Twentythree

Legendary performer now has a new song about combining some other forbidden things.

It’s been a while since we last saw Piko Taro, the leopard-print loving persona of Japanese entertainer Kazuhito Kosaka who took the world by storm with his viral global hit “Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen”. Wherever he’s been hiding, it seems he hasn’t lost his love of combining things, because now he’s back on the scene with a new video encouraging us to stir chocolate biscuits into tubs of ice cream.

For this outing, the star is bringing his signature dance moves and whacky personality to Japanese confectionery giant Meiji for its new “Kinotake Gururi” summer campaign. The campaign brings many things together, starting with two Meiji chocolate cookies that have enjoyed a longstanding rivalry, Kinoko no Yama (literately “Mushroom Mountain) and Takenoko no Sato (“Bamboo Shoot Village”). Fans tend to get great pleasure out of siding with one of these chocolate cookies against the other, so much so that they even cast votes in a politically-inspired popularity election, but Piko Taro is encouraging unity between parties by encouraging fans to combine the treats with Meiji’s Essel Super Cup ice cream.

For the campaign, Piko Taro isn’t just combining sweets, he’s combining names as well, bringing Kinoko no Yama and Takenoko no Sato together with the word “Kinotake”, and using it to inspire an original song titled “Guruguru Majemaje” (“Round and Round, Mix Mix”).

Written and composed by Piko Taro, it’s also being performed by him as well, in a crazy new commercial that showcases the same surreal humour that made him an Internet sensation nearly a decade ago. The ad features retro video game-style visuals alongside multiple versions of the performer, including one where he wears a giant mushroom-shaped hairstyle inspired by Kinoko no Yama…

▼ … and another with a bamboo shoot-inspired look based on Takenoko no Sato.

▼ Take a look at the new video below.

After filming the commercial, Piko Taro revealed that the melody for the song had actually been sitting unused in his drafts for four years before finally finding a home in the campaign. One of the track’s catchiest phrases, “majemaje“, actually came about by accident after he stumbled over the pronunciation of “mazemaze” (“mix mix”) during recording. Rather than rerecording it, he decided to keep the mistake after seeing it made his five-year-old daughter laugh, and now it’s one of the most memorable phrases of the campaign.

According to Meiji, the act of mixing chocolate cookies and ice cream together couldn’t be simpler – just choose your favourite cookie flavours and “mazemaze” them into a Super Cup. With a number of different flavours on the market, more than 7,905 possible combinations are said to await your taste buds, and the company has provided some suggestions to get you started.

▼ “Matcha Mint“

▼ “Berry Cute“

▼ “Chocolate Mountain”

▼ The ultimate combination is said to be the “All In One”, which brings everything together for a treat that transcends factions.

With so many combinations to choose from, it looks like we’ll be enjoying a very Guruguru Majemaje summer. Whether it catches on to become the next big viral food trend, well, that’s up to the public to decide, but with Piko Taro on board for the shenanigans, anything is possible.

Source, images: Press release
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Everyone’s feeling a little salty this summer.

It’s often said that as technology gets faster and faster, our attention span shrinks in response. TikTok feeds condition millions of people to…

Hey, where are you going? OK, fine. I’ll get to the point.

Major Japanese karaoke service provider Joysound released their weekly ranking for the first week of July, and surprised everyone with the announcement that a 3-second jingle for a brand of table salt was the most sung track of all tracks in the entire country. Let’s take a listen.

About a month ago, we reported “Hakata no Shio” (Hakata Salt) reaching number four in the national ranking, which was already impressive in its own right. That achievement only seemed to have fueled interest in the sound logo, which is a very short melody announcing a company’s name or slogan. Sound logos are so short, they make the “Sometimes you feel like a nut” jingle sound like “Freebird.”

This marks the first time a sound logo has ever topped the charts in the thirty years since such records were kept. In our previous article, we mentioned several reasons that sound logos in general were growing in popularity, such as the timemaxxing trend.

But what is it about “Hakata no Shio” that makes it such a wildly popular sound logo among classics like “Sehhhhhh-gahhhhhh” or the haunting, “Onedan ijo, Nitori!” (More than just a nice price, Nitori!).

▼ Sega

▼ Nitori

The answer lies in its challenge. One of the many features most karaoke systems have is the ability to rank your performance in the sense of how closely it matches the original pitch and timing. Joysound can also keep track of national scores and found that the average for “Hakata no Shio” was 61.36 out of 100. It is said that even cracking 70 on this sound logo is extremely difficult.

Not all systems are created equal, but Joysound’s evaluation breaks down as follows: Pitch (40 points), Stability (30), Dynamics (15), Long Tones (10), and Technique (5). Right off the bat, it’s easy to see that there’s no way of sustaining a long tone without sacrificing your Pitch score, because that also judges your timing.

That leaves us with a ceiling of 90 points. Dynamics is the ability to go from soft to powerful in the same song, think Whitney Houston going Super Saiyan in the climax of “I Will Always Love You.” This could be possible in “Hakata no Shio,” but there isn’t much opportunity to even try, so a zero should be expected there. Technique is mainly the ability to add flourishes to notes by adding some vibrato to it or scooping up to it. Again, not a whole lot of real estate in this track to try something like that, so there will probably be a zero there too.

This whittles the most you can expect to get on this sound logo to 70. Even then, you got your work cut out for you. The real challenge of “Hakata no Shio” is that there is no intro at all. You just have to dive right into it without getting any sense of the first note or when you need to start.

To make matters worse, the entire track is only six notes: Ha-ka-ta-no-shi-o. When singing a standard song, you’ll likely be judged on hundreds of notes, so one mistake would only amount to a deduction less than one percent. But with this jingle, a single slip-up in Pitch will cost you about 7 points, and faltering or cracking on a single note will also lead to a 5-point deduction.

▼ This person got an impressive 73.38 (with the help of an 8-point AI judgment bonus). Her style was interesting in that she managed to work in some Technique and Dynamics to get high scores there, but got heavily dinged in Stability as a result.

So, it’s a rather punishing song for those looking to get high scores. But on the bright side, it’s also really short, which means you can just grind away at it and try to find a way to overcome its technical hurdles. And in doing that, its play count gets juiced right to the top of the charts. 

Its notorious difficulty also encourages people to share their high scores on social media for bragging rights, further spreading its popularity. Also, unlike “Sega,” which might only appeal to gamers, or Nitori’s sound logo that might only appeal to people who haven’t been driven crazy by hearing it on TV thousands of times, “Hakata no Shio” appeals to people from all generations and walks of life. 

After all, everyone loves a little salt.

Source: Oricon News, My Game News Flash, Music Planet, Joysound
Photos ©SoraNews24
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Calbee’s potato chips and shrimp chips get partway back to normal as war in Iran drags on.

For the past several months, much of the world has been getting an unpleasant geography reminder about the importance of the Strait of Hormuz. But while it seems like even casually glancing at a map should have been an indicator that the U.S.-led war in Iran was going to disrupt global shipping, it was harder for the average person to see just how widespread the effects would be, such as forcing changes in Japanese potato chip packaging.

In May, Japanese potato chip manufacturer Calbee announced that it would be reworking its traditionally colorful packaging and switching to black-and-white bags for many of its most popular snack products. Why? Because one of the key components in making colored printing inks is naphtha, a liquid hydrocarbon for which the majority of the global supply is sourced from the Middle East, and makes its way to the rest of the world via shipping vessels that sail though, you guessed it, the Strait of Hormuz.

▼ Calbee’s Usushio (“light salt”), Consomme Punch, and Norishio (seaweed and salt) potato chips, all of which went to black-and-white packaging due to naphtha supply issues.

▼ The black-and-white packaging

Sadly, the resolution to the conflict in Iran is turning out to be much more haltingly time-consuming than its beginning. Apparently the shipping situation has improved enough, though, that Calbee will be reinstating color on its potato chip bags, but conditions are also still bad enough that the color will only be returning to one side.

Specifically, it’s the front side that’s getting all of its color back, with just a few patches of popping color on the back of the bag. Having to choose between the two, Calbee says it made the decision to prioritize the front in order to make its snacks easier to find for shoppers used to the pre-naphtha crisis packaging.

In addition to Usushio, Consomme Punch, and Norishio potato chips, Calbee says that color is coming back to the bags for its Kappa Ebisen shrimp chips and Furugura granola with dried fruit.

There’s actually an argument to be made that with so much modern snack packaging being ostentatiously bright and colorful, Calbee’s black-and-white bags actually stand out more distinctly from competitors’. On the other hand, snack foods are, in a sense, a form of edible entertainment, and an indirect visual reminder of the current strained state of geopolitics and economic woes probably doesn’t put shoppers in a festive, snack party kind of mood.

The recolored packaging is estimated to start arriving in stores on August 3 for Kappa Ebisen, and August 10 or 24 for the potato chips, depending on flavor and package size.

Source: Calbee, Nihon Keizai Shimbun via Otakomu
Top image: Calbee
Insert images: Calbee (1, 2)
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30 years after the releases of Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue, travelers in Japan can ride on the Red, Green, and Blue Pokémon Jets.

As Pokémon level up, their stats increase and they learn new attacks and techniques. However, their Type won’t change unless they evolve into a different species. So, for example, while a weak Bulbasaur can become a stronger Bulbasaur, there’s no way for it to become a Flying-type Bulbasaur.

At least, there aren’t any Flying Bulbasaurs within the Pokémon video games and anime. Here in the real world, though? We’ve got flying Bulbasaurs, flying Squirtles, and a whole lot of other ordinarily non-airborne Pocket Monsters that’ll be taking to the skies, thanks to ANA/All Nippon Airways.

ANA has unveiled the designs for three different Pokémon Jets. Called Pokémon Jet Red, Green, and Blue, their designations match the titles of the first three Pokémon video games for the Gameboy, and are meant as a salute to the Pokémon franchise’s 30th anniversary, which it’s celebrating this year.

Mirroring the three games’ release order in Japan, the Pokémon Jet Red will be the first to fly, and features all 10 Fire-type starter Pokémon. Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torchic, Chimchar, Tepig, Fennekin, Litten, Scorbunny, and Fuecoco are here, and so is Pombon, who won’t be making its in-game debut until Pokémon Winds and Waves releases on the Switch 2 sometime next year.

▼ Pikachu, of course, is also along for the ride on each of the Pokémon Jets.

In addition to being represented in the plane’s exterior graphics, all those Poké-pals will be waiting inside too, in the forms of special cup and napkin designs for the in-flight drink service and illustrated seat headrest covers.

The Pokémon Jet Red’s first flight will be on July 29, on a route between Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and Fukuoka Airport. Depending on exact date, the plane will also be flying between Haneda and New Chitose (Sapporo), Hakodate, Itami (Osaka), Takamatsu, Matsuyama, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Naha, Miyako, Ishigaki, as well as between Itami and New Chitose, Naha, Miyako, and Ishigaki.

▼ Routes along which the Pokémon Jet Red will fly

Meanwhile, the Pokémon Jet Green, which will be starting its flights sometime after the Red jet, is for the Grass-type starters: Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Treecko, Turtwig, Snivy, Chespin, Rowlet, Grookey, Sprigatito, and Browt.

And finally, the Pokémon Jet Blue, with Water-types Squirtle, Totodile, Mudkip, Piplup, Oshawott, Froakie, Popplio, Sobble, Quaxly, and Gecqua, will start carrying passengers in December.

ANA also says that Pokémon BGM music will be played inside the Pokémon Jets (likely as a welcome aboard greeting, not constantly through the flight) and passengers will also receive some sort of special themed souvenir to take home.

Exact route information is yet to be announced for the Green and Blue planes, but they will flying domestically within Japan, and with all three Pokémon Jets being different models of aircraft, they might also be headed to different airports from each other.

Source: ANA, Sky Budget
Images: ANA
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Huge new campaign has us catching ’em all, all summer long. 

Today, McDonald’s Japan revealed the first two releases from its massive “Pokémon Summer McDonald’s” collaboration, which is being held to celebrate two major milestones: the fast-food chain’s 55th anniversary in Japan and Pokémon’s 30th anniversary.

The joint promotion, dubbed “Pokémon Summer Mac”, is described as McDonald’s Japan’s biggest-ever collaboration with a single partner, and it consists of four special releases spread across the month of July.

▼ ポケモン夏マック = “Pokémon Natsu Mac” (“Pokémon Summer Mac”)

While the image above had everyone in suspense in the lead-up to the big reveal, two of the four limited-edition offerings were finally revealed today, to the delight of Pokémon fans.

The first reveal came with the unveiling of the “Toku ni Narudo” (“トクにナルド”) surprise, which turned out to be the chain’s 15-piece Chicken McNuggets, in a limited-edition Pokémon box. The design features illustrations of the original three starter Pokémon, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, on each side, with Pikachu taking pride of place on the top of the package.

▼ The perfect starter to a meal.

That’s not the only surprise, as “Toku ni Narudo” (a play on the Japanese pronunciation of McDonald’s and the word “toku”, meaning “a good deal”) is actually a special discount deal that gives you a 15-piece box of Chicken McNuggets with three dipping sauces for 490 yen (US$3.27), a saving of 250 yen compared to the usual price of 740 yen.

Alongside the standard barbecue and mustard sauces, McDonald’s will be introducing two new limited-time flavours: Cheese Curry Sauce and Umashio Garlic Sauce, which can be ordered with the set or purchased separately for 50 yen each.

▼ Cheese Curry Sauce

▼ Umashio Garlic Sauce

While the Pokémon packaging is only available while stocks last, the discounted deal will run from 15 July until 11 August, with actor Masato Sakai in the role of “Mr Tokuninarudo” to help promote the campaign.

▼ Mr Tokuninarudo flies through the sky with the help of chicken nugget balloons.

The second reveal introduced us to the Summer Chance Bag, which will be sold through a lottery system via the official McDonald’s Japan app. Priced at 3,900 yen, the bag includes three original Pokémon goods and up to 3,910 yen worth of McDonald’s food vouchers, so the goods are essentially a free bonus.

The main item in the bag is a “Jumping Pikachu Potato Timer”, which sees Pikachu pop out from a pack of fries when the timer goes off. Adding to the charm is the melody, which mimics the sound of the alarm that rings out when fries are ready in-store.

The set also includes a colour-changing cup and a zip pouch, both featuring Pikachu and the original starter trio of Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.

▼ Customers will receive one of these three designs, chosen at random.

▼ The included pouch will be randomly chosen from these three designs.

The food vouchers, totalling 3,910 yen, are where you make your money back from the cost of the bag.

The vouchers award you with a variety of free menu items, covering popular choices like the Big Mac, Teriyaki McBurger, Bacon Lettuce Burger, Filet-O-Fish, large fries, Chicken McNuggets, and drinks.

▼ Free five-piece nuggets.

▼ A free Big Mac.

▼ And a free serving of large fries.

There’s also a chance to receive a 500 yen voucher known as a “Golden McDonald’s Card”, included in one out of every 10 bags.

Applications for the Summer Chance Bag lottery opened on 10 July at 2:00 p.m. through the McDonald’s Japan app and will close on 20 July at 11:59 p.m. Successful applicants can purchase the bag at their selected store from 27 July to 2 August, and each person is limited to one bag.

As part of the celebrations, McDonald’s Japan will also be partnering with Pokémon GO for the first time in around six years. From 20 July to 1 September, all McDonald’s locations across Japan will temporarily appear as PokéStops in the mobile game, coinciding with Pokémon GO’s 10th anniversary.

As for the remaining two mystery items in the “Pokémon Summer Mac” campaign, the special collaboration burger will be unveiled on 16 July, followed by the Pokémon Happy Meal on 31 July. Given the chaos that surrounded McDonald’s previous Pokémon Happy Meal promotion, which saw resellers buying meals in bulk for the exclusive trading cards and dumping the unwanted food outside restaurants, here’s hoping the chain has some plans in store to prevent that from happening again.

Source, images: McDonald’s Japan (1, 2, 3)
Top image: McDonald’s Japan
Insert images: McDonald’s Japan (1, 2, 3)
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Shibuya’s Mewtwo escapes and has been “spotted” on the other side of the Pacific.

There are Pokémon Center superstores in various parts of Japan, but each one has its own special representative Pokémon, prominently displayed at the entrance. So since the opening of the Shibuya Pokémon Center in downtown Tokyo in 2019, the first Pocket Monster that visitors see is Mewtwo.

With Mewtwo having a Pokédex-listed height of 2 meters (6 feet, 7 inches), the one at the Shibuya Pokémon Center is essentially life-size, and it radiates an intimidating aura, boosted by the subtle movements it makes that imply that it’s breathing. Of course, the infamously malevolent Pokémon isn’t too scary. After all, it’s contained inside that secured tube…right?

Not anymore! Recent visitors to the Shibuya Pokémon Center have quickly noticed that Mewtwo is gone, and even the official Japanese Pokémon promotional account has put out a statement of sorts.

▼ “Whoa, the Mewtwo that was at Pokémon Center Shibuya has disappeared…why?”

え、ポケセンシブヤ行ったらミュウツーいなくなってたんだけど　なんで？ pic.twitter.com/Id7l87SU0h

— 【公式】ポケモン情報局 (@poke_times) July 9, 2026

For those without a background in Pokémon biology, it should be pointed out that Mewtwo’s powers do not include invisibility, which rules out the possibility that it’s still in the tube, but hiding. What is in Mewtwo’s list of abilities, though, is teleportation, which would explain how it got out of the tube without shattering the glass or anyone otherwise opening the containment unit.

The official Japanese Pokémon GO Twitter account has also posted that Mewtwo has disappeared from the in-game image for the Pokémon Center Shibuya’s PokéStop.

▼ “Well look at that…Mewtwo has disappeared from the PokéStop too…”

あれ、ミュウツーがポケストップからもいなくなっている… #ポケモンGO https://t.co/W7wPB1Bx2s pic.twitter.com/qUgsOhJBWL

— Pokémon GO Japan (@PokemonGOAppJP) July 9, 2026

Thankfully, the earnest tone from official channels suggests that Mewtwo’s disappearance isn’t the result of theft, vandalism, or damage, and is, in an ironically reassuring way, simply part of some nefarious ambition that Mewtwo has set out to fulfill…a theory that’s lent further credibility by the Pokémon GO account’s follow-up that “There has been a series of eye-witness reports spotting Mewtwo in New York! Just what is going on?”

「ミュウツー」の目撃情報がニューヨークで相次いでいます！
一体これは！？

ニューヨーク、アメリカ#ポケモンGO #PokemonGO10 pic.twitter.com/UolEyXjSRN

— Pokémon GO Japan (@PokemonGOAppJP) July 10, 2026

A seemingly significant aspect of all this is that the disappearance of the Pokémon Center Shibuya Mewtwo isn’t part of any larger “Where did Mewtwo go?” kind of promotion in Japan. It’s only the Pokémon Center’s Mewtwo that’s missing, and so the follow-up post doesn’t just suggest a connection between Mewtwo and New York, but also between New York and the Pokémon Center.

Though the Pokémon franchise is immensely popular in the United States, there’s currently no physical Pokémon Center store in the country. At the same time, the Shibuya Pokémon Center is massively popular with foreign tourists in Tokyo, so much so that they often outnumber Japanese shoppers within the store. The Pokémon Company has no doubt taken notice of this, and so could Mewtwo have temporarily disappeared from Shibuya in preparation for the impending announcement of the opening of America’s first Pokémon Center in New York? We’ll have to wait and see, but with Studio Ghibli specialty store Donguri Kyowakoku finally advancing into the American market, plus the Pokémon franchise currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, the timing feels right.

Source: Twitter/@poke_times via Oricon News
Top image: SoraNews24
Insert images: Soranews24, Twitter/@poke_times
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With fitting rooms, an official mascot and a takeaway stand, this is not your average Japanese convenience store.

Competition between Japan’s top three convenience stores, 7-Eleven, Lawson and Family Mart, is always fierce, but now Family Mart is setting itself apart by opening a brand new flagship store that’s more like a futuristic tourist destination.

Called Famima Park Azabudai, with Azabudai being the store’s Tokyo location, this new flagship takes the convenience store concept and reinvents it for the future, with loads of cool design features and trendy products you won’t find at a regular branch. Created under the guidance of fashion designer and creative director NIGO, creator of streetwear brands A Bathing Ape and Human Made, this is one of the coolest konbinis you’ll find in Japan, and it’s all part of a newly launched “Next Family Mart Project” to celebrate the chain’s 45th anniversary.

▼ NIGO

The store is the current centrepiece of the project, serving as the first flagship for Family Mart’s new-look “Famima” initiative, which leans into the cool culture of Japanese convenience stores. The new concept is dedicated to exploring unique store designs, novel approaches to visual merchandising, and original character-driven products and lifestyle items, and you can see that on display at the flagship location.

The building itself exudes a cool aesthetic, with a new official Famima mascot character appearing around the site, and a rooftop “forest” bringing some relaxing greenery to the streetscape.

▼  No word yet on a name for the “F” mascot.

There’s also a takeaway area called Famima Stand, where visitors can grab coffee, tea and Family Mart’s popular Famichiki fried chicken without even entering the store.

▼ Outside seating allows visitors to relax in a laid-back setting.

With counter seating placed along the glass facade to improve visibility from the outside and a sales floor that evokes the excitement of a pop-up store from the entrance, each section of the store is like a shop-in-shop.

Over in the “Convenience Wear” section, you’ll find an extensive range of Family Mart clothing and goods, but with fitting rooms and touch panels that offer suggestions for outfits and styles, as well as dedicated staff to help customers with product information.

▼ This setup is giving us Uniqlo vibes.

In addition to a full product lineup for each season, there’ll also be items exclusive to the flagship store, allowing you to coordinate an entire outfit from Family Mart goods.

▼ There’ll also be an “urban-style delicatessen” area filled with sandwiches and ready-to-eat meals, branded with the word “Famima” in English.

Even the exclusive coffee looks cool, with graphic cups fitting the streetwear-cool vibe of the store. The taste is said to be equally impressive, as the coffees have been developed in collaboration with Tetsu Kasuya, winner of the 2016 World Brewers Cup.

▼ Tea lovers can choose from a wide selection of freshly brewed teas.

Customers can also pick up some exclusive Famima merchandise, with T-shirts and stainless steel tumblers being some of the recommended items.

▼ “Start your day the Family Mart way”

To celebrate the opening, there’ll be a couple of giveaways, with stickers given to the first 2,026 custonmers who make a purchase (in honour of the year 2026) and a Famima-branded eco bag given to the first 2,000 customers who make a purchase of 5,000 yen (US$30.80) or more.

Open from 10 July, Family Mart’s new flagship is so much more than a regular convenience store. With exclusive food, fashion, merchandise and one-of-a-kind experiences, Famima Park Azabudai looks set to become a must-visit destination for Japanese convenience store lovers.

Store information
Famima Park Azabudai
Address: Tokyo-to, Minato-ku, Toranomon 5-2-10
東京都港区虎ノ門五丁目2番10号
Open 24 hours

Source, images: Press release
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