One of the all-time great Ghibli foods appears in everything but name at 7-Eleven.

As you might have noticed, Japan is really, really into eggs right now. That’s because autumn is the traditional season for moon-viewing, and an egg yolk looks like a full harvest moon. The result is all sorts of tsukimi (moon-viewing) foods, which add an egg to some sort of existing recipe, being offered at this time of year. Tsukimi hamburgers are the most high-profile example of edible autumn moon-viewing, and you can also treat yourself to a tsukimi fried chicken sandwich or tsukimi pizza.

But Japan is finding room in its heart and stomach for one more type of tsukimi food, as 7-Eleven has brought out a moon-viewing version of its croque monsieur. Croque monsieurs are a type of ham and cheese sandwich, and 7-Eleven’s are open-face, so it’s pretty easy to add an egg on top for moon-viewing season.

However, though the packaging for the egg-added croque monsieur has illustrations of rabbits and pampas grass, both images associated with moon-viewing in Japan, 7-Eleven isn’t calling it the “tsukimi croque monsieur.” That’s because there’s already a word for croque monsieur with a fried egg on top: croque madame.

But a lot of people in Japan who’re excited by 7-Eleven’s new item aren’t calling it croque madame or tsukimi croque monsieur. Instead, they’re calling it “Laputa Bread,” because of its resemblance to the meal that Pazu makes for Sheeta in Studio Ghibli’s classic anime film Laputa: Castle in the Sky.

The delicious-looking depictions of food in Ghibli anime are practically an art genre unto themselves, but even by those lofty standards, Laputa bread, also sometimes called Pazu bread, is held in particularly high esteem, and since 7-Eleven’s croque madame went on sale on September 11, Ghibli fans have been buzzing with excitement, with online reactions such as

“It’s like Laputa bread!”
“They’re selling Laputa bread at 7-Eleven.”
“I’m really happy that we can now get Laputa bread at 7-Eleven.”

▼ “This is totally Laputa bread.”

▼ “Laputa-style bread went on sale at 7-Eleven.”

▼ “They had Laputa bread at 7-Eleven.”

7-Eleven’s croque madame is priced at 313 yen (US$2.25) and is available for a limited time, so you’ll want to hurry to get a taste of this Ghibli-esque treat (just be careful not to drop any of it on your Totoro marshmallow socks).

Source: 7-Eleven, Twitter
Top image: Studio Ghibli
Insert images: 7-Eleven, Studio Ghibli
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