A taste of the U.S. via Okinawa.

Our intrepid reporter Mr. Sato was recently in Fussa, a part of Tokyo west of the downtown area, where he discovered Tampopo, a retro pachinko parlor that lets you try your hand at the game without worrying about the gambling part of it. Fussa has more invitingly old-school vibes to offer, though, as Mr. Sato found while walking along National Route 16.

National Route 16 is actually a bit of an international thoroughfare, since it runs right along the edge of the United States Air Force’s Yokota Air Base. The base’s exact boundaries have shifted a bit over the years, and some former base housing sites and structures are now part of the civilian cityscape, with many of them having been converted into shops and restaurants with nods to their former occupants.

There’s even a section of Route 16 that’s been dubbed the Fussa Friendship Promenade.

As Mr. Sato ambled down the road, heading towards Ushihama Station, the next stop over from Fussa Station on the Ome Line, he spotted another sign representing a meeting point between Japan and America.

Blue Seal is a Japanese ice cream brand from Okinawa, but before that it was an American ice cream brand…but still one from Okinawa. Originally, Blue Seal was produced on, and only available at, U.S. military bases in Okinawa, created to supply American personnel and their accompanying family members a taste of home at a time before ice cream became readily available in Japan. In the 1960s, Blue Seal became available on the civilian market in Japan, and while ice cream is no longer hard to find in the country, among Japanese sweets fans Blue Seal has a reputation for being some of the very best.

However, Blue Seal isn’t so easy to find in the Tokyo area, and it wasn’t until 2006 that the chain finally came to east Japan, when it opened this Fussa branch.

As its first location in east Japan, the Fussa Blue Seal has a special “Big Dip” designation on its sign, just like the main branch in Okinawa’s Urasoe. The Fussa branch’s flagship status means that in addition to 25 different flavors ice cream, it also serves apple pie.

With the sun shining down brightly on him, Mr. Sato couldn’t say no to some Blue Seal ice cream, so he decided to take a break from his walk and refuel. He opted for the Blue Seal Sundae, which lets you choose one flavor each of scooped ice cream and soft serve for 750 yen (US$4.80), and made his selections salty milk and almond pistachio.

▼ And yes, his smile was just as big after he was done eating it.

Blue Seal has only three other Tokyo branches, one in the Ebisu neighborhood, one in Kokubunji, and one inside Haneda Airport’s Terminal 2. Given the brand’s roots, though, Mr. Sato feels like there’s a special sense of fun that comes from making an ice cream run at the Fussa branch.

Shop information
Blue Seal (Fussa branch) / ブルーシール（福生店）
Addres: Tokyo-to, Fussa-shi, Fussa 2475 Yokotakichi-mae
東京都福生市福生2475 横田基地前
Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Website

Photos © SoraNews24
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