00:00:00 John Daub: Through all the junk mail I get in my mailbox, I found this. I get something from Domino's Pizza about every week or so, because I buy pizza there. I'm American. It's kind of our soul food here. And I saw this on the back. Check this out. It's a pizza rice bowl. There are seven different varieties. They have the Domino's Deluxe right in the middle. If you do mochikaeri (takeaway), you walk to the shop and pick it up. It's about 800 yen, or seven, eight dollars. Delivery is about three dollars more. So I had some delivered. I've already ordered two: one for me, one for Kanae Daub for later. We're going to try them out. She's going to eat whatever I don't eat, which is okay with her. We're doing it for science. We don't want to waste any food.

00:01:00 John Daub: Domino's has a Japanese site to order from, but there's an English site too for expats. You can see what the menu looks like. When the doorbell rings, that's when we know lunch is here. It looks pretty good, but I'm confused. Is this a casserole? Is this like doria (baked rice with cheese)? What kind of rice dish is this, or some kind of cream stew weird stuff? It's donburi (rice bowl). Choose from seven classic toppings: pizza stuff like mushrooms, pepperoni, green peppers, sausage, 100% mozzarella cheese, and butter rice as the base, which is interesting. Is it a pan pizza type casserole dish? Is it a pizza or Japanese food? Even Domino's doesn't know. Help me out and make a decision. Let me know in the comments what your opinion is.

00:02:08 John Daub: The first one is the pizza rice bowl Domino's Deluxe. Butter rice is the crust, like a pizza with a rice crust, maybe. Carry out is about seven, eight dollars depending on the exchange rate. Delivery is a couple bucks more. That looks good. This is the garlic master with hot dogs, garlic cloves, a little mayonnaise, black pepper, tomato sauce, doubled garlic, pork sausage, pancetta. My mouth is watering. Pizza rice bowl charred grilled chikin teri (chicken teriyaki). It usually has mayonnaise and corn, which you don't associate with pizza. I'm not joking. They do have a yakitori one at the bottom. This is char-grilled beef pieces with cheese. That looks good too. I ordered the kalbi (short ribs), chunks of beef marinated on top. I thought that would be closest to a beef bowl.

00:03:51 John Daub: Japanese mayonnaise on pizza is really good. It's different than Western mayonnaise like Hellmann's. Once you try Japanese mayonnaise, you either like it or hate it, but most people like it. It keeps pretty well outside the refrigerator. This is the seafood special with white sauce. Cherry tomatoes, octopus, shrimp, mussels, little neck clams. That sounds really good. I can't believe Domino's makes this. They even have a making-of video. They had pizza tempura too. I've ordered this and it's on the way.

00:04:52 John Daub: In Japan, companies like Domino's, McDonald's, Burger King—all the fast food—need to innovate. Every season, every couple months, they need some gimmick to get the Japanese audience into it. This is the current one. I'm curious if it'll be successful, which is why we ordered it. I have a tracker showing the driver's GPS. He's pretty close. It'll be bowls of rice in our mouths with pizza on it soon. Bizarre concept. I thought I might go with nama beer (draft beer) or oolong cha (oolong tea). What do you think? Beer or oolong cha for delivered lunch?

00:05:53 John Daub: This is a throwback of last year. We're still in a state of emergency in Tokyo—not a lockdown, but we want to play it extra safe with our baby boy. We're taking precautions, not going out if we don't have to. I've been doing more Uber Eats. Anybody who orders delivery food in Japan: tipping is not normal. When the Domino's delivery guy comes, I will not tip because you don't do that in Japan. You don't tip at restaurants or for deliveries. It's not part of the culture. Tipping can be an insult, implying they don't make enough money. Please don't tip taxi drivers, bellhops, or restaurant service when you come to Japan—it can be taken the wrong way.

00:06:59 John Daub: Uber Eats has added tipping for drivers, maybe because they don't pay them enough. I'm conflicted. If Uber isn't paying well, I want them to do okay. Do they pay US wages for Japanese service? I don't know. I always tip 5% or 10% on Uber Eats anyway. We've ordered more since Leo was born. I think delivery people get almost nothing without tips. But in Japan, it's not usual to tip, so people are confused. There's no manual.

00:08:09 Kanae Daub: Cheers. Thank you.

00:08:17 John Daub: I guess that's for the beer. We're gonna have to go to Old Frosty and get a beer. For those joining now, I have the rice bowl here. I don't know if it's a casserole or pizza—we're gonna figure it out. Delivered to me. Let's go get a drink. Our refrigerator is a mess. That'll work. What do you think, Mr. Das? Oh, I got to bring this togarashi (chili pepper spice). You have to add this on top. I might get some yuzu kosho (yuzu pepper paste) too. That might go good on pizza. Oh, I dropped the beer—it's gonna explode. Let's go outside. We'll hear the delivery man coming. I have yuzu kosho and togarashi. These are two condiments you can use in Japan. I hear something. Listen for the doorbell.

00:10:09 John Daub: Should I wear a mask when he comes? That's the baby. Stay on the floor. He's coming up in the elevator. I'll let him ring the doorbell—that's appropriate. I can smell it. Whoa, I can smell the garlic.

00:12:11 John Daub: Let's start from the packaging. We have to eat this fast because Kanae Daub is eating what's left—this is the agreement. They're the size of personal pan pizzas, but deeper. Bizarre. They gave you a fork, but does anybody eat pizza with a fork? You need smell-o-vision. Let's unbox this. Who came up with this? Genius. First, the Domino's Deluxe. Oh my gosh, it smells so good. It's hot. Sort of like taco rice. Japan has a culture of putting stuff on rice. The smell is amazing—sausages.

00:14:50 John Daub: When I put the fork in, you'll see the rice underneath—that's super surreal. Seven-inch pizza. Let's get the beer going—Asahi wide-open can. It's been around a long time. Kanpai everybody. Pizza and beer for lunch—how can it get better? It's really good.

00:16:11 John Daub: This is the kalbi marinated beef pizza on rice. This one smells different—the beef has a sweet and savory sauce. Kanae Daub, this looks too good. Can I eat both? I'm getting a dirty look. Massive chunk of garlic. You can see the rice—like doria (baked rice gratin). Look at that piece of beef. Marinated beef with cheese on rice. Oh my gosh. This is a magical day. That's why we have Okapi here—he's a magical animal from Ueno Zoo, half zebra half deer. He's joining us.

00:18:25 John Daub: How did they come up with this? There's a movie on the Domino's website—go check it out. Itadakimasu. I'm going to eat this, but first a picture. So bizarre. Who came up with this? Using the fork they gave—dig right in. First-person point of view. My hands are your hands. Whoa. From California to the seas of Tokyo, pizza has made it here. Oh, it's hot. That's deep. Look at that pepperoni.

00:20:08 John Daub: How do you eat this? It's got like sushi on it—rice pizza sushi. Tomato sauce with rice is unusual—the sweet acidic taste goes better on bread, but not bad. The rice is buttery; without it, it'd be too bland, like pan pizza consistency. No mistake: it's Domino's cheese, sauce, sausages, pepperoni. Familiar, but weird because of the rice. I think chopsticks would be easier. Is this healthier than pizza? Or is it pizza? Tell me in the comments—is this pizza or donburi? This part where the cheese is burned is the best. The internet's divided—some say donburi, some pizza. What do the Italians say?

00:23:48 John Daub: This is for everybody. Did you get it? Now it's time for the kalbi beef bowl. If you're an Olympian coming to Japan, this'll still be here. Easy to reheat in the tin foil pot. Surreal. This is the kalbi beef—look at the garlic. This would go well with togarashi. Oh my word. Look at it jiggle. Weird. This tastes more like a beef bowl, less like pizza. The marinated garlic is really good. I'm impressed. The beef is good.

00:27:51 John Daub: I'm gonna have to work this off with exercise. Final thoughts: it's good. I don't drink in the afternoon much. Let's try togarashi—S&B puts condiments in tubes now. That's so good. Domino's, love it. Well done. Little creativity makes it fun. Japanese fast food menus evolve—you don't know what's next. McDonald's Japan innovates; even Pepsi has weird flavors like cucumber or salty watermelon. Domino's made pizza special. They did rice bowls during the pandemic because people got fat from not exercising and eating out. Japanese want rice—it feels healthier, not oily. Kanae Daub sometimes needs rice for dinner, not bread or pasta. Brilliant for this market. McDonald's has rice burgers now too. Rice is life.

00:31:23 John Daub: Raul, happy birthday—hope you enjoyed this at 12 a.m. If you want to support, there's the postcard club on Patreon.com/onlyinjapan. This month's is me and my wife at an onsen (hot spring) on a Tokyo island with the Pacific Ocean. Join and I'll send it out today. Programming note: up to Tohoku for Japan National Tourism Organization—filming to promote it. Livestreams on 22nd, 23rd, 24th June Japan time: onsen, ryokan, meals, trains. A lot of episodes coming on the main Only in Japan channel—115,000 subscribers now, starting over from 1.3 million. Feels good to grow again, like watching Leo grow from a little swaddled burrito.

00:34:16 John Daub: No, we're not eating the baby. Burrito boy. Burrito Rio—probably gonna stick. I just timed out a moderator for fun. If you're a channel member, there's a new Rio sleeping emoji—show it. Pizza rice bowl done—surprisingly good. I'll order again. Thanks for watching. Have a great day or night.