The short answer

It’s Tsukimi season: McDonald’s Japan’s September moon-viewing tradition is running its 35th year with eight items, from the classic egg-topped Tsukimi Burger (¥460) to a new sukiyaki-style version (¥570) and a double-cheese edition sold only on the after-5pm Night Mac menu (¥670). Most run through late October. Beneath the seasonal layer sit the permanent Japan exclusives worth a visit any month: the Teriyaki McBurger (¥400), the Ebi shrimp Filet-O (¥440), Samurai Mac burgers and ShakaChiki.

McDonald’s Japan runs one of the chain’s most inventive menus anywhere, on two layers: a fast rotation of limited items with real end dates, and a set of permanent exclusives that have never left the country. This page tracks both, from the company’s own menu and press releases.

Checked September 9, 2026. Prices are tax-in “from” prices, which vary slightly by store format; a February 2026 revision raised most items ¥10-50, so pre-2026 blog prices run low.

Tsukimi 2026: the whole lineup

Tsukimi (“moon viewing”) puts a fried egg, the full moon, on everything each September; McDonald’s invented the fast-food version in 1991. This year’s eight items, launched September 2:

Item Price Until
Tsukimi Burger (beef, bacon, egg, tomato cream sauce) ¥460 late October
Cheese Tsukimi ¥490 late October
Seared-beef sukiyaki-style Tsukimi (new) ¥570 late September
Double-cheese double-patty Tsukimi (new, Night Mac only, from 5pm) ¥670 late October
Tsukimi Muffin (breakfast only) ¥420 late October
Tsukimi Pie (red bean, mochi, Hokkaido butter) ¥200 early October
Tsukimi McShake: Nagano Shine Muscat ¥200 (S) mid October
Golden egg tartar dip sauce (new) ¥50 late October

The sukiyaki version ends a month before the rest, so it’s the one to prioritize. Sets add about ¥300.

The permanent Japan exclusives

  • Teriyaki McBurger, ¥400: on the menu since 1991 in its current form (the teriyaki line dates to 1977 experiments), a pork patty lacquered in sweet-soy glaze. The item most first-time visitors order, correctly.
  • Ebi Filet-O, ¥440: a whole-shrimp patty, crisp outside and bouncy inside, the seafood burger the US has never dared.
  • Samurai Mac line, ¥580-590: thick-patty burgers in a seared soy-sauce style, positioned as the “adult” menu; the double thick beef is the flagship.
  • ShakaChiki, ¥240: the shake-it-yourself fried chicken patty in a paper sleeve with seasoning packets (cheese, red pepper); note the official name shortened from Shaka Shaka Chicken.
  • The pie rotation: the year-round hot apple pie plus rotating seasonal pies (currently the Tsukimi pie; the beloved bacon potato pie recurs most years, most recently from April 2026).

Breakfast has its own exclusives (the Tsukimi Muffin joins the regular Egg McMuffin lineup each September), and the after-5pm Night Mac menu, where the double-cheese Tsukimi lives, is itself a Japan-only concept: heavier variants of the core menu sold only in the evening.

FAQ

What is the Tsukimi Burger?

McDonald’s Japan’s September tradition since 1991: a beef-bacon burger topped with a fried egg (the “full moon”) in tomato cream sauce, ¥460 in 2026, running from September 2 to late October with seven companion items.

What’s on the McDonald’s Japan menu that the US doesn’t have?

Permanently: the Teriyaki McBurger, Ebi shrimp Filet-O, Samurai Mac soy-glazed thick burgers, ShakaChiki shake-seasoned chicken, and an evening-only Night Mac menu. Seasonally: whatever the current rotation is, at its peak in Tsukimi September.

How much is McDonald’s in Japan?

Cheap by US standards: the exclusive burgers run ¥400-590 (about US$2.70-4), sets around ¥670-970. A February 2026 price revision nudged most items up ¥10-50, so older articles understate slightly.

When does Tsukimi season end?

The 2026 core items run to late October, with the sukiyaki-style burger ending in late September and the pie in early October. McDonald’s publishes the windows, and this page carries them.

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About Kevin

I track what the world's biggest chains are serving, country by country — new releases, exclusives and prices, checked against the chains' own menus and press rooms. Every page shows when it was last verified.

Prices, schedules and closures change. If you spot something stale, email us and we’ll check it.