KFC gets into Japan’s nengajo tradition in a finger-licking way.

Instead of Christmas cards, people in Japan send New Year’s cards. Called nengajo, they’re usually decorated with seasonal motifs (such as Mt. Fuji, pine trees, or Chinses Zodiac animals), and happy couples and proud parents will often include a photo with their sweetheart our kids.

Another thing nengajo and Christmas cards have in common? After they read them, most people put them away in the closet and don’t really bother to look at them again until next year, so they can check the mailing addresses of the people the need to send cards to (or maybe to take another look at the mutant sheep that appeared in 2014). Because of that, more and more young people in Japan are opting to just send electronic nengajo, but there’s now a compelling reason to keep your New Year’s salutations paper-based: free fried chicken!

KFC has recently jumped into the nengajo game, and it’s offering two different designs, each with festive New Year’s imagery on the front.

▼ There’s also blank space at the bottom of the card on which to write your personal message.

However, the part that’s really going to make recipients happy is on the back, where there’s a notice saying that the card can be presented at any KFC branch in Japan for a free piece of Original Recipe fried chicken!

▼ Don’t worry, the mouse is only there because 2020 is the Year of the Mouse.

The KFC cards are currently on sale at post offices in Japan, where they’re priced at 710 yen (US$6.50) for a pack of three, which isn’t a bad deal when you consider that includes the cards themselves, the chicken you’re gifting someone, and the pre-paid price of postage to mail them within Japan.

▼ Happy New Year!

One thing to keep in mind is that your free chicken must be claimed between January 1 and 31, but honestly, if you can fight the temptation of free fried chicken for more than a month, you’ve got far more willpower than SoraNews24’s all-you-can-eat-KFC-loving staff.

Source: KFC
Featured image: KFC
Top image ©SoraNews24
Insert images: KFC, SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]

Follow Casey on Twitter, where “free” and “fried” are two of his favorite food descriptions.

[ Read in Japanese ]