"More Expensive When Eaten at Night"… Japan's Popular Gyudon Introduces 'Late-Night Surcharge'

Gyudon, known as a representative affordable dish for the common people in Japan, has become the center of price hikes due to rising labor costs. Controversy has erupted as a 24-hour gyudon chain announced it will implement a late-night surcharge system. This is the first time a large-scale gyudon chain has attempted a late-night surcharge system, which had previously only been applied by some family restaurants, leading to negative forecasts that even the last bastion of affordable food has succumbed to rising prices.

Sukiya's Gyudon.
Photo by Sukiya

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On the 4th, Japanese media outlets including TBS simultaneously reported that the famous gyudon chain Sukiya has implemented a price increase for the first time in two years and will introduce a late-night fee. Sukiya is well-known among Korean tourists as a "cheap Japanese restaurant open until late" and one of the "three major gyudon chains."

Sukiya, which operates 24 hours, will add a 7% late-night surcharge for orders placed between 10 PM and 5 AM. The regular-sized gyudon, which had been frozen at 400 yen (3,550 KRW) for over two years, will be raised to 430 yen (3,860 KRW). Orders placed during late-night hours will cost 460 yen (4,082 KRW). Sukiya is the first gyudon chain to introduce a late-night surcharge system. Since gyudon has been a representative dish used to measure the perception of price increases among the common people in Japan, similar to the Big Mac Index in the US, the introduction of this late-night surcharge is a significant shock to ordinary consumers.

The signboard of Sukiya, which announced the introduction of a late-night fare plan.
[Photo by Sukiya]

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Originally, late-night surcharges were mainly introduced by family restaurants with many part-time and full-time employees. According to labor standards law, wages for late-night work must be paid at 25% higher than usual, so restaurants had no choice but to set additional fees to maintain profitability during late-night operations.

On the other hand, gyudon chains can operate with ticket vending machines or a small number of employees, so they could balance their finances without such a system. Regarding the introduction of the late-night surcharge system, Sukiya stated it was an "unavoidable measure to respond to rising labor and raw material costs." TBS explained, "Japan's minimum wage has risen by nearly 250 yen (2,218 KRW) over the past 10 years, and last year it exceeded 1,000 yen (8,875 KRW) for the first time, reaching 1,004 yen (8,910 KRW)." In central Tokyo, wages are even higher; part-time workers at Sukiya's Shinjuku Minami branch reportedly earn a late-night hourly wage of 1,688 yen (14,980 KRW).

Sukiya's notice informing that along with the menu price increase, a late-night surcharge will be applied from 10 PM to 5 AM the next day.
[Photo by Sukiya]

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Experts' opinions are divided. Some argue that the symbolic value of affordable food will be damaged, ultimately harming business, while others analyze that those who do not adopt the surcharge system will not survive.

Ry?ji Narita, a restaurant management consultant, said, "Compared to family restaurants, gyudon shops have a higher usage rate during late-night hours," adding, "If gyudon chains apply late-night surcharges, the negative perception among consumers that the food is expensive due to the surcharge is more likely to destroy the 'affordable food' image than the advantage of increased sales."

Anchors and panelists are discussing Skiya's introduction of a late-night fare plan.
[Photo by TBS]

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On the other hand, Shigeyuki Toriyama, editor-in-chief of the Japanese restaurant introduction magazine Monthly Restaurant, said, "Labor costs will generally continue to rise," and "Sukiya will be a litmus test for how consumers accept price increases due to rising labor costs."

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