Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.
sweets (Page 98)
If you love cats and owls — and judging from the popularity of cat and owl cafes in Japan, we’re guessing there are a good number of people who do — then the Tokyu Hands Ikebukuro Store in Tokyo may be a place you want to check out this month. Their ongoing special event features various cat and owl-themed products including irresistibly cute sweets, and we just had to share with you the images of these expertly crafted cat and owl cakes!
Last February, we had the opportunity to combine our loves for Japanese food and ice cream when Häagen-Dazs released a line of ice cream topped by mochi rice cakes and flavored like traditional Japanese confectionaries. We got our hands on one flavor and were blown away by how amazing it tasted, and so was the rest of Japan.
Before long, the supplies of both flavors of mochi ice cream were exhausted, and the freezer sections of convenience stores and supermarkets across Japan has always looked a little lonelier in their absence. Now, though, Häagen-Dazs has announced that its kinako kuromitsu and mitarashi kurumi mochi ice creams, featuring roasted soybean flour, black sugar syrup, sweet soy glaze, and walnuts, are making a triumphant return.
With Japan’s growing love of Halloween, and it’s long-held affection for seasonal sweets, the country now gets a bumper crop of special desserts for the year’s spookiest holiday. So far, most of these have been Japanese brands of Western-style candies and cookies with a Halloween-themed package, or maybe with a limited-time pumpkin flavor, but one traditional Kawasaki-based confectionary chain is looking to change that with a lineup of edible eyeballs, zombie fingers, and other Japanese sweets that look bone-chilling and sound mouth-watering.
The Harajuku/Omotesando district in Tokyo is already a mecca of sweet shops from around the world, but things in the area just got even sweeter this past weekend as another internationally loved bakery opened its very first shop in Japan. Yes, we’re delighted that London’s celebrated LOLA’S cupcakes now has a shop in Tokyo, and as you may have guessed, we weren’t about to miss out on trying the sweet creations from one of London’s best-loved baking outlets, so there we were on opening day.
We already knew from the pictures that their cupcakes look simply amazing; now we couldn’t wait to try some for ourselves, and there were even going to be four original Japanese flavors too — Yum!
Tokyo’s Harajuku neighborhood means different things to different people. The beautiful people living the Japanese high life are drawn by the brand-name jewelers on the tree-lined Omotesando boulevard. Teens, meanwhile, flock to the narrow Takeshitadori shopping street to score up-to-date fashions that leave their parents scratching their heads in bewilderment.
And for those with a sweet tooth, Harajuku is all about the crepes.
Our intrepid Japanese-language correspondent P.K. recently took a break from seeing how many slices of roast pork or boiled eggs he could cram in his stomach and instead decided to see how much dessert he could consume in a single serving, as he decided to max out a Tokyo crepe by ordering one with every available dessert topping.
The recent release of fine porcelain Sailor Moon cups and saucers has anime fans ready to add a touch of elegance to their table. Of course, what’s tea time without some equally posh snacks, right? So if you’re looking to keep your refreshments in the same anime family, why not pair your pour of Darjeeling or Lady Grey with some Sailor Moon macarons?
Tamagoyaki– best described as a fluffy, sweetened rolled omelette that’s often served chilled is a staple in typical Japanese bento lunches. A gummy candy flavor it is not…until now! Adding to an ever-growing list of odd flavors coming from Japan, tamagoyaki-flavored gummies are now a thing, and well-known Japanese YouTuber Hikakin has gotten his hands on these rare odd gems and given them a taste. The verdict? Watch and see for yourself!
The delicious delights of being in Japan aren’t limited to the amazing sushi and tea. Being in the country also surprisingly gives you access to the world’s greatest variety of Kit Kat flavors and variations.
We’ve already seen the tasty confectionaries show up in cheesecake flavor and atop pizzas, and now the crossover between the chocolate wafers and baked goods continues as one of Japan’s most popular coffeehouses is now selling Kit Kat croissants.
Namikoshiken is a Nagoya-based sweets store that’s been in business since 1927. They produce some of the most adorable animal-themed manju, buns with various filling like sweet bean jam, we’ve ever seen! With all that experience and a product this cute, it’s hardly a surprise they’re blowing up the Internet with photos of their manju spreading like wildfire online.
Despite the popularity of goodies like Kit Kats and Oreos around the world, most countries sell only the original flavors of such snacks with perhaps one or two flavor variations on the side. This area, however, is where Japan goes totally nuts with novel and often downright bizarre marketing campaigns to introduce the latest flavors of ordinary snacks—just ask anyone who’s ever had the courage to try wasabi Kit Kats or strawberry chocolate-covered shrimp chips!
Case in point, confectionery and baked goods company Yamazaki Nabisco has unveiled its newest flavor of the popular Oreo cookie: rum raisin.
Even if you’re not a fan of McDonald’s burgers, fries, or food offerings of any kind, you have to admit the fast food chain knows how to make a pretty tasty shake. Thick and creamy, sipping on a McDonald’s shake can instantly bring back those feelings of happy contentedness you felt as a child, and in Japan part of the reason might be that the experience is designed to make you feel like a baby sucking down a meal of breast milk.
In Japan, going on a trip often means you’ll be coming back with about twice as much luggage as you left with, as you are almost always expected to bring back souvenirs for your friends, family, coworkers, teachers, neighbors…pretty much everyone you’ll run into at some point after returning from your trip, even if it’s just a weekend getaway.
The plus side of this? Pretty much anywhere you go in the country, you can find local treats available only in that specific area, and sometimes also limited to the seasons as well. Tokyo is no exception, and today we’re going to be taking a look at some rare, special eats that you’ll only find within the terminals of Haneda Airport.
Since coming to Japan, American ice cream outfit Ben & Jerry’s has been slowly but surely building up its fanbase. But while its high quality ice cream tastes as good in Japan as it does in the company’s home country, the humor behind its pun-filled names for its signature flavors doesn’t always translate.
As such, we’re not sure how many people will get the joke about Ben & Jerry’s newest Japan-exclusive flavor, Lemont. Fuji, but once they get a look at the mouth-watering, Japanese-sourced ingredients, we’re sure plenty of them will want to try it.
How well do you know your wagashi (Japanese sweets)? If you’re struggling to put a name to any of the traditional delectables pictured above, there’s a store in Kyoto that can help.
By creating decorative embroidered versions of some of Japan’s most popular confections, Kyoto-based Kyototo is giving us an education in the names and background of the hand-crafted treats that are often seasonal but always delicious. Come with us as we take a look at twelve of the most beautiful wagashi you can find in Japan.
Takeshita Seika, an ice cream and confectioner based in Kyushu, Japan, has been around for more than a century. They make all sorts of delectable edibles, from ice cream to cake, but are most famous for their “black mon blanc” ice cream bar. Now, the company is taking the most important meal of the day and turning it into the most delicious meal of the day too, with their new granola “breakfast ice cream” bar!
The English and Japanese-language teams at RocketNews24 have entered into a strange sort of competition, as they try to one-up each other with foods that don’t look anything like they should. The English side fired the opening salvo in this war of the eyes vs. the taste buds with a sneaky pink soy sauce taste test, and now our intrepid Japanese reporter Mr. Sato has decided that revenge is a dish best served sweet with this cake from a Tokyo bakery that looks exactly like a pizza.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Sendai Astronomical Observatory, which was opened in 1955 thanks to generous donations from the citizens of the city of Sendai and other contributors. Traditionally, the 60th anniversary gift is diamonds, and as everyone knows, diamonds are forever.
But don’t we also kind of hope that Earth is forever, too? One of the many items the observatory sells is a lollipop with the image of the earth printed on it. The effect will leave you…earthstruck.
Early ice cream production methods date all the way back to B.C. times, and even today people are still coming up with new and improved ways to enjoy this tasty treat. In Japan, this sometimes means inventing weird ice cream flavors or combining it with other popular foods like ramen. In fact, some Japanese people even believe you can learn a thing or two about another person’s personality by watching how they eat their ice cream.
But Japan isn’t the only country with a fondness for ice cream. The United Kingdom, for example, recently ranked in as one of the top 10 ice cream-consuming countries in the world. Not only do people in the U.K. enjoy satisfying their sweet tooth, they’re also coming up with ways to savor their ice cream longer, as a result of new research by two Scottish universities.
It’s so easy these days to try something new and creative since tons of people post really cool things to Instagram and Pinterest. A person can get a million fantastic ideas for their next project just by browsing for a few minutes. What’s especially helpful is that people will often post DIY tutorials and step-by-step pictures to allow even the commonest of folk to get their creative juices flowing. Whether your final product turns out as well as the instructions you are following is a bit of a crapshoot, it’s still extremely fun/funny just to try it for yourself.
So for a Studio Ghibli fan’s next big day, why not try and make one of these amazing Totoro cakes? Check out dozens of spectacular sweet treats featuring one of our favorite Japanese characters after the break.
Last week, I stopped by the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama to try its just-released Cup Noodle Ice Cream, with its chives, shrimp, and all the other fixings of instant ramen. It was definitely an interesting experience, but I did have one complaint, which is that Cup Noodle Ice Cream doesn’t actually have any noodles in it. Technically, it should be called “Cup Noodle Topping Ice Cream.”
Thankfully, it turns out there actually is a place in Japan where you can get ice cream with ramen noodles mixed in. Since I suddenly found myself with the unlikely title of RocketNews24’s resident ramen ice cream expert, I figured it was time to go another round with this unorthodox class of dessert, and to crown a winner in this battle of the ramen ice creams.
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Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration eventsFamous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Train station platform ramen store closes its doors on half a century of history in Tokyo
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Studio Ghibli releases Catbus pullback keychain that runs like the anime character
Krispy Kreme releases Super Mario doughnuts in Japan for a limited time
Japanese onsen egg maker from 100-yen store Daiso needs to be on your shopping list
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Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
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No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Free literal forest bathing in Hokkaido is a hot spring experience you’ll never forget【Photos】
Nintendo’s Animal Crossing crosses over into Japanese convenience store cosmetics line[Photos]
Does this video about an abandoned dog leave you wiping your eyes or shaking your fist?
Daiso’s 100-yen ramen egg makers even better in smaller sizes
The Almost All Lettuce Burger from Dom Dom Burger really lives up to its name
How to speak Japanese like a gyaru【2024 edition】
Japanese masturbatory aid and insect repellent companies collab on a new product
Hokkaido park’s “sakura on the ground” are a breathtaking reason to venture beyond Sapporo
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