The Japanese Connection

In 2006, a hot dog in a bun measuring 196.8 feet  was made by the Shizuoka Meat Producers of Shizuoka, Japan and displayed at Tokyo’s Akasaka Prince Hotel, owned by the Seibu Railway Corporation.

It currently holds the world record as the planet’s largest frank.

The Japanese also dominated the world of competitive hot-dog eating (for which there exists a governing body, the International Federation of Competitive Eating. Seriously.).

For years, Takeru Kobayashi walked away with the coveted Mustard Yellow International Belt at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island.

However, young Joey Chestnut brought glory back to US shores at last year’s competition, in the event’s first-ever overtime. Watch now, as a proud American athlete shows the world why no one -- no one -- should even think about messing with professional Stateside eaters.



The New York Daily News summed it up best: “The warriors had to stage a 5-dog eat-off after each swallowed 59 wieners in just 10 minutes -- an unprecedented tie.”

“I don’t know how I did it,” Chestnut, 24, told reporters afterward. “This is amazing. I dug down deep inside and just found a way to pull it out.”