YOSHINOYA

Yoshinoya is a Gyudon (a Japanese dish consisting of a bowl of rice with beef and onion) chain, founded in 1899 as a family-run shop in a fish market in Nihonbashi, Tokyo. They provided quick but satisfying meals to busy workers, serving Gyudon in high-quality Arita porcelain plates back when beef was still considered a luxury. They opened their second store in 1968, and started opening shops in the US by 1975. They are currently serving Gyudon in many countries inluding South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines while maintaining their philosophy of providing “Tasty, Cheap and Fast” meals.

Yoshinoya predominantly serves Gyudon, Butadon (Gyudon but with pork instead of beef), and Japanese-style curry with rice. They also offer various side dishes such as soup (Miso soup, Tonjiru, Shijimi Miso soup and Asari Miso soup), salad, and toppings (raw eggs, soft-boiled eggs, eggs with green onion, cheese, and kimchi), which you can optionally order in addition to the aforementioned main dishes.

During mornings (4:00 to 11:00 a.m.), you can order Morning Meals (Ham and eggs or grilled salmon) and Beef Breakfasts (Gyudon, Soup and a side dish of your choosing), which allow you to start your day energized from the rich, meaty meal.

They also have some seasonal dishes! For example, in winter, they offer Beef Sukiyaki Hot Pot Meals. Its mild, sweet flavor and warmth is perfect for the cold winter days.

At Yoshinoya you can have tea for free! In stores with counters, the staff will bring some for you, while in other stores you will have to go get some on your own.

Self-service style drink dispenser
You can use them to pour cold water, hot water or tea in a cup.

For the Gyudon sizes, there are S, M, Beef L, L, XL and XXL. There are also many types of Gyudon to choose from, such as ones with kimchi, extra onion, extra meat, or green onion and an egg. The one in the picture is a Gyudon with cheese.

There are two types of Yoshinoya stores, the regular ones with orange signs and the more stylish cafe-like ones with black signs. There are less black-sign Yoshinoyas compared to orange ones, but their numbers are still slowly increasing.
Some characteristics of black-sign Yoshinoyas:

They have Drink Bars. (Some have only coffee, but there are ones that have soda as well)
You can go to take a seat after you order what you want at the counter.
They have some fried dishes, such as Karaage or Yu Lin Chi.
They have dessert, such as cake.
They have power sockets and USB connectors, which you can use to charge your electronic devices.
They have some a la carte dishes that you can eat while you drink.

Some black-sign Yoshinoyas in Tokyo: