Weird Japanese vending machine find of the day: Cream in cans?

You’ll only find one thing in this machine, and it’s heaven for cream lovers.

Sweet trends have been sweeping through the country recently, with the maritozzo boom saturating the market with cuteness and weirdness at the same time. Now, a new trend is emerging with the release of cakes in cans, which are becoming a sell-out hit at exclusive vending machines around Japan.

These cans, developed by a Japanese company called Gaku, have revolutionised the way we eat cakes, as they can now be eaten on-the-go with a spoon. After wowing us with their perfectly packed strawberry shortcake, the company now has a new can that ups the cream content so much it’s branded simply as “Namakuri“, which is short for “Nama Cream“, or “Fresh Cream“.

It’s a pretty apt description of what’s inside, as 90 percent of the contents of this can is said to be fresh cream. They made their debut on 26 April at a vending machine inside Tokyo’s hip 109 shopping mall, a hub for youth culture, so our sweets-loving reporter Mr Sato headed out to buy one and see what it was like.

The machine looked like a regular drinks machine at first glance, but a closer look at the prices revealed these are no ordinary drinks. Each 330-millilitre can costs 780 yen (US$6.06), which is about seven times more expensive than a vending machine beverage.

Mr Sato fed his coins into the machine and out popped his can of cream, complete with a long spoon. Thankfully, there was an eat-in area close by, so Mr Sato was able to take a seat and enjoy his sweet indulgence fresh from the machine.

The first thing he noticed was the can itself, which was cleverly designed to create an optical illusion, making it look as if the can were see-through and the cream-coloured packaging was actually the cream inside.

Another unusual treat here was the fact that the can came with a pull-lid to open it, fooling the mind into thinking this would contain a beverage inside.

However, one the lid is removed, it’s clear that this is no beverage — the can looked to be filled right to the brim with fresh cream! 

It’s no wonder they call this the “Namakuri”. Scooping up a spoonful, Mr Sato could see it was mostly cream, with a liiiiiitle bit of sponge tucked away inside, to add some textural contrast.

As soon as he took a taste, Mr Sato closed his eyes in delight at the sweet richness and super soft texture of this decadent dessert. Apparently, mascarpone is used as a secret ingredient, along with fresh cream from Hokkaido, to give it its luxurious flavour. Each serving is handmade and delivered fresh from the factory to the vending machine each day, providing customers with a high-quality product that’s just as good as any sweet you’d buy from a high-end patisserie.

It was absolutely delicious, but seeing as Mr Sato has the taste buds of a middle-aged man, and not a teen girl, which is Shibuya 109’s target customer, he found it difficult to finish the entire can. As he dipped his spoon into the bottom half of the can, he longed for another accent of flavour, perhaps something like chocolate sauce, to give him a break from the richness of the cream.

That’s when he came up with the brilliant idea of taking it back to the office where he could pop into the convenience store across the street and pick up a banana and some strawberries to add to the cream. That made the whole thing even more delicious, and gave him two or three desserts in one, which, as we know, is the way Mr Sato likes to eat his desserts — the more there is, the better!

Vending Machine Information

Namakuri Vending Machine / 「なまくり」自販機
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Dogenzaka 2-29-1, Shibuya 109 Building B2F Mogu Mogu Stand (beside the escalator)
東京都渋谷区道玄坂2丁目29-1 SHIBUYA109 地下2階モグモグスタンド（エスカレーター脇）
Hours: 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.

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