What is a “family restaurant”?

“Family restaurant” is a Wasei-eigo/Japanese English (Japanese expressions based on English words) , referring to what is called a “casual dining restaurant” in English. Their operating style is in-between that of typical fast food restaurants and diners, targeting mainly families with their affordable prices and fast cooking. Since these restaurants tend to be open until late at night, many people like to dine there after they finish school or work.

Family restaurants reflect many Japanese people’s passion for work and desire to enjoy variety in their meals, in that they operate in a very efficient yet conscientious manner and provide a wide variety of food to choose from. Some types of family restaurants are western (Gusto, Royal Host, COCO’S), Italian (Saizeriya, Jolly Pasta, Capricciosa, Japanese (Marugame Seimen, Syabuyo), Hawaiian (La Ohana, Kona’s Coffee).

While Japan has many fancy restaurants with excellent Japanese food, it’s probably both expensive and laborious (since these restaurants often require reservations, proper etiquette etc.) to go to those restaurants every time you go out to eat. On the other hand, family restaurants are more affordable, casual, and convenient, so they’re perfect for tourists who have to remain on a tight schedule.

We also plan to talk about restaurants like Yoshinoya (Japan’s first fast food chain!) on this blog, although they don’t strictly belong in the family restaurant category.