Los Angeles-based Umami Burger (UMAMI BURGER®) will open its first Japanese location, "UMAMI BURGER Aoyama" (located inside Portofino, 3-15-5 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo), in Aoyama, Tokyo, on March 24th.

Umami Burger is a hamburger restaurant that opened its first location in Los Angeles, California in 2009, and has since expanded to 25 locations in five states in the six years since. The restaurant's name, "UMAMI," comes from the Japanese word for umami, and was named after the hamburger created by founder Adam Fleischman using a cooking method that maximizes umami flavor. The restaurant is extremely popular in its home country, having been selected as "Best Burger of the Year 2010" by the American edition of GQ and also as one of Time magazine's "17 Most Influential Burgers of All Time."

The Aoyama store, which will be the first in Japan, will offer a carefully selected selection of items from its American menu to suit Japanese tastes, as well as Japan-exclusive menu items such as the "TERITAKI BURGER" (1,380 yen) and the "FISH CURRY BURGER" (1,280 yen).

The "TERIYAKI BURGER" is made with a patty coated in sweet teriyaki sauce with a hint of wasabi, sandwiched between lotus root and nameko mushrooms, creating a rich flavor that you will never get tired of, while the "FISH CURRY BURGER" combines fresh fried white fish with a homemade tartar sauce made with fragrant herbs, and the secret ingredient of curry is a hint of curry, creating an addictive flavor that spreads throughout your mouth the moment you bite into it.