Food Sport Battles Under Set Themes and Time Limits: Highlights of Japan’s BBQ Championship

JAPAN BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP is a competition designed to foster and spread American BBQ culture in Japan. As a food sport, it holds unlimited potential for the future. Professionals and amateurs from across Japan will gather to masterfully cook the bold, large cuts of meat that define the current American BBQ movement. Eight teams that made it through the qualifiers and share a passion and love for BBQ will compete. In Japan, BBQ commonly refers to a yakiniku-style grilling format. American BBQ, however, is both a cooking method and a culture: meat, vegetables, and other ingredients are cooked slowly over wood or charcoal for a long time and smoked. By cooking large cuts slowly at low temperatures, the meat becomes exceptionally tender and juicy. After taking a major step forward for BBQ culture last year, the champion team, THE SMOKE CLUB, went on to challenge the world championship. This year, the venue returns with an upgraded experience. Visitors can not only watch Japan’s highest-level BBQ techniques up close, but also enjoy excellent food and activities. It is an event to watch, eat, and play to the fullest. Key BBQ techniques to watch include the equipment and fuel each team chooses, such as grills, smokers, wood, or charcoal; essential BBQ seasonings, including rubs and BBQ sauces that are still less familiar in Japan, whether original or commercially made; low-and-slow cooking with accurate temperature control to gradually develop spare ribs; and the new theme, “Tailgate,” a food style rooted in American culture and often associated with parking lots at sports events and concerts, where easy-to-eat dishes reveal each team’s personality. The winning team will advance to the world championship. The champion will earn a Golden Ticket to compete in the BBQ category at World Food Championships, one of the world’s largest food sport events, held in the United States in October. Together with WAGYU BOYS, who have already secured a seed for this year’s WFC, they will represent Japan and challenge for the world title. World Food Championships 2026 is the world’s largest festival of food sport, where dishes are scored on taste, appearance, and cooking accuracy, and competitors battle like athletes. Each year, more than 1,400 chefs and pitmasters from over 14 countries gather for the event, which is among the world’s largest culinary competitions in both audience scale and prize money. It will be held from October 15 to 18, 2026, at the Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The competition features eight teams, with up to three members per team including the pitmaster. The format is a single final showdown with a six-hour time limit. The themes are “Tailgate” and “Spare Ribs,” and the team with the highest overall score wins. All cooking must take place in the public venue. Judges will receive information from each team’s recipe form. Seasonings and similar items must be unused and unopened, following the WFC main competition format. Judges will taste and score the dishes through blind judging. Scoring is based on appearance, cooking accuracy, and taste, weighted at 15%, 35%, and 50% respectively. The four judges for the BBQ Japan Championship are Jay Cross, KCBS Japan representative and official judge; ERI, Hamburger Girl; Satoshi Kato, Japan Director of the U.S. Meat Export Federation; and Ryota Kojima, Weber Grill Academy instructor and member of WAGYU BOYS. New content will also be available for visitors to watch, eat, and play. First, the free same-day reservation program “Weber Grill BBQ Experience” will be held for the first time for general visitors. This program offers an easy way to experience authentic American BBQ culture. Guests can learn about the magic created by the lid of Weber, one of the world’s leading BBQ grill brands, while discovering how to cook whole vegetables so they stay fresh and juicy and steaks so they finish succulent. Pairings of American meat with Medici Ermete wine will also be available, making it enjoyable for families and groups. Champion burger and BBQ shops from Japan’s competitions will also appear. Harry’s Junction, a gourmet burger shop from Matsushima, Miyagi, and the 2024 winner of the sister competition JAPAN BURGER CHAMPIONSHIP, will operate a food truck serving its classic cheeseburger and a Chicago burger with house-made corned beef. THE SMOKE CLUB, winner of JAPAN BBQ CHAMPIONSHIP 2025, will bring authentic BBQ from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, including brisket, the king of BBQ, smoked low and slow for more than 12 hours, as well as its signature spare ribs. Second, visitors can enjoy powerful visual experiences, including an extraordinary churrasco grill and live performances. While the competition focuses on authentic American BBQ, BBQ takes many forms around the world. This event will specially showcase a rotating grill developed by Scheer, a Brazilian company leading the churrasco grill industry. Its presence is overwhelming and well worth seeing. Visitors can also look forward to sizzling food offerings from the Churrasco Association. Scheer is an authentic Brazilian churrasco grill maker loved around the world. Meat cooked on a Scheer grill promises a genuine churrasco experience, as if enjoyed in Brazil’s great outdoors. Inspired by the gyroscope, the grill uses circular motion to cook large cuts of meat evenly from all directions, creating unprecedented juiciness. Its dynamic appearance is truly next-level BBQ. The Japan Churrasco Association was founded on November 29, 2024, Japan’s “Good Meat Day,” with the mission of bringing Brazilian food culture to Japanese dining tables. Through BBQ and exchange events, the association aims to help people meet new friends through churrasco and enjoy freshly grilled meat together, while helping churrasco culture take root in Japan. Stage artists will also help energize the venue. This year’s MCs are MICRO from HOME MADE Kazoku and WAGYU BOYS, along with Mai Yamada. More performers will join through talk shows and music, further upgrading the stage program. Third, visitors can play Cornhole, an American-born party game. Cornhole is highly popular and long enjoyed in the United States, the home of BBQ, and is an essential pastime between grilling sessions. The rules are simple: players throw bean bags filled with corn kernels into a hole on a board. It is a sport that both adults and children can enjoy. In the United States, Cornhole is common at home parties, BBQ areas, bars, restaurants, and events, and professional tournaments are now held with competitive players. At the venue, participation will be match-style, with many prizes prepared. A champion prediction lottery will also be held. Visitors can watch competitors’ cooking processes and submitted plates, then choose the team they believe will win. Those who correctly predict the champion will be entered into a drawing for luxury prizes. Do not miss the moment the Golden Ticket is awarded. The globally recognized WAGYU BOYS will also appear at the event. As Japan’s representatives in the WFC BBQ category, they competed in the 2024 and 2025 world championships, advanced to the finals against strong American competitors, and earned the title of seventh in the world. A US brisket food show is also planned from 12:00. The organizers ask for warm support and encouragement for WAGYU BOYS as they challenge the 2026 world championship together with this tournament’s winner. The event will be held on Sunday, May 24, 2026, from 9:00 to 17:00, rain or shine. The venue is BBQ&CAMP THE B’NC at Makuhari Toyosuna Park, Aeon Mall Makuhari New City, 1-12 Toyosuna, Mihama-ku, Chiba City, Chiba 261-0024. Competition cooking starts at 9:00, results will be announced at 16:30, and food sales run from 10:00 to 17:00. Admission is free, though some food and drinks require payment. Sales booths are expected to include burger shops and BBQ dishes. Official website: https://jbbc-official.studio.site Visitors arriving by car should use the parking lots at Aeon Mall Makuhari New City or the surface parking lot in front of Grand Mall. Visitors arriving by train can walk five minutes from Makuhari Toyosuna Station on the JR Keiyo Line. From Makuhari-Hongo Station on the JR Keiyo Line, take the bus from stop No. 5 bound for Aeon Mall Makuhari New City Family Mall-mae, and get off at Aeon Style-guchi or Tsutaya Shoten-mae for convenient access.