Twentythree

Convenience store range strips everything back to basics, including the rice balls.

Just last month, Calbee, Japan’s leading snack manufacturer, announced it would be switching to black-and-white printing on its potato chip packages due to a shortage of naphtha, an oil-derived component used in the production of solvents and resins to make printing inks. Ever since then, consumers have been keeping their eyes peeled to see if the naphtha shortage, caused by tensions in the Middle East, would be draining the colour from any other products in the marketplace. So when 7-Eleven announced it would be launching a new range of onigiri rice balls in plain packaging, using only black, white, and silver ink, people were quick to make the connection.

However, 7-Eleven says the simple new black, white and silver design is simply to reduce packaging costs and help keep prices down for the company and the consumer. It also aligns with the ethos surrounding the new rice balls, which focuses on simplicity by completely stripping them of seaweed, allowing customers to fully appreciate the texture, aroma and sweetness of every grain of rice.

Taking a closer look at the range, it goes by the name “Gin Shari Musubi”, where “gin shari” (literally “silver rice”) refers to premium white rice, and “musubi”, a word often used interchangeably with “onigiri”, evokes a more refined sensibility. The simple paper packaging certainly gives the lineup a different look to the chain’s regular rice balls, but one downside that some people have been pointing out is it’s hard to tell the difference between the varieties.

▼ Tuna Mayonnaise (160 yen [US$0.99])

▼ Grilled Salmon (181 yen)

▼ Spicy Pollock Roe (181 yen)

▼ Pickled Plum (160 yen)

▼ Kelp in Soy Sauce (160 yen)

▼ Salted Rice Ball (146 yen)

▼ By comparison, most 7-Eleven rice balls are sold in packages that look like these.

While 7-Eleven openly admits it’s reduced the number of ink colours used on the packaging in the new range, it’s staying mum on whether any other factors contributed to the direction of the design. With companies reviewing their costs now more than ever, though, it remains likely that the naphtha shortage played at least a small part in the decision to go ahead with the stripped-back design. Still, if it reduces costs, safeguards against potential future risks, and ensures we’re able to get a consistent supply of rice balls whenever we stop by a 7-Eleven, then personally, we don’t mind the new-look design.

Source: 7-Eleven Japan via FNN via Hachima Kikou
Featured image: 7-Eleven Japan
Insert images: 7-Eleven Japan, ©SoraNews24
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There’s one unique feature that makes this Tokyo sweet so sought after. 

While some Japanese sweets have attracted global attention, for the most part ohagi is yet to be discovered by overseas tourists. This traditional sweet consists of sweet pounded rice balls, made with mochigome (glutinous rice), and anko (sweetened red bean paste), and it’s a combination that many locals find irresistible, including our very own reporter P.K. Sanjun, who’s always on the hunt to find the most delicious ones Tokyo has to offer. So when he heard about a hugely popular shop where the ohagi reportedly sells out before noon, he knew he had to make the trip out to Hatanodai, where it was located.

▼ Ohagi

His destination was a rice specialty store called Okita Seimai, so quality glutinous rice looked certain to be on the cards. Plus, the store has been around since the Taisho era (1912-1926), proving its popularity with customers.

▼ The shop is about a five-minute walk from Hatanodai Station.

The store also sells sekihan (red bean rice) and mochi (pounded rice), but it’s their ohagi that has earned them the biggest following.

When P.K. arrived at the store shortly after it opened at 10 a.m., there was already a crowd gathered outside so it was clear that business was booming. Spying packs of red beans on the counter, he quickly made his way over to them, and saw that these were indeed the coveted ohagi. Grabbing a pack of three classic ohagi and a pack of three assorted ohagi, both priced at 577 yen (US$3.61), he felt tempted to join some of the other customers, who had purchased chopsticks with their orders and were eating their ohagi fresh nearby, but he decided to hold off and take the sweets back to the office for a proper inspection.

When he was at the store, he’d asked a member of staff about the ohagi’s sell-out popularity, and they confirmed that it was true, saying it often sells out before noon. Feeling extra lucky to have gotten his hands on this sought-after sweet, P.K. opened the package and was immediately struck by the red bean paste. It was absolutely glistening, with a gleaming shine. The anko looked so luscious and glossy that it was almost divine, and so good looking that P.K. had a sudden urge to photograph it and use it as his phone wallpaper.

One unique feature of these ohagi that makes them so captivating is they aren’t individually hand-wrapped in red bean paste like regular ohagi. Instead, the bean paste is generously spooned over the top. The paste looks exceptionally soft and moist, so it’s probably too delicate to use for the traditional hand-wrapped style.

Lifting a huge morsel to his mouth, P.K. took a taste and immediately found himself swooning. The azuki beans were cooked to perfection as they were wonderfully soft, yet still retained just enough texture to remind you they were beans. The sweetness was expertly restrained, allowing the natural flavour of the beans to shine through. Combined with the soft, pleasantly chewy glutinous rice, the result was a perfect marriage of flavours and textures.

The three-coloured assorted ohagi was excellent as well. The glutinous rice, mixed with ingredients like millet and yomogi (Japanese mugwort), had a wonderful aroma and depth of flavour that added different accents of taste to the sweet red beans.

P.K. polished off all three in no time. They were surprisingly filling, but so tasty that with a cup of green tea, he felt like he could have kept eating them forever.

These ohagi were so fresh and delicious that it’s easy to see why they sometimes sell out before noon. Whether you’re an ohagi fan, or looking to expand your knowledge of Japanese sweets, these are top-quality varieties that are absolutely worth getting up early for and trying at least once.

Store information

沖田精米 / Okita Seimai
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinagawa-ku, Hatanodai 4-6-3
東京都品川区旗の台4-6-3
Open: 10:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Closed: Mondays, Sundays, and public holidays

Photos©SoraNews24
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A surprising product just sneaked into Lawson’s upsize campaign.

Right now, Japan’s Lawson convenience store chain is holding a special “Chou Happy Sugi Challenge” campaign, which literally translates as “Super Happy Too Much! Challenge”. Running over four weeks in June, each week sees a new lineup of products getting upsized at no extra cost to customers, and right now, in week three, there’s one particular item that has caught everyone’s attention.

Most of the products in the campaign are larger-than-usual food and drink items, but this week, Lawson surprised everyone by upsizing an unexpected product – the long soft towel.

With the standard version being already a metre (3.3 feet) long, we needed to know what the 51-percent upsize would look like, so we purchased both towels for a size comparison.

▼ Two different sizes, but at the same 348 yen (US$2.44) price point.

Starting with the regular version, it definitely lived up to its “long” moniker. As much as it was long in length, it was also short in width, which is in keeping with the style of towel that’s popular in Japan for drying or washing small areas like your face and arms, and wearing around your neck or forehead when doing outdoor work.

Next, we unfolded the 51-percent larger version, and discovered that… it was loooong! Absolutely ridiculously long! Its length was almost double that of the regular version, making it an unusually oversized towel that you wouldn’t normally ever come across.

To get a true feel of the size difference, let’s take a look at them again.

▼ Standard size

▼ Super Happy Too Much! size.

▼ Whereas the standard is handy for wicking away sweat when worn around the neck of one person…

▼ …the long version can do the work for two people!

Needless to say, our reporters were overjoyed with the towel, and everyone in the office couldn’t help but marvel at the size of it. While they weren’t initially sure why Lawson thought to give this particular product the upsize treatment over all the others they could’ve chosen from, it certainly made an impact.

After thinking about it, we realised that upsizing the towel actually served a greater purpose, as it directed us to the daily sundries section, which is one of the least visited sections of a convenience store. It’s a clever way to get us to look beyond convenience store food, and now that we’ve seen what’s hiding there, we know there’s more to Lawson than just its massive bento lunches.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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The time has come to say goodbye to Yokohama’s adorable Poké-postal infrastructure.

A while back, the postal service in the city of Yokohama, half an hour south of Tokyo, made the decision to install Pokémon mailboxes. With an adorable Pikachu pair, Eevee, and Piplup all equally ready to receive any letters that needed to be mailed or pose for pictures, the Poké-postal infrastructure quickly became sightseeing destinations for fans of the franchise.

But sadly, soon it’s going to be time to say goodbye, as the Pokémon mailboxes are scheduled to be removed in just a few weeks.

The three mailboxes were originally installed in July of 2021, when the Pikachu and Eevee units took their posts next to Yokohama City Hall and the Piplup box was placed at the entrance to the nearest post office, the Yokohama Sakuragi branch. At the time, the plan was only for them to be around for less than a year, with their removal initially scheduled for the end of June in 2022. If this seems like a ridiculous underestimation of just how beloved Pokémon is, especially in its home country, you’re exactly right, and after seeing the immensely positive response from residents and visitors, the decision was made to extend the Pokémon mailboxes service for an additional four years.

That extended time is ticking down, though, and while the Yokohama postal service doesn’t appear to have made a reconfirming statement that the Pocket Monsters are going away, they also haven’t made mention of any further extension. In other words, the Pokémon mailboxes are still scheduled for removal on this coming June 30, so if you want to see them, you’ll need to move quickly.

The closest rail stop to the mailboxes is Bashamichi Station on the Minato Mirai Line. The subterranean station actually connects to the basement of the city hall building, so visiting the Pikachus and Eevee is a snap, and from there it’s only a short walk to see Piplup too. We stopped by to say hi to all of them ourselves, and can walk you though the route we took here.

And if you can’t make it in time to see the mailboxes, you can at least comfort yourself by checking out Yokohama’s adorable Pokémon manhole covers if/when you are in the city.

Reference: Yokohama City Visitors Bureau
Photos ©SoraNews24
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Don’t knock it till you shout it.

Karaoke remains a popular pastime for many Japanese people young and old, and when in major cities, you’re never too far from a chain of parlors offering private rooms or a bar with a machine installed. Independent of these establishments are the karaoke system providers, one of the largest of which is Joysound.

Everyday, hundreds of people take advantage of Joysound’s catalog of over 440,000 songs, including timeless classics and the latest hits. And every week, the company releases a ranking of the most sung tracks across the country.

For the week of 1 to 7 June, the number one song was “Suki Sugite Metsu!” by M!LK, followed by Vaundy’s “Kaiju no Hanauta”, and the perennial karaoke hit “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” by Yoko Takahashi in third. This brings us to the surprise hit of early June, in fourth place, “Hakata no Shio” by table salt manufacturer Hakato no Shio (Hakata Salt). Let’s take a listen!

As you can tell by its three-second duration, this isn’t so much a song as it is a sound logo. Japan loves these devices in commercials where the name of the company or its slogan is sung or spoken in a sing-songy way, usually to punctuate the end of an ad. More often than not, it’s delivered in a cutesy female voice, and a fun fact about Hakata no Shio is that they initially got complaints that the gruff male voice shouting it was too jarring.

It looks like they got the last laugh, however, now that the jingle beat out nearly half a million other songs in karaoke selections.

▼ Interestingly, the second-place sound logo for the same week was “Sehhhhh-gahhhhh…” which is probably more recognizable around the world.

There are said to be two reasons for this unlikely hit. First, a trend among Japan’s Gen Z is called “taipa,” which is short for “time performance” but would translate better to “timemaxxing.” This involves making the absolute most efficient use of one’s time, whether it’s eating fortified food to shorten chewing, using all-in-one skincare products, or skipping guitar solos in songs. Likewise, when singing karaoke, the best way to cram in as many songs as possible is to find ones that are satisfying to sing in the shortest time, and “Hakata no Shio” has some serious oomf-per-second.

The other reason is the gamification of karaoke. Although most machines have long been able to rate singers on how well they matched the timing and pitch of the original song, this feature has become extremely popular recently, thanks to TV shows where professionals and amateurs try to get high scores for prizes.

▼ A clip from The Karaoke Battle showing 10-year-old Kito Uchiyama winning the U-18 division by singing Misia’s “Everything”.

Getting perfect requires practice and practice requires repetition, and no matter how much you might love “Kurenai,” having to wade through the over-six-minute runtime again and again to perfect each part will begin to wear you out. But in the same time as one performance of “Kurenai,” you can probably belt out “Hakata no Shio” 100 times and have a good chance of mastering it. Even many of the TV shows mentioned earlier only have contestants sing a few bars of a song to keep things moving along.

Joysound has caught onto these trends and is also offering Sabikara (Chorus Karaoke) where you can just sing the hooks of popular songs and skip everything else. For example, the top Sabikara song for the same week was “Kabutomushi” by Aiko with a runtime of one minute and 24 seconds, down from the five minutes that it takes to sing the full version.

This year, they’ve also begun the Sound Logo Karaoke Awards, from which Hakata no Shio walked away with the People’s Choice award. The Grand Prize, however, went to the jingle for Toppan.

▼ Sorry, I couldn’t find an isolated version of this one, so you’ll have to sit through the commercial first.

Regardless of the reasons, it’s clear that short songs are in vogue in Japanese karaoke, and it’s worth bearing in mind if hanging out there with younger co-workers. As luck would have it, we were way ahead of the curve and published some ultra-short song recommendations a decade ago, such as the one-second “You Suffer” by Napalm Death.

Personally, I’m left feeling conflicted because I heard “MacArthur Park” was making a comeback with young people and was all ready to dust off that gem next time I go to karaoke. But now, I’m left wondering if the youth of today would even appreciate the extended disco interludes where I do the Mashed Potato for three minutes.

Source: MyNavi News, My Game News Flash
Top image: ©SoraNews24
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This is the summer for dipping.

With warmer weather on its way in Japan, Starbucks is coming to the rescue with a new release inspired by “a Milan cafe at sunset”. Sold exclusively at the chain’s Reserve Cafe branches, the new menu items are designed to provide you with a refreshing escape from everyday life, and there are two drinks and a sweet pastry in the lineup.

▼ Frozen Crush Coffee Lemonade (Tall size only) 864 yen (US$5.39) for takeout; 880 yen for dine-in

This frozen beverage is inspired by granita, a traditional Italian summer dessert. The refreshing zing of lemonade is combined with iced coffee and finished with a topping of olive oil and salt, adding an extra layer of depth to the cool beverage. Sophisticated and elegant, this drink will seduce you with its citrus notes and pep you up with espresso, make it ideal for a quick energy boost.

▼ Sparkling Lemon Iced Coffee (Tall size only) 775 yen takeout; 790 yen dine-in

This refreshing drink is made with iced coffee, lemonade, and tonic water. Upon first sip, the delicate carbonation is said to fizz on your tongue, creating a light taste as the aroma of coffee gently unfolds. It’s perfect for when you want to quench your thirst, refresh your mood, and feel invigorated – three things we find ourselves desperately in need of during summer.

▼ “Cornetti Pistachio” (481 yen takeout; 490 yen dine-in)

Though “cornetti” is technically the plural of “cornetto”, this is the word Starbucks uses for its signature “Italian croissant”. Featuring a light dough infused with the aroma of fermented butter and topped with a cream blended with crushed pistachios, this new pastry has a nutty richness and gentle sweetness that’s said to be ideal for dunking into foam-topped Starbucks drinks. The chain recommends dunking this one into the Cinnamon Mousse Foam Honey Latte as the aroma of cinnamon and gentle sweetness of honey are said to “envelop the richness of the pistachio”. You can also add the newly introduced condiment, “Coconut Flavour Syrup” for a lighter, more summery feel.

▼ The chain also sells plain cornetti that pair well with coffees.

The summer range is a getaway our taste buds will fall in love with, but it will only be available at the locations listed below.

• Shinjuku Marui Main Building 2F store
• Tokyo Skytree Town 30F store
• Daimaru Umeda Basement 1F store
• Shinsaibashi PARCO Basement 1F store
• Nagoya Sakae HAERA store

Available from 24 June, the new items will be on the menu for a limited time. If you’d like to try some other super-exclusive Starbucks drinks, then these pineapple beverages will hit the spot, as they’re only available at 30 special stores.

Source, images: Press release
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Teams of researchers in Japan believe that they’ve pinpointed the most effective moment while breathing for memorizing new information.

It’s always been funny to me that to this day I can still remember the exact J-pop songs where I first learned hundreds of new Japanese vocabulary items more than two decades ago. I often practiced while singing along to the lyrics again and again, creating much stronger associations than if I were to simply read them in a textbook. It turns out that vocalizing those new words out loud–which involves the process of exhaling–may have actually been the key to cementing them in my memory.

Research teams at Hyogo Medical University Hospital and other institutions in Japan are preparing to publish the results of a research study focused on the connection between memorization and breathing patterns in a British scientific journal by August 8. The study concluded that there is a possibility that memorization is most effective when exhaling, as the speed of recalling newly learned information differed for study participants depending on where they were in the process of taking a breath.

▼ Japanese study tip: Say new words or grammatical patterns out loud and not just in your mind while learning them!

Previously, the relationship between memorization and breathing patterns had only been studied in mice, so this was the first time that human subjects have been involved. Researchers used a method where they inserted a tube in the 30 study participants’ noses to record the flow of air while breathing. They then displayed 40 images of plants and animals in succession to the participants at one-second intervals. After that, they mixed in unrelated images and displayed a total of 80 images one by one, asking participants to identify whether each image was in the original batch of 40 or not.

The results showed that participants were able to more swiftly answer the questions if they had memorized the image when they were finishing to exhale compared to when they were beginning to inhale. They were able to provide the fastest responses while exhaling as well. There was no definitive difference in the percentage of correct answers they provided, perhaps because the difficulty of the topic was low to begin with. Either way, this study opens the door to all kinds of possibilities for exciting further research on effective strategies for memorization.

▼ We would like to propose a further area of study in which participants are asked to memorize information while blowing on their childhood game cartridges.

So the next time you need to memorize some new Japanese vocab, the order of Yamanote Line train stations, or the over 1,000 existing Pokémon names, consider saying them out loud and at the end of an exhale. Just don’t use the technique to do what this guy with a photographic memory did.

Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2)
Source: Livedoor News via My Game News Flash
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