Japan's Hot Dog Champ is Back!

July 2, 2008— -- A former world champion is traveling from Tokyo to Brooklyn this week, with his eyes on a new record.

The destination is Coney Island, the competition is hot dog eating, and the fighter is six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi.

"This year's competition feels almost new to me," said Kobayashi, who won Nathan's International July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest from 2001 to 2006 -- a record-winning streak.

"I do not have any pressure of continuing my winning streak,"Kobayashi, 30, told ABC News prior to his departure to the United States. "I can start with a clean slate."

Kobayashi lost the champion's belt in 2007 to U.S. competitor Joey Chestnut, who set a new world record by gobbling 66 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. Kobayashi ended in second place, although he surpassed his personal record by chowing down 63 hot dogs.

The five-foot-seven, 165-pound Kobayashi is not only a world record holder with his streak of wins, he also changed the sport of competitive hot dog eating.

In 2001, when he won his first championship, he ate 50 hot dogs, nearly doubling the previous record of 25 and an eighth. He has since won endorsement deals from companies making everything from beer to credit cards.

The year 2007 was a significant one for Kobayashi.

He lost his mother in March. Then, less than two weeks before the 2007 contest, Kobayashi wrote in his blog that he had been diagnosed with arthritis of the jaw.

"I was simply not able to open my mouth," he said. "I did not know if I wanted to or if I could compete last year. But being upfront about the condition of my jaw gave me a push to move forward."

Kobayashi said he had no "regrets" about the results of last year's contest.

"I competed last year in an extremely tense situation emotionally and physically," he said. "I wanted to renew my record with a seventh consecutive victory, I wanted to dedicate that victory to my mother, I wanted to thank all who supported me and cheered for me along the way by winning the contest. I was carrying a lot on my shoulders."