Burger King and its famous Whopper hamburger returned to Japan yesterday after a six-year hiatus and customers who lined up for hours at the first new branch needed no translation to realize that the English word "whopper" means "outlandishly huge."
"It feels more like you're eating a burger," said Shinichi Fujiki, 37, who wore a paper crown as one of the first 100 customers at the Tokyo restaurant's opening.
Many hamburgers sold here are small, with thin slices of meat.
PHOTO: AP
Fujiki frequented Burger King when it was in Japan in the 1990s and said he'd missed it since it was forced to withdraw in 2001, partly due to a bitter price war with McDonald's.
McDonald's is still Burger King's biggest rival in Japan, with 3,800 restaurants.
A second Tokyo Burger King is set to open later this month and more may follow.
Burger King Corp, the world's second-largest fast-food hamburger company, is not changing any of its sandwich sizes or most other basic menu features for the Japanese market, but it does offer a teriyaki Whopper.
High-calorie meals
The ¥370 (US$3.05) Whopper and the even more expensive ¥600 Double Whopper with cheese and bacon are expected to fare better this time around because of a new trend among Japanese to favor pricier, high-calorie meals.
McDonald's ¥350 MegaMac, with four beef patties, has proved a hit.
The first store Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc opened in Japan in December is still drawing long lines.
Miami-based Burger King is banking on the recent hunger here for greasy and sweet food and a move away from the healthy, traditional diet that is centered on fish and rice.
`Important market'
"Japan is a very important market for us and one that we have great growth plans for in the future," said Burger King chief executive John Chidsey, who was in Tokyo for the countdown ceremony where a jazz band played.
A giant firecracker went off and glittery streamers filled the air as the doors opened.
Regional menus are one of Burger King's main features.
They include the Korean barbecue Bulgogi Burger and Green Tea Pie in Thailand.
For Japan, it's the ¥390 Whopper Teriyaki, a 13cm, 113g beef patty cooked in a sweet, spicy sauce and served on a sesame-seed bun with lettuce and tomato.
The US chain will not be serving US beef in Japan, but will be using meat from New Zealand instead. McDonald's serves only Australian beef in Japan.
Peter Tan, president of Burger King Asia Pacific, said that the decision to go with New Zealand beef was an economic one and that the company chooses different kinds of beef depending on the stores' locations.
`Different beefs'
"We use different beefs around the world," he said. "It really doesn't matter where the beef comes from."
The return to Japan is part of Burger King's global expansion efforts.
The chain -- which runs more than 11,000 restaurants worldwide, including Europe and Latin America -- is opening its first stores this year in Egypt, Hong Kong and Poland as well.
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