This year brings new twists on the autumn culinary tradition.
For centuries, autumn has been tsukimi (moon-viewing) season in Japan, but in the modern era, it’s also the time for tsukimi burgers. These seasonal sandwiches get their name from the resemblance of a beautifully round fried egg to a full moon, and while the one iron-clad rule of tsukimi burgers is that they must contain a fried egg, there’s a lot of room to get creative with other ingredients too, as McDonald’s Japan is getting set to show with its “Tsukimi Family” menu lineup.
For example, in addition to the requisite egg, McDonald’s most basic Tsukimi Burger (price starting from 440 yen [US$3], depending on branch location) features smoked bacon and a special creamy tomato sauce. This autumn, McDonald’s is adjusting the recipe of their tsukimi burger sauce for the first time in eight years, adding butter to it to make it extra creamy.
Then there’s the Cheese Tsukimi (470 yen), which adds a slice of cheddar.
New for 2025 is the Torouma Sukiyaki Tsukimi (540 yen), a double abbreviation from torotoro (melty) and umai (delicious). Really, though, it’s the sukiyaki part that deserves the most attention, as this burger is an upgraded version of the Cheese Tsukimi with a layer of sukiyaki-style beef underneath the patty.
Want even more beef? The Triple Beef Torouma Sukiyaki Tsukuimi (780 yen) is a three-patty version of the sukiyaki moon-viewing burger. It’s only available after 5 p.m., making it arguably the most lunar-aligned member of the Tsukimi Family.
On the other hand, if you’re ready for figurative moon-viewing first thing in the morning, the McDonald’s Japan breakfast menu will have a Tsukimi Muffin (400 yen).
While the criteria for tsukimi burgers is firmly established (fried eggs), things are a little more loosey-goosey when it comes to “tsukimi” sweets. For its An Butter Omochi Tsukimi Pie (190 yen), McDonald’s taps into Japanese folktales about rabbits living on the moon who make mochi, and so there’s mochi in the pie filling, along with an (sweet red beans) and a salty butter cream.
As for the Tsukimi Yamanashi Shine Muscat Flavor McShake (190 yen for a small-size), it doesn’t seem to have any apparent connection to moon-viewing, but Yamanashi Prefecture’s prized Shine Muscat grapes do come into season in the fall, at least.
And last, there’s no particular association with the famed citrus produce of Japan’s Seto Inland Sea region and moon-viewing or autumn, but McDonald’s Japan’s new Setouchi Lemon Pepper McNugget sauce, which has been adopted into the Tsukimi Family lineup, does sound really tasty.
The entire lineup goes on sale September 3.
Source: Digital PR Platform, McDonald’s Japan
Images: Digital PR Platform
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