Is a toothpaste flavored like octopus balls too good (or gross) to be true?
The Village Vanguard chain is home to many Japanese odds and ends (especially food-related ones), and that’s why we love it so much. When Mr. Sato made a trip there to find a cushion that would help him #workfromhome in comfort, one particular product caught his eye and he just had to have it: takoyaki-flavored toothpaste.
▼ Mellow dough, sweet sauce, octopus bits, and green aonori seaweed…what’s not to love?
Takoyaki, if you’re not familiar, is a Japanese dish popular in Osaka that is basically dough balls filled with bits of octopus and topped with a sweet sauce. Think of bite-sized spherical savory pancakes that are often molten lava-hot inside.
Mr. Sato’s curiosity couldn’t be satisfied until he bought this bold new toothpaste, so he forked over the 380 yen (US$3.53) Village Vanguard asked for and took it home. When he opened it, the first thing he did was test the smell.
▼ Does it really smell like the beloved Osaka dish?
It smelled…refreshing! And nothing like takoyaki. Puzzled, Mr. Sato looked at the ingredients and noticed menthol on the list. Maybe the savory sensation he was looking for would be more pronounced when he tasted it?
▼ It doesn’t look like anything special…
The photo makes the paste look a bit brown, but honestly, it didn’t look any different from normal toothpaste.
▼ Brush, brush, brush, brush…wait, where’s the flavor?
“Mmmm,” thought Mr. Sato. “How refreshing and un-takoyaki-like!”
▼ The realization left him disappointed, as you can plainly see.
In the end, Mr. Sato realized he’d been duped; it was just a gimmick to get people’s hopes up. But the brand also apparently has gyoza and goya (bitter melon) “flavors” of toothpaste, so there’s still hope (maybe)! If not, there’s always the memory of luxury strawberries to lift Mr. Sato’s spirits.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]