Word: yakiniku
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Seven years ago, Tomoyoshi Nishiyama wanted to launch his own chain of yakiniku (Japanese-style barbecue) outlets. His background in real estate left him ill prepared for the venture, so he went undercover. He flipped burgers at McDonald's to learn the trade and came away with a strong focus on customer input. His REINS International fast-food empire has now grown to 1,080 locations. (McD's has 3,821 in Japan.) New footholds in Los Angeles and Taiwan mark the latest expansion: Nishiyama hopes to become a top vendor in the U.S. and China. "It's a pretty...
...cult of Beat Takeshi, which now has as strong a hold on its disciples as any religion. And there really is a cult. The Takeshi Gundan, a group of some 100 apprentice comics, young men who adore Beat and emulate him, sprang up in 1983. They gathered at a yakiniku restaurant in Tokyo's Shinjuku district?a popular Takeshi haunt?waiting for a glimpse of their master. The restaurant became known as the holy shrine to Beat; his followers began to call him tono, or "lord." "We waited outside for four hours, just to see him," recalls Hakase Suidobashi...
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