Twentythree

The treasures of Dragon Ball come to one of Japan’s favorite noodle restaurant chains.

Marugame Seimen is a chain of udon noodle restaurants, and the “Marugame” part of their name translates literally to “circle turtle.” Someone apparently realized that the Japanerse kanji character for turtle, 亀, surrounded by a circle just so happens to be the emblem on Dragon Ball hero Son Goku’s outfit, and so as of this month Marugame Seimen and Dragon Ball are collaborating to bring the mythical foods and treasures of the anime franchise to Marugame’s real-world menu.

The team-up got started on March 3 with two new arrivals to the restaurant, one of which is tempura Senzu Beans!

Each 290-yen (US$1.90) order of Dragon Ball’s magical healing beans comes in a bag with an illustration of Yajirobe, the underling of Senzu Bean maker Korin, on one side, and Goku with son Gohan on the other.

Peeking inside, we saw a huge supply of Senzu Beans. If Goku and his pals had been carrying around such a big bag of them on their adventures, it’s safe to say that even their toughest battles would have been pretty easy victories.

However, we should note that the real-world Senzu Beans are, in fact, deep-fried edamame. This means that they won’t really heal injuries or boost ki levels. Also, unlike in the anime, eating a single Marugame Senzu Bean won’t be enough to instantly fill you up. This last divergence from the source material is a plus, though, since they taste so good that you’ll definitely want to eat more than one. While boiled edamame have been a popular snack in Japan for generations, combining their familiar flavor with the crunch of tempura is a new sensation, and one that’s very enjoyable.

Ah, but Senzu Beans aren’t the only Dragon Ball item Marugame is serving up these days, as you can also order the Dragon Balls themselves.

These are actually Udonuts, donut hole-style treats made from the same type of flour used to make udon noodles. The 590-yen Dragon Ball Udonuts are covered in orange-colored chocolate and come as a set of seven, with 28 little star-shaped candies served on the side so that you can attach them yourself for maximum photogenic quality right before snapping your pictures. They’re also just really, really tasty.

The tempura Senzu Beans will only be available until March 16, after which they’ll be replaced by a Spirit Bomb Rice Ball, but the Dragon Ball Udonuts will be on sale until April 6.

Related: Marugame Seimen location finder
Photos © SoraNews24
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Aspiring pirate kings share hugs with each other and a bit of Japanese culture with the world.

Considering how anime and manga were still pretty much a niche hobby in most parts of the world when One Piece got started back in 1997, it’s amazing to see how huge of a global fanbase the franchise has today. Not only are there people around the world keeping up with the epically lengthy series’ new manga chapters and anime episodes, Netflix’s Western-made live-action adaptation has defied the odds and become a hit too, with its second season set to start streaming on March 10.

And as even further proof of just how big the One Piece fan community has grown, even Sesame Street’s Elmo is looking forward to Season 2, appearing in a promotional video with Luffy’s live-action actor, Iñaki Godoy, in which he teaches the Muppet a useful Japanese vocabulary word.

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“Elmo’s all ready to join the Straw Hats,” he enthusiastically tells Iñaki, then declares “Elmo’s going to be king of the pirates!”

Iñaki is clearly impressed not just by Elmo’s enthusiasm, but also by the Mupet’s Luffy cosplay outfit. Still, it takes more than just a cool look and sense of adventure to really be part of the Straw Hat crew. “That’s why I want to teach you a special new word of the day,” Iñaki explains. “It’s actually a word that my dear friend Luffy taught me. The word is nakama.”

Though it’s a Japanese word, nakama is a term near and dear to the hearts of overseas One Piece fans, as it’s often left untranslated in fan translations and discussions about the series. “Nakama is a Japanese word to describe very special friends,” Iñaki tells Elmo. “Friends who are like family. They care about each other, help each other, and stick together no matter what.”

That’s actually a pretty good description. If you want to get into the nitty-gritty linguistics, nakama is usually used to refer to someone with whom you share a common purpose or goal that you’re trying to achieve, often by working together. In that sense, nakama has similarities to terms such as “comrade,” “partner,” or “cohort,” but with a warmer, less formal feeling. It can also sometime be extended to refer to someone with whom you have a strong in-spirit partnership, even if you’re not directly collaborating with each other, as long as your values and ideals largely align and you’re both working towards your dreams that stem from them.

▼ Nakama is written with the kanji 仲間, with 仲 representing a personal relationship and 間 usually meaning some sort of space or interval, but combined like this the characters create a sense of being within the same close mental/emotional space as someone else.

Pronunciation-wise, Iñaki and Elmo both put a lot more emphasis on the “ka” part of nakama than a native Japanese speaker would (the three syllables are meant to be pronounced with roughly equal stress), but their attempts are still easily understandable. Netflix’s onscreen captions go back and forth on whether or not nakama is supposed to be capitalized, but linguistically it shouldn’t be, and while it’s very sweet when Iñaki says “I love you too Elmo! We’re nakamas!”, that should actually be “We’re nakama,” since, as with most Japanese words, “nakama” is used to refer to both a single special friend or many of them.

▼ Preview video for the second season of Netflix’s live-action One Piece

Those little linguistic quibbles aside, it’s pretty cool to see One Piece being not just a fun adventure story, but also a means by which people, including young kids, can learn a bit about another culture and its language, and now that Elmo has become part of the extended One Piece nakama network, he can join us in wondering what’s inside that treasure chest that series creator Eiichiro Oda just tossed into the ocean.

Source, top image: Instagram/netflix
Insert image: SoraNews24
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Tiny Frappuccino is designed for young girls, so we find out if it’s too sweet for adults. 

In Japan, 3 March is Hinamatsuri, commonly known as Girls’ Day in English. It’s a day when families pray for the wellbeing of their young daughters by displaying traditional “hina ningyo” dolls – Hinamatsuri literally translates as “Doll’s Festival” – and eating special foods like hina arare (sweet, multicoloured rice crackers) and hishimochi (diamond-shaped rice cakes in pink, white and green to represent peach blossoms, snow and new growth respectively).

▼ This year, families have been offered a new way to celebrate their daughters – with the never-before-seen Hinamatsuri Frappuccino.

Produced by Starbucks and available exclusively in Japan, this beverage fits perfectly on the menu at this time of year, with its pink hues and sakura flavour matching the limited-edition sakura drinks currently on the menu for cherry blossom season.

▼ The Girls’ Day Frappuccino costs 638 yen (US$4.09) for takeout or 650 yen for dine-in.

There are some very unique points that make the Hinamatsuri Frappucino stand out, however, with the first being its size.

As you can see in the photo above, this little drink makes the straw look gigantic, and that’s because it’s only available in a Short size. With other limited-time Frappuccinos on the menu being sold in Tall sizes only, this is our first time ever seeing a Frappuccino so small, and it’s designed to be that way so that young girls can enjoy them.

▼ Holding this in your hand will make you feel like a doll.

While the body of the drink looks, and tastes, similar to the Tall-sized cherry blossom Frappuccino, with white peach and sakura flavour being key ingredients, there are two major differences.

Firstly, there’s the topping, which consists of Oiri, a traditional confectionery from Kagawa Prefecture in Shikoku that’s slightly less sweet than traditional hina arare. The colourful hues are reminiscent of Girls’ Day crackers, but when you bite into them, they’re noticeably more elegant, melting away on the tongue immediately after crunching into them.

The flavour here is impressive, with a distinct taste of rice surprising the palate. The rice blends beautifully with the luscious whipped cream topping, but then we get to the second point of difference.

▼ The milk pudding pieces.

Whereas the regular sakura Frappuccino combines sweet peach jelly pieces with bracken starch, which only has a subtle sweetness, the Girls’ Day Frappuccino ups the sweetness by pairing peach jelly with milk pudding. While the pudding pieces have a lovely smooth texture that contrasts nicely with the boba-like jelly, the resulting sweetness is cloying for adult tastes.

If you’re an elementary school student – Girls’ Day celebrations generally end around the time a child graduates from elementary school – then you will love this sweet, peachy, subtly sakura-tasting beverage. You’ll also love the way it fits easily in your hands, making you feel like an adult with a Tall-sized Frappuccino.

That’s some clever marketing by Starbucks, to get children to sip on their very own Frappuccino at such a young age. For well-seasoned adults, however, this is one beverage you and your teeth won’t have to feel bad about missing out on.

Photos©SoraNews24
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After keeping secret for nearly 30 years, Eiichiro Oda has written it down on a paper, put that paper in a chest, and tossed it into the sea, where it remains even now.

As both the writer and illustrator of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda has proven his talents as both a storyteller and a visual artist. However, the guy is also really, really good at keeping secrets.

The core plot premise of One Piece is that before his death, the king of the pirates, Gol D. Roger, hid the world’s greatest treasure, which he called the “One Piece,” for a worthy successor to find. What is the One Piece? No one knows, but it’s still something everyone wants to find, including series protagonist Luffy. However, the journey of Luffy and his Strawhat Pirate companions meanders enough that it’s often geopolitical conflicts and personal struggles for redemption that are driving the storyline, not treasure hunting. That’s led to speculation that even Oda himself hasn’t really decided what the One Piece is, or that when the series finally does come to a conclusion, Luffy and crew will discover that it never really existed in the first place, and that, to quote the common fan prediction, “the real treasure was the friends they made along the way.”

But as asserted in a new video celebrating the One Piece manga having sold 600 million copies worldwide, Oda had decided on exactly what the One Piece is from the very beginning, way back when the series first started serialization in 1997. Not only that, he recently wrote the secret down on a piece of paper…part of which is now sitting at the bottom of the ocean.

On February 8, sitting in his work studio with appropriately dramatic lighting, Oda wrote down what the One Piece is on a parchment-like sheet. He then tore the paper into two pieces, and locked one of them inside a treasure chest.

Four days later, the chest was sealed inside a pressure-resistant glass orb…

…and then, on an undisclosed date later in the month, the orb was sailed out to the middle of the ocean…

…and dropped overboard.

The encased orb sank deeper and deeper, until roughly an hour and a half after the boat arrived at the drop point, the treasure chest reached the ocean floor, some 651 meters (2,316 feet) below the surface of the water, where it has been left.

“Until the whole story is revealed, the truth will rest far beyond anyone’s reach, at the bottom of the ocean,” the video says, followed by the promise that “The One Piece does exist” and a final shot of Oda, back at work in his studio.

Unfortunately for those looking for clues, the bits of text that can be seen on the paper in the video amount to just, “As for the One Piece, it is…” and “And then, Monkey D. Luffy…”

It’s an undeniably awesome bit of hype-building as One Piece, while not necessarily down to its final chapters, is largely considered to be significantly closer to its ending than its beginning at this point. It’s also a clear throwback to Gold Roger’s in-manga hiding of his own treasure, prompting commenters to the video to exclaim how Oda himself is now sparking interest in sailing the high seas and searching for his chest. That unavoidably triggered urge for fans to grab scuba gear and start diving is probably why the chest contains only half of the secret, meaning that even if one were to find it, you’ll still have to wait until One Piece reaches its conclusion to get the whole story.

Source, images: YouTube/ONE PIECE公式YouTubeチャンネル
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One of Tokyo’s biggest shopping areas is giving you the chance to try 19 kinds of the traditional spring sweet spanning two major regional differences.

Perhaps you’re on your way to visit Chiikawa Park in Tokyo’s Sunshine City shopping complex, or to stock up on the latest character goods at Animate’s flagship location just down the road. Either way, there’s a very good chance that you’ll be passing through Ikebukuro Station to get to your destination. In that case, on your way out, it would be super convenient to pop into Seibu Ikebukuro department store, which is directly affixed to the station. Its basement level functions as a collection of prepared food, sweets, and gift shops, where you’ll also find a sakuramochi festival going on for the next month or so.

▼ Sakuramochi Festival

Sakuramochi is a traditional Japanese confection wrapped in an edible, pickled sakura (cherry blossom) leaf. Usually consumed during sakura season and the Hinamatsuri festival on March 3, it can take many forms depending on the region of Japan as well.

13 shops in Seibu Ikebukuro’s basement food level are currently selling 19 kinds of sakuramochi as part of the festival. Enjoy sampling different variations of the pink sweet, comparing the regional styles, and deciding whether you’re part of the camp that eats the pickled sakura leaf or not. Below are several of the sample brands that you can find at the promotion.

● Kanto (eastern Japan) style, also nicknamed “Chomeijimochi”

The Kanto style of sakuramochi typically includes an outer crepe-like dough made from wheat flour or glutinous rice flour which is then filled with red bean paste.

Ginza Akebono’s sakuramochi
270 yen (US$1.74) / Available through April 14

Morihachi’s sakuramochi
238 yen / Available through April 5

Toraya’s sakuramochi
476 yen / Available through March 3 (goes on sale at noon each day)

Funawa’s red and white sakuramochi
195 yen / Available through March 3

Obusedo’s chestnut kanoko sakuramochi
454 yen / Available through April 7

Obusedo’s chestnut paste sakuramochi
454 yen / Available though April 7

● Kansai (western Japan) style, also nicknamed “Domyojimochi”

The Kansai style of sakuramochi uses course rice powder made from glutinous rice that results in a particular chewy texture.

Tsuruya Yoshinobu’s sakuramochi
432 yen / Available through April 15

Taneya’s spring mochi (includes sakuramochi and kusamochi, mugwort rice cakes)
1 box contains 4 sweets for 1,188 yen / Available through early April

Tsuruya Hachiman’s sakuramochi
346 yen / Available through April 10

Seikanin’s sakuramochi
249 yen / Available through March 3

Obusedo’s chestnut bean paste domyoji
454 yen / Available through April 7

Asakusa Umezono’s domyoji
297 yen / Available through April 19

Sakura season is in full swing already in Japan, with many stores and eateries offering sakura-themed goodies. Fill up on your sakura food fix everywhere from 7-Eleven to Starbucks next time you’re out and about.

Store information
Seibu Ikebukuro Main Store / 西武池袋本店
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Minami-Ikebukuro 1-28-1
東京都豊島区南池袋 1-28-1
Open: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Website

Source, images: PR Times 
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Sakura is usually associated with the colour pink, so why is this collection so blue?

As we enter meteorological spring in Japan, the blossoming of the sakura trees is now only a few weeks away. However, at Starbucks the season has already begun, with a pink-hued range of drinkware released in February. Now, a second series is about to arrive at Starbucks, and this time the theme is “Sakura Twinkle Gently“, which is designed to conjure up images of cherry blossoms dancing against a blue sky.

▼ The new collection will be available online from 8 p.m. on 3 March, and in stores around Japan from 4 March.

While “airy blue” is definitely the hue du jour, there are splashes of pink to be found in the collection. There are plenty of silvery, sparkly details too, including a shoulder bag for hanami picnics and a rhinestone tumbler with an eye-watering price tag.

So let’s take a closer look at everything in the range, starting with some of the larger bottles and tumblers.

▼ Three-way Stainless Steel Tumbler Stanley Shiny Airy Blue Gradient 414 millilitres (14 ounces) 5,200 yen (US$33.13)

▼ Stainless Steel To Go Bottle Airy Blue 473 millilitres (5,550 yen)

▼ Stainless Steel Bottle Glitter Airy Blue 444 millilitres (4,950 yen)

▼ Glass Tumbler Airy Blue 473 millilitres (3,500 yen)

▼ Stainless Steel Bottle Stanley Shiny Airy Blue Gradient 473 millilitres (5,700 yen)

The muted blue tones have a noticeable calming effect, conjuring up quiet, contemplative moments with the blooms.

▼ Strap Cup Shape Stainless Steel Bottle Airy Blue 355 millilitres (5,000 yen)

There are a number of lighter, creamier options that also suit the mood of the collection.

▼ Stainless Steel Bottle Shell White 355 millilitres (4,750 yen)

▼ Mug Medal Airy Blue 355 millilitres (2,850 yen)

The following two items are only available online.

▼ Heat Resistant Glass Mug Lustre (3,400 yen)

▼ Double Wall Heat Resistant Glass Cup 355 millilitres (3,650 yen)

If you’re of the mind that pink ought to be the star colour of any sakura series, then there is one tumbler that fits the brief, despite being called “White” in its description.

▼ Tumbler White 473 millilitres (2,450 yen)

If you want to look and feel fancy, then the next three items have the classy vibe you’re looking for.

▼ Stainless Steel Mug with Lid 355 millilitres (4,000 yen)

▼ Stainless Steel Tumbler Rhinestone Airy Blue 473 millilitres (19,500 yen)

▼ Bottle Shoulder Bag Metallic Pink (2,950 yen)

▼ You’ll definitely turn heads at any hanami flower-viewing picnic with a dedicated bag for your tumbler.

If you prefer to view the blossoms at home, then this sakura-shaped coaster will do the trick.

▼ Coaster Airy Blue (2,000 yen)

And if you’d like to share your love of sakura with a friend, this sparkly mini cup gift, which comes with a drink ticket, will put a smile on their face.

▼ Starbucks Mini Cup Gift in Airy Blue with drink ticket (1,150 yen)

It’s a bold move for Starbucks to step out with a blue-themed range for sakura season, when pink is ordinarily associated with the blooms. With last month’s pink range debuting alongside a pink Frappuccino, we’re now curious to see what colour Frappuccino will be unveiled with the Twinkle Gently collection.

Source, images: Press release
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