It’s not unusual for games to parody famous brands. Grand Theft Auto had its own version of Budweiser in "Pißwasser," and Saints Row took it to Wendy’s with "Freckle Bitches." Other games manage to crowbar in real sponsors, like Calorie Mates in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, or Chupa Chups lollipops in Zool.
But then some games go the extra mile. It wasn’t enough for RGG Studio to replicate actual red-light districts in the Yakuza series. They included a number of actual businesses and brands throughout the series. Most of these are restaurants, but there are a few oddities in this list of actual businesses in Yakuza.
10 Club SEGA
Sadly, Sega recently sold off their arcade businesses, so these lovely game centers with the red windows and banners are now branches of Club GIGO. Before then, it was a no-duh moment for Sega to include some of its own stuff in the game.
In the older games, Club SEGA would provide bespoke video games like Boxcellios or Gunrhein. Nowadays, they tend to offer emulated versions of classic Sega games like Outrun, Space Harrier, and a racy version of Mushiking (Bug King) called Mesuking (Female King).
9 APA Hotels
Speaking of Club SEGA, near the Theater Square branch of it in Yakuza 6 is a big hotel. Kiryu has to go there in Chapter 7 to meet up with Akiyama up on the 6th floor, after beating up some people tailing him.
The hotel is part of the APA Hotel chain and is actually based on one of their branches in Kabukichō, the real life equivalent of Kamurochō. However, the branding license must have run out after Yakuza 6, as it was renamed to "Hotel New Debolah" in all its subsequent appearances.
8 Watami & Watamin-chi
Watami first made its appearance as a restaurant in Yakuza 4, but hit its peak in Yakuza 5. In that game, Haruka could take on a substory where she has to impress the presidents of Watami and its rival company Watamin-chi. Both are real restaurant chains owned by the Watanabe group, who used Haruka’s likeness to advertise their companies.
However, the shine fell off the Watanabe Group when it was accused of treating its employees harshly. This included forcing all employees to buy a book written by its founder, Miki Watanabe (the cost was taken out of their paychecks), and overworking their staff. The company was also accused of working one employee to death through overtime in 2008. Still, the company came to an agreement with the family and Watanabe apologized…7 years later in 2015.
7 Seicomart
Most of the series’ convenience stores tend to be proxies of their real equivalents. For example, Poppo looks a lot like the Japanese (and American via Ohio) store chain Lawson. Then Sega decided to take a chance on licensing Seicomart for Yakuza 5.
Why? Mostly for its location. Seicomart has spread across Japan, but it first cropped up in on the country's northern island Hokkaidō. Since Yakuza 5 used multiple locations across the country, placing Seicomart in their version of Hokkaidō’s capital city Sapporo would make the place feel more authentic. The company is doing well for itself, as it’s been rated as Japan’s #1 convenience store for 5 years running thus far.
6 Soft On Demand
It’s no secret that most of the hostesses in the Yakuza games have been based on "adult video" stars. Yakuza 0 hit the peak when Sega ran a poll for fans to pick their favorite women to be part of the game. Six of them became staff for Goro Majima’s Hostess Club mini-game, while the other 24 became various NPCs. Players could even unlock videos of them to watch for a "Heat Boost."
That’s because they were licensed by Soft on Demand, an actual adult video company who have provided softcore videos for Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2 among others. Ironically, with its substories about saving people from cults and charming hostesses with conversation, the Yakuza series might be the most wholesome thing the actresses have starred in. Just be careful when Google searching for Yakuza’s hostesses by name.
5 Sushi Zanmai
Offering fresh fish dishes, Sushi Zanmai first appeared in Yakuza 5, then continued on into Yakuza 6, Judgment, the Kiwami remakes, and Yakuza: Like A Dragon. In practice, it’s just another restaurant for the player to boost their health and complete menus for a trophy/achievement. But its debut outing was a touch more special.
In Yakuza 5’s first chapter, protagonist Kazuma Kiryu can find the company’s founder Kiyoshi Kimura by the river. He basically serves as an introduction to the fishing mini-games and to Sushi Zanmai itself. In real life, Kimura’s so synonymous with his company that he’s known as the "Tuna King of Japan." Like Watami and Haruka, Zanmai used Kiryu standing alongside Kimura on posters to advertise both the restaurant and the games.
4 Kushikatsu Daruma
Speaking of Dōtonbori, it has another restaurant that’s featured in the Yakuza games. Kushikatsu Daruma can be found in approximately the same place in Dōtonbori as its digital version in Sotenbori. As the name suggests, it specializes in kushikatsu: deep-fried skewers of meat, vegetables, seafood, and anything else that can be battered.
Like Kiyoshi Kimura, Yakuza 5 included Daruma’s president Katsuya Ueyama. He even gets two substories: one where he asks Akiyama for tips on what else he can turn into kushikatsu, and another where Akiyama helps him beat up some goons for littering. If only there were more company presidents willing to show themselves throwing down on the streets.
3 Kani Dōraku
Dōtonbori offers another landmark in Kani Dōraku. It’s a restaurant that deals largely in crustacean cuisine, offering different varieties of crab dishes and other seafood. Dōtonbori’s outlet is the most famous one for having a giant crab model sitting above its door and being right next to its famous Ebisu Bridge. Basically, it’s in the same place as the version in Yakuza 2 onwards.
However, the company can be found nationwide in Japan. It even had TV adverts complete with a catchy jingle. The original Japanese version of Super Mario RPG included a reference to its commercials in one of the enemies’ opening remarks.
2 Don Quijote
Don Quijote also has a catchy jingle that can be heard whenever the player enters the store in-game (‘Don-don-don Quijote!’). They can also be found nationwide in Japan, offering reasonable prices on all sorts from soda to household essentials. The interiors are just as cramped as they appear in-game as well, leaving some fans worried they could be a fire hazard.
The stores have featured in every game since the original Yakuza in 2005. It even appeared in Yakuza Ishin, despite that game being set over a hundred years before the company’s founding in 1980. But sadly, their licensing deal with Sega ran out recently and was not renewed in time for Yakuza: Like A Dragon. Its last appearance was in Judgment.
1 Maharaja
Finally, the most surprising entry on this list might be Yakuza 0’s Maharaja nightclubs. They’re famous for introducing fans to the dancing mini-game. But when players aren’t trying to find some way to beat Miracle Johnson (which is impossible, even with cheats), they might be surprised to know they were real. The original Maharaja clubs opened their doors in the 1980s and flourished throughout that decade and well into the 1990s.
They’re as much a part of Japan’s ‘Bubble’ era as yuppies, bodycon dresses, and Famicom games. But by the 2000s, the party ended, and they shut up shop. That is, at least until the 2010s, where the Maharaja name was revived for a chain of retro-clubs. So, fans of 80s and 90s J-Pop, rock and other genres can make the most of their Friday Nights once again.