Goku’s putting the “kame” into Marugame Seimen.
Marugame Seimen is a very popular chain of restaurants specializing in udon noodles made in the famous style of Marugame, a city in Kagawa Prefecture. This year marks the chain’s 25th anniversary, and from 3 March to 6 April, they’ll be doing something very special to celebrate.
The name “Marugame” literally means “round turtle,” and “turtle” on its own is pronounced “kame” in Japanese. Fans of the manga and anime series Dragon Ball may already know this from Master Roshi (called Kame Seinin in Japanese) and both his Turtle House and Kamehameha attack. This coincidence was not lost on Marugame Seimen, which will be officially rebranding itself as Marukame Seimen for about a month.
▼ Even without knowing Japanese, fans of Dragon Ball can probably recognize the kanji for “turtle/kame.”
This official rebrand is just one of their Seven Surprising Collaborations in store this spring. The second involves some delectably geeky food items based on Dragon Ball. The centerpiece is a seven-pack of Dragon Ball Udonuts for 590 yen ($3.77). These are donut holes made from mashed udon noodles for a uniquely chewy texture and given a chocolate flavor as well as candy stars to complete the look of the universe’s most sought-after balls.
There’s also a pack of Senzu Style Tempura for 290 yen on sale from 3 to 16 March. These are actually edamame beans fried in tempura batter for a tasty treat that looks just like the life-giving Senzu Beans from the series.
Finally, for 420 yen, you can get the Spirit Bomb Rice Ball between 17 March and 6 March. This is both Marugame Seimen and Marukame Seimen’s largest rice ball ever and is fried in tempura batter with a soft-boiled egg at its core to simulate Goku’s ultimate attack.
The third of seven surprises involves a series of stickers with various characters from Dragon Ball Z. There are 30 stickers in all, plus two additional secret stickers, randomly given to customers during their periods of availability.
▼ The first wave of 15 and one secret sticker will be given out from 3 to 16 March.
▼ And the second wave will be there from 17 March to 6 April.
As a fourth surprise, customers who purchase certain items can get either a clear sticker or food pick with a Dragon Ball theme. A bowl of udon and Senzu Style Tempura will come with a random sticker.
And orders of a bowl of udon and Spirit Bomb Rice Ball will come with a food pick.
As an added incentive to collect all the stickers and picks, each purchase will count as an entry ticket for a special giveaway contest as the fifth surprise. With two proofs of purchase of a bowl of udon and either Senzu Style Tempura or Spirit Bomb Rice Ball, you can enter to win a Marukame Seimen / Dragon Ball Z tote bag.
And the truly hardcore who get seven proofs of purchase can enter to win a very rare wooden tub used to make udon noodles, with a Dragon Ball design on the bottom.
▼ How many times do you ever get to see a collectible udon tub?
Even if you can go often enough to get all the stickers, there’s another chance to win them all. For the sixth surprise, a contest will be held on Twitter where you can enter to win the complete set of stickers by following the official Marugame Seimen account and posting a photo of Dragon Ball Udonuts with the hashtag #ドラゴンボールZうどん札.
As the final surprise, from 3 to 29 March, the Marugame Seimen in the Gyoenmae area of Shinjuku, Tokyo, will be given a full Dragon Ball makeover. Inside, you can find life-size panels of characters like Goku and Gohan, as well as a huge mural of the Dragon Ball dragon itself, Shenron. In addition to other limited-edition decorations, the staff will all be wearing special uniforms in the style of Dragon Ball.
As we all know, the key to making your wish come true is by collecting all seven dragon balls. Now, we all can get that chance at Marukame Seimen for a limited time. Of course, I’m assuming we’re all wishing for great tasting udon at a reasonable price here, otherwise I can’t guarantee that whole part about the wish coming true.
Source, images: PR Times
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