Burger King going on tour in Japan, visiting areas where no restaurants exist yet
Although the fast food market in Japan is large, it can be really tough to crack. Many have tried to cross over from the USA but only a few have reached the status of McDonald's or KFC. Taco Bell arrived amid great fanfare but now seems to be barely hanging on and Wendy's has formed some kind of symbiotic relationship with a Japanese chain to maintain its presence here.
Burger King, on the other hand, has shown itself to be a real scrapper when it comes to getting a piece of the Japanese market. For years now, they've been coming up with innovative ideas and creative campaigns to keep people thinking about them. Their efforts have been paying off too, and the number of locations in Japan has nearly quadrupled over the past five years to 281 branches today.
There's still room to grow, however, and Burger King is ready to head out on tour to explore strange new prefectures, to seek out new customer bases and new food courts, to boldly go where no Whopper has gone before.
Burger King is fueling up their food truck and preparing to kick off King On Tour 2025. Its first stop will be the Sasebo City Sports and Culture Center in Nagasaki Prefecture from 20 to 22 June at the same time the PJF Pickleball Japan Open Sasebo in Japan is held. This is no coincidence as Burger King recently became an official sponsor of the pro pickleball league.
▼ The Burger King tour truck will be tastefully wood-paneled.
Those in the area can grab a classic Whopper with Cheese and a can of Coca-Cola or Coca-Cola Zero for 1,000 yen.
Also available for a limited time is the Spicy BBQ Whopper and cola, also for 1,000 yen. This burger has the same flame-grilled all-beef patty as the Whopper but is flavored with two sauces: the rich and slightly bitter Bull's-Eye Barbecue Sauce and a Special Spicy Sauce that has the kick of chili peppers, the umami of garlic, and the complexity of the fermented bean chili paste doubanjiang.
And of course, it wouldn't be Burger King and pickleball collab event without the new, limited-edition Pickleball Burger consisting of three all-beef patties and 11 pickles served on a rice bun with a cola for 2,000 yen.
Bearing in mind that this is a food truck rather than a proper restaurant, quantities will be limited to between 300 and 400 servings. On the other hand, everyone who purchases a burger combo from the truck will receive commemorative stickers including ones with the name of the location and in this case, a Pickleball Japan logo.
This is just the start of King On Tour 2025, which will run until the end of the year, and Burger King is currently accepting suggestions on where to take their truck next. Just reply to their dedicated tweet with your requested location and the hashtag #バーガーキングを呼ぼう (#CallBurgerKing) before 9 July and they'll consider it.
▼ This tweet right here
The chosen locations will be announced in August, so keep your eyes peeled because even if you didn't call it, the Burger King truck might still be rolling into your area before too long.
Source, images: PR Times
Read more stories from SoraNews24.
-- Burger King releases a Pickleball Burger in Japan
-- World's first Ice Whopper now on the menu at Burger King Japan
-- We tried Japan Burger King's Deluxe Chicken Whopper for some serious volume 【Photos】
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