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The story
At the 2026 World Hamburger Championship, a Japanese-style “Wa” burger took first place. The winning entry featured matcha-infused buns, a sansho pepper mayonnaise, and onions simmered in sukiyaki broth — a combination judges reportedly praised as “packing in all the flavors of Japan.” On 5ch, threads buzzed with surprise at the unconventional flavor combo and reactions to its price tag of over 1,700 yen per burger, while traditionalist voices insisted that “a plain cheeseburger is still the best” in the end, leaving opinions split.
Video
[World’s Largest Food Sports Competition] Japan Crowned World Burger Champion! “Wa” Burger Earns Rave Reviews
Japan Becomes World Burger Champion! The “Wa” Burger Wins Raves
Source: youtube.com / Original article here
What people said
Yeah, exactly.
These guys always flip the rules upside down the moment they start losing.
It's definitely an unusual type of burger.
Overweight Americans (「デブってる」 slang for "getting fat") are after something healthy.
You can't really talk about a "Wa" burger unless it's the vending-machine kind.
If you add your own tomato, lettuce, and grilled bacon, plus ketchup and whole-grain mustard, it's delicious.
That's an insane price.
Foreigners are gonna be shocked.
> On top of a juicy, flavorful patty,
> onions simmered in sukiyaki broth are piled on —
> a "Wa" burger packed with "the taste of Japan"
…Hmm, well, it's probably tasty, but
I'd rather just have a standard hamburger.
From the look of it, there was cheese and pickles tucked in there too.
Don't the judges get indigestion after eating so many of these?
Well played.
They've clearly studied what kind of "Japanese-ness" appeals to foreigners.
But at the end of the day, a plain cheeseburger is the tastiest.
Kind of like ramen these days.
Everyone keeps one-upping each other with elaborate builds, but eventually it circles back around to simple ramen.
it's bound to turn into a tasty burger.
I know I'm nitpicking, but
for me a burger isn't a burger without that junk-food feel, so this one just didn't land.
No, I get it.
Food and sports just don't go together for me.
Apparently the word "sport" originally had nothing to do with moving your body or competing.
The meaning supposedly evolved from "carry away/move" → "a diversion" → "play," ending up meaning something totally different from where it started.
Maybe it's a competition like in Mister Ajikko (a classic cooking manga/anime).
In that show, both the cooking and the eating take serious stamina.
Premium Burgers
Blacows Smash Burger: ¥1,800
Golden Lettio Burger: ¥2,700
Standard Burgers
Hamburger: ¥1,700
Cheeseburger: ¥1,900
That's pricey. If they made it in America it'd probably cost even more.
Specialty burger shops like this basically always run ¥1,500 and up.
We didn't need that title anyway.
Just guessing, but
I don't think Americans are all that attached to the cooking method itself when it comes to hamburgers.
Japan's entry, finished with squeezed sudachi citrus, took the top prize.
Meanwhile other countries are growing through AI and semiconductors.
The value for money is top-tier too.
It'd get knocked out in Japan's own qualifiers, easily.
Everything that makes it to the competition is already assumed to taste good.
That's exactly why a distinctive approach like this one wins out.
You mean the one where the cheese is sloppily oozing out, the soda can is just crammed in bare next to the burger and fries, and it looks like a total mess — but somehow looks incredibly good anyway?
I went to the Ebisu location.
Being run by a butcher shop, it had a real meaty, satisfying taste.
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
The thread’s central disagreement was over whether “originality” or “simplicity” deserves more credit. While highly creative entries — like a matcha bun or sukiyaki-style seasoning — won praise, comments like “at the end of the day, a plain cheeseburger is still the best” were common, reflecting a pattern seen in other food competitions too: the more elaborate the creativity, the more opinions split. It’s also worth noting, as stated in the article, that the winning burger comes from a specialty shop charging between ¥1,700 and ¥2,700 per item — not something directly comparable to cheap chain-restaurant offerings. Many commenters were also puzzled by the term “food sports competition” itself; the article provides no further detail on the judging format beyond what’s in the video’s description.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[World’s Best] Japan Wins 2026 World Hamburger Championship — Judges Rave, Japan Takes the Top Spot (Video Included).”
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