Japanese survey reveals the top 10 most popular ice creams in Japan

There’s a lot of vanilla, but chocolate takes the top spots.

Japan makes headlines for its weird ice cream flavors at times–remember Fried Oyster Ice Cream?–but it also has some pretty delicious options in traditional flavors like vanilla and chocolate. To see which morsels are most popular in Japan, TV Asahi asked 10,000 people in a survey on social media platform X what their favorite ice cream was. Here are the top 10 results.

10. MOW Vanilla

MOW by Morinaga Milk is a single-serving ice cream cup that comes in many flavors like Peach Milk and Uji Matcha, but the Vanilla flavor is the one that found a spot in the top 10.

9. Häagen-Dazs Mini Cup Green Tea Flavor

Häagen-Dazs Mini Cups can be found in virtually any Japanese convenience store, supermarket, and sometimes even drugstore. They’re often not the cheapest option, so it’s definitely considered a “treat yourself” kind of ice cream. The green tea flavor beat almost every flavor except for one more found later in the list.

8. Soh Vanilla

You can easily identify this single-serving ice cream cup by the giant kanji 爽, pronounced sou and meaning “refreshing,” written on the lid. It comes in a generous serving of 190 milliliters (6.4 fluid ounces), which is 50 milliliters more than MOW’s 140 and 80 milliliters more than Häagen-Dazs’ 110. If you want your ice cream to fill you up, this is a great option.

7. Pinot

Pinot are bite-sized, chocolate-covered morsels of ice cream that you can eat using a small plastic pick. They’re mess-free, easy to share, and don’t melt as quickly as some other options. There are many flavors like Green Tea and even Sweet Potato, but again, the traditional vanilla-and-chocolate flavor made the top 10 list.

6. Garigari-kun Soda Flavor

It’s difficult to find a Japanese person that has never tried a Garigari-kun bar before. Though it’s technically ice candy rather than ice cream, as it doesn’t contain any dairy products, it’s popular enough that it took the number 6 spot in the nationwide survey. The Soda flavor is considered the most traditional one, though you can also find interesting ones like rice flavor if you look hard enough.

5. Yukimi Daifuku

This is an excellent option for mochi lovers. Yukimi Daifuku comes in a pack of two ice cream morsels covered in a thin, chewy layer of ice cream. They can be quite filling, so they also double as a good snack!

4. Häagen-Dazs Mini Cup Vanilla Flavor

Häagen-Dazs’ second appearance in the top 10 list is its vanilla flavor. Many people eat it as-is, but there are also recipes on the brand’s Japanese site for interesting combinations like vanilla ice cream and avocado toast.

3. Super Cup Cho-Vanilla

The final vanilla-flavored ice cream in the top 10 list is also the largest. Super Cup Cho-Vanilla (or “Super Vanilla) by Meiji comes in a 200-milliliter serving, perfect for filling up your stomach while also cooling you down.

2. Parm Chocolate

If you were wondering where all of the chocolate options are in the top 10 list, they’re in the top 2! Parm’s Chocolate is an ice cream bar that features a soft, melty outer chocolate layer concealing a center of chocolate ice cream. Its rich flavor can be addictive, so snack wisely!

1. Choco Monaka Jumbo

And finally, the most popular ice cream in TV Asahi’s survey is Choco Monaka Jumbo by Morinaga Milk. This handheld ice cream bar is a spinoff of a Japanese sweet called monaka, traditionally made with red azuki beans nestled between two rice wafers. Choco Monaka Jumbo has a similar wafer covering, but inside is vanilla ice cream and a thin layer of solid chocolate.

So there you have it, the top 10 most popular ice creams in Japan, according to TV Asahi. If you find yourself overwhelmed by all of the ice cream options at a Japanese convenience store, keep these options in mind and you won’t be disappointed!

Source: Sponichi Annex via Livedoor News via Otakomu
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Mow-Ice, Häagen-Dazs, Lotte, Morinaga Milk, Akagi Nyugyo, Lotte (2), Häagen-Dazs (2), Meiji, Parm Ice, Morinaga Milk (2)

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