Why does Japan eat KFC on Christmas?
You may have heard that the Japanese traditionally eating KFC for Christmas is a popular tradition, but how did it come about?
It was all due to a clever marketing campaign in the 1970s. The manager of the first KFC store in Japan, Takeshi Okawara, launched a campaign called Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii (Kentucky for Christmas) that promoted fried chicken as an alternative to the traditional Western Christmas dinner. Turkey is hard to find in Japan, so the idea caught on, and as Christmas wasn’t widely celebrated in Japan, there were no deep-rooted holiday food traditions to overcome.
The trend really took off when KFC introduced their Christmas Party Barrels, which included chicken, cake, and wine. Over time, eating KFC on Christmas became a cultural phenomenon, with people pre-ordering their meals weeks in advance to avoid long lines.
And that’s how KFC because a Christmas tradition in Japan.
KFC’s Christmas Menu 2024
The KFC Christmas Menu obviously changes every year, but this gives you an idea of what the menu is like –
The Party Barrel (choice of 2) came with a souvenir KFC Christmas plate, although 2024 was apparently the last year they were doing this. A lobster lasagne and white chocolate tiramisu were featured in each, with the choice of chicken tenders and biscuits in the first or more chicken pieces in the second.
Premium sides includes a seasoned chicken leg and cheesy ham filled chicken breast.
The side menu featured a BBQ chicken leg, half chicken, chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, fries, biscuits and coleslaw. The side boxes were handy combinations of fries, biscuits, nuggets and the BBQ chicken leg.
The Christmas packs gave various combination options of the different sides available.
How to order KFC for Christmas in Japan
You can order your KFC Christmas food from early November, and its advisable to get in early so you don’t miss out!
Ordering KFC for Christmas in Japan isn’t actually that difficult, although you will likely need a translator to make it through to the end.
- On the kfc.co.jp homepage, click on the Christmas-order banner, and view the Christmas menu.
- Type your address into the store locator and pick your store, then the date and time for pick-up.
- Add your choices to the cart.
- Register a KFC account.
- Proceed to payment (easiest via credit card).
- Show your confirmation when you pick up your order.
So how’d it taste?
I’m going to preface this by saying we didn’t plan this very well!
Pick-up was easy: we showed our confirmation number, and within 10 minutes we were out the door with our food. It was packed well in a number of plastic bags, and we’d been given everything we needed including cutlery, serviettes, packets of different sauces.
We decided to take our feast to eat in the rooftop garden of Ginza Six, which, while it seemed like a good idea at the time, really wasn’t.
The views were beautiful, but on Christmas eve was absolutely freezing, and quite dark with minimal lighting. We hadn’t thought about the potential need to heat things up either, so had to skip the lobster lasagne entirely, and eat cold chicken legs.
But enough about our poor choices!
We bought a little bit of everything, and honestly it was all very good. The chicken was crispy and juicy, the tenders and nuggets a nice addition, and the fries perfectly salted.
The BBQ and seasoned chicken legs, while cold, still tasted very good, and probably would have been absolutely delicious if heated like they were meant to be! I didn’t try the chicken breast, as I don’t like cheese, but was assured that was delicious as well.
We don’t get biscuits in European KFCs, so they were nice to eat with lots of syrup, but the true star was the white chocolate tiramisu. I was stuffed by the time we came to try it, so couldn’t eat as much as I wanted, which was all of it!
There was definitely enough for three people, and overall I think it was worth the money for a special, one-off Christmas treat, but if you plan to try it, take it somewhere that you can heat it up!
We bought:
- Party Barrel A (with souvenir plate)
- 1 Premium Ham & Cheese stuffed Chicken Breast
- 1 Premium Seasoned Chicken Leg
- 1 BBQ Chicken Leg
- 1 Side Box (Fries + Nuggets)
- 1 Side Biscuits
Total cost: ¥11,410 (€71)