Yes, unfortunately Japan is not immune to influences of Westernization and the big food practices that come along with it . But the big difference I see is that in Japan, those big menus tend to be associated with low budget restaurants, yet nicer restaurant chains still manage to have small, seasonally-based menus. While in the United States, even the nicer restaurants have these big, long menus with little concern for seasonality.

So overall, having just a small daily selection and a quality-first mindset is something that I believe is more common in restaurants here than in the United States. But I agree with you, there are many exceptions to this rule in Japan and the United States!