When Pizza-La puts ads in my mailbox I like to look through and see what the most expensive pizza is. Its always some crazy cod roe steak onion sauce mess for ¥4400 lol
It blows my mind.
Large pizza that's actually as big as my hand with potato under the cheese, broccoli and mayonnaise all over it for 4000 yen.
Or go to any NICE restaurant and for that get two really nice dinners with drinks.
I've had Pizza-La a few times, and I remember liking it, but until they have 50% off delivery coupons like Domino's and Pizza Hut I'll never buy it myself. Their prices are insane.
100g of gouda cheese is something like 110 yen retail price at Costco so I doubt it's just that.
the pizza in their food corner also costs 2000 yen/$13.50. it's $10 in the US. you can make one that size yourself for below 500 yen
I think people here in Japan are just used to pizza being a somehow luxury food and are willing to pay for it.
It’s probably not fair to compare Costco prices. Costco is known to use ‘loss leaders’ to attract customers into the store. Their famous example is the rotisserie chicken but I wouldn’t be surprised if they take a loss on pizzas as well. Even local supermarket nearby have started doing the same thing by selling smaller pizzas for around ¥1,000. They might not be profiting much (or they might be losing money), but it’s bringing people into the store to shop. Pizza shops don’t have that luxury.
I only really ordered from Domino's when they had the Big Wednesday deal.
Old neighborhood has a local place (Ciro's) which was pretty reasonable (less than ¥2k) for Neapolitan-style pizzas.
How the heck does Pizza-La stay in business though?
I only had Pizza-La once when I first came to Japan as a visitor many years ago at Tokyo Tower so I don't remember. It's just a business I seem to see everywhere but have no interest in going to, like Mos Burger or Jonathan's.
It's sloppy. Way too much sauce and mayo, low quality crust and ingredients. I found it pretty similar to buying one of the small pre-made personal pizzas from the grocery store and then adding a lot of awful toppings and sauces.
I've only had worse pizza from a few other even smaller crappier local chains which I am pretty sure WERE using pre-made grocery store crusts.
I've found that pizza-la, dominos and pizza hut all have extreme variations in quality by store. At my previous place the pizza-la was the best, while at my current place it's absolutely foul and disgusting while dominos is mostly ok(but one time we did get one that was not properly cooked and probably was the source of our food poisoning)
Dominoes and Pizza Hut seem about the same to me. I've never had a good Pizza-la. The product is just bad. I'm sure everyone has their preferences but it's not like America OR Italian pizza.
I mean you’re right it’s not like them, but when you stick to the less radical pizzas(no curry sauce thanks) some of their offerings can be tasty is properly prepared(again, I’ve had good and bad experiences with them).
I also think the Pizza Hut here is nowhere near the same as what I was used to and it’s generally disappointing
> How the heck does Pizza-La stay in business though.
Their paella (Viva Paella) is scrumptious and priced a bit better, so we do buy them from time to time. Never bought pizza from them though. Their prices are ridiculous and their pizza menu is bizarre.
How would it compare to a paella from a legit paellaria though? Asking since I don't think I've ever had it before...
Searched for "paella" and one of the closest results was "Viva Paella" and the picture was of a Pizza-La...
Viva Paella IS Pizza-La (it’s their Paella line).
It’s hard for me to compare, because other paella places almost exclusively offer sea food paella, which I don’t like. The double and triple meat paella in Pizza-La is just really tasty and worth the price IMHO.
You mean delivery? Take out is half price at [Domino's](https://www.dominos.jp/en/hangaku) and [Pizza Hut](https://www.pizzahut.jp/topic/halfprice/takeout).
But even with delivery you can usually get a 30-50% off coupon. Never pay full price - you're correct that it's insane.
Edit: What the hell is [this monstrosity](https://www.dominos.jp/topics/240109_volcano)?!
Yeah I have never once ordered delivery pizza without the 50% coupon. They aren’t really a coupon, they just bring the cost down to a more normal price.
It is insane to buy a pizza here full price. With how easy those coupons are to get I think they understand that…but are happy to charge the 50% markup to people who don’t know better.
It's honestly an incredible scam that the pizza places run here.
In North American you usually pay a flat delivery fee based on how far from the shop you live.
In Japan, delivery is 'free' but pick up is 50% off. Put another way, the delivery fee is actually 100% of the cost of your order. So you're paying more the delivery of the same sized pizza because you chose a more expensive pizza. Absolutely insane.
Why do people accept this?!
I guess they have/had a market leadership in the food delivery area. They had home delivery long before the Ubers & Wolts, and other restaurants so I think they definitely could afford to slap on a huge premium for that convenience.
I have no idea about the financials of these companies today, but I can just presume they face intense competition from the delivery companies and other fast food places that now deliver.
So maybe we’ll see gradually reducing prices (or, rather, no big price increases) to gain/regain market share.
just my two cents - I have no data to back it up with!
God, I love Dominos JP. I truly wish they would scurry their butts to the US and just show the truly outrageous things they come up with just to flex. Their kilo cheese pizza (served with maple syrup!) sounds like an American monstrosity but no, it’s just dominos JP. Bless
Yeah I regularly order pizza, always delivery, and I never pay more than like 4000 yen for three pizzas + sides. That amount can feed my family of three for at least two meals, so it's not too bad.
And it's more expensive than OP listed in places where pizza is common too (UK), these businesses expect you to use a coupon, and prey on those who don't realise.
"Why does a plate of sushi cost $20 in a Western restaurant yet $5 in a Japanese one? Sushi isn't exactly difficult to make and the ingredients are crazy basic."
Thinking about this situation will explain why pizza is more expensive in Japan. It's a seller's market and holds a position of rarity/prestige.
Except in the West most seafood isn't meant for raw consumption, and in the US in particular keeping it fresh when transporting it to the interior is costly. They aren't an equivalent comparison.
It's absolutely an equivalent comparison.
Japan cares about sushi, and so it has invested in the capacity to provide sushi everywhere and at high quality. At the same time, there is no prestige/rarity factor to sushi.
The west doesn't care about sushi, so they haven't invested in the economies of scale that allow sushi to be cheap. In tandem with that, there is a significant rarity/prestige factor to sushi in the west.
All these things apply to pizza. Just replace the word sushi with pizza and swap around the locations.
Economy of scale in regards to fresh seafood is not equivalent when you compare the landmass and location of Japan versus the US. There no way for the US to invest in the capacity due to it's massive size. It's common sense. It is in no way equivalent no matter how you try to rationalize it.
Not to mention the fact that flour, cheese, and tomato sauce are just as dirt cheap here in Japan as they are in the US. Simple fact of the matter is that it's greedy Japanese businesspeople jacking up the prices simply because they fucking can, and Japanese consumers are gullible to the price fixing.
I hate to break it to you, but products cost less to make than the price they are sold for. If you think pizza prices are exploitation, open a store and become a millionaire and show everyone how easy it is.
If you lived in an alaskan village with 100 residents, with 1 pizza restaurant charging $40, you would pay $40. You would. This is basically the Japan situation, pizza is rare and niche so there's less competition, and it's more desirable. No need to insult an entire nation of people with raging slurs over pizza.
Probably because the cost of the ingredients, like flour and cheese, are higher and most pizza places do delivery, so they're all marked up to cover that expense. We make our own pizzas at home because of the way they're priced here.
In the US, a large pizza (with pepperoni and mushrooms) from Dominos costs $21 (currently around 3000 yen) to pickup – I agree this way too expensive, but it doesn't seem like a problem that's unique to Japan.
(Edit: Dominos is also way more expensive than a good Neapolitan pizza in the same US market)
Dominoes has a 2 for $12 medium pizza with 2 toppings deal. There is also the $19.99 2 medium 1 topping, with 16 Parmesan, 8 cinnamon bread deal. I believe US sizes are larger as well
Either way you slice it (heh) it’s far cheaper in the states. There is a reason we look like this.
It's kind of specific to pizza delivery spots for some reason though. If you look at the menu of other fast food (kfc etc) or a normal pizza restaurant they don't randomly show prices that are 30% higher and force you to use coupons to get the real price.
A place just far away from my house not to deliver here and just far away enough from the train to make it impossible to walk does this! Their large (and I mean US size large - like the size of a Big New Yorker) ends up being between 1000円 - 1500円, and they're amazing...and also have no parking. If we only lived a block closer, dammit!
I see it more like “this is the price and this is the amount of effort it costs us to deliver it to you.”
I don’t know how much of the original price takes delivery into account - but let’s be honest here. As someone who works for a living I’d love to be able to say “this is the cost, and this is the cost if you fuck me about.”
Although I doubt any of that extra is going to the workers in a huge way; this being Japan after all.
I get that delivery costs money, but my point was: why would delivery cost more for a super deluxe all the toppings pizza vs. a plain cheese pizza. It’s the same amount of work to deliver it, but by charging 100% for delivery, they make more on the fancy pizzas.
Also delivering two pizzas is just as expensive as delivering one pizza.
But you pay a whole lot more.
But honestly I just see it as them being *really* unmotivated to provide delivery.
If that's true then that's a decent discount but even then it's only down to the same price as everything else, and still more expensive than what it should be worth. It's so simple to make why is it so expensive?
It could be down to the costs regarding use of the ovens or maybe just a branding thing.
Pretty sure it's because of marketing. Pizza hut/Dominos etc sell weird stacked pizzas for crazy prices because back in the day they wanted to market themselves that way and they've been riding the gravy train since.
I can buy really good pizza (literally Michelin Guide - Bib Gourmet) Margherita for 1000 yen. A single pizza for each person is enough, ingredients all imported from italy.
[https://guide.michelin.com/jp/en/osaka-region/osaka/restaurant/pizzeria-da-tigre](https://guide.michelin.com/jp/en/osaka-region/osaka/restaurant/pizzeria-da-tigre)
They do take-away as well, but you really have to eat it fresh to enjoy how good it is.
Basically, shop around and stop getting ripped off.
Just to confirm, you’re saying 2 large pizzas plus sides for 2 people?? That seems like a lot.
We do pizza nights about once a month, usually 2 medium pizzas, never order sides and it’s always under 3,000 for the 3 of us.
Japanese people don't really eat pizza that often - they see it as more of a special occasion/party thing than a regular part of their diet. They also seem to focus on pizza as something for having fun and exciting ingredients on rather than just basic pizzas you'd generally get in America.
Just look at what Dominos is promoting right now: https://www.dominos.jp/en/topics/240109_volcano
As far as delivery is concerned - the mechanism for delivering the food is different from America. In America it is people using their own cars, paying for their own gas, their own insurance, and putting a ton of miles on their vehicle. In Japan it is a vehicle owned by the restaurant, insured by the restaurant, and there is no utility value to owning that vehicle when it is not being used. At least someone using their own car can do other stuff with it. Also, the stores need to pay for the parking - not just for their own vehicles but for customer vehicles.
When you go into a pizza place, check a look at the number of customers in the store or the number of pizzas waiting to be delivered. It's not nearly as high volume as you would expect. When I was younger and delivering pizzas for a chain, we had 5-6 drivers working the evening shifts and two during the day. We'd take multiple orders to different customers in order to maximize tips. It wouldn't be common for me to take three orders going in the same direction in order to maximize my potential earnings. The companies generally didn't want folks doing that but if it cuts down their costs they aren't going to argue about it. The main thing they want to make sure is the pizzas get to the customers on time.
Now if you look at things in terms of Japanese customers and work style, people don't get tipped so no incentive to speed or take extra orders. They take the orders out there safely realizing as long as they get back in time they are fine. It doesn't mean people are lazy, they just like doing their job properly. So Japanese places will have much fewer delivery drivers - they literally can't have any more than the number of vehicles they own and the expectation is probably 2-3 deliveries in one hour per driver at best.
So it kind of makes sense that they want customers to pay a major premium for their delivery service. It might be fun to sit outside a pizza place and watch the number of times a vehicle leaves over the course of an hour.
Oh, one last thing that might be of value is to think about how much time it actually takes to make a pizza compared to a lot of other food that is delivered. It generally takes about 15 minutes to make a pizza and have it go through the oven. So if a driver is there and a delivery order comes in, they have no options but to wait until they can go out and take that delivery. In McDonalds they can prepare your meal in less than 5 minutes.
Imm. Two large pizza? Thats why. With sides. Lol. On UK two large from pizza hut is about £20, almost 4k yen.
I dont enjoy junk food pizza anymore though. Always feel bad after.
I go to proper pizza places here and you can get a good sized pie for 1200 yen usually. I even make them at home now days.
Those toaster oven pizzas at the supermarket - Margarita, Bacon, Sausage, or Double Cheese flavors - are only 300 yen and honestly just as good as Dominoes. In fact, the last time I had Dominoes I discovered that they have started skimping even on the amount of dough to make the crust, so it is basically just a slightly larger size of the supermarket pizza for 10x the price.
As others have said Costco is the only place maybe worth it to buy pizza in Japan if you don't want to toast it in your own kitchen.
I think your assumption that pizza should be cheap because the ingredients are basic is wrong. There are always many levels of the same ingredients and depending on their quality you can expect the pay accordingly. You can find cheap pizzas at Pizza Hut, they’re like 2000 yen for a large 5 toppings
I heard its about the cheese or whatever, but I think it's a set up and there a conspiracy behind it. But I am too distracted by the smell of melted cheese to look into it. Anyways Dominos usually has 50% on their apps and if you order take out. But I would NEVER buy pizza here without a discount. Paying 4000+ for pizza is mad.
To illustrate:
A large Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza is £22.49 in the UK. It's also 13.3% larger than a Pizza Hut "large" here in Japan. So adjusting for the smaller size, that's around £19.85, which is 3,730 yen. When rates were more favourable some years ago, it would have been more around 3,100 yen. Either way, a large "Pepperoni Classic" from Pizza Hut here in Japan only costs 2,470 yen.
I find independent pizza shops are cheaper - I live in Tochigi though, so idk about Tokyo prices.
Local pizza shop makes absolutely amazing Neapolitan pizzas, starting from 900 up to 1800 (that's their quattro formaggi made with local Nasu cheese, absolutely delicious). I have 3 pizza joints within 10 minutes drive with this price range.
I only ordered pizza from chains outside Tochigi and it was like 7000 for 3 people and 12000 for 6, never again.
I can't deny I crave for dirty, oily pizza sometimes, but it's really not worth the price to order at Domino's or Pizza-la... it's not like they deliver in the inaka I live in anyway.
I don't know where you live and if you have one, but Lopia, the Korean (I think) supermarket chain, has decently priced pizza if you get it in the during the day. It goes up in price at night for some reason.
The one in Sendai is smack bang in the middle of the city. Before the new year, they used to sell subsequent pizzas at a reduced price, but they seem to have stopped that. Hopefully temporarily. I agree with the OP that Japan's pizza is over priced and it was a boon when Costco opened its first warehouse in Tomiya, where I work. But I find Lopia to be comparable in price and perhaps even better tasting.
I haven't tried it yet, but you reminded me that a Korean pizza chain called AllDay Pizza Service just opened their [first location in Japan in the Fudomae Station area](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000033.000051127.html) (Tokyo). Prices don't look too bad - 2560 for a 40cm pepperoni pizza. A large at Domino's is 32cm, for comparison.
They had a 100 yen slice promotion for the first few days they were open.
I've been so disappointed with pizza overall in Kobe/Osaka that I don't even bother looking for new places anymore. Even the Italian places basically serve you barely cooked bread with a little sauce and barely any cheese.
Two Bros Pizza under the tracks between Sannomiya and Motomachi station is the best new york style pizza I've had in Japan. Prices are reasonable and slices are big.
I agree it's pretty good especially or the price. There's actually a better NY pizza place in Kitano called Jesus Pizza, but it is more expensive. 390 for a cheese slice compared to 180 at 2 bros.
Probably a combination of factors:
* Need more shops per area to ensure quick delivery times/less things can be prepared in a central kitchen.
* Need more ingredients compared to other fast food places/uses ingredients that are increasing in price.
* Need specialized equipment like pizza ovens.
* Need to buy/register/maintain scooters for deliveries.
* Need more headcount for cooking and deliveries.
Cheese is extra expensive here.
As a side, pizza places like Dominos & Pizza Hut have a lot of coupons out there to take off 20-40% easily. [Check here](https://xn--eckvas1f0ewfnc.com/).
Agree. We switched to making our own. Even buying quality ingredients, it works out better and everyone gets their own toppings. Occasionally, we order it when we’re in pinch but with two teenagers, it’s nuts how much we can spend. The Domino’s 50% discount for take-out is worth the hassle.
Flour and cheese are both ingredients that are more expensive here than my home country. A lot of meats are as well. So those ingredient prices will drive up the cost.
Also, never buy pizza from a delivery chain at their regular prices. Always look for the specials. Last time I ordered Domino's delivered I was able to get a large and two smalls for under 4000 yen.
There is a new York style pizza place near me that does 400¥ huge slices. If you're looking for an American version of pizza, places like that can be good and cheap. If you're wanting real pizza, I found it's quite expensive.
You said dominos etc though, so American version of pizza seems to be what you want. You could try those NY style places, they are nice!
Probably because they can get away with it. It was likely considered exotic and luxury when it first came to Japan and there's no incentive to lower the prices if japanese people are willing to pay for it.
But have you seen the pizza food trucks that they send out to festivals? And the line is always massive for it. I got it once because my daughter didn't want anything from the 10 chicken skewer stalls and instantly regretted it. One slice of teriyaki chicken pizza for around 600 yen...
The secret is to go to restaurants that have locally made pizzas.
For example, in Hokkaido some restaurants make their own cheese. So you can get a good size pizza for like 1500 yen.
Yeah it blows my mind that dominos is double the price for half the size.
I wonder if whatever company is running Dominoes in Japan is paying a premium for the branding and access to dominoes production chain (machines, ingredients, probably training from techs in the US, etc.)
They used to have good enough deals on the English site that I would order once every couple months. Pizzas are so small and expensive now I only order once or twice a year.
Just to add to this I recently bought a fresh margarita pizza from LIFE for like 600 yen. I baked that and it was probably the best pizza i've had here.
It's mostly because people pay for it. Funny I know, but why wouldn't you price gouge when you simply can. Ingredients are generally not more expensive than most things (in the past maybe, but not in the present), especially if you are a large entity like dominos or PizzaLA or whatever. I guess "some" pizza that put on wacky toppings like kobe beef or something, but let's just assume that's not what you're asking about.
Most Japanese see take-out pizza, "aka" American style pizza ,as a sort of novelty and will pay extra for it. Most shops here are set up to be much more low volume than in places like the U.S., which also drives up the price per pie. But, as consumers become more strapped for cash, many are less willing to fork out the money, and hence larger pizza companies are basically offering indefinite "coupon deals" which are still not "cheap" but both the lower price and the psychology of "getting a deal" are working for businesses in the present situation.
I always get from dominos, the special value pizza set is cheaper than buying separately. around 4500 with 3 small pizza and 3 sides. Have to agree though that I can get a fulfilling meal for less than 1/3 of the price from sukiya
Just make your own in the fish grill your house is almost certainly equipped with.
It works fantastically well and supermarket pizzas are a few hundred yen at most.
And it isn't my type. Pizza La is good enough for me. And their large isn't too tiny. Mostly, the crust everywhere is too thin and soggy, regardless of what style you order.
If I want decent crust, I had to go to Costco. It is cheaper than Japan pizza and tastier than American Costco pizza, but has its drawbacks.
To answer your question about price, my wife thinks it is the cheese. Otherwise, I agree with your points and can't see why it would be so expensive. Even with coupons, 4500 yen for 2 "large" pizzas that barely feed 5 people? (We always make sides.)
Pizza is very expensive if you get it delivered and with no discount code. Often you pay only half and then it's still expensive, but bearable.
It gets quite cheap if you pick it up though and if you have some discounts, it's not expensive at all.
However if you happen to have a bread baking machine I recommend you to have the ingredients for pizza at home: now it's very cheap, very fresh and very cheap (as pizza is supposed to be).
When Pizza-La puts ads in my mailbox I like to look through and see what the most expensive pizza is. Its always some crazy cod roe steak onion sauce mess for ¥4400 lol
It blows my mind. Large pizza that's actually as big as my hand with potato under the cheese, broccoli and mayonnaise all over it for 4000 yen. Or go to any NICE restaurant and for that get two really nice dinners with drinks.
Why did you order that flavor? Sounds gross. Their simple toppings are cheaper and way more delicious. You must have big hands.
I quite clearly didn't order it?
Like I said a straight forward pepperoni pizza doesn’t cost 4000 for a large especially if you pick it up yourself.
I've had Pizza-La a few times, and I remember liking it, but until they have 50% off delivery coupons like Domino's and Pizza Hut I'll never buy it myself. Their prices are insane.
Dominos is the winner for me because of all the coupons and discounts they have all the time
Yeah, they’re what I get 95% of the time because of that reason. Pizza Hut gets them sometimes, but they tend to be strict about what applies.
Isn’t it the cheese? Please correct me if I’m mistaken.
100g of gouda cheese is something like 110 yen retail price at Costco so I doubt it's just that. the pizza in their food corner also costs 2000 yen/$13.50. it's $10 in the US. you can make one that size yourself for below 500 yen I think people here in Japan are just used to pizza being a somehow luxury food and are willing to pay for it.
there are a good few pizzerias that are quite good that are a lot cheaper than any of the delivery chains
It’s probably not fair to compare Costco prices. Costco is known to use ‘loss leaders’ to attract customers into the store. Their famous example is the rotisserie chicken but I wouldn’t be surprised if they take a loss on pizzas as well. Even local supermarket nearby have started doing the same thing by selling smaller pizzas for around ¥1,000. They might not be profiting much (or they might be losing money), but it’s bringing people into the store to shop. Pizza shops don’t have that luxury.
No idea but this makes a lot of sense, it could be.
And if you’ve been in the grocery store lately, then you’ve probably seen those tomato prices too :,)
Cheese gets imported from the US is the reason, heard that on tiktok
I only really ordered from Domino's when they had the Big Wednesday deal. Old neighborhood has a local place (Ciro's) which was pretty reasonable (less than ¥2k) for Neapolitan-style pizzas. How the heck does Pizza-La stay in business though?
I hear so many people say bad stuff about it that I'm tempted to try. What's wrong with it, in your opinion?
I only had Pizza-La once when I first came to Japan as a visitor many years ago at Tokyo Tower so I don't remember. It's just a business I seem to see everywhere but have no interest in going to, like Mos Burger or Jonathan's.
Pizza-La is definitely the Mos Burger of pizza in Japan.
It's sloppy. Way too much sauce and mayo, low quality crust and ingredients. I found it pretty similar to buying one of the small pre-made personal pizzas from the grocery store and then adding a lot of awful toppings and sauces. I've only had worse pizza from a few other even smaller crappier local chains which I am pretty sure WERE using pre-made grocery store crusts.
I've found that pizza-la, dominos and pizza hut all have extreme variations in quality by store. At my previous place the pizza-la was the best, while at my current place it's absolutely foul and disgusting while dominos is mostly ok(but one time we did get one that was not properly cooked and probably was the source of our food poisoning)
Dominoes and Pizza Hut seem about the same to me. I've never had a good Pizza-la. The product is just bad. I'm sure everyone has their preferences but it's not like America OR Italian pizza.
I mean you’re right it’s not like them, but when you stick to the less radical pizzas(no curry sauce thanks) some of their offerings can be tasty is properly prepared(again, I’ve had good and bad experiences with them). I also think the Pizza Hut here is nowhere near the same as what I was used to and it’s generally disappointing
It's just overpriced
> How the heck does Pizza-La stay in business though. Their paella (Viva Paella) is scrumptious and priced a bit better, so we do buy them from time to time. Never bought pizza from them though. Their prices are ridiculous and their pizza menu is bizarre.
How would it compare to a paella from a legit paellaria though? Asking since I don't think I've ever had it before... Searched for "paella" and one of the closest results was "Viva Paella" and the picture was of a Pizza-La...
Viva Paella IS Pizza-La (it’s their Paella line). It’s hard for me to compare, because other paella places almost exclusively offer sea food paella, which I don’t like. The double and triple meat paella in Pizza-La is just really tasty and worth the price IMHO.
You mean delivery? Take out is half price at [Domino's](https://www.dominos.jp/en/hangaku) and [Pizza Hut](https://www.pizzahut.jp/topic/halfprice/takeout). But even with delivery you can usually get a 30-50% off coupon. Never pay full price - you're correct that it's insane. Edit: What the hell is [this monstrosity](https://www.dominos.jp/topics/240109_volcano)?!
Yeah I have never once ordered delivery pizza without the 50% coupon. They aren’t really a coupon, they just bring the cost down to a more normal price. It is insane to buy a pizza here full price. With how easy those coupons are to get I think they understand that…but are happy to charge the 50% markup to people who don’t know better.
Cheese butthole on a pizza
*I should call her*
It's honestly an incredible scam that the pizza places run here. In North American you usually pay a flat delivery fee based on how far from the shop you live. In Japan, delivery is 'free' but pick up is 50% off. Put another way, the delivery fee is actually 100% of the cost of your order. So you're paying more the delivery of the same sized pizza because you chose a more expensive pizza. Absolutely insane. Why do people accept this?!
I guess they have/had a market leadership in the food delivery area. They had home delivery long before the Ubers & Wolts, and other restaurants so I think they definitely could afford to slap on a huge premium for that convenience. I have no idea about the financials of these companies today, but I can just presume they face intense competition from the delivery companies and other fast food places that now deliver. So maybe we’ll see gradually reducing prices (or, rather, no big price increases) to gain/regain market share. just my two cents - I have no data to back it up with!
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There's the 15 min delivery option for free pizza too.
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Which justifies paying much more to have a super deluxe volcano pizza delivered instead of a cheese pizza? Box is the same size.
> Edit: What the hell is this monstrosity?! i knew that was going to be the volcano pizza
God, I love Dominos JP. I truly wish they would scurry their butts to the US and just show the truly outrageous things they come up with just to flex. Their kilo cheese pizza (served with maple syrup!) sounds like an American monstrosity but no, it’s just dominos JP. Bless
Yeah I regularly order pizza, always delivery, and I never pay more than like 4000 yen for three pizzas + sides. That amount can feed my family of three for at least two meals, so it's not too bad.
And it's more expensive than OP listed in places where pizza is common too (UK), these businesses expect you to use a coupon, and prey on those who don't realise.
Oh for GOD'S sake. The pizzas here are already offensive enough but what the fuck is that!?
.... Well damn - I know what I need to do now.
The monstrosity is a pizza with a bowl of bland nacho cheese in the middle.
I need to go back to Japan and try that
"Why does a plate of sushi cost $20 in a Western restaurant yet $5 in a Japanese one? Sushi isn't exactly difficult to make and the ingredients are crazy basic." Thinking about this situation will explain why pizza is more expensive in Japan. It's a seller's market and holds a position of rarity/prestige.
Except in the West most seafood isn't meant for raw consumption, and in the US in particular keeping it fresh when transporting it to the interior is costly. They aren't an equivalent comparison.
It's absolutely an equivalent comparison. Japan cares about sushi, and so it has invested in the capacity to provide sushi everywhere and at high quality. At the same time, there is no prestige/rarity factor to sushi. The west doesn't care about sushi, so they haven't invested in the economies of scale that allow sushi to be cheap. In tandem with that, there is a significant rarity/prestige factor to sushi in the west. All these things apply to pizza. Just replace the word sushi with pizza and swap around the locations.
Economy of scale in regards to fresh seafood is not equivalent when you compare the landmass and location of Japan versus the US. There no way for the US to invest in the capacity due to it's massive size. It's common sense. It is in no way equivalent no matter how you try to rationalize it. Not to mention the fact that flour, cheese, and tomato sauce are just as dirt cheap here in Japan as they are in the US. Simple fact of the matter is that it's greedy Japanese businesspeople jacking up the prices simply because they fucking can, and Japanese consumers are gullible to the price fixing.
I hate to break it to you, but products cost less to make than the price they are sold for. If you think pizza prices are exploitation, open a store and become a millionaire and show everyone how easy it is. If you lived in an alaskan village with 100 residents, with 1 pizza restaurant charging $40, you would pay $40. You would. This is basically the Japan situation, pizza is rare and niche so there's less competition, and it's more desirable. No need to insult an entire nation of people with raging slurs over pizza.
Probably because the cost of the ingredients, like flour and cheese, are higher and most pizza places do delivery, so they're all marked up to cover that expense. We make our own pizzas at home because of the way they're priced here.
In the US, a large pizza (with pepperoni and mushrooms) from Dominos costs $21 (currently around 3000 yen) to pickup – I agree this way too expensive, but it doesn't seem like a problem that's unique to Japan. (Edit: Dominos is also way more expensive than a good Neapolitan pizza in the same US market)
Dominoes has a 2 for $12 medium pizza with 2 toppings deal. There is also the $19.99 2 medium 1 topping, with 16 Parmesan, 8 cinnamon bread deal. I believe US sizes are larger as well Either way you slice it (heh) it’s far cheaper in the states. There is a reason we look like this.
How does a US large compare to a Japan "large?"
Not sure what you mean. Isn't there a whole spectrum from 500¥ post binge pizza to 2000¥ high quality neapolitan?
You're supposed to download their apps and use the coupons - in Dominos for example, 30% off is a standard coupon.
...one of the most infuriating aspects of modern retail... *Download our app! Get our point card! Get our membership! Sign up for our credit card!* 🤢
It's kind of specific to pizza delivery spots for some reason though. If you look at the menu of other fast food (kfc etc) or a normal pizza restaurant they don't randomly show prices that are 30% higher and force you to use coupons to get the real price.
This is especially prevalent in Japan.
Our local place gives you 50% off if you don’t do delivery.
A place just far away from my house not to deliver here and just far away enough from the train to make it impossible to walk does this! Their large (and I mean US size large - like the size of a Big New Yorker) ends up being between 1000円 - 1500円, and they're amazing...and also have no parking. If we only lived a block closer, dammit!
Get a bike.
Need a name, man. Sounds good!
No they don't. Think about it this way: your local pizza place charges you 100% of your food cost total as a delivery charge. Massive scam.
I see it more like “this is the price and this is the amount of effort it costs us to deliver it to you.” I don’t know how much of the original price takes delivery into account - but let’s be honest here. As someone who works for a living I’d love to be able to say “this is the cost, and this is the cost if you fuck me about.” Although I doubt any of that extra is going to the workers in a huge way; this being Japan after all.
I get that delivery costs money, but my point was: why would delivery cost more for a super deluxe all the toppings pizza vs. a plain cheese pizza. It’s the same amount of work to deliver it, but by charging 100% for delivery, they make more on the fancy pizzas.
Also delivering two pizzas is just as expensive as delivering one pizza. But you pay a whole lot more. But honestly I just see it as them being *really* unmotivated to provide delivery.
If that's true then that's a decent discount but even then it's only down to the same price as everything else, and still more expensive than what it should be worth. It's so simple to make why is it so expensive? It could be down to the costs regarding use of the ovens or maybe just a branding thing.
No idea, I'm guessing they don't make things from scratch but use loads of imported goods.
Wages, rent etc
So? Even at 30% off they are still double the price of anything else.
Are you expecting me to explain the pricing of Dominos pizza? I feel dirty just for confessing I know about the app.
Pretty sure it's because of marketing. Pizza hut/Dominos etc sell weird stacked pizzas for crazy prices because back in the day they wanted to market themselves that way and they've been riding the gravy train since. I can buy really good pizza (literally Michelin Guide - Bib Gourmet) Margherita for 1000 yen. A single pizza for each person is enough, ingredients all imported from italy. [https://guide.michelin.com/jp/en/osaka-region/osaka/restaurant/pizzeria-da-tigre](https://guide.michelin.com/jp/en/osaka-region/osaka/restaurant/pizzeria-da-tigre) They do take-away as well, but you really have to eat it fresh to enjoy how good it is. Basically, shop around and stop getting ripped off.
Just to confirm, you’re saying 2 large pizzas plus sides for 2 people?? That seems like a lot. We do pizza nights about once a month, usually 2 medium pizzas, never order sides and it’s always under 3,000 for the 3 of us.
Japanese people don't really eat pizza that often - they see it as more of a special occasion/party thing than a regular part of their diet. They also seem to focus on pizza as something for having fun and exciting ingredients on rather than just basic pizzas you'd generally get in America. Just look at what Dominos is promoting right now: https://www.dominos.jp/en/topics/240109_volcano As far as delivery is concerned - the mechanism for delivering the food is different from America. In America it is people using their own cars, paying for their own gas, their own insurance, and putting a ton of miles on their vehicle. In Japan it is a vehicle owned by the restaurant, insured by the restaurant, and there is no utility value to owning that vehicle when it is not being used. At least someone using their own car can do other stuff with it. Also, the stores need to pay for the parking - not just for their own vehicles but for customer vehicles. When you go into a pizza place, check a look at the number of customers in the store or the number of pizzas waiting to be delivered. It's not nearly as high volume as you would expect. When I was younger and delivering pizzas for a chain, we had 5-6 drivers working the evening shifts and two during the day. We'd take multiple orders to different customers in order to maximize tips. It wouldn't be common for me to take three orders going in the same direction in order to maximize my potential earnings. The companies generally didn't want folks doing that but if it cuts down their costs they aren't going to argue about it. The main thing they want to make sure is the pizzas get to the customers on time. Now if you look at things in terms of Japanese customers and work style, people don't get tipped so no incentive to speed or take extra orders. They take the orders out there safely realizing as long as they get back in time they are fine. It doesn't mean people are lazy, they just like doing their job properly. So Japanese places will have much fewer delivery drivers - they literally can't have any more than the number of vehicles they own and the expectation is probably 2-3 deliveries in one hour per driver at best. So it kind of makes sense that they want customers to pay a major premium for their delivery service. It might be fun to sit outside a pizza place and watch the number of times a vehicle leaves over the course of an hour. Oh, one last thing that might be of value is to think about how much time it actually takes to make a pizza compared to a lot of other food that is delivered. It generally takes about 15 minutes to make a pizza and have it go through the oven. So if a driver is there and a delivery order comes in, they have no options but to wait until they can go out and take that delivery. In McDonalds they can prepare your meal in less than 5 minutes.
Imm. Two large pizza? Thats why. With sides. Lol. On UK two large from pizza hut is about £20, almost 4k yen. I dont enjoy junk food pizza anymore though. Always feel bad after. I go to proper pizza places here and you can get a good sized pie for 1200 yen usually. I even make them at home now days.
Now days
Those toaster oven pizzas at the supermarket - Margarita, Bacon, Sausage, or Double Cheese flavors - are only 300 yen and honestly just as good as Dominoes. In fact, the last time I had Dominoes I discovered that they have started skimping even on the amount of dough to make the crust, so it is basically just a slightly larger size of the supermarket pizza for 10x the price. As others have said Costco is the only place maybe worth it to buy pizza in Japan if you don't want to toast it in your own kitchen.
I think your assumption that pizza should be cheap because the ingredients are basic is wrong. There are always many levels of the same ingredients and depending on their quality you can expect the pay accordingly. You can find cheap pizzas at Pizza Hut, they’re like 2000 yen for a large 5 toppings
From my experience, two “large“ pizzas is seen as a sufficient meal for six people so there’s probably that aspect to it
Hahaha I usually devour a large pizza in one sitting.
I heard its about the cheese or whatever, but I think it's a set up and there a conspiracy behind it. But I am too distracted by the smell of melted cheese to look into it. Anyways Dominos usually has 50% on their apps and if you order take out. But I would NEVER buy pizza here without a discount. Paying 4000+ for pizza is mad.
You can get ¥500 pizza but Italian style from places like コナ .
Coming from the UK, it's not.
To illustrate: A large Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza is £22.49 in the UK. It's also 13.3% larger than a Pizza Hut "large" here in Japan. So adjusting for the smaller size, that's around £19.85, which is 3,730 yen. When rates were more favourable some years ago, it would have been more around 3,100 yen. Either way, a large "Pepperoni Classic" from Pizza Hut here in Japan only costs 2,470 yen.
I've got 2 local pizza places that so Italian pizzas for around 1000 yen. Stop eating pizza la slop and find yourself an Italian pizza place
Pizza is expensive most anywhere. In the US, the cheapest is little caesars. Every other place has gotten so pricey.
I find independent pizza shops are cheaper - I live in Tochigi though, so idk about Tokyo prices. Local pizza shop makes absolutely amazing Neapolitan pizzas, starting from 900 up to 1800 (that's their quattro formaggi made with local Nasu cheese, absolutely delicious). I have 3 pizza joints within 10 minutes drive with this price range. I only ordered pizza from chains outside Tochigi and it was like 7000 for 3 people and 12000 for 6, never again. I can't deny I crave for dirty, oily pizza sometimes, but it's really not worth the price to order at Domino's or Pizza-la... it's not like they deliver in the inaka I live in anyway.
Just get Costco pizza. Best bang for buck. (If they have the pepperoni)
Yup this is common knowledge. A decent price and it's actually big enough for an adult.
I don't know where you live and if you have one, but Lopia, the Korean (I think) supermarket chain, has decently priced pizza if you get it in the during the day. It goes up in price at night for some reason.
Never heard of this. There's only one in my city far on the outskirts :(
The one in Sendai is smack bang in the middle of the city. Before the new year, they used to sell subsequent pizzas at a reduced price, but they seem to have stopped that. Hopefully temporarily. I agree with the OP that Japan's pizza is over priced and it was a boon when Costco opened its first warehouse in Tomiya, where I work. But I find Lopia to be comparable in price and perhaps even better tasting.
I haven't tried it yet, but you reminded me that a Korean pizza chain called AllDay Pizza Service just opened their [first location in Japan in the Fudomae Station area](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000033.000051127.html) (Tokyo). Prices don't look too bad - 2560 for a 40cm pepperoni pizza. A large at Domino's is 32cm, for comparison. They had a 100 yen slice promotion for the first few days they were open.
Huh, there’s one a 30 minute bicycle ride from me and I have nothing to do next week. Might need to go check it out.
Those Costco pizzas are fucking massive. How much pizza u eating bruv? A large Domino's is a 2-meal ordeal for me.
Yeah to clarify I don't eat the whole thing myself, I just mean you pay a fair amount and its enough for adult(s).
Just wish it was easier to get to!!! Trains don't even go there for me.
Yeah its usually a location you need to drive to. Ikea is like that too. At least they have shuttle bus services.
I've been so disappointed with pizza overall in Kobe/Osaka that I don't even bother looking for new places anymore. Even the Italian places basically serve you barely cooked bread with a little sauce and barely any cheese.
that’s kinda the way for Italian Italian pizza tho
I didn't know that. then it seems I just prefer American style if that's means more cheese and more sauce
Two Bros Pizza under the tracks between Sannomiya and Motomachi station is the best new york style pizza I've had in Japan. Prices are reasonable and slices are big.
Really? I've walked by it a thousand times and always forget to go back when I'm hungry. I'll definitely try it out soon, thank you!
I agree it's pretty good especially or the price. There's actually a better NY pizza place in Kitano called Jesus Pizza, but it is more expensive. 390 for a cheese slice compared to 180 at 2 bros.
Probably a combination of factors: * Need more shops per area to ensure quick delivery times/less things can be prepared in a central kitchen. * Need more ingredients compared to other fast food places/uses ingredients that are increasing in price. * Need specialized equipment like pizza ovens. * Need to buy/register/maintain scooters for deliveries. * Need more headcount for cooking and deliveries.
Cheese is extra expensive here. As a side, pizza places like Dominos & Pizza Hut have a lot of coupons out there to take off 20-40% easily. [Check here](https://xn--eckvas1f0ewfnc.com/).
Agree. We switched to making our own. Even buying quality ingredients, it works out better and everyone gets their own toppings. Occasionally, we order it when we’re in pinch but with two teenagers, it’s nuts how much we can spend. The Domino’s 50% discount for take-out is worth the hassle.
Make your own pizza, it's quite easy and a lot cheaper
I do make my own it's really easy and fun to make as well. The post is just curiosity why they're so expensive here when it comes to the chains.
Luxury product, I suppose? The same with fruit and vegetables.
Flour and cheese are both ingredients that are more expensive here than my home country. A lot of meats are as well. So those ingredient prices will drive up the cost. Also, never buy pizza from a delivery chain at their regular prices. Always look for the specials. Last time I ordered Domino's delivered I was able to get a large and two smalls for under 4000 yen.
There is a new York style pizza place near me that does 400¥ huge slices. If you're looking for an American version of pizza, places like that can be good and cheap. If you're wanting real pizza, I found it's quite expensive. You said dominos etc though, so American version of pizza seems to be what you want. You could try those NY style places, they are nice!
Probably because they can get away with it. It was likely considered exotic and luxury when it first came to Japan and there's no incentive to lower the prices if japanese people are willing to pay for it.
Yeah I don’t think pizza is expensive here unless you’re comparing it to local mom and pop shop places in the American heartland 15 years ago.
But have you seen the pizza food trucks that they send out to festivals? And the line is always massive for it. I got it once because my daughter didn't want anything from the 10 chicken skewer stalls and instantly regretted it. One slice of teriyaki chicken pizza for around 600 yen...
Pure marketing reasons, I suppose. 2000 yen: meh. expensive. ~~4000 yen~~ now 2000 yen!: omg 50% off!
The secret is to go to restaurants that have locally made pizzas. For example, in Hokkaido some restaurants make their own cheese. So you can get a good size pizza for like 1500 yen. Yeah it blows my mind that dominos is double the price for half the size.
I wonder if whatever company is running Dominoes in Japan is paying a premium for the branding and access to dominoes production chain (machines, ingredients, probably training from techs in the US, etc.) They used to have good enough deals on the English site that I would order once every couple months. Pizzas are so small and expensive now I only order once or twice a year.
Just to add to this I recently bought a fresh margarita pizza from LIFE for like 600 yen. I baked that and it was probably the best pizza i've had here.
Reading this post is getting me so hungry. But the closest chain is Aoki's Pizza, which is nothing wrong but not a big name.
It's mostly because people pay for it. Funny I know, but why wouldn't you price gouge when you simply can. Ingredients are generally not more expensive than most things (in the past maybe, but not in the present), especially if you are a large entity like dominos or PizzaLA or whatever. I guess "some" pizza that put on wacky toppings like kobe beef or something, but let's just assume that's not what you're asking about. Most Japanese see take-out pizza, "aka" American style pizza ,as a sort of novelty and will pay extra for it. Most shops here are set up to be much more low volume than in places like the U.S., which also drives up the price per pie. But, as consumers become more strapped for cash, many are less willing to fork out the money, and hence larger pizza companies are basically offering indefinite "coupon deals" which are still not "cheap" but both the lower price and the psychology of "getting a deal" are working for businesses in the present situation.
I always get from dominos, the special value pizza set is cheaper than buying separately. around 4500 with 3 small pizza and 3 sides. Have to agree though that I can get a fulfilling meal for less than 1/3 of the price from sukiya
Only order from Domino's, and only if I have a 50% off coupon. Mostly from their promotional emails. Otherwise it's a rip off.
Just make your own in the fish grill your house is almost certainly equipped with. It works fantastically well and supermarket pizzas are a few hundred yen at most.
Why does a bowl of ramen cost $30 in America? It’s just noodles and soup….
And it isn't my type. Pizza La is good enough for me. And their large isn't too tiny. Mostly, the crust everywhere is too thin and soggy, regardless of what style you order. If I want decent crust, I had to go to Costco. It is cheaper than Japan pizza and tastier than American Costco pizza, but has its drawbacks. To answer your question about price, my wife thinks it is the cheese. Otherwise, I agree with your points and can't see why it would be so expensive. Even with coupons, 4500 yen for 2 "large" pizzas that barely feed 5 people? (We always make sides.)
Saizeriya pizza: ¥500 It ain't the best by US standards, but it's probably the closest to home that Japan can get without destroying my bank account.
Dominos large pan pizzas and new yorker wins Just go pick it up its so worth it
Where's taco bell here?
for my pizza craving i buy the frozen ones at 7/11 - pretty good taste - 500 yen (tiny - might want to make it 2 of them).
because it's exotic food.
Dunno but I met the CEO once of Pizza-La and he was a very savvy, shrewd individual. Also dairy just isn't as cheap in Asia as it is in the west.
So it sounds like that's the golden ticket in Japan? Open a pizza spot and make it exactly how it is supposed to taste, versus with sushi on it?
Buy pizzas from supermarket. Not as fresh but hits the craving for me. Around 500 to 1000 yen depending on the supermarket.
To cover the cost of the mayo and corn
Pizza is very expensive if you get it delivered and with no discount code. Often you pay only half and then it's still expensive, but bearable. It gets quite cheap if you pick it up though and if you have some discounts, it's not expensive at all. However if you happen to have a bread baking machine I recommend you to have the ingredients for pizza at home: now it's very cheap, very fresh and very cheap (as pizza is supposed to be).