The Katsu Sando

Menchi Katsu Sando - Pork (ポークメンチカツサンド)

Menchi katsu made with ground pork.

Menchi Katsu Sando - Cheese (チーズメンチカツサンド)

Menchi katsu with melted cheese in center; gooey, rich.

Menchi Katsu Sando - Beef (ビーフメンチカツサンド)

Menchi katsu made with ground beef.

Maisen Katsu Sando (まい泉カツサンド)

It leaves through a takeout counter in a flat white box, carried to someone else more often than eaten by the buyer. The Maisen katsu sando is a brand's gift object before it is a meal.

Kushikatsu Sando (串カツサンド)

Kushikatsu (deep-fried skewered items) in sandwich form; Osaka specialty.

A breaded potato croquette laid in crustless shokupan under dark sauce. The korokke sando carries a patty Japan rebuilt from potato in the Meiji era and made a craze in 1917, long before it met bread.

Korokke Pan (コロッケパン)

A panko potato croquette tucked into a soft roll and lacquered with dark tonkatsu sauce: warm, savoury, cheap, one-handed. The roll, not sliced bread, is what makes it the pan.

Konbini Katsu Sando (コンビニカツサンド)

Convenience store tonkatsu sandwich; surprisingly good for grab-and-go.

Kissaten Katsu Sando (喫茶店カツサンド)

Coffee shop katsu sando; often more homestyle than specialty shops.

Katsu Sando Ice (カツサンドアイス)

Katsu sando-flavored ice cream or ice cream shaped like katsu sando; novelty item.

Katsu Curry Pan (カツカレーパン)

Tonkatsu with curry sauce in a roll; combines two favorites.

Kani Cream Korokke Sando (カニクリームコロッケサンド)

Bite a hot one and the shell cracks before the filling moves, then a crab-flecked cream that was a firm paste five minutes ago floods out. A sauce wearing a crust.

Kaki Fry Sando (カキフライサンド)

In January the menus change. The oyster comes into its plump cold-water months and the fried-oyster sandwich appears, panko-crumbed oysters and tartar on soft bread, a sandwich on a calendar.

Hire Katsu Sando - Premium (極上ヒレカツサンド)

Premium tenderloin katsu using high-grade pork; thick-cut, minimal breading to showcase meat quality.

Ham Katsu Sando (ハムカツサンド)

A flat orange-brown disc in the meat-shop case, costing less than anything fried beside it: pressed ham in a panko coat, slid into soft shokupan with dark sauce, chosen because ham was cheap.

Gyukatsu Sando (牛カツサンド)

The whole sandwich is engineered for the cut. Beef sirloin breaded and plunged briefly into hot oil yields three colours between shokupan, the ruby red centre held at slicing temperature.

Ginza Katsu Sando (銀座カツサンド)

Ginza-area premium katsu sando shops; high-end beef and pork.

Ebi Katsu Sando (海老カツサンド)

Cut one in half and read the face: not a curl of prawn with gaps, but a single even band of pale shrimp edge to edge. That uniformity is decided before any bread is involved.

Ebi Fry Sando (エビフライサンド)

Whole breaded fried shrimp (ebi fry) on shokupan with tartar sauce; prawns remain whole rather than minced.

Depachika Katsu Sando (デパ地下カツサンド)

Department store katsu sando; often from famous tonkatsu restaurants.

Cream Korokke Sando (クリームコロッケサンド)

Cream croquette (creamy béchamel filling with crab or corn) on shokupan.

Chicken Katsu Sando (チキンカツサンド)

Japan's everyday katsu: a panko-fried chicken cutlet in trimmed shokupan with tonkatsu sauce, split by the standing question of breast or thigh and priced by the broiler boom that made chicken cheap.

Chicken Katsu Sando - Thigh (もも肉チキンカツサンド)

Chicken katsu using thigh meat; juicier, more flavorful.