Accosted in Tokyo

[leehljp]

About a year and a half ago, KrispyKreme came to Japan - specifically Tokyo. This past week-end, I was in Tokyo for a meeting. A close personal friend (from Alabama) is the business manger of our organization in Japan. Late Saturday afternoon after some work, I asked him to take me to the nearest KK and we went to the one in Shibuya about 1K from our office. We walked. We went across the intersection that is often shown in Japanese footage because it it the busiest pedestrian intersection in Japan. The intersection is also where the Hachiko (dog) statue is - about which Richard Gere just made a movie.

We went to the KrispyKreme about 200 yards up the street from that intersection and I enjoyed my sugar fix! Undaunted about the unhealthiness of KK, I ordered 2 dozen to take home with me to Toyota on Sunday afternoon. (5 hours away). LOML is diabetic, so they were ALL for me!

After getting the 2 dozen KKs, we went back to and through the busy intersection, by Hatchiko, into the walkway under the train line in Shibuya, and suddenly someone grabs my arm and kinda jerks me around. In all my 24 years here I have never had a Japanese grab my arm, man or woman. I have been bumped quite a bit, but not grabbed! It was a woman in her mid-20s and she had a wide grin on her face. I was shocked. She had a friend with her and she too was smiling. Both were embarrassed by my shocked reaction, but still smiled. It took them a couple of seconds to respond but when they did, they asked "KrispyKreme DOKO (where)? and pointed to my bag of KK.

And I thought it was me! I told them where the store was and asked them if they had been to the States. Both said yes and that is where they had eaten KKs. They were astonished when they saw the KrispyKreme bag with two boxes that I was carrying. They said that I walked fast and it was hard to catch me. They did not know that there were any KK stores in Tokyo and could not resist stopping me.

My friend and I laughed about it and then when we got home (at my friends house,) he promptly told my wife that I had been accosted!

[pierhogunn]

So, if KK's are so popular, why not put them in places where we aren't so popular, as a country, and see if that helps improve our "image" a little

Hot donuts now = physical and mental addiction

KK DT's are terrible

[Van]

That is so funny. It's been 20 years since I lived in Japan, but I know the spot you described. As a gaijin, I got used to being invisible. People would be so busy pretending I didn't exist that sometimes they would walk into me. I can imagine your shock at a stranger actually talking to you.

[lrogers]

Where they the plain or chocolate frosted????

[drillman88]

I have seen KK provoked accosts before.
Loml found a local restaraunt the served a KK ice cream sunday. She said there was nothing better it combined all of her favorites together. We went one day and they decided to stop serving it; she accosted the manager.

[Whaler]

I spent 10 days in Tokyo back in 1961. No KK store there then.

[leehljp]

Where they the plain or chocolate frosted????

They had all kinds there, but I was only interested in the plain yesterday. Next time - probably January, I will get some other flavors.

The Store that I was in had a line that took about 10 minutes wait - so they served a free donut to each person in line as they waited!

[Bill Anderson]

So, if KK's are so popular, why not put them in places where we aren't so popular, as a country, and see if that helps improve our "image" a little

Hot donuts now = physical and mental addiction

KK DT's are terrible

What are DT's? Too many abbreviations Thanks, Bill

[Bill Anderson]

Oh, Please stop all this talk of Krispy Kremes. I love those things! Now I have to go out to get some. We had a store in my town, but it closed. They sell them in Target and Wal-Mart, but not as fresh as the KK store, just not the same.

Now I want a donut. There goes another diet! Thanks guys

[TB Roye]

I think the KK craze is gone. All the stores in and around Sacaramento are closed. I neved did aquire a taste for them. I usually go the the mom and pop shop over by the High School I went to 50+years ago. I just prefer the old style. That is my Sunday morning treat when I get up early. Nice cup of Coffee a couple of Donuts and the paper.

Tom

[leehljp]

I think the KK craze is gone. All the stores in and around Sacaramento are closed. I neved did aquire a taste for them. I usually go the the mom and pop shop over by the High School I went to 50+years ago. I just prefer the old style. That is my Sunday morning treat when I get up early. Nice cup of Coffee a couple of Donuts and the paper.

Tom

Tom,
You are older than me, every bit of 4 years (I think) and your generation just didn't get it!

Just kidding of course!

It is sure is nice to have some "western" flavor here once in a while! When I moved to Osaka in '91 there were 4 Carl's Jrs. We went to all of them and they were always crowded. Suddenly they just closed! GREAT Food. When I find American Food here, I make it a holiday. Don't get me wrong, I like most Japanese foods too, but all Japanese foods are kinda common over here. Variety is reason for a holiday! :biggrin:

[cgallery]

I think the KK craze is gone. All the stores in and around Sacaramento are closed. I neved did aquire a taste for them. I usually go the the mom and pop shop over by the High School I went to 50+years ago. I just prefer the old style. That is my Sunday morning treat when I get up early. Nice cup of Coffee a couple of Donuts and the paper.

Tom

Yeah, I'm 43 and never got it, either. They seem like the Wonder Break of donuts.

I also prefer my local bakery, they're old style, too.

[Rich P]

In the late 60's I was going to college in Tampa and working nights in proof and transit in a bank. We'd start around 5:00 PM and work until everything was processed. One of my fondest memories of that time was getting off around 4:00 AM and driving back to my apartment and stopping at a KK when they were just wheeling the merchandise out of the kitchen...still hot and the glaze not dry...heaven!

When they started expanding I tried one here in the Bay Area and was frankly disappointed. Perhaps they grew too big too fast or maybe living up to that memory is asking too much. At least the store here in Mountain View CA is still open.

Your tale raises an interesting point about how much Japanese culture has changed over the past 20 or so years. When I was there in the early 80's most Japanese women would never have had the courage to "accost" a man.

[Uncle Cracker]

What are DT's? Too many abbreviations Thanks, Bill

DeTox... Withdrawal symptoms... the shakes...

[unknown poster]

The KK craze isn't over, they got themselves in big financial trouble and had to make major cuts to stay alive. They went public and engaged in major expansion just before the No Carb Diet became popular. A lot of thier franchises went bankrupt while in debt to KK. Carbs are OK again, but KK hasn't recovered.

I'm always jealous when I hear that someone on the other side of the world finds Hot Doughnuts Now. I live in the nearest big city to KK world headquarters, but after the cuts my nearest KK store is about 30 minutes away so I rarely get hot doughnuts. To bring this a bit back on topic, the last remaining KK store in Charlotte is up the street from Woodcraft.