I used to come for Christmas/New Year when MrLapLap was still in Tokyo and I was in London and we’d go for walks together in the Shinjuku area. First Kitchen was one of the few places open. It got bought by Wendy’s (who made a comeback to Japan) a few years ago so it might be improved. I did notice in the video of Shibuya that the Wendy’s First Kitchen was still one of the only fast food franchises that was opened; brought back memories.

Talking of which, my now teenage daughter STILL remembers her Lotteria burger and was talking about it earlier this month. Turns out it was a black pepper burger, probably a limited edition style, where the black pepper taste was extremely prominent. Seems to be set for ever as a “do you remember when….?” experience. Just like my one and only First Kitchen visit on New Years Day all those years ago.

What I do remember fondly about the shops reopening on the 2nd and 3rd of January are the Lucky Bags.
This may or may not be something Chemystery ‘s kid gets into, if she does the concept can be very exciting.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukubukuro
It’s one of the few ways to openly gamble in Japan, particularly for someone under twenty.