We’d had high hopes for the ice cream’s first jaunt outside of the U.S., but it’s not what we were expecting.
soft serve
After looking at the brilliant gold leaf covering the World Heritage-listed temple, you can now eat it too, in a beautifully presented ice cream cone.
Japanese dessert lovers have a soft spot for soft-serve, and the popular chain is now happy to oblige them.
Temperatures are shooting up all around the archipelago and that means soft serve season has come to Japan! For some baffling reason, vanilla remains far and away the most popular flavor for Japanese, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get creative with their frozen treats too. Flavors like green tea and ume plum are easy to find (and delicious), but don’t stop there if you want to try some really out there local flavors.
Here are our choices for the 10 weirdest soft serve flavors Japan has to offer.
MOST POPULAR
Now
Pokémon dress shirt brand is shutting down – Last chance to order is less than a month away
Studio Ghibli says no to trailers and commercials for Hayao Miyazaki’s new anime movie
Ghibli Museum releases beautiful new line of anime art T-shirts, available for online orders【Pics】
Soup curry and onigiri for breakfast at a super tasty semi-secret spot in Tokyo’s Shinjuku
Starbucks Japan’s new cake Frappuccino brings sunshine to our taste buds
Pizza Hut Japan’s new Wiener Coffee Pizza tastes as crazy as it sounds
Here’s why you should visit Japan’s best winter-night hot spring town on a summer afternoon【Pics】
Artificial sea of clouds made by luxury hotel in Tokyo during summer
Japanese city getting Spirited Away buses to celebrate Studio Ghibli anime producer museum event
Our street food-skipping reporter learns he’s been doing Japanese festivals wrong his whole life
Weekly
- Ghibli Museum releases beautiful new line of anime art T-shirts, available for online orders【Pics】
- Pokémon dress shirt brand is shutting down – Last chance to order is less than a month away
Huge price hike for Japan Rail Pass triggers huge drop in foreign travelers who’ll buy it【Survey】
Fans in Japan don’t sound happy with Netflix’s One Piece live-action changes to the Going Merry
Onitsuka Tiger now sells Shinkansen sneakers that cost more than a trip on the bullet train
Gigantic super-affordable Sailor Moon lifestyle line comes to Japan’s favorite 300 yen shop【Pics】
AI-generated swimsuit/lingerie model makes debut in Japan’s Weekly Playboy magazine【Photos】
SoraNews24 formally apologizes for recent misunderstanding with crows in nearby park
We try five menu recommendations from a clerk at CoCo Ichibanya and almost fall in love
How to have yumcha like a boss at a new dim sum restaurant perfect for groups or solo diners
Monthly
Studio Ghibli now sells plush toys seen on Howl’s bed from Howl’s Moving Castle- Ghibli Museum releases beautiful new line of anime art T-shirts, available for online orders【Pics】
- Pokémon dress shirt brand is shutting down – Last chance to order is less than a month away
- Gigantic super-affordable Sailor Moon lifestyle line comes to Japan’s favorite 300 yen shop【Pics】
- Huge price hike for Japan Rail Pass triggers huge drop in foreign travelers who’ll buy it【Survey】
Uniqlo teams up with shojo manga/anime masters Clamp for new World of Clamp T-shirt line【Pics】
Japanese outdoor brand Foxfire teams up with Totoro for cool clothing and accessory line
New Ghibli T-shirts give you anime style with short sleeves from Spirited Away, Totoro, and more
World’s largest Kura Sushi revolving sushi restaurant opens, but not in Japan【Video】- Fans in Japan don’t sound happy with Netflix’s One Piece live-action changes to the Going Merry
Yearly
Manga artist wants Japanese teachers to feel, for two seconds, how dumb their girls’ dress code is
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
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
Pokémon Center apologizes for writing model Nicole Fujita’s name as Nicole Fujita
Image-generating AI’s picture of “Final Fantasy VII Cloud” is so wrong, yet so right
Princesses, fruits, and blacksmiths: Study reveals the 30 most unusual family names in Japan
New Studio Ghibli humidifiers breathe anime magic into your home
Message to foreigners at Japanese convenience store sparks controversy online
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Pizza Hut Japan’s new Wiener Coffee Pizza tastes as crazy as it sounds
Here’s why you should visit Japan’s best winter-night hot spring town on a summer afternoon【Pics】
Artificial sea of clouds made by luxury hotel in Tokyo during summer
Japanese city getting Spirited Away buses to celebrate Studio Ghibli anime producer museum event
Our street food-skipping reporter learns he’s been doing Japanese festivals wrong his whole life
A visit to T-CAT, Tokyo’s often forgotten City Air Terminal【Photos】
Pikachu afternoon tea at Tokyo hotel gives us a taste of the Pokémon anime world
Five times our Japanese-language reporters added 85 bucks of “extras” to food orders in 2016
JR East attempts to unite train-photographing otaku with new social media group
Moon Prism Power ineffective against coronavirus as Tokyo permanent Sailor Moon restaurant closes
Beautiful hotel on Japan’s northern island has frozen rooms, ice outdoor bath【Photos】
Starbucks Japan’s newest treats: the Purple Halloween Frappuccino and a gruesome-looking dessert
Japanese outdoor brand Foxfire teams up with Totoro for cool clothing and accessory line
12 gender-bent Disney and Ghibli characters that are utter perfection
-
