lifestyle

Is it OK to take your girlfriend to Yoshinoya on a date?

22 Comments
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24

Yoshinoya is Japan’s most prolific chain of gyudon (beef bowl) restaurants. With locations seemingly everywhere, many dishing up hot, inexpensive meals 24 hours a day, Yoshinoya is always a viable dining choice for busy businesspeople, starving students, or ravenous revelers looking for mid-all-nighter nourishment.

But is it an acceptable place to go on a date? That’s the debate Japanese Twitter user @saoryu0420 set off with this tweet.

“You know, I understand women who don’t like the idea of going to Yoshinoya on a date. But women who say things like this are definitely popular with guys nowadays.

Girlfriend: “For lunch, Yoshinoya is fine.”

Boyfriend: “Are you really OK with a place like that?”

Girlfriend: “Who you eat with is more important than where you eat, you know.”

It’s true that a flexible attitude will almost always help your standing in the dating pool, regardless of gender. Still, some online commenters felt that a guy going to Yoshinoya with his girlfriend is bending the bounds of traditional courtship too far. Criticisms included:

“If the guy is a working adult, even if his girlfriend says ‘Yoshinoya is fine,’ I still want him to say ‘No, that’s not OK. We’re on a date.’ I mean, it’s a date, right? No way Yoshinoya is O.K.!!!!”

“Even if it wasn’t a date, what’s the point of going to all the trouble to meet someone, then going somewhere where you can’t have a nice conversation and just stuffing your faces. Why’d you even bother meeting up? You know, you can actually talk to each other if you go to a cafe instead. That’s why I don’t like Yoshinoya – because a stylish café is better.”

“If it’s a first date, the girl is going to go all out dressing up and making herself look good. Obviously she’s spent a lot of time and money on her clothes and makeup. It’s upsetting to have a guy value all that so little, so for the first date, you’re better off keeping that in mind. Being a girl costs money.”

“Otaku want to take a prim and proper girl who’s not very worldly out to a restaurant regular people casually go to and have her say ‘I’ve never gone to a place like this before. But it’s really fun.’”

But on the other side of the debate were those who say there’s nothing wrong with a Yoshinoya date.

“Ummm…I’m a girl, and honestly, on a date I like going to Yoshinoya, so what’s the problem?”

“As long as you’re with the person you love, does the place really matter? The main thing is spending time with that person. Everything else is just an extra bonus.”

“I like going to casual places like that. Sure, I’m happy when a guy takes me someplace fancy, but I don’t want that every time. If you start going to fancy places as a matter of course, you stop being able to feel happy about the little things too.”

“[Because Yoshinoya has counter seating] there’s a good chance that you’ll end up sitting next to each other, so I think it’s actually a pretty good choice for a date.”

Speaking as someone whose first meal with his now-wife as a living-together couple was a mutually enjoyable, sitting-next-to-each-other-romantic dinner at a beef bowl restaurant (though at Yoshinoya rival Sukiya), I can attest that going for gyudon isn’t the kiss of death for a happy date. Still, it’s worth keeping in mind that in the scenario originally laid out by @saoryu0420, it’s the girlfriend who first suggests the (usually) ultra-affordable lunch option, so it might be best to wait until your lady friend gives some sort of sign that she’s agreeable to the idea before you steer her towards the entrance of the nearest Yoshinoya.

Source: Twitter/@saoryu0420

Reads more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Yoshinoya, Japan’s biggest beef bowl chain, is now serving fried chicken in Tokyo

-- Yoshinoya studying what happens to the body after three months of eating beef bowls

-- Beef bowl chain Yoshinoya’s historic first store to close, special countdown site launched!

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

22 Comments
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The article says it all really. If she cannot handle a trip to Yoshinoya, feeling she has been insulted, then maybe she is not the one for you. It might be a strange choice for a very first 'date', though! The woman might feel she is being tested however, and go anyway. Horses for courses.

Let her say where/what she'd like to eat, if you do not have anywhere special in mind, and work from there.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

One day, when I'm rich....

9 ( +9 / -0 )

So, is he going with a girlfriend, or a first date, or a date? Depending on the case, most certainly she should have a say in the location.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Girlfriend: “Who you eat with is more important than where you eat, you know."

“I like going to casual places like that. Sure, I’m happy when a guy takes me someplace fancy, but I don’t want that every time. If you start going to fancy places as a matter of course, you stop being able to feel happy about the little things too.”

If your girlfriend says these things, then you've got a keeper.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Depends on so many things. If it's an impromptu 'let's go grab some lunch' type of date, mid arvo etc then fine. Same if you know each other/are together and he/she knows you have more to offer than cheap meals at maccas or yoshinoya, it's just a convenient one off then ok.

Having said that, cool/inexpensive cafes abound in japan so insisting on yoshinoya sounds weird.

“If it’s a first date, the girl is going to go all out dressing up and making herself look good. Obviously she’s spent a lot of time and money on her clothes and makeup. It’s upsetting to have a guy value all that so little, so for the first date, you’re better off keeping that in mind. Being a girl costs money.” 

Really? Can't stand the "I look so good guys better spend big $ on me if they want to stand a chance' sense of entitlement bs. Luckily the world is full of women who aren't like this.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

First date, probably not the best idea, if you have been dating a while & you  come across one & you look at each other & nod yes, then by all means go inside, not rocket science :)

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Not for a first date. Not if the other person has been lead to believe you are going to a proper restaurant.

Anyway, I prefer sukiya.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"Grand sponsor" of the article is Yoshinoya

2 ( +3 / -1 )

How about a date in the eating area of a convenience store? Imagine the romance as you share a melon pan together under the harsh fluorescent lighting.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Imagine the romance as you share a melon pan together under the harsh fluorescent lighting.

And they say romance is bread...

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It's definitely not ok - we all know that Matsuya is the king of gyudon, so no cheating with bland yoshinoya.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I am eight years married. I took my wife to $18 all-you-can-eat sushi for our first date. I loved that she cared much more about the company than the venue. In fact, it motivates me to take her out to fancy restaurants and buy her expensive things because she does not expect them. For example, I just returned to NYC from Tokyo last night and surprised her with six dresses from Japanese designers...man, she looked hot!! =)

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

If she prefers quantity over quality, Yoshinoya is just fine!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

1st date no, later on whatever you agree on. Sluming it can be fun too.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I would be okay with it, have never been a fan of fancy.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Totally gay gokai would never take a date to Yoshinoya. You are sitting too close to people around you and they can hear your romantic words. That is to embarrassing whether gay or straight.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

It's not about her. It's about me and I have never and would never take a woman to Mickey D's Yoshinoya, etc. on a date unless she specifically wanted to go there.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Personally, I prefer Matsuya more. I do not know if ALL Yopshinoya only has seats by the counter. The few I went to only has seats by the center counter. Matsuya has tables which makes it more convenient for group.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

With an actual girlfriend? Basically only if we just needed to get something quickly and then move on. There's no way Yoshinoya (or any similar establishment) would form the main destination of a date.

But perhaps the original tweet author was just using Yoshinoya as an example, with the main point being that girlfriends shouldn't be needlessly fussy/demanding about where to eat on dates. In that context, I can agree with him. I have found it frustrating in the past when (ex-)girlfriends refused to enter any establishment not ~oshare~ or 'authentic' enough for their tastes, even when we just needed to grab a quick bite between actual destinations.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

It is the time spent toughter that is the important part not eating at an expensive restraunt. My guy brought me to an inexpensive soba shop for our first date in Koza.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It is the time spent toughter that is the important part not eating at an expensive restraunt. My guy brought me to an inexpensive soba shop for our first date in Koza.

Absolutely. One can spend oodles on all manner of fancy stuff, in order to impress. That's just shallow, superficial and is probably only impressing the person who's flashing the cash.

It's far more classy to get to know the person you're dating. Doesn't matter where it takes place. You just can't put a price on that.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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