[6][7][8] Born in Nagano, Japan, he won the 2000 Japanese variety show TV Champion Gluttony Championship by eating 16 bowls of ramen in 1 hour in the final.

Also competing in the popular TV show Food Battle Club, he went on to win the final round of several stages, besting his mentor and previous champion.

At a speed-eating contest in Hong Kong on August 13, 2005, Kobayashi consumed 83 vegetarian jiaozi dumplings in 8 minutes.

)[citation needed] On August 5, 2006, Kobayashi set yet another world record at the Johnsonville World Bratwurst Eating Championship in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, by downing 58 bratwurst sausages in 10 minutes, shattering the previous record of 35 set the previous year by Sonya Thomas.

[18] Kobayashi went on to defeat Joey Chestnut, on May 31, 2009, in a Pizza Hut P'Zone competition at Sony Studios in Culver City, California.

[21] On September 27, 2009, Kobayashi defeated Chestnut with a score of 93 (68 Krystals, 5 Big Angus Burgers), earning the $20,000 top prize.

[22] On July 4, 2011, Kobayashi competed on the rooftop of a Manhattan bar simultaneously with the Nathan's Contest at Coney Island via a live video simulcast of the event.

[24] On August 26, 2012, Kobayashi set the new world record at the New York State Fair in Syracuse for eating 110 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

In October 2012, Kobayashi set the new world record at the State Fair of Texas for eating 60 hot dogs in 2 minutes 35 seconds.

[34] He eats hot dogs by splitting the frankfurter in half, dipping the buns in water, and then stuffing both parts in his mouth.

[47] On July 4, 2010, Kobayashi was in attendance watching from the crowd at the Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Wearing a black T-shirt that read "Free Kobi", Kobayashi mingled with the crowd, standing inside a police-barricaded pen just under the stage.

A struggle ensued, eventually resulting in Kobayashi being thrown against the barricades and tossed into the fences before finally being handcuffed and placed inside a police car.

Some witnesses reported that Kobayashi was simply intending to shake the hand of the winner, Joey Chestnut, as a gesture of sportsmanship and goodwill.

[48] Co-host and MLE President Richard Shea stated that "[Kobayashi] tried to jump on stage during the awards ceremony to disrupt it.

"[49] He was charged with resisting arrest, trespassing, and obstructing government administration and subsequently was taken to jail, awaiting an appearance in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

[50] Kobayashi's interpreter and publicist, Maggie James (later, his wife),[2] said he had originally gone in hopes to cheer on his fellow competitive eaters, but after arriving at the venue only to hear support from the fans demanding that they "let him eat," he was swooped onto the stage due to the excitement.

[53] Despite his record six consecutive victories in their annual event, Nathan’s removed Kobayashi’s image from their "Wall of Fame" in 2011.

[54] After Kobayashi left Nathan's, the hot dog contest lost sponsorship from Old Navy, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, and Pepto-Bismol, and its year-to-year Nielsen ratings fell.

[57] Two official judges from the Athletic Association of NY observed Kobayashi while the live broadcast of the event played next to him on a large television screen.

[citation needed] In Spring 2011, Kobayashi appeared in his first major fashion editorial in Canada's The Block magazine as a model.

"[68] In June 2012, Kobayashi made a special guest appearance and a taco demonstration at The Offspring's release party for their album Days Go By.

[81][82] On September 22, 2015, Kobayashi, along with Patrick Bertoletti, Kevin Strahle and Bob Shoudt, consumed a 40-pound goat in 13 minutes and 22 seconds at Taco In A Bag in Chicago.

[84] On April 26, 2019, Nicole Lucas Haimes' feature documentary The Good, The Bad, The Hungry premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival, with Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut in attendance.

In the 1000 Ways to Die skit "Vom-Ate-Dead", a professional eater modeled after Takeru Kobayashi is cornered by an emetophiliac woman who forces him to vomit on her, which causes her death when she chokes on an undigested piece of hot dog.

Kobayashi was featured in the 2024 Netflix documentary Hack your Health: Secrets of Your Gut, where he announced his retirement from competitive eating and a desire to create more healthy hot dogs.