Matsuya's Official X Posts About the 'Hiyajiru Chicken Nanban Set' Twice in 90 Minutes on Launch Day

Matsuya’s official X account posted twice in quick succession on the night of August 18, 2026, about the “Hiyajiru Chicken Nanban Set,” which went on sale nationwide that day at 10 a.m. At 9:37 p.m. it posted a taste-test report on the set, and about 90 minutes later, at 11:04 p.m., it posted again with renewed enthusiasm, this time featuring a close-up photo of the tartar-sauce-coated Chicken Nanban. The Hiyajiru Chicken Nanban Set is priced at 1,300 yen, and both posts went up on the very day of its release.

A Taste-Test Report: “Not Enough Rice”

The first post went up at 9:37 p.m. It opened with “I went ahead and tried today’s new ‘Hiyajiru Chicken Nanban Set’ (╹◡╹),” lined up impressions of the dish — “Crispy chicken, plenty of tartar sauce, a rich Hiyajiru packed with ingredients, not enough rice…!!” — and closed with “Why not treat yourself to a taste of Miyazaki, too? 🐓”

The attached photo shows a plate of Chicken Nanban topped with a generous helping of tartar sauce and a sprinkle of parsley, served with shredded cabbage, corn, cucumber, and lettuce, alongside a rich bowl of Hiyajiru with tofu and chopped scallion floating in it, and a serving of white rice. On the table sit free service vouchers for Small Serving Potato Salad and Small Serving Kimchi, and at the bottom of the screen is a “Pachi-Pachi” (clapping) sticker of Matsuya’s official mascot Macky pressing its hands together.

90 Minutes Later, a Second Post Focused Solely on Tartar Chicken

The second post went up at 11:04 p.m. In fewer words than the first, it poured its enthusiasm straight into the Chicken Nanban itself: “Matsuya’s Chicken Nanban… it makes you want to scream… Tartar Chicken!!! (╹◡╹)” There’s no mention of the Hiyajiru or the rice this time — the spotlight is on the Tartar Chicken alone.

The attached photo is a close-up shot of a plate of Chicken Nanban topped with plenty of tartar sauce and parsley, served with shredded cabbage, corn, and cucumber — the Hiyajiru and rice seen in the first post are absent. In the lower left of the screen is a “Ji~” sticker of Matsuya’s official mascot Macky staring intently at the dish.

A Nationwide Release Three and a Half Months After the Test Sale

The Miyazaki menu that led to the Hiyajiru Chicken Nanban Set unfolded in stages. On May 7, 2026, Matsuya’s official X account announced a store-limited test sale of the Miyazaki specialties Hiyajiru and Chicken Nanban. Hiyajiru was then formally announced in a July 30, 2026 notice, “Savor the Umami of Dashi, Chilled: ‘Hiyajiru Set’ Now on Sale,” and the Hiyajiru single item and set joined the menu on August 4, 2026. The set version was announced in an August 13, 2026 notice, “Enjoy Summer with a Miyazaki Specialty: ‘Hiyajiru Chicken Nanban Set’ Now on Sale,” followed by a day-before preview from the official X account on August 14, 2026, leading up to the release at 10 a.m. on August 18, 2026. Counting from the May 2026 test-sale announcement, the rollout spans about three and a half months.

Hiyajiru first appeared in a Matsuya notice on July 30, 2026, and no product built around “Hiyajiru” existed before that date. This Chicken Nanban set is a derivative product that arrived two weeks after Hiyajiru debuted as a standalone item.

The First “Nanban” Item in About Six Years

Tracing back through Matsuya notices for a product built around “Nanban” before this August 13, 2026 announcement leads all the way back to the “Loaded with Tartar Sauce” Grilled Chicken Nanban Set Meal posted on May 7, 2020. That 2020 item was grilled, a different cooking method from the apparently fried Chicken Nanban described as “crispy chicken” in this round of posts. This marks the first appearance of a “Chicken Nanban” dish in about six years. Notably, both the 2020 posting date for the Grilled Chicken Nanban Set Meal and the 2026 announcement date for the Hiyajiru and Chicken Nanban test sale fall on May 7.

Where the Post Text Came From

The phrases “loaded with tartar sauce” and “tartar chicken,” which appear in both posts, echo language from the August 13, 2026 notice — “juicy Chicken Nanban loaded with tartar sauce” and “umami-packed tartar sauce” — tracing the notice’s own wording. The closing line of the first post, “Why not treat yourself to a taste of Miyazaki, too?” combines “Miyazaki” (the prefecture whose local dish this is) and “treat yourself” (a luxurious set meal) from the notice text into a single new sentence; no identical phrasing appears in the notice itself. On the other hand, “crispy chicken,” “a rich Hiyajiru packed with ingredients,” “not enough rice…!!,” and the second post’s “makes you want to scream” have no counterpart in the notice text and appear to have been written fresh for the taste-test posts.

Stylistically, both posts end with the emoticon (╹◡╹), and the habit of stacking commas and exclamation marks is one the official account has used repeatedly before. The 🐓 (chicken) emoji placed at the close of the first post, however, is a choice rarely seen in the official account’s posts.