Matsuya Re-Swaps Lunch Set Photos for 5 Items Within a Single Day — Likely Caused by Mismatch Between Photos and Morning's New "Egg Exclusivity Restriction"

Matsuya’s menu data shows that at 1:00 PM on April 28, the product photos for 5 Lunch Set items were replaced all at once. Notably, these same photos had already been replaced once that same morning, at 10:58 AM. In other words, they were reshot and re-uploaded again within just a few hours.

Same-Day Replacement Timeline

Time	Image Version	Concurrent Changes
10:58 AM	_260407 → _260424	Side options reduced from 10 to 4 / Exclusive restriction introduced for raw egg and soft-boiled egg
Around 1:00 PM	_260424 → _260428	Images re-swapped only

The 5 Items Affected

Menu Item	Base Price
Umatoma Cheese Beef Bowl Lunch Set	760 yen
Extra Green Onion Spicy-Savory Green Onion & Egg Beef Bowl Lunch Set	730 yen
Oni-oroshi Grated Radish Ponzu Citrus Soy Sauce Beef Bowl Lunch Set	630 yen
Cheese Beef Bowl Lunch Set	730 yen
Kimchi Beef Bowl Lunch Set	630 yen

The date portion of the file name changed from 260424 to 260428.

The “Egg Exclusivity Restriction” Introduced in the Morning Change

On the morning of that day, Matsuya significantly streamlined its Choice of Side lineup (from 10 options to 4) and, at the same time, introduced an exclusive topping restriction on raw egg and soft-boiled egg.

Side	Restriction
Raw Egg	Available only with the Beef Bowl Lunch Set
Soft-boiled Egg	Unavailable only with the Beef Bowl Lunch Set

In other words,

• Beef Bowl Lunch Set (530 yen, plain Beef Bowl): Only raw egg can be added (soft-boiled egg is not available)
• The 5 topping-based items (listed above): Only soft-boiled egg can be added (raw egg is not available)

This is a newly established rule under which the type of egg that can be added switches completely depending on the main item ordered.

Was the “Re-Swap” Caused by a Mismatch Between the Photos and the New Rule?

The fact that the April 24 photo set, just uploaded on the morning of April 28, was replaced with an April 28 photo set within the same day strongly suggests a discrepancy between the photo content and the new rule. Possible scenarios:

1. The exclusivity rule may not have been finalized at the time of the April 24 shoot. The April 24 shoot may have been staged either as a plain Lunch Set with no egg topping, or under the assumption that either type of egg could be added. It would make sense that, after announcing the rule and uploading the photos that morning, Matsuya then decided that “the 5 topping-based items should show a photo with soft-boiled egg on top” and scrambled to reshoot.
2. The type of egg shown in the photo contradicted the rule. If the April 24 version showed raw egg rather than soft-boiled egg, that would create a display contradiction for the 5 items that are supposed to allow “only soft-boiled egg.” Once this was noticed, a soft-boiled egg version was reshot and uploaded on April 28.

Either way, a sequence of morning rule announcement → discovery of the photo mismatch → same-day reshoot appears to be behind this.

Why Was an Exclusivity Rule Necessary?

At first glance this rule seems complicated, but it can be understood from a pricing strategy perspective.

• The Beef Bowl Lunch Set (530 yen) is the cheapest, plain Beef Bowl configuration. Allowing free raw egg here appears aimed at making an “egg-on-rice Beef Bowl Set Meal” possible at the lowest price point.
• Allowing only free soft-boiled egg on the 5 topping-based items (630–760 yen) boosts the visual appeal of the product photos with the more photogenic soft-boiled egg. Adding raw egg tends to give a “runny, dripping” look, which may have raised concerns about undermining the visual flair of the topping-based lineup.

In short, the restriction appears designed to optimize presentation by price tier: “the cheapest configuration prioritizes cost with raw egg” and “the topping-based items prioritize visual appeal with soft-boiled egg.” The constraint around a single soft-boiled egg has become the trigger that separates brand presentation across price tiers.

Lunch Set Operations Still Not Settled

Photos for the Lunch Set (the “260407” version) were prepared at the time of the April 7 renewal, followed by the April 24 version and now today’s April 28 version — three photo swaps in just three weeks. The number of side options was also just reduced from 10 to 4, suggesting that the menu design and photo presentation are being adjusted in real time.

The tagline “60 Choices for Your Lunch Set” has effectively been cut in less than half by the reduction in sides, to 6 main items x 4 sides = 24 combinations. With the egg exclusivity restriction now added on top, the simple multiplication of combination counts is becoming largely nominal. Matsuya’s Lunch Set operations remain in flux, caught up in the constraints of a single egg.