Matsuya Soja Store Ends 24-Hour Operation in Okayama, Following Tsuyama Store

Matsuya Soja Store (2211) has been confirmed to have ended its previous 24-hour operation, changing its business hours to 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM (last order 15 minutes before closing). The change effectively suspends operation during the late-night and early-morning hours.

The Same Change Tsuyama Store Made Five Days Earlier

Matsuya Tsuyama Store (2256), also in Okayama Prefecture, had shortened its hours to the exact same “8:00 AM to 10:00 PM (last order 15 minutes before closing)” just five days earlier, on August 11. Soja Store has now followed suit, matching Tsuyama Store’s new hours precisely.

Matsuya operates nine stores in Okayama Prefecture: Okayama Ekimae Store, Okayama Eki-Nishiguchi Store, Okayama Tokaichi Store, Okayama Shimonakano Store, and Okayama Omotecho Store in Okayama City; Kurashiki Tamashima Store and Kurashiki Mizushima Store in Kurashiki City; Soja Store in Soja City; and Tsuyama Store in Tsuyama City. Of these nine, only Tsuyama Store and Soja Store have moved away from 24-hour operation, while the remaining seven continue to operate around the clock.

The two stores that have dropped 24-hour operation are both located inland, in Soja City and Tsuyama City. The two cities are about 48 km apart in a straight line, but they share a location profile that differs from the other seven stores, which are clustered in the urban areas of Okayama City and Kurashiki City.

An Unusual Notation Among Matsunoya Co-located Stores

Both Soja Store and Tsuyama Store are co-located with Matsunoya, Matsuya’s tonkatsu-focused brand. Matsuya operates many such Matsunoya co-located stores nationwide, and most of them display hours like “24-hour operation (Matsunoya: 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM),” with the shortened hours applying only to the Matsunoya side. Soja Store and Tsuyama Store are the only two Matsunoya co-located stores whose listed hours for the entire store have been narrowed to “8:00 AM to 10:00 PM.”

A Nationwide Review of 24-Hour Operation

The move away from 24-hour operation is not limited to the two Okayama stores. Since April 2026, a series of changes narrowing business hours by ending late-night and early-morning operation has been confirmed nationwide, and Soja Store is the latest case. Some stores, such as Matsuya Asahikawa Omachi Store (2083) in Hokkaido, have narrowed their hours in stages — first shortening from 5:00 AM to 2:00 AM the following day, then further narrowing to 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM the following day. This is not simply a matter of shortening hours once and stopping there.

That said, 24-hour operation remains the norm across Matsuya as a whole. Of the chain’s 1,209 stores, 976 — roughly 80% — currently maintain 24-hour operation. The hours after a change vary from store to store, and the shift is proceeding gradually on a store-by-store basis rather than all at once.

One of the “Remaining Eight Stores” Has Already Dropped Out

As of August 11, when Tsuyama Store dropped 24-hour operation, all eight remaining Okayama stores, including Soja Store, were still operating around the clock. Just five days later, Soja Store — one of that group of eight — has itself stepped away from late-night operation. The number of Matsuya stores in Okayama Prefecture maintaining 24-hour operation has now fallen to seven.