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“New York-style” tsukimi mochi burgers to appear at Wendy’s Japan this fall

Casey Baseel Aug 20, 2026
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A fusion of Japanese and American influences is converging to kick off moon-viewing burger season.

Japan is understandably fond of its indigenous culinary culture. However, it’s also a nation with an unabashed enthusiasm for adopting tasty foods that originated overseas, so it’s not uncommon for hamburger chains in Japan to lean into the American-ness of their menu items. For example, later this month Wendy’s Japan is introducing a new hamburger meant to evoke thoughts of New York, while still having two elements that are very Japanese.

Coming soon is the New York Tsukimi Mocchi Burger, the latest addition to Japan’s tsukimi burger genre. Tsukimi is the Japanese word for “moon-viewing,” but in certain culinary circles it’s also used to refer to adding an egg to a dish. The term started with people noticed that, if cracked into a bowl of noodles, the contents of an egg would spread out and resemble a full moon. Eventually Japanese burger chains began offering deluxe sandwiches with toppings including a fried egg in the fall, the traditional season for moon-viewing parties in Japan, and calling them tsukimi burgers. Wendy’s Japan gets even more Japanese with their take on the sandwich by including a slab of mochi too, chosen to incorporate Japanese folktales about rabbits who live on the moon and pound lunar rice cakes on its surface.

But since tsukimi burgers are all about a little burger-based enjoyable extravagance, this year Wendy’s will be giving their a little something extra. In addition to the fried egg and grilled mochi, Wendy’s says the new New York Tsukimi Mocchi Burger’s toppings consist of a rich and refreshingly tangy “American-style sauce,” crisp bacon, and cheese, for a unique tsukimi burger that represents “a fusion of American and Japanese” flavors.

Of course, you could argue that one of the defining characteristics of American cuisine is large portion sizes, and there’s also a New York Tsukimi Mocchi Burger Double, which doubles up the patties, bacon, cheese, and sauce.

Or maybe fried food is the standard-bearer for American chow? In that case, Wendy’s New York Mocchi Spicy Chicken Filet Burger fits the bill by swapping in a fried chicken cutlet for the patty.

And finally, there’s a Jr. New York Tsukimi Mocchi Burger, for those who want a tsukimi burger but might not have a celestial-sized appetite at the moment.

All of the New York tsukimi burgers will be offered at Wendy’s First Kitchen, as the two-in-one combined branches of Wendy’s Japan and its sister chain First Kitchen are called. Meanwhile, exclusively First Kitchen branches will have the four above tsukimi burgers, plus four more with a little more Japanese flair, such as the Tsukimi Mocchi Smash Burger, with egg, mochi, cheese, a less crispy slice of bacon, and a hybrid teriyaki/tartar sauce.

The Tsukimi Mocchi Chicken Tatsuta Burger features tatsuta, a type of Japanese-style fried chicken with a potato starch breading that gives it a crunchier texture.

And, finally, both of them can be ordered with a mentai mayo (spicy cod roe and mayonnaise) sauce instead of the teriyaki tarter.

New York is often said to be one of the most expensive cities on the planet, and while Wendy’s New York tsukimi burgers may not have that same status, they’re not particularly cheap, either. The single-patty New York Tsukimi Mocchi Burger is priced at 1,180 yen (US$7.40), and the Double is 1,780, three or four time what a basic fast food chain burger will run you in Japan. The New York fried chicken tsukimi burger is kinder to your wallet at 980 yen, as is the 820-yen Jr. New York tsukimi. First Kitchen’s exclusives are the most budget-friendly of all, costing 750 yen for the Tatsuta tatsuta sandwiches and 780 yen for the smash burgers.

It appears that Wendy’s and First Kitchen are looking to get a jump on the competition this year, as they’ll both begin offering their tsukimi burger lineups on August 27.

Source, images: PR Times
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