Comparing gyudon chains by the numbers

Yoshinoya, Sukiya, Matsuya and Nakau — even the “regular” bowl differs by 60+ kcal. Official figures, side by side.

Even the “regular” bowl differs

Yoshinoya’s regular gyudon is 633 kcal (protein 19.6 g, salt 2.5 g); Sukiya’s is 695 kcal; Matsuya’s gyumeshi is 687 kcal. Nakau’s signature is oyakodon instead — 655 kcal with a chain-leading 30 g of protein, thanks to chicken and egg.

Size matters far more than the chain

Sukiya’s ladder runs mini 464 → regular 695 → large 908 → mega 1,365 kcal — a 900 kcal spread within one menu item. Choosing the size, not the shop, decides your intake. On lighter days a mini bowl keeps gyudon around 500 kcal.

Salt stacks up through soup and pickles

A bowl alone is 2.4–3.0 g of salt; add miso soup and pickles and a set easily reaches 4–5 g. If salt matters to you, pick egg or salad as the side instead of soup.

Figures in this article are aggregated from the 30,399 items across 191 chains we publish (as of 2026-09-18). Reference values follow Japan’s Dietary Reference Intakes (2020).

Written by

Okazaemon (runs tabecal)

Sales job, late twenties. Lost 18 kg over three years without giving up eating out, with one rule: 20 g+ protein and 10 g or less fat per meal. Checks every chain’s officially published nutrition data daily. Not a nutrition professional — consult a doctor or dietitian for medical decisions. About the operator →

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