I adamantly refused to eat Domino’s Japan pizza, or any delivery pizza for that matter, until my appendicitis and a friend from the states ordered me some as I couldn’t move. Why? I have this weird thing about getting something that I can’t get “at home”.
Ah, but in this case, you can’t get Domino’s Japan at home! It’s actually really tasty but don’t expect the same thing you could get in the States.
Domino’s in Japan
Domino’s Pizza was brought to Japan in 1985 by Earnest Higa, making it the first pizza delivery business in the country. You can thank him for the successful integration into the Japanese food landscape.
Sure, they have some typical American styles of pepperoni and cheese. They also have mayonnaise, seafood, corn, tapioca, and any multitude of toppings that would seem insane in America.
Oh, and while it’s in Japanese, the fact that they have a Pizza Making Academy is super cute. And don’t forget they attempted to train reindeer to deliver pizza a few years ago!
What to Expect When You Order
Forewarning: Domino’s Japan pizza is EXPENSIVE without a coupon. Especially when you see the sizes. Luckily, they have a website full of coupons! There are also deals if you choose to do take out instead of delivery. On special days of the weeks they run pretty good deals as well.
If all else fails, generally they come delivered with coupons. If you sign up for their email list, you’ll also receive coupons that way! Plus, you can start earning points, just like any other major chain.
One good thing if you aren’t comfortable using Japanese to speak on the phone yet, ordering from their website is easy and has been available in English since 2011!
One nice thing, they have many different combinations of 4 topping pizzas so you save money by not having to buy whole pizzas of the different flavors you want.
Domino’s Japan Menu
First, Japanese love their mayonnaise, and yes, it’s on pizza — and AMAZING. So if you’re one of those American’s I’ve been learning don’t like mayo, check the ingredients. There are tons of flavors to try that you won’t find in America: gyoza, beef tongue, crab. Some of them have sliced potato on them. And aforementioned mayo, there is shrimp mayo or potato mayo.
The Quattro options (4 different types on one pizza) are preset so that’s one down fall but give them a shot and try one that’s got something outlandish, you may be surprised.
The combinations you can get are honestly spectacular in their variance such as the Quattro Chefs Premium Selection which has Black Angus beef & garlic, smoked salmon with basil mayo, Black Angus beef & gravy and lastly, Hokkaido Camembert cheese.
How does the size of pizza compare in Japan?
The “large” is more like the size of a small you would get in America and the medium is very much a personal size pizza. Leftovers aren’t really a thing here (I’ve seen doggie bags done ONCE, and there’s plenty of time when you do big course menus for nomikai 飲み会 and it’s just tossed), so having the smaller size makes sense. And who really NEEDS a giant pizza (or 4) to themselves? Also, fridges are smaller, an American sized pizza box would never fit.
That being said, if you are hungry, they’ve introduced a “New Yorker” pizza which is even bigger than an American large coming in at 40 cm or just under 16 inches.
Is the price worth it?
Pizza in Japan you’ll find elsewhere will usually be Italian style, super thin crusts, normally not very large so for a good pan pizza, ordering is your way to go. There’s also Chicago style in Tokyo, expect an article on that in the future! However, if you are craving some American pizza, this will hit the spot (though I’d love if we had Papa Johns over here, their crust is the best!). And with the coupons, it does bring the price point down to a more reasonable amount. You can also find 50% off deals from time to time.
Have you tried Domino’s Japan?
