Twentythree

Transforming iconic characters into delicious works of art.

Pokémon is a beloved franchise, and you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone in Japan who has not heard of it, even if they have never personally interacted with any of its media. Through collaborations with famous brands from all areas of the market, the cute and charming character designs can be seen in many places throughout the country.

Despite both being of Japanese origin, the combination of a 161-year-old traditional Japanese confectionery maker and an electric mouse and its friends may not be the natural pairing for most people. However, over the last few years, the shop Shichijo Kanshundo has been releasing delightful treats that blend history with pop culture, and from May 11, they have expanded that lineup with another set of four Pokémon kyo-gashi (traditional Kyoto-style sweets).

The shop is renowned for its jonamagashi, which are handmade by craftsmen one by one. While these sweets, traditionally served during tea ceremonies, typically reflect the changing seasons or classical poetry, Shichijo Kanshundo is using their delicate artistry to bring Eevee and Poltchageist into the physical world.

The Eevee sweet is crafted using nerikiri, a traditional mixture of sweet white bean paste, starch syrup, and gyuhi (glutinous rice flour) that artisans sculpt by hand into intricate, soft shapes. Poltchageist is made as a jonyo manju, a light, fluffy steamed bun made with yam, sugar, and joyo-ko (fine rice flour).

These two Pokémon join two others that were previously released to form this new set of four: Shaymin (Land Forme) and Oricorio (Sensu Style). Shaymin is a kinton, made by crumbling white bean paste or nerikiri into a soboro (ground/crumb-like) state and applying it around a core of bean paste. Oricorio, on the other hand, is expressed using uiro, a Japanese sweet made by adding sugar and water to rice flour, among other ingredients, and steaming it until firm, which results in a chewy texture. The set costs 2,916 yen (US$18) and, since they’re made without unnecessary preservatives, are best enjoyed immediately.

Catching these sweets requires a little bit of extra planning, because the physical store in Kyoto only sells these sets on their special sales event on the seventh of every month, so starting June 7, visitors will be able to pick some up on the afternoon stroll through one of Kyoto’s most historic neighborhoods near Sanjusangendo Temple.

There is another method to get your hands on them earlier: you can order them online and receive them directly at your home, although they will be delivered frozen. However, that also means you don’t need to enjoy them all at once, and can take your time to savor the flavors over a period of 14 days from the date of shipment.

If you do happen to find yourself in the Higashiyama area in Kyoto on the seventh of a month, though, be sure to stop by the shop early. These limited-edition treats are a wonderful way to experience Kyoto’s traditional craftsmanship, even if you’re not a dedicated Pokémon fan.

Store information
Shichijo Kanshundo / 七條甘春堂
Address: Kyoto-fu, Higashiyama-ku, Shichijo-doori, Nishinomon-cho 551-banchi
京都市東山区七条通西の門町551番地
Open 9:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
Closed January 1
Website

Related: Shichijo Kanshundo online store
Source: PR Times via Japaaan
Images: PR Times
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We’re not sure if we can say greed is good, but it does look delicious.

Japanese convenience stores are not exactly the sort of places that inspire one to a philosophy of stoic minimalism. Each and every shelf and cooler case is packed with tempting treats, and while they may not necessarily be things we need to eat, they’re definitely things we want to, and the ease of access from Japan’s dense network of such shops makes them little open-24-hours palaces to quick gratification.

7-Eleven Japan has been knowingly leaning into this with its Greedy Sandwich (or Yokubari Sandwich, it’s called in Japanese) series of decadently delicious sandwiches. The line started off with savory heavy-hitters like mincemeat cutlet and macaroni and salami sandwiches, but it’s recently expanded into desserts, which brings us to 7-Eleven’s newest offering: a sandwich of chocolate chips and whipped cream.

Actually, the official name of the Chocolate Chip and Whipped Cream Greedy Sandwich still doesn’t cover all of its indulgent wonders. Because even after putting a thick layer of whipped cream and chocolate chips between the sandwich’s slices of bread, 7-Eleven apparently took a look at it and thought “Yeah, but is there a way to give it even more chocolate?”, and then realized that they could by putting chocolate shavings all over the outward-facing surface of the cream.

Dessert members of the Yokubari Sandwich series also use special pink bread, like we saw in our recent taste test of 7-Eleven’s Chocolate Sprinkles and Whipped Cream sandwich. We’re going to have to wait a little longer before we can see how the Chocolate Chip and Whipped Cream sandwich compares, but we’re eager to find out after it goes on sale May 20 for 198 yen (US$1.30).

Source, images: PR Times
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We challenge you to find a saltier ramen in Japan.

Once you start diving into the world of Japanese ramen, you’ll find that the waters are deep, with an incredibly diverse array of varieties, and new dishes being created somewhere every day.

A great example of that can be seen at Kuwabara, a ramen restaurant in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro that specialises in “shio soba“, a light, salt-based ramen. The store’s full name is “Shio Soba Specialty Shop Kuwabara” so it prides itself on salty ramen, but according to diners, a dish on the menu called “Ikebukuro White” is off the scale, with diners describing it as “shockingly salty“.

▼ A sign out the front shows customer’s views of the store, with “The soup is salty” in top place, written in red.

The saltiness of the Ikebukuro White is said to be so insane that the restaurant is now trending on social media, with some online commenters describing it as “salty delicious”, “incredibly addictive”, “one of a kind” and “the saltiest salt ramen I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

▼ Needless to say, those comments immediately piqued our interest so we headed out to the store to try the Ikebukuro White.

Ironically, the dish is marked by a black-and-white button on the ticket machine inside, where it’s priced at 1,200 yen (US$7.61). Next to it is a handwritten sign that says, “rapidly gaining popularity”, indicating that this dish really is attracting attention from diners.

After handing our ticket over to staff, we took a seat and a few minutes later our Ikebukuro White arrived. At first glance, it looked like a slightly unorthodox salt ramen, with black pepper and flat noodles, but nothing could prepare us for what we tasted when we took our first sip of the broth.

▼ SALTY!!

The saltiness is so strong it needs to be emphasised in all caps, and although it’s not extreme enough to make you stop eating, it toes the line by erring on the side of tolerable. This really was the saltiest ramen we’d ever had in our life, and in addition to the saltiness, the garlic and black pepper also pack a punch. The firm texture of the flat noodles, cooked perfectly al dente, attempts to soften the flavours, but they remain strong in every mouthful.

▼ Perhaps because of the intense saltiness, we found ourselves finishing the noodles in no time.

One unexpected side effect of the salty broth was it made the water taste incredibly delicious. And yes, we gulped down an entire glass after the meal.

Now that we’ve tried the famed ramen, we challenge anyone to find a saltier broth in Japan. It’s so salty that if you didn’t know its reputation beforehand, you might find yourself wondering if the chef made a mistake with the seasoning.

There’s no mistake here, though, and although the saltiness is incredibly overwhelming, it’s a one-of-a-kind ramen you won’t find anywhere else. So if you’re willing to dive into Japan’s ramen world, this is definitely the deep end, where the broth is delicious, but as salty as the sea.

Restaurant information
Shio Soba Specialty Shop Kuwabara / 塩そば専門店 桑ばら
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Higashi-Ikebukuro 1-27-5
東京都豊島区東池袋1-27-5
Open 11:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m.
Closed irregularly

Photos ©SoraNews24
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Getting more convenience store food for our yen is always a fun time, but this campaign is bordering on ridiculous.

On 12 May, 7-Eleven Japan kicked off its its “Founding Anniversary Sale” by giving us over 50 percent more of some of our favourite products in the first phase of its so-called “Thank You Extra Large” series.

▼ We immediately visited our nearby 7-Eleven and managed to get our hands on four of the upsized products.

The products we procured were:

• Corn & Mayonnaise (170.64 yen [US$1.08])
• Egg Salad Sandwich (291.60 yen)
• Radish, Cucumber, Carrot, Rice Malt, Miso & Mayonnaise  (280.80 yen)
• Mega Pork Ramen with Extra Fat (734.40 yen )

There are actually six products in the range, but despite visiting several stores to purchase the complete set, we were unable to find the following two items:

• Flame-Grilled Pork Fried Rice (496.80 yen)
• Fluffy Dorayaki with Red Bean Paste & Whipped Cream (213.84 yen)

This was probably a blessing in disguise, as the size of the four we had already looked like a lot of food. The ramen, in particular, produced under the supervision of award-wining Chiba-based ramen restaurant Chuka Soba Tomita., looked especially ginormous.

We decided to test this hefty beast first, popping it on the scales to reveal its true weight, which turned out to be…

▼… an astonishing 1,084 grams (2.4 pounds)!

As the container weighs about 23 grams, what we have here is more than a kilo of food, which is a great deal given that the price remains unchanged despite the 50-percent upsize. Although the pork fat is highlighted as an increased ingredient, it’s also said to have more vegetables, noodles, soup, and garlic, so we were curious to know how these extra ingredients would affect the taste.

▼ We popped it into the microwave, for 10 minutes at 500 watts, which is quite a long time for microwaveable food.

As it was heating, we felt slightly intimidated by the intense garlic smell that filled the room, and when we opened the lid we couldn’t quite believe the amount of food that lay before us.

The ingredients were so huge they made the container look tiny, and we began to wonder how we could eat our noodles without them spilling out everywhere.

Carefully lifting the char siu, we could see a huge pile of bean sprouts and cabbage beneath it, with the rest of the meal consisting of garlic, noodles, and pork fat.

With big noodle meals like this, locals make use of a special move called “tenchi gaeshi“, which literally translates as “heaven-and-earth flip“. This involves lifting the noodles from the bottom of the bowl and “flipping” them over the vegetables on top, to prevent them from getting soggy and to mix the broth, noodles, fat, sauce, and vegetables more evenly.

▼ Performing the “tenchi-gaeshi” mixing maneuver requires extra skill with this huge meal.

After carefully flipping heaven and earth, we were even more impressed at how much food was in the bowl, and when we took a sip of the broth, we were hit by the intensely powerful flavour of garlic and pork fat, which was absolutely delicious.

This was a high-quality meal, and the noodles were equally fantastic, providing just the right amount of chewiness to help round out the bold flavours.

The sheer volume was truly unbelievable, and nothing like what you’d normally see at a convenience store. It was so filling that by the end of the meal, we didn’t have any belly room for the other items we’d picked up.

▼ The vegetable sticks, with rice malt, miso and mayonnaise dip, would’ve been a nice way to cut through all the fat, but we just couldn’t fit them in.

The Egg Salad sandwich, or “THE Tamago” (“THE Egg”) as it’s called in Japanese, now contains three cut sandwiches instead of two, making it a great deal.

▼ And finally, the Corn & Mayonnaise bread has also been upsized, so it’s now almost twice as large as a smartphone.

The first phase of the campaign is scheduled to run from 12 May to 25 May, with the second phase bringing us a new line of upsized items from 19 May to 1 June. After receiving flack from customers who claimed that some convenience stores have been skimping on their offerings recently, there’s certainly no skimping with these campaign products, so hop in and try them while you can!

Images©SoraNews24
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Kabuki adaptation of Hayao Miyazaki Ghibli anime opens in Tokyo this summer.

Princess Mononoke is one of the most celebrated anime films of all times, and with every frame bursting with Studio Ghibli’s distinct animation artistry, it’s hard enough to imagine what it would look like in live action, let alone as a kabuki play. That’s exactly what we’re getting, though, with the stage adaptation set to open in Tokyo this summer, and now we’ve got our first look at the main cast in costume.

The production team has released a video preview that opens with actor Dango Ichikawa declaring “My name is Ashitaka” as he notches and arrow and draws back the string of the wandering prince’s bow.

He’s followed by a silent introduction of Kazutaro Nakamura as San, the monster princess herself.

As a complex tale of various factions searching for ways to survive, sometimes at each other’s expense, Princess Mononoke doesn’t have a traditional, clean-cut villain. Within the central conflict of the forest denizens versus the humans, though, the latter group is led by Lady Eboshi, who’ll be played by Manju Nakamura.

Given its feudal Japan setting, Princess Mononoke’s characters’ outfits make for an easier adaptation into kabuki costumes than, say the wardrobes of My Neighbor Totoro or Kiki’s Delivery Service would. Still, the designers have added touches of ornate flair here and there. Kabuki does, after all, have a tradition of bold aesthetics, and the costumes need to have a level of visual impact that can reach far past just the front row of the audience.

▼ Kabuki San’s skirt, for example, gets extra feathery elements that aren’t present in the anime design.

The Princess Mononoke kabuki play is scheduled to run from July 3 to August 23 at Tokyo’s Shinbashi Enbujo Theater. Tickets for most of the performances won’t be on sale until May 25, but there are a pair for which reservations can be made now too.

Related: Princess Mononoke kabuki play official website
Source: Princess Mononoke kabuki play official website via Anime News Network/Joanna Cayanan
Top image: Princess Mononoke kabuki play official website
Insert images: YouTube/松竹チャンネル/SHOCHIKUch, Princess Mononoke kabuki play official website, Studio Ghibli
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Practical and horrifying!

Usually when we’re talking about Japanese lifestyle brand Felissimo, we’re highlighting one of their animal-themed creations, like the Shiba Inu-shaped hot water bottle cover or red panda nap cushion. But Felissimo also has a “Museum Division” that draws inspiration from the arts, and who’ve come up with something a little less cute and cuddly looking.

Felissimo has entered into a creative partnership with the Kyoto Kanze Kaikan, or Kyoto Kanze Noh Theater. Noh is Japan’s oldest form of stage theater that’s still performed today, with its origins predating kabuki by more than a century. Noh performers wear masks while on stage, and with many of the stories dealing with demonic possession, madness, and other such chilling topics, the masks too are often unnerving in design, but the amount of undeniably skilled craftsmanship that goes into them also makes them, one could argue, in a way, beautiful.

Of course, Felissimo realizes that the average person doesn’t really have many occasions on which to slip on a Noh mask, so they’ve instead applied three classical designs as motifs for organizer pouches. With help from Kyoto Kanze Kaikan, Felissimo has produced a hannya mask pouch, showing a female demon consumed by jealously and sporting intimidating horns, and also a Okina mask, showing an old man with a long beard.

Being roughly the same size as a person’s face, they can actually hold quite a bit of stuff, with interior zippered sections and pockets to keep everything nice and organized.

Also part of the lineup is a pouch styled after a Kasei mask. Also known as a manbi mask, this type of mask is meant to create different atmosphere depending on the angle it’s viewed from, switching from a beautiful woman with a demure smile to something bolder or even sinister. The Kasei mask pouch was actually created by Felissimo’s designers prior to the start of their collaboration with Kyoto Kanze Kaikan, but as you can see, they were still able to achieve some terrifying results.

As further proof of just how committed Felissimo was to authenticity, even the backsides of the pouches mimic the interior surface of Noh masks.

The whole lineup is available from Felissimo online store here, priced at 2,860 yen (US$18.50) each. And should you find yourself instead in the mood for something that’s still strange but not quite so scary, don’t forget about Felissimo’s steamy Myaku-Myaku photo album.

Source, images: Felissimo
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The new sets of noodles and bowls make excellent souvenirs for lovers of both Naruto and ramen.

Lovers of the hit ninja anime series Naruto grew up watching protagonist Naruto slurping down bowl after bowl of ramen at the fictional Ichiraku Ramen restaurant, his absolute favorite place in Konohagakure Village. Now, you too can indulge in an Ichiraku-inspired dish thanks to a collaboration between the anime and Kawakyo, a longstanding maker of Kitakata-style ramen. The Naruto x Kawakyo Ichiraku Ramen sets went on sale on May 11.

Each set contains one noodle packet (120 grams [4.23 ounces]), tonkotsu broth (32 grams), and one original donburi bowl based on your main character of choice–Naruto, Sasuke, or Sakura. The ramen itself is based as much as possible on the food often seen being served in the anime.

▼ Place all three of the outer packages together and they also form a full art scene.

Each bowl has the text “Ichiraku” decorating its side. Naruto’s bowl is, unsurprisingly, a vivid shade of orange to match his fiery personality and clothes with small whirlpool logos symbolic of his Uzumaki Clan.

Meanwhile, Sasuke’s bowl is a cool and collected black with the red and white uchiwa fan logos of the Uchiha Clan.

Finally, Sakura’s bowl is perfectly pink along with cute cherry blossom symbols in a clear nod to her name.

Each Naruto x Kawakyo Ichiraku Ramen set retails for 2,400 yen (US$15.30) or 7,200 yen for the complete set on Kawakyo’s online shop. They make for a compact, practical gift for any of your ninja-loving friends. As a gift to yourself, you may also want to visit the Naruto & Boruto Ninja Village in Hyogo Prefecture while the May Rain Festival is taking place during your time in Japan.

Source, images: PR Times
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