Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
sweets (Page 105)
Japan is a country serious about its Kit Kat candy bars, treating them with the respect of gourmet chocolate and putting them on top of pizza. Now the Japanese fast food chain First Kitchen has brought the world its first Kit Kat sandwich, so we of course had to try what seemed like a delicious idea. Click below for our review of the dessert and why our Kit Kat taster compared it to a bad date
The weather is finally getting warmer and the cherry blossoms are starting to peek out here in Tokyo. So naturally, we’ve started planning all the snacks we’re going to much on during our cherry-blossom viewing parties and picnics.
We’ve already staked out some room in our tummies for Magnolia Bakery’s cherry blossom cupcakes, but we have to consider our ice-cream needs, too. For portable snacking, Häagen-Dazs‘ range of Crispy Sandwich ice cream treats are always a great option. And, as luck would have it, they’re rolling out a special new flavour for spring: Peach and Berry Tart!
Last Saturday was White Day, the annual Japanese celebration in which men give gifts to women who gave them gifts for Valentine’s Day. As such, confectioners rolled out a huge selection of special offerings for the occasion, and while chocolate is a perennial favorite, shoppers could also choose from strawberry, green tea, cherry blossom, and a variety of other gourmet options.
Among female dating simulator fans, though, the big hit flavor this year seems to have been “kisses.” No, not Hershey’s Kisses, but candy that actually claims to tastes like locking lips with one of six virtual boyfriends. Even stranger, gamers were clamoring to buy them even though no one really knows what “kiss-flavored” means, except that apparently the anime-style heartthrobs’ kisses don’t taste like shellfish.
Kit Kats in Japan are well-known for their creative designs and flavours, including limited releases for annual events and holidays such as Christmas, Halloween and even the cherry blossom viewing season.
Until now, there was one special holiday that always went unnoticed: Easter. This year, Nestle Japan are releasing their first ever Easter range, with a clever play on words that ties the religious festival to the month of April, the start of the Japanese school and business year.
According to Nestle, Easter is an ii sutaato, which means “good start” in Japanese. And with these gorgeous apple pie and carrot flavoured chocolates on the market, it looks like it’s going to be a very good start indeed.
If you were fighting the temptation to dig into confectioner Cozy Corner’s selection of cakes inspired by the leading ladies of the Disney animated canon, congratulations. Your struggle is over, since as of March 4, they’re no longer available.
If, on the other hand, you were hoping to try the stylish sweets for yourself but just couldn’t find the time, you have our sincere sympathies. Don’t feel too bad, though, because no sooner has one set of Cozy Corner Disney desserts bowed out than another has appeared on the scene, this time featuring the studio’s beloved characters cosplaying as Easter bunnies.
There are a ton of different ways to eat mochi, with roasting it or dropping it into soup or hot pots being some of the more common. Outside of Japan, though, many people’s first encounter with mochi is in the form of ice cream-filled mochi spheres sold at specialty grocers.
But while they make a tasty treat, what would happen if you reversed the process, and instead of putting ice cream in mochi, put mochi into ice cream? That’s the question posed by Häagen-Dazs new kinako kuromitsu mochi ice cream, and we’re here with the answer.
Some of our readers are undoubtedly aware that we here at RocketNews24 are quite fond of Kit Kats. And while we’re used to seeing the popular chocolate snack in an array of interesting flavors, we have to say we were genuinely intrigued when we heard about “bakeable” Kit Kats last year, as were many other Kit Kat fans across Japan, judging from the fact that the unique sweet attracted enough attention to be turned into pizzas. Now, the bakeabke Kit Kats have returned, and in a new flavor to boot! Of course, we weren’t about to be kept away from such sweetness. Join us as we try the new “Bake ‘N Tasty Mini Kit Kats Cheesecake Flavor” (Kit Kat Mini Yaite Oishi Cheesecake Aji)!
Much like the rest of the world, fast food in Japan is a war of franchises trying to one-up the other. When McDonald’s announced it was getting rid of large-sized fries, Lotteria announced they’d give customers “whatever size they wanted.” When McDonald’s was struggling with the morning crowd, Mos Burger seized the opportunity to strike by offering a traditional Japanese breakfast.
Now that Mister Donut has upped the ante by rolling out a strawberry-chocolate-marshmallow pizza, McDonald’s has answered back with its new strawberry whipped cream donut and shortcake. Who will emerge the victor? Well, so far, it’s looking pretty one-sided.
Tokyu Hands is known for its amazing array of goods. From bicycles to Kabuki face masks and everything in between, this is a company that’s built their brand with a focus on providing unique and innovative Japanese products to the local and international market.
Now, the cafe on the top floor of their Shibuya store is also showcasing its creative credibility, by transforming its space into a pop-up Bonsai Cafe, in collaboration with the Omiya Bonsai Museum in Saitama. With miniature trees and special goods on display, here it’s the unusual menu that’s really taking centre stage.
After seeing photos of their special matcha latte, an unusual tiramisu and a parfait served in a bonsai pot, we pulled on our gumboots and headed out on a rainy afternoon to give these treats a try. Come with us as we treat our taste buds to an enchanted walk through a delicious miniature garden.
In the year since it opened in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro, we’ve become big fans of the Kit Kat Chocolatory, the specialty store for the chocolate-covered wafers that’re especially popular in Japan. As a matter of fact, somewhere in the course of our multiple visits to procure the latest and greatest Kit Kat flavors, we’ve forgotten what life was like before the shop opened.
But while we’re living in the land of plenty with two different Chocolatory locations in Tokyo (the second is near Tokyo Station), not all of Japan is so fortunate. Until now, only residents of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nagoya could claim their town had its own Kit Kat paradise.
That’s about to change, though, as a new Kit Kat Chocolatory is opening soon in Hokkaido, and bringing a new flavor with it: butter.
Mister Donut stores across Japan have been transporting customers to Brooklyn since the beginning of the year, with a special line-up of hybrid sweets and beverages and even dedicated outlets featuring fittings inspired by the borough’s cool, hip eateries.
Now, a sweet slice of Brooklyn has just landed in stores, in the form of miniature, palm-sized pizzas topped with chocolate, marshmallows and even strawberry sauce. We stopped by for takeout and the results were more delicious than we could have imagined. Check out our photos for the cutest, tiniest slices of pizza you’ve ever seen!
With Valentine’s Day out of the way, and plum blossoms still in bloom, it’s time for early spring marketing to burst onto the scene in Japan. Leading the pack, as it does every year, is popular coffee chain Starbucks, with the nation’s other favourite flower, the cherry blossom, taking centre stage in their annual line-up of sakura menu items and merchandise.
This year, the humble cherry blossom meets caramel and chocolate in latte and Frappucino forms, and also finds itself in a beautiful pink and white chiffon cake. Curious to know what sakura tastes like when blended with such sweet partners? Join us as we bring you all the photos and flavours from our recent visit.
If you love sweets — chocolate in particular — Japan in the weeks before Valentine’s Day is definitely a great place to be. Ever since chocolate makers in Japan managed to make it a widespread tradition for women to give chocolates to men on Valentine’s Day, it’s become an annual event to see chocolates being sold at shops everywhere starting in late January, with numerous special promotions and appearances by “celebrity chocolatiers” to heighten the excitement leading up to the big V-day.
Yes, for chocolate lovers, it’s a blissful time of year — there’s nothing quite like stepping into a department store and seeing a huge space filled with chocolates of all shapes and sizes while being surrounded by the rich, earthy scent of cacao. But now that Valentine’s Day is over, we may be developing a case of the post-Valentine’s blues, so to console ourselves, we’ve put together a collection of photos showcasing some of the most memorable chocolate items we saw this Valentine’s season in Japan.
Over the years, we’ve already seen some lovely creations by Japanese confection maker Ginza Cozy Corner with Disney themes, including sumptuous mini-cakes inspired by Disney villains and characters from the mega-hit film Frozen. This time, to celebrate the “Girl’s Day” festival called Hina Matsuri coming up in Japan next month on March 3, the folks at Cozy Corner have once again come up with some sweet magic, this time in the form of small cakes symbolizing some of Disney’s best known gals. It’s the “Petit Gateau Disney Girl’s Collection” featuring nine of Disney’s female stars, from Minnie Mouse to Elsa, transformed into bite-sized treats that should be both sweet to taste and a delight to look at!
Every now and again, we stumble across a dessert recipe that’s so simple and tasty, it almost feels like we’ve discovered some sort of hidden secret that man wasn’t meant to know. Last year, we found out that instead of making pancakes one at a time, we could just make one huge one in a rice cooker, sprinkle in some green tea powder, and have a dessert that looks and tastes great with no fuss at all.
But what if you prefer chilled desserts to hotcakes? No problem. We recently tried a recipe for a frozen marshmallow dessert that may or may not technically be ice cream, but amazingly creates something that tastes even better from just two ingredients, and takes almost as few steps to make.
Swedish home furnishing company IKEA, as many of you are undoubtedly aware, has a huge presence around the world, and Japan is no exception. Thousands of us enjoy wandering around their gargantuan stores on the weekends, gazing at their pop furniture displays and homeware or wolfing down a serving of their Swedish meatballs at their cafeteria.
Well now, IKEA Japan has news that’s sure to please sweets lovers in particular — for a limited time, they’re be offering an all-you-can-eat “Sweets Buffet”, which includes some delightful-looking Swedish treats that we’re dying to try, for the very reasonable price of 499 yen (US$4.25)! Who wouldn’t be excited about sweet news like that?
With just one month of winter left, it’s time to start looking ahead for all the great things spring promises. And while we’re all happy about getting some extra daylight and the prospect of being able to wear fewer than three layers of clothes whenever we step out our front door, we’re even more excited that Krispy Kreme Japan is once again whipping up a special group of Easter donuts, which promise to be just as adorable as they were last year and possibly even more delicious.
We may be in the middle of a cold winter in Japan, with Tokyo even seeing some light snow last Friday, but things are definitely starting to look bright and spring-like at Lindt stores here! Yes, early spring for us is the time for cherry blossoms, or sakura, and while spring hasn’t quite yet arrived, international chocolate maker Lindt has announced two new sakura-themed items to be sold at their cafes here in Japan. And as you might well expect, the sakura treats look pink, sweet and utterly gorgeous!
Japan is always up for making snack time more elegant, and one of the country’s favorite indulgences are the dainty disc-shaped confectionaries called macarons.
Being sophisticated doesn’t mean being dour, though. Dessert fans in Japan have no qualms about mixing a little entertainment in with their snacking, which they’ll be able to do in a whole new way now that these carbonated candy macarons have popped onto the sweets scene.
Japan sure loves its parfaits, and while they all come with tasty toppings, the most highly regarded come crowned with fruit. But what if you turned the concept on its head, and instead took a piece of premium produce, then added a cone’s worth of ice cream on top?
You’d have our newest dessert infatuation: the fresh melon soft serve.
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Studio Ghibli adds new Jiji’s baby plush toy to its anime merchandise range in Japan
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Beautiful off-the-beaten-path spot near samurai castle in rural Japan looks like a Monet painting
Tokyo sweets store has a “350% Pudding Soft Serve”, and people are going wild for it
Japanese figure skating star Yuzuru Hanyu and Winne-the-Pooh announce crossover merch line [Pics]
This beautiful Okinawa beach gives you the best of both worlds when visiting the prefecture [Pics]
Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo announces cosplay ban
Japanese toilet aims to attract foreign tourists but not everybody is happy about it
New Japanese vending machine at Shinkansen station sells cups of ice on platform
Anime fan in Japan arrested for ordering and cancelling over 4.3 billion yen in anime merch
Starbucks Japan teams up with Traveler’s Company for new stationery and goods collection
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Beautiful Totoro bonsai figure needs no watering, makes soothing rain showers whenever you want
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Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
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New Shinkansen luggage drop-off system begins in Japan, making train travel even easier
Studio Ghibli releases anime T-shirts that pay homage to one of Hayao Miyazaki’s most personal films
Air-conditioned dress shirts arrive in Japan to save working professionals from sweltering heat
Japanese Shinkansen becomes an overnight hotel for three nights this summer
Cup Noodle unveils first-ever cold-water instant ramen in Japan
Pokémon Center Online designates first Pokémon items that will require Japanese ID card to buy
99-year-old woman rescued while attempting to climb Mt. Fuji
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Studio Ghibli has a new anime out, and there’s only one place in the world where you can see it
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
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Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Salomon releases Japan-exclusive Mt. Fuji hiking gear that doubles as an amazing souvenir
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Beautiful off-the-beaten-path spot near samurai castle in rural Japan looks like a Monet painting
Tokyo sweets store has a “350% Pudding Soft Serve”, and people are going wild for it
Japanese figure skating star Yuzuru Hanyu and Winne-the-Pooh announce crossover merch line [Pics]
This beautiful Okinawa beach gives you the best of both worlds when visiting the prefecture [Pics]
Shinto shrine in downtown Tokyo announces cosplay ban
Wagyu ramen for foreign tourists appears in Kabukicho, with a very high price tag
Starbucks releases tear-jerking new video inspired by heartwarming encounters in Japanese stores
Did you know? Only one Beard Papa’s in all of eastern Japan sells soft serve in a cream puff
Japan opens shrine for plush toys in Kyoto, offering memorial rites and a resting place for remains
Japanese cat island reveals all its cats will soon be gone
Japan’s new beer glass is designed to force you to drink…water [Video]
Japan now has human refrigerators inspired by Japanese vending machines
Japanese convenience store food gets turned into hyper-realistic stationery you can peel open
7-Eleven Japan adds new doughnut-like tonkotsu ramen fried chicken to its hot food section