Grab your transformation wands and get ready to kick butt…by eating a bunch of adorable sweets!
There are few aesthetics that have persevered throughout Japanese pop culture like the humble magical girl. Ordinary girls blessed with superpowers have been on Japanese TV screens since the 1960s, and standout franchises like Minky Momo, Creamy Mami, and Sailor Moon made transformations and alter egos fixtures of the genre. The genre’s typically bright pastel colors and adorable mascots can melt even the hardest hearts!
Now the Hilton Tokyo Bay Hotel, the official hotel for the Tokyo Disney Sea theme park, announced that it’s going to hold a special Halloween dessert buffet with a magical girl twist, we couldn’t wait to hear more. Every Saturday, Sunday, and public holiday from September 4 to October 31 a lounge at the hotel will be dedicated to a spread of light meals, drinks, and (naturally) desserts. The food on selection is even sorted into groups based on the arc of a typical magical girl story!
▼ A selection from the pre-transformation Daily Life Area selection.
The buffet is themed around a timid young girl who helped a plush toy rabbit out of trouble. Her special compact mirror turns her into a magical girl once she utters her catchphrase, whereupon she can do battle with those with evil lurking within their hearts.
The three phases of the story are grouped into individual areas. First up is the Daily Life Area, where the sweets represent this sweet young girl’s life leading up to her fateful encounter with a bunny toy. This area is full of sweets shaped like cute schoolgirl items that you might recognize as staples of the genre: a test marked with a failing grade, tiny bento lunch boxes, love letters, and stationery.
▼ This poor budding magical girl scored only five marks on her delicious-looking test!
▼ Here we see pencils, erasers, and a tiny heart-stamped envelope recreated in sugary perfection.
But quickly, let’s get to the good stuff! The second section at the buffet is called the Transformation Area and contains a mystique all of its own. Here you can find chocolate cakes that envisage a fully transformed magical girl outfit, meringue cookies fashioned to look like magic wands, and of course a special compact mirror that conceals a tiny, tasty cheesecake.
Now that the magical girl is all suited up and ready to go, you can sample some delights from the Combat Area. This is where some devious villains congregate—in cake form, of course. Here not only can you face off against fancies like the Most Fearsome Foe! Boss Encounter Chestnut Mousse, but also literally eat their magical attacks with other sweets like the Caramel Spice Attack! Pear and Chocolate Pudding. There are even tiny adorable mook enemies like the Mind the Thorns! Cactus Pistachio Tarts.
▼ Are YOU a bad enough gal to take this guy out?
If none of that appeals then fear not: the buffet will also have stations to whip a sweet treat up in front of you, and a spread of light, savory dishes are also made to order to comfort those of us who aren’t as keen on sweets. You can have staff make a Dreamy Cute White Chocolate Mont Blanc with Apple and Honey Sauce right then and there.
▼ It’s served with a dusting of popping candy and a dash of pizzazz from the dry ice machine.
▼ No sweet tooth? No problem! Just order a savory dish instead.
Though the buffet has a fixed entry fee for all who enter (3,900 yen [US$35.45] for adults, 1,500 yen for children) you can also order a special, non-alcoholic cocktail from the buffet for an additional 950 yen (US$8.63). Its glamorous pastel tones will please anyone’s inner magical youth, young or old.
Around 20 different sweets are on offer, and you’ll want to try out as many as possible. Your ticket to the buffet also includes a pass to the drinks bar, which serves 15 different kinds of beverages to patch your throat after all that magical butt-kicking. The buffet ends on October 31, though, so you’ll have to look to other hotels for your magical girl fix after that!
Location information
Hilton Tokyo Bay / ヒルトン東京ベイ
Address: Chiba-ken, Uruyasu, Maihama, 1-8
千葉県浦安市舞浜1-8
Buffet located in Lounge O / ウンジ・オー
Open Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays from September 4 to October 31
Open: two-hour timeslots starting 12 p.m., 12:30 p,m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m. (September 4 to October 24); starting 12 p.m., 12:30 p.m., 1 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m. (October 30 and 31)
Website
Source, images: Dream News Press Release
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