Japan loves KFC. The fast food chain is somewhat of a cultural institution in Japan: whether that's Christmas dinners or baseball superstitions. It's no accident that Japan digs The Colonel so much: the boneless Japanese dish chicken karaage resembles fried chicken.
In Japan, KFC is a tad upscale for fast food—it's pricier than McDonald's, but in the same price range as domestic fast food chain, Mos Burger. Yesterday, KFC rolled out a nationwide all-you-can-eat ("tabehoudai" or 食べ放題) campaign at 381 Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants.
On July 4 between 1pm and 4pm, you could shell out ¥1,200 (US$15) for 45 minutes of original recipe face stuffing. Diners started off with a three piece set with fries and a coke, before moving on to more chicken. As far as I can discern, there's no connection between Independence Day and this promotion.
According to news reports, around 34,000 people participated in the all-you-can-eat event, with people eating 7.6 pieces on average. (One piece of original recipe is usually around ¥240 or US$3, and six pieces cost ¥1,390 or $17.40 as a meal.)
Pictures of the feeding frenzy in Osaka and Kyoto show long lines and even reserved seats!
ケンタッキー食べ放題レポート、一体どれぐらい人が来て実際はどうだったのか？ [Gigazine]
(Top photo: カナ速)