Accosted in Tokyo

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leehljp

leehljp

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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 plain coated 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!


One note on the KrispyKreme store in Shibuya - Because we had a 10 minute wait in line, they came by and handed out one fresh donut per person to everyone in line.
 
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Hank that is awesome to see how companies branch out. You got a little bit of home. I wish they made fresh ones around my house. When I lived in Winston-Salem, NC you could watch them being made and they were so fresh they would just melt in your mouth.
 
KK= Fat pills in my house. So we sometimes say. Hey do you want me to buy some fat pills at the store?
 
Lee, standing in line in Japan was some of my favorite times. The courtousy received from the Japanese was amazing. No matter what store you went into, they almost bent over backwards to make us happy. Even with the stigma of being military didn't seem to bother them. Also glad you found your fat pills.
 
rjwolfe3 said:
Hank that is awesome to see how companies branch out. You got a little bit of home. I wish they made fresh ones around my house. When I lived in Winston-Salem, NC you could watch them being made and they were so fresh they would just melt in your mouth.
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If you come to the meeting in Dayton, I'll give you directions to the KK store.
 
Hank; Many years ago I was in the Navy and our ship visited Aruba and the city of Oranjestad. A group of us liked to walk and explore and on the far side of the city found a KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) place!!!!

We eagerly queued up and took buckets of chicken back to the ship where we were bombarded with questions about where we got the chicken?????
 
Donuts - much better then Tim Hortons or Dunkin Donuts if you have either of those in your area. I'm not sure what Canada has in the way of donuts but these are to die for. They are best eaten as soon as they are made fresh.
 
Krispy Kreme

They are the best like RJwolfe said. I think they were invented in Winston Salem NC many years ago and the company went public w/ their stock a few years ago and the cost of a dozen donuts has shot up since then. They are very tasty and many stores have the glass separating the kitchen from the dining area so you can see them being made. Be careful about trying one when you get the chance, they can be addictive.
 
maxwell_smart007 said:
What the heck is a Krispy Kreme??

I'm assuming it's a food chain of some sort? Fast food? Sure doesn't sound good to me!

Obviously, we don't have them here! :)
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Krispy Kreme is an experience. (and they are not "Donuts", they are "Doughnuts" Dunkin makes a 'Donut')

Krispy Kreme is a southern staple. The best description I've ever come up with is that 'Krispy Kreme is Deep Fried, Southern Sin'.

A Krispy Kreme Doughnut is a yeast-raised doughnut. The recipe originated in New Orleans, but the first Krispy Kreme store opened in North Carolina.

While they are always good, they are best experienced in their natural habitat: Hot, right off of the conveyor. (Krispy Kreme stores have big, red-neon signs that are only lit when there are fresh doughnuts coming off the conveyor. When the light is on, my truck just naturally turns in.)

Their original glazed is by far the best (with some cold milk). But the lemon-filled is awesome, too. Pretty much all are great.

Just to enlighten.

My cousins in Montana have a standing order with me. Anytime I come up, I have to bring 6 dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts. (funny enough, when I come BACK I have to bring a dozen Dunkin Donuts to my wife, as we don't have those down here).
 
From the business side:

Krispy Kreme is a marketing genius.

The day they went public, they sent doughnuts (deference to "Grim") to the broadcasters at CNBC. The IPO skyrocketed and continued for a couple years, while they built hundreds of outlets.

Since then, they have plummeted.

I've never had one of their doughnuts, cause I won't pay $6 a dozen for a box.
 
I have to agree, Krispy Kremes are by far the best. Unfortunately, our 'HOT AND NOW' Krispy Kreme closed a few years ago.
 
maxwell_smart007 said:
What the heck is a Krispy Kreme??

I'm assuming it's a food chain of some sort? Fast food? Sure doesn't sound good to me!

Obviously, we don't have them here! :)
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There's a store in Mississauga, how far is that from you? (Looks Like Wisconsin and Michigan would be closer :eek:)

We've invaded Canada!!!! :biggrin:
 
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Russianwolf said:
There's a store in Mississauga, how far is that from you? (Looks Like Wisconsin and Michigan would be closer :eek:)

We've invaded Canada!!!! :biggrin:
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Well, I plugged it into google maps, and missassauga is only a 21 hour drive from Kenora...I could actually get to TEXAS quicker than Missassauga...

Ontario's a HUGE place - about a million square kilometres...we also have one third of the world's fresh water, apparently (google's a wonderful thing!) :)

Makes sense now...I didn't know Tim's was down in the States, though...that was an Ontario chain first! Now, it's a Canadian staple! Do you have Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroll up the Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrim down there in March too?? :)
 
I think Tim's is only in the northern states. The closet one to me is about 30 miles away. I haven't been to one in years though. I used to go to that town for our National Guard drills.
 
Wish they would have had KK there when I was in Japan (1989). I always got strange looks walking around there, I guess 6' tall blondes weren't very common in those days.

The people of Japan were fantastic though, although I always wondered if they talked bad about you after you walked away (that seems to be a common theme in movies).

I hope to be able to take my wife there some day for a visit.
 
rjwolfe3 said:
I think Tim's is only in the northern states. The closet one to me is about 30 miles away. I haven't been to one in years though. I used to go to that town for our National Guard drills.
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Geez, we have two within three minutes of us, and we're pretty far removed from anything!

I think that 90 percent of Canadians can throw a rock and hit a Tim's!
 
Krispy Kreme owes it's entire existence to two groups of people; police, and baptists!


Although I am saddened to hear that they are now in Japan--- if the American diet makes its way into the Japanese culture like that, and has the same effect it does to the American employee.... Toyota and Honda will be needing government bailout money in about 3 years..... :(
 
Krispy Kreme came to Reno a few years ago. Big news at the time and people were laughing that Reno folks thought it was big news.

They only last a couple of years and then had to shut down. That was also big news. Damn!
 
Altho LOML grows the beets for the sugar on KKs, I don't care for them but don't care for DD either. Like Chuck, I prefer a more cake like donut. We have private owned donut shops here and they are soooooooo good. I haven't had a donut for ages, dieting:frown:. Actually, we're doing a lifestyle change for health reasons.
 
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