kakigori
“Donburi” usually refers to dishes eaten over a bowl of rice, so how could this concept possibly work?
Tokyo is packed full of delightful little neighborhoods, each with their own specialties. One of our favorite little neighborhoods is Tsukishima, renowned for Monja Street, an area overflowing with monjayaki restaurants. Located not far from Tsukiji Fish Market, it’s a great place for lunch when spending the day around Tokyo Bay.
But after eating a meal of monjayaki, you may have a hankering for something sweet. Fortunately, Cool Sweets, one of the best kakigori (shaved ice) places we’ve found yet, is located right on Monja Street! We recently stopped by to grab some photos and video of their delightful treats and highly recommend that you do too!
We’re not even halfway through summer here in Japan yet, and already we’ve seen a number of strange collaboration combinations, including barley and eel soda and soft-serve sushi.
This time we’d like to introduce another curious combination, in the form of a new Mercedes-Benz x Ice Monster shop that recently popped up in Roppongi, Tokyo. But what do luxury car makers know about making the perfect frozen ice treat? Our ever-popular reporter Mr. Sato heads out to investigate.
Popular Taiwanese kakigori (shaved ice) chain Ice Monster opened on Omotesando, the main boulevard of Tokyo’s trendy Harajuku neighborhood, at the end of April to five-hour waits. Even now, waits regularly extend over an hour, but the scuttlebutt was that it was worth it for the mountains of delicious, delicious shaved ice.
We braved the lines and the brain freeze to find out the truth for you, dear readers.
Of all the art-you-can-eat creations that seem to be trending in Japan these days, most use easily manipulated and relatively sturdy substances such as rice and grated daikon radish, plus obvious stuff like cake and marzipan. So if these trendy edible canvases rank an eight or a nine on a 1-to-10 food art skill rating, we’d have to wager that ice-based food art is cranking it up to 11. And with ice melting in a matter of minutes, you’d think somebody would have to be crazy to try and make an edible sculpture out of it.
We can picture it now: The poor, young shaved ice art prodigy ridiculed and shunned by the food art community, forced to take his craft to far-off Okinawa and a decrepit-looking shop on an unassuming corner to carry out his trade in relative anonymity.
A restaurant in the trendy Shimokitazawa neighborhood of Tokyo thought they would get into the spirit of Valentine’s Day by offering a limited edition chocolate kakigori, a traditional Japanese snack that involves putting toppings on shaved ice. There was only one small problem…
MOST POPULAR
Now
The anime girl English teacher textbook character that stole Japan’s heart has gotten a promotion
In our search for crispy katsudon, we try a highly recommended place in a Tokyo university town
Black Thunder chocolate brings us the future of Valentine’s Day: Crabs!
Japanese vending machine sells…onigiri cakes!?
Our toughest blind taste test yet — can our writers pick out the more expensive mochi?
New unmanned hotel opens in Japan that requires check in and check out by Suica train card only
We found traditional pudding perfection in a brand new Tokyo cafe
Starbucks unveils second Valentine’s Day Frappuccino in Japan
Cowboy Bebop anime creator was disappointed with the Netflix version from the first scene he saw
Masks should still be worn indoors, majority of Japanese people in poll say
Weekly
Kyoto Station is a bad place to be in a snowstorm, videos show
Former women’s world boxing champion confronts molester on bus in Japan
Japan’s real-world One-Piece fitness gym is open, lets you pump giant manga meat
Pokémon-playing fish commit credit card fraud against owner in Japan via Nintendo eShop【Video】
Akihabara’s immigrant-founded kebab landmark is closing down for good after more than a decade
12-year-old manga artist wins prize from Weekly Shonen Jump, talent might run in the family
Apartments with no bath or shower rising in popularity among young Tokyoites, report says
New York Times makes a surprising pick for the best city to visit in Japan
Premium Japanese whisky is now in chocolate form with Suntory Yamazaki and Hibiki nama chocolate
How do you split two apples for three people using one knife? Japanese Twitter’s violent ideas
Monthly
- Kyoto Station is a bad place to be in a snowstorm, videos show
Hayao Miyazaki draws Year of the Rabbit illustration for New Year’s card to Studio Ghibli fans- Pokémon-playing fish commit credit card fraud against owner in Japan via Nintendo eShop【Video】
- Japan’s real-world One-Piece fitness gym is open, lets you pump giant manga meat
Tea with Totoro! Ghibli star gets his own green tea and drinkware line【Photos】
Japanese sweets box from Amazon Japan is a treasure trove of dagashi nostalgia
What’s in the Lindt lucky bag for 2023?- Former women’s world boxing champion confronts molester on bus in Japan
Japanese high school adds culottes to uniforms to better accommodate gender diversity- New York Times makes a surprising pick for the best city to visit in Japan
Yearly
Mandarin orange peels aren’t trash, they’re treasure! Three chimpi tips to reuse your mikan skins
Move over grilled cheese — we’ve discovered the tastiest toasted sandwich yet【Recipe】
One Punch Man manga artist’s amazing “practice” drawing is so good we think he might not be human
Sony’s wearable air conditioners selling like cold cakes in heat-stricken Japan
Travelling to Japan soon? Beware the “Three Small Hells” awaiting tourists upon arrival
How to use the new floating hologram registers at 7-Eleven
Japan ends travel ban on individual tourists, waives visa requirements for certain countries
One Piece’s Luffy spent years of manga’s publication without saying a word to one of his nakama
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
Pokémon Center apologizes for writing model Nicole Fujita’s name as Nicole Fujita
RECOMMENDED STORIES
New unmanned hotel opens in Japan that requires check in and check out by Suica train card only
We found traditional pudding perfection in a brand new Tokyo cafe
Starbucks unveils second Valentine’s Day Frappuccino in Japan
Cowboy Bebop anime creator was disappointed with the Netflix version from the first scene he saw
Masks should still be worn indoors, majority of Japanese people in poll say
Nitori furniture store guard arrested for shoplifting from Nitori furniture store
Asian Juicy: New burgers from McDonald’s Japan pay tribute to a ’90s J-pop music video by Puffy
W.T.F. Japan: Top 5 strangest kanji ever 【Weird Top Five】
Mister Donut teams up with master patissier for second round of luxurious, limited-edition donuts
Nine tales of stunningly crazy customer complaints in from the Japanese service industry
Japanese police file charges against illegal anime girl huggy pillow cover seller
Japanese government to once again allow loud cheering, full attendance at concerts, sports events
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
-
