How we build this database
Data sources, refresh cadence, dietary classification limits, and what is excluded.
Every menu item in this database is sourced from the chain’s own published nutrition information — typically a PDF or HTML page on the chain’s official Japanese website. We do not estimate values, we do not interpolate from community sources, and we do not import from third-party aggregators. If a chain does not publish nutrition data for an item, we do not include that item.
The pipeline runs weekly. For each chain it downloads the source document, parses the nutrition fields, validates them against schema-level sanity rules (calories must be non-negative; protein, fat, and carbohydrates must be present), and writes the result into the unified item store. Items that fail validation are logged and excluded.
Dietary classification is name-based. For each item, we run the menu name, English alias, and chain category through a keyword screen for animal-derived terms (beef, pork, chicken, fish, shellfish, dairy, eggs), alcohol, mirin, gelatin, and wheat-based products. Items that pass the relevant filter receive the corresponding dietary tag. This means: a soup labelled "vegetable miso soup" will be tagged vegetarian even though it almost certainly contains bonito (fish) dashi. Each dietary filter page documents the specific blind spots; the dietary classifier is a starting point, not a certification.
Excluded from the database: regional or test-market items not in the chain’s national menu, items where the chain has not published per-serving values (only "per 100 g" or "ingredient list only"), and ingredient-only entries that are not menu items. We aim for accuracy at the cost of completeness.
Salt and sodium are reported separately. Many Japanese chains publish "salt equivalent" (食塩相当量, in grams) but not sodium directly. We compute sodium where missing using the standard conversion (sodium mg = salt g × 393.4). Where sodium is published directly, we use that value.
For corrections or new chain requests, please contact the editorial team via the Japanese edition’s contact page. We prioritize chain additions based on visitor demand and the quality of the chain’s official data.