8:30 am to 4:30 pm with an 8 hour work day. Class sizes will vary from usually 20-40 students, depending on the school and location. Most ALT positions on average will receive around 8 weeks holiday per year. Monthly wages usually range from ¥200,000 to ¥260,000 depending on experience and the company. One of the best ALT companies in Japan is ALTIA CENTRAL who are based in Nagoya with contracts in the Tokai area and beyond.

Preschool and Kindergarten 

Working with the students at a Japanese Preschool or International Kindergarten can be a lot of fun, but generally require specific qualifications and experience teaching children. These types of teachers typically work 8 or 9 hours a day, 5 days a week with around 4 weeks holiday per year. Monthly wages usually range from ¥250,000 to ¥300,000 depending on experience and the company. It is hard work with a busy schedule, but very rewarding with the chance to bond with your students and their parents.

Business English 

This type of teaching in Japan is aimed at corporations who look to teach their employees basic English for dealing with overseas clients and connections. They are generally paid by the hour and more lucrative than both eikaiwa and ALT work. Lessons can take place either during regular working hours, or in the evening after the employees have finished work.

Basic Requirements 

The basic requirements for most teaching positions in Japan include the following:

1. Native English Speaker 
2. BA / BS Degree (in any field) 

These are typically required in order to secure a work visa for the applicant.

Preferences by recruiters include:

1. A BA / BS in Education/Linguistics/English/Japanese/East Asian Studies 
2. At least a basic level of Japanese ability 
3. ESL or TEFL certification 
4. Teaching or tutoring experience 

Application Process 

You can submit your resume and apply for jobs any time as companies are always looking for potential applicants. The biggest recruiting periods for ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) in Japan is November/December for April starts (school year starts in April in Japan) and May/June for September starts. Most of the major companies now recruit overseas, so you can even set up an interview in your home country, which makes the whole process a lot easier.

The Best Resources for Looking for Work in Japan 

The biggest & best resource for finding a job in Japan is GaijinPot who have a large listing of jobs through-out Japan. I also recommend sites like Jobs in Japan and My Shigoto

McDonald’s Japan ‘American Vintage’ Series

McDonald’s Japan this week launched the first of their new menu series called American Vintage. The series features three campaigns that represent a different decade of American culture designed to create a feeling of nostalgia. It is a trip back in time through the 1950s, 70s and 80s. McDonald’s Japan has created this menu to sum up American culture, and classic American food from the past.

The first in the series is the 1950s American Diner, which went on sale across Japan on January 7th. It features the Diner Double Beef with Chicago-style steak sauce and mashed potatoes, as well as the Diner Honey Mustard with honey, mustard, bacon, cheddar cheese and lettuce. They have also jazzed up their standard fries with Classic Fries with Cheese, served with a sprinkle of bacon flavoured topping.

Diner Double Beef

Diner Honey Mustard

Classic Fries with Cheese

Next is the 1970s Soul Food, which will be available from the end of January to mid-February. It will feature the Hot & Groovy Beef and Hot & Groovy Chicken. The burgers are both topped with a Hot & Groovy salsa sauce. I guess the 70s was a Hot & Groovy time! Maybe they could get Austin Powers to promote these.

Last is the 1980s Pop Culture, which will be available from mid-February to early March. It will feature the American BBQ Beef and American BBQ Chicken.

McDonald's Japan 'American Vintage' Future Series Poster

McDonald’s have created some wonderful old time posters for the American Vintage campaign.

McDonald's Japan 'American Vintage' 1950s Burger Poster

McDonald's Japan 'American Vintage' 1950s Classic Fries with Cheese Poster

As always, they will be limited edition, so hurry in while you still can.

McDonald’s Japan Website

2013 Year in Review

Japan Australia had another fantastic year in 2013. We recently celebrated our 4th Anniversary. Happy Birthday to us! This post also marks our 500th post! Wow! We never thought we’d make it this far! With the new year 2014 upon us, Happy New Year! It’s time to look at the Top 5 Most Popular Posts of 2013. Not surprisingly, popular themes were food, matcha and cherry blossoms.

Without further to do here are the Most Popular Posts of 2013 in order from 5 to 1.

#5 Premium Quarter Pounders at McDonald’s Japan 

Published on July 5th this post and campaign featuring famous Japanese soccer player Keisuke Honda (AC Milan) was a popular one. The limited edition burgers included the Quarter Pounder BLT and its spicy partner in crime the Quarter Pounder Habanero Tomato.


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#4 McDonald’s Texas Burger 2013 

Published on February 2nd this was the comeback of the Texas Burger and it proved to be a popular post. The burger made its original debut back in 2010 as a member of the Big America series. It was released in its ALL STAR form to bring the crowds back to McDonald’s Japan.


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#3 Meet the Snow Monkeys of Japan 

Published on March 9th this was our most popular guest post of the year. The small town of Yudanaka situated deep in the Japan Alps with its hot steaming natural hot springs is the place you will find these wonderful animals. Definitely a must see in Japan and one of my highlights here so far.

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#2 Matcha Green Tea Kit Kat 

Published on May 19th this post clearly shows the popularity of both matcha and Kit Kat. 2013 was definitely the year of matcha snacks in Japan and we had such a large range of different ones to choose from. We liked this version of Matcha Kit Kat as it was made for adults with a less sweet flavour than the regular version.

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#1 Best Spots for Cherry Blossoms in Gifu / Aichi 

Published on March 20th this was the most popular post for 2013 by a large margin. Cherry Blossoms are always a popular theme and this post highlighted some of the best spots in our local area to see them. We are lucky to have so many great spots in Gifu and Aichi to see them ranging from castles and parks to rivers and ancient trees.




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Have a great 2014 everyone and thank you for continuing to support Japan Australia.

Hatsumode ~ First Shrine Visit of the New Year

Happy New Year everyone from all of us here at Japan Australia! Today, January 2nd, we paid our first shrine visit of the New Year 2014. This custom is called hatsumode (初詣) in Japanese. It is tradition in Japan to visit a shrine or temple during the first few days of the New Year, usually January 1st, 2nd or 3rd. The main purpose of the visit is to pray for health, happiness and success.

We visited Inaba Jinja, which is the biggest and most famous shrine in Gifu City. Inaba Jinja or Inaba Shrine (伊奈波神社) was founded in 85 AD, so has a history of over 1900 years. It is a pretty special place to welcome in the New Year or visit for hatsumode.

Inaba Shrine in Gifu City

The crowds weren't too bad for New Year’s and we managed to do everything we wanted to do in around 90 minutes. The shrine had a fun festival atmosphere about it with the street vendors out in force, selling all kinds of Japanese festival food. The people around us were in a great festive mode as well and everyone was polite while paying their respects for hatsumode.

Street Vendors at Inaba Shrine

Here are some of the common customs done at hatsumode:

Osaisen 

Upon reaching the main shrine, a common custom is osaisen (賽銭), which is money offered to the gods for good luck. Simply throw a small coin like a 5 or 10 yen coin (5 yen is best) into the saisen-bako (賽銭箱) donation box, bow twice, clap twice, then pray to the gods for a happy and prosperous New Year. 

Osaisen at the main shrine

Omikuji 

Another common custom for hatsumode is to buy an omikuji, which is a fortune written on a small piece of paper. These cost 100 yen and can be purchased from many different locations around the shrine. There are typically twelve different kinds of fortune you can receive, but don’t worry! If your omikuji predicts bad luck, simply tie it onto the special rack or tree on the shrine grounds. This will ensure that the prediction will not come true. This year, I received Dai-kichi (大吉) ~ Great Blessing, which is the luckiest omikuji you can receive. Yatta!

Omikuji at Inaba Shrine

Yatta! I was lucky to get Dai-kichi ~ Great Blessing!

Hamaya 

A popular item sold during the New Year at Shinto shrines is a hamaya. It is a special good luck charm that is traditionally only available during the first few days of the year. A hamaya is basically a decorative wooden arrow sold at shrines to ward off misfortune and attract good luck. They are sometimes called “demon-breaking arrows”. Each shrine has its own unique design and they make a very cool decoration for your genkan (entrance at home) or souvenir. Traditionally, the custom was to place the hamaya at the north-east and south-west corners of the house, which were the most susceptible to evil influences. This year is the Year of the Horse, so hamaya will feature an ema with a horse.

Hamaya at Inaba Shrine

Amazake 

Amazake (甘酒) is a traditional sweet Japanese sake usually drunk to celebrate a special occasion such as the New Year. We finished off our hatsumode visit to Inaba Shrine with a cup of steaming hot amazake by the bon-fire. It was a great visit and we hope that 2014 will be a great year for Japan Australia and all our friends and followers.

Welcome to the New Year at Inaba Shrine

Hatsumode at Inaba Shrine in Gifu 

New Year’s in Japan 2013

New Year’s or oshogatsu (正月) in Japanese is one of the most important holidays on the calendar in Japan. It is a time to look back to the past and follow the traditional customs of the festive season. Most people will return home to spend the time together with their families, kind of like Christmas in the West. It is also a popular tradition to visit a temple or shrine at midnight on December 31st, as Buddhist temples all around Japan ring their bells a total of 108 times to symbolize the 108 human sins in Buddhist belief and to get rid of the 108 worldly desires.

January 1st or New Year’s Day is a very fortunate day in Japan. It is meant to be full of joy and happiness with no stress or anxiety. Everything should be clean and you should not work on this day. A popular custom is to watch the first sunrise of the New Year (初日), which is meant to guarantee good luck for the New Year. It is tradition to visit a shrine or temple during oshogatsu for hatsumode, the first visit of the New Year. The bigger more popular shrines and temples are extremely crowded with people praying for health and happiness. We usually visit Inaba Jinja, which is the most famous shrine in Gifu City.

Here are some traditions and customs that are followed during New Year’s in Japan

Shimekazari 

Shimekazari (しめ飾り) is a traditional New Year’s decoration made out of sacred Shinto rice straw rope, pine twigs, and carefully crafted zigzag-shaped paper strips called shide. Shimekazari is usually hung on the front door, and is used to keep bad spirits away as well as inviting the toshigami (歳神) or Shinto deity to visit. Unlike Christmas decorations which are usually packed up and used the following year, New Year's decorations must be new as they symbolize a brand new start and a move away from the past. It is good luck to hang up the shimekazari straight after Christmas, but no longer than after the 28th of December. It is custom to remove the shimekazari on either January 7th or after the 15th, depending on which area of Japan you live.

Shimekazari

Kagami Mochi 

Kagami Mochi (鏡餅) is another traditional decoration that consists of two round mochi (rice cakes). The smaller rice cake is placed on top of the larger one with a daidai (bitter orange) on top. The two mochi represent the past year and the year ahead with the daidai, which means “generations” in Japanese representing the continuation of a family from one generation to the next. These days you can buy a modern version with the zodiac sign for the coming year on top instead of the bitter orange. 2014 was the year of the horse, with 2015 being the year of the sheep.

Kagami Mochi

Mochibana 

Mochibana (餅花) is a popular New Year’s decoration that consists of branches decorated with pieces of white and pink mochi. They look like flowering branches of the blossoms in spring, and signal the coming of spring ahead in Japan.

Nengajo 

Nengajo (年賀状) is a  Japanese custom of sending a New Year’s Day Card to friends and relatives. It is very similar to our custom of sending Christmas Cards. Japanese people send these so that they arrive on January 1st. It is common to feature the zodiac sign for the coming year on the card.

Toshikoshi Soba 

Toshikoshi Soba (年越しそば) is buckwheat noodles that are eaten on New Year’s Eve and symbolise longevity. It is believed that by eating these long thin noodles you will live a long and healthy life. Toshikoshi means the ending of the old year, and the beginning of the new one. It has become a modern tradition to eat toshikoshi soba while watching TV on New Year’s Eve, with the music competition Kohaku Uta Gassen (紅白歌合戦) the most popular show. To ensure good luck, all the noodles must be polished off before midnight.

Toshikoshi Soba

 Hatsumode 

Hatsumode (初詣) is the first shrine visit of the New Year to pray for health, happiness and prosperity for the coming year. Most people will make their visit on the first, second, or third day of the year. A common custom is to buy an omikuji, which is a fortune written on a small piece of paper. If the omikuji predicts bad luck, you can tie it onto a tree on the shrine grounds, in order for the prediction not to come true.

Hatsumode at Inaba Jinja in Gifu City

Osechi Ryori 

Osechi Ryori (御節料理) is traditional Japanese dishes served during New Year celebrations. The tradition started in the Heian Period (794-1185) with each dish having a special meaning. Osechi ryori is served in special boxes called jubako (重箱) and contain food such as konbu (boiled seaweed), kamaboko (fish cakes), kinpira gobo (burdock root), and kuromame (sweetened black beans).

Osechi Ryori

Ozoni 

Ozoni (お雑煮) is a soup made with mochi (rice cakes) traditionally served on New Year’s Day. Our family usually has ozoni for breakfast on New Year’s Day. Ozoni varies from region to region and from household to household.

Ozoni

Otoshidama 

Otoshidama (お年玉) is special money given to children on New Year’s Day. It is handed out in small decorated envelopes by family and relatives. The amount varies depending on the age of the child, but typically will be either ¥5,000 (USD$50) or ¥10,000 (USD$100).

Mochi 

Mochi (餅) a favourite custom is creating mochi or soft rice cakes from boiled sticky rice. This is called mochitsuki (餅つき) and is usually made before New Year’s Day and eaten during the start of New Year’s in January. 

Hope you have a great New Year's wherever you are in the world!

Kadomatsu

McDonald's Japan Winter Menu

McDonalds Japan has put on a tasty selection of winter menu items to get us through the colder months in Japan. The menu items feature cheese, which is always popular in winter. Back in the summer Japan Australia wrote about some new summer items to the McDonald's menu, now its winter's turn and you can read all about them below.

White Cheddar Series 

The White Cheddar Series includes the Quarter Pounder and Chicken Fileo. The burgers have replaced the usual cheese with white cheddar cheese. The White Cheddar Quarter Pounder features extra rich white cheddar cheese, grilled bacon, mustard and is topped with a roasted onion sauce. It went on sale December 11th. The White Cheddar Chicken Fileo features the new crispy chicken breast as well as two slices of the extra rich white cheddar cheese, sliced onions, two pieces of bacon and mustard. It went on sale December 15th.

White Cheddar Quarter Pounder

White Cheddar Chicken Fileo

Cheese Potato Dip 

The Cheese Potato Dip is a snack consisting of shredded mozzarella cheese and cheddar cheese, mixed with potato. The mixture is shaped into balls that are deep fried to a golden brown. The Cheese Potato Dip is served with an Arrabbiata dipping sauce, which adds a boost to the flavour. Arrabbiata is an Italian spicy sauce made from garlic, tomatoes, and red chili peppers. The Cheese Potato Dip costs 150 yen (USD$1.50) for five pieces and went on sale December 11th.

Cheese Potato Dip

The Taste Test

Japan Australia wandered down to our local McDonald's to see what all the fuss was about. We ordered a White Cheddar Quarter Pounder set with a side of Cheese Potato Dip. The White Cheddar Quarter Pounder was really tasty and we would definitely order this again from the menu. We are already fans of the classic Quarter Pounder, but this took it to a higher level with a great full flavour cheese and roasted onion sauce. In fact, the roasted onion sauce kind of reminded us of a chutney from back home. The Cheese Potato Dip has a great texture with a crisp crunchy outside and soft fluffy cheesy inside. The actual flavour was quite bland on its own and it really did need the extra boast of the Arrabbiata sauce which was full of flavour.

White Cheddar Quarter Pounder Set

The White Cheddar Quarter Pounder ready to be opened up

A look at the White Cheddar Quarter Pounder

Cheese Potato Dip with Arrabbiata Sauce

Crispy & Cheesy Cheese Potato Dip

There you go! If you are in Japan this winter and want to give something new a try, check these out.

McDonald's Japan Website

White Cheddar Series