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Does a long line mean a sweeter deal? We compare two sweets from a Hokkaido food fair【Taste test】

We try to find out whether waiting in a longer line equates to a more delicious sweet through a blind office taste test.The other day, our Japanese-language writer Yuichiro Wasai paid a visit to the Hokkaido Grand Fair happening at the Keio Department Store in Shinjuku, an event featuring all kinds of regional food products from Hokkaido that can usually only be purchased there. One of the booths had an unbelievable line in front of it, so he thought that some kind of product demonstration might

Family Mart unveils new Japanese bread that elevates convenience store food to mocchiri levels

Japan’s trend for soft, chewy bread just got even more intense.Family Mart has built up a big fanbase with its popular “Famimaru Bakery” line of baked goods, and this month, there are three new additions bringing textural sensation to the range.Called “Cho Mocchiri Pan” (“Super Chewy Bread“), this new collection takes Japan’s trend for soft, chewy bread to new heights, with a mouthfeel that’s as springy as mochi (pounded sticky rice cakes).▼

Häagen-Dazs releases new Green Tea sandwich in Japan for a limited time

We find out if this ice cream has what it takes to make matcha lovers swoon.Häagen-Dazs loves to cater to local tastes in Japan, and its latest release does just that, with a new Crispy Sandwich flavour called “The Green Tea“.Released to honour the25th anniversary of the Crispy Sandwich, this new flavour is said to deliver the bitterness of matcha and the sweetness of white chocolate in a luxurious way, and we were able to get an early taste of it ahead of the official 7 April releas

Schoolkids learn life skills through shopping field trips at street markets in Kochi Prefecture

The unexpectedly cutest part of shopping at Kochi’s Thursday Market was seeing some fellow shoppers of the very small variety in action. Kochi City, the capital of Kochi Prefecture, has a local custom where shop vendors set up shop on various streets on different days of the week. While the Sunday Market is the biggest in scope and probably the most famous, another version is the Thursday Market, which materializes on–you guessed it–Thursdays, near the Kencho-Mae bus stop in fr

Japanese manhole lid raises eyebrows with fertility god symbol that looks like… well, you know

Festival of the Steel Phallus deity gets a steel lid in a rural city. For all its staid traditions and formal etiquette, Japanese culture can be surprisingly uninhibited in ways that can leave visitors from abroad clutching their pearls.Take, for example, a new manhole lid that’s just been installed in front of Kobunoki Shrine in Ninohe City, Iwate Prefecture. This sacred place of worship is in full support of the new manhole cover, which features… a colourful and playful phallic des

Foreign man arrested for walking on Shinkansen tracks, claims he was on the run from yakuza

If you’re going to do something like this, you need a very good, or at least a very crazy, reason for doing it.Japan’s trains are very punctual, but that doesn’t mean they have a perfect on-time record. Even the prestigious Shinkansen is delayed sometimes, as happened on Tuesday afternoon when service was suspended for a very unusual reason: someone was walking on the tracks.The incident occurred at approximately 4 o’clock in the afternoon at Shizuoka Station, located in the middle of the heavil

Man bites woman at cherry blossom park in Japan, dies shortly after

Senior citizen passes away shortly after being arrested and taken to hospital by police.With cherry blossom season winding down, last Sunday many people were out at Suimeidai Edohigan no Mori, a park in the Hyogo Prefecture town of Kawanishi that’s famous for its many sakura trees. However, all was not peaceful under the boughs covered in springtime flowers, as at some point a woman in her 40s and an 89-year-old man became embroiled in an argument after the woman took issue with some aspect of t

New 7-Eleven sandwich goes viral in Japan, but is it everything it’s cracked up to be?

We find out if this “Greedy Sandwich” with cherry blossom bread tastes as good as it looks.Japanese convenience stores have become famous around the globe for all the great things you can find in them, and right now there’s one item everyone is scrambling to try: the Chocolate Sprinkles & Whipped Cream sandwich.Sold exclusively at 7-Eleven, this new release is the latest in the chain’s big-sized “Greedy Sandwich” line, and ever since it became available on

How to take your home ramen to the next level by making your own chashu pork in a frying pan

If you’ve got a frying pan and some aluminum foil, this kurukuru chashu recipe is ready to revolutionize your home cooking.Whether you’re someone who likes cooking for yourself, don’t have any good restaurants in your neighborhood, or just don’t feel like going out to eat, a bowl of ramen is pretty simple to whip up for yourself. Well…it’s mostly simple.Ramen noodles and soup stock are easy to find at supermarkets, even if you live outside of Japan, and their long shelf life means you can

Deer that appeared in downtown Osaka gets a new home, a new name, and a lot of snacks[Video]

Likely wanderer from Nara Park won’t be going back, but has a new place to live in a hot spring town.Both the business and academic year start in spring in Japan, so right now is what’s known as the shin seikatsu, or “new lifestyle,” season, as new workers and college students move into new commuting-distance homes to start the next chapter of their lives. However, one new Osaka resident who just moved into a new place isn’t a university freshmen or a new corporate recruit, but a deer.Last month

Famous koi ponds overwhelmed with tourists throwing thousands of coins in them

Koi and coins don’t mix.Oshino Hakkai is an idyllic spot nestled in the Fuji Five Lakes region of Yamanashi Prefecture. Traditional thatched-roof buildings are scattered among eight pristine spring-fed ponds. Combined with a spectacular view of Mt. Fuji, it’s a popular tourist spot that attracts people from all over Japan and the world.And for years, they’ve been dealing with a problem, and it only gets worse as foreign tourism increases. That problem is that people from other countries insist o

Peanuts and Coke becomes a viral hit in Japan, but is it a trend worth joining?

“Farmer’s Coke” is having a moment in Japan, and surprising people in the U.S.Things are changing rapidly in the online sphere these days, especially on Twitter, where posts and comments in the timeline can now be automatically translated from other languages in seconds, exposing everyone to more global trends than ever before.Here in Japan, the increased exposure recently led to a huge surge in discussions about “American-style barbecue”, but that has now been over

McDonald’s Japan adds new Hello Kitty and Pompompurin drinks to the menu for a limited time

Sanrio characters add sweetness to first-ever McDonald’s smoothie and frappe collaboration, complete with a Japanese idol commercial. As Japan’s hardest working feline, Hello Kitty’s work is never done, with a long list of companies vying to join forces with her for limited-edition releases that feature her kawaii charm.Now, McDonald’s is enlisting Hello Kitty’s powers for a new collaboration that sees her appearing on a smoothie, which the chain describes as a firs

New Japanese KitKats come in sakura flavour, with poetic symbolism for success

“Sakura saku” literally means “Sakura bloom” but it’s also code for something else. Japanese often feels like a deeply poetic language, where even everyday expressions carry layers of imagery and cultural meaning. A beautiful example is the phrase “sakura saku” (“cherry blossoms bloom”). Beyond its literal meaning, it has long been used to signify success, or passing an exam, evoking the image of blossoms opening in spring as a metaphor for achievement and new begin

7-Eleven Japan’s new baked-in-store sweet treat is only available in three parts of the country

This is one of 7-Eleven Japan’s rarest sweets, but is it worth tracking down?7-Eleven is an ubiquitous part of Japanese cityscapes, but while you’re never too far from a branch of the convenience store, that doesn’t mean that each location has the exact same snack selection. Some 7-Eleven stores also offer the chain’s 7 Cafe Bakery line of baked goods which are finished off by the staff using the oven in-store, making them extra fresh, warm, and delicious. Even out of the branches with the 7 Caf

Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa

Requirement to be added to “jobs in which Japanese is used.”For foreigners wanting to work in Japan, one of the most common paths into the country is through a Specialist in Humanities/International Services visa. Among other professions, it’s the visa issued to foreign nationals working as English teachers, either as ALTs at regular schools for Japanese children or at for-adults eikaiwa/conversational English schools.According to a report from nonprofit organization Kyodo, citing sources relate

Japan named most sleep-deprived country for fourth year in a row, according to survey

Look, I’m tired. Just think up your own lede for this, OK?The other day, I was talking to someone I hallucinated about the importance of sleep. In these days, where the world never seems to stop moving, it can be hard to carve out the recommended seven to eight hours a day. We tend to think of this time as wasted, rather than as a crucial function of our body to maintain health.It’s a problem medical equipment makers at ResMed work hard on, and as a way to gauge which countries need to understan

Sailor Moon’s Artemis is part of the Artemis II NASA mission control team[Video]

Celestial themed anime plushie is in the room monitoring the real-world mission to the moon.For the first time in over 50 years, NASA has a manned mission to the moon again with Artemis II. The Artemis name is appropriate for a number of reasons, the most obvious is that its manned-mission predecessor series was also named after a Greek god, Apollo. You could also say that Artemis being the goddess of hunting, and by association having dominion over archery, has similarities with the way the Art

You can assemble a well-balanced team of Pokémon, them eat them, thanks to Japanese cake chain

Cozy Corner unveils a mini-Pokédex’s worth of adorable Pokémon desserts.Variety is the figurative name of the game in the Pokémon franchise. Even if you’re not aiming for full-on caught-em-all Pokémon Master status, any capable trainer knows that it’s important to acquire a Pokémon roster of diverse Types and skill sets, so that you’re prepared for anything that an opponent might throw out against you in battle.And you knew where else diversity can be extremely desirable? Desserts.Japanese baker

Japan’s full-facemask Ninja Parka still lets you eat ice cream[Photos]

Perfect for the shinobi who wants to stay out of the sun and snack on sweets.Japanese clothing brand Sara’s catalog includes a zip-up hoodie that’s officially named the “Perfect Parka.” The company also uses a second name they use for the garment, perhaps because perfection is a subjective concept, or maybe because they realize that when people see it, they’re naturally going to call it the “Ninja Parka.”The true purpose of the Ninja Parka, though, isn’t chic shinobi style. It’s to provide prote