Do "Barbecue" and "November" Go Together?

Yes, in Japan they do! We've been doing barbecues in early November for more than 20 years and have never been rained out, nor has it been too cold to enjoy. 

But I can tell you than in more than 20 years, the children never quite get the hang of doing S'mores, although they all want to try, at least.

 

Portmanteaus!

 When you combine two words, you've got a portmanteau, and Japanese have a real right-brain approach to English expressions. If they want to be precise, they'll use Japanese. If they want to give an impression, they'll use English. 

Sure, when you want to combine "fresh" and "precious" for your drinking water system, just make up a new word. Why not? 

This one isn't readable in English, but uses English. The script at the top says "Nihon (Japan) Logitem" for Logistics+System

American...or Japanese?

There are over 1,300 Mister Donut shops in Japan. This is the one and only shop remaining in the US, in Godfrey, Illinois. The backstory is that when Mister Donut was purchased by Dunkin Donuts, franchisees were offered the opportunity to rebrand their stores. This well-known "American" shop in Japan is virtually unknown in America now. 

Recently, ToyrRUs re-entered the US market with a flagship store in the American Dream mall in New Jersey, where the chain had started decades before. Meanwhile, there are 80 ToysRUs stores all across Japan. 

Tullys Coffee started in Seattle, as Starbucks was growing rapidly. While Tullys roasts and sells coffee in the US under its brand (owned now by Keurig) the stores in the US have all closed. There are over 600 Tully's coffee shops in Japan, giving Starbucks some competition here. 

Vie de France started in the US, and has a major business selling frozen baked products there, but its bakeries in the US total a mere 4, all in Maryland and DC. Yamazaki Bakeries of Japan bought the chain, and grew the chain in Japan to 263 stores nationwide. 

The franchisee became the franchiser! Ito Yokado is the franchisee for all of Japan for the 7/11 brand, and after prospering with the brand, it purchased Southland Corporation, the owner of the brand and franchiser worldwide. The very first 7-11 store in Japan opened not far from our apartment.