Twentythree

With mirrors, art installations, and a Peter Rabbit garden, this festival is the perfect day trip from Tokyo.

There are always times when you might look at a photo of Japan and think, “Surely it can’t be that beautiful,” but this is definitely one of those times that proves just how stunning the country can be. While many are traveling around the nation chasing the fleeting cherry blossom season, there is a vibrant pink carpet rolled out at the base of Mt. Fuji that lasts a lot longer than the transience of the sakura trees.

Starting April 11 and lasting until May 24, the Fuji Shibazakura Festival is celebrated at Fuji Motosuko Resort, and gives you a front row seat to all of the splendor that Japanese springtime has to offer. Entrance to the resort is 1,000 yen (US$6.26), although it increases to 1,300 yen between April 25 and May 10. If you purchase an advance ticket online, you can get a 100-yen discount.

▼ Entry to pets is allowed on a lead unless between April 25 and May 10, when a cage, cart, or sling is required.

Despite shibazakura (“芝桜”) having the character for sakura (“桜”) in the name, the two plants have very little relation to each other. While cherry blossoms flutter around above your head, moss phlox hugs the earth, creating a bright tapestry of pinks, purples, and whites.

At Fuji Motosuko Resort, a gorgeous 500,000-flower masterpiece of natural beauty is framed by the equally impressive snow-capped peak of Mt. Fuji.

The resort has introduced several art installations to make you a part of the scene, bringing back several past favorites, including the Door to Happiness and Mt. Fuji Object. The Sparkling Flower Drop Mirror captures the shimmer of the morning dew, and allows you to catch your reflection amidst the petals and the mountain.

Like with any good festival in Japan, the experience is not just what you see, but also what you eat, and the snacks here are as enjoyable as the flowers.

There are Sakura Churros, shaped like the Japanese character for “cherry blossom,” and offer a subtle sweetness.

There are also the local classics, with stalls serving Fujinomiya Yakisoba and Yoshida Udon, as well as the Fried Bread Soft Serve that contrasts the warm, crispy bread with the rich and cold ice cream.

If you want something ridiculously cute, try the Colorful Sweets, a vibrantly-colored selection of donuts and croissants, or the Fujiyama Honey Castella, which are baby castellas made with plenty of honey and in the shape of the famous mountain.

Perhaps to some he’s a rather unexpected guest to scenery seeming to overflow with Japanese-ness, but a charming part of the resort is the Peter Rabbit English Garden, where you can stroll through a high-end British-style garden juxtaposed with a view of Japan’s most sacred peak.

If you think you have experienced all that Fuji Motosuko Resort has to offer after a spring visit, you’ll want to check out what it looks like in the fall, with 15 varieties of colorful flowers, such as zinnias, spreading out across the landscape.

The Fuji Excursion limited express train from Shinjuku Station can get you to the area in under two hours, from which you can take a bus to the venue, or you can hop on a reservation-only direct bus from major train stations like Shinjuku, Tokyo, Shibuya, Omiya, and Shin-Yokohama.

If you’re traveling around Japan this spring, you’ll find that the beauty of the season is not only found in the cascading pink blossoms above your head, but stretching forth from around your feet, washing the landscape with breathtaking colors.

Event information
Fuji Motosuko Resort / 富士本栖湖リゾート
Address: Yamanashi-ken, Minamitsuru-gun, Fujikawaguchiko, Motosu 212
山梨県南都留郡富士河口湖町本栖212
Open: 8:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. (extends to 6:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. between April 29 and May 6)
Website

Related: Online Ticket Purchase, Fuji Excursion limited express train, bus tours (1, 2)
Source and images: PR Times (1, 2)
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Make your next journey delicious and Instgrammable.

Packing for a trip can be a stressful experience, but now it’s something you’ll look forward to, thanks to a new series of travel pouches from Japanese company Pine Create.

Cutely called “Tabi Suru Obento” which translates as “Travelling Boxed Lunch“, the new pouches instantly transform the contents of your luggage into a Japanese lunch box, and there are two types of obento to choose from.

▼ The first variety is “Hinomaru Bento“.

This variety contains the same core elements as its namesake, with its defining feature being plain rice topped with an umeboshi (pickled plum). Its appearance bears a striking resemblance to the “hinomaru” (literally “circle of the sun”), the Japanese flag, from which it takes its name.

▼ A real Hinomaru Bento

▼ Black sesame seeds are often added for extra flavour and visual contrast.

The travel pouch version does a great job of replicating the real thing, but with a zip so you can pack your clothes into it.

While Hinomaru were eaten on their own during frugal times, these days they’re commonly paired with side dishes, and this pouch reflects that, as it comes in a set with another pouch: Tamagoyaki and Fried Chicken.

▼ The set retails for 3,740 yen (US$23.44).

Whereas the Hinomaru Bento travel pouch is the larger of the two, at 40 x 28 x 12 centimetres (15.75 × 11.02 × 4.72 inches), the Tamagoyaki (rolled omelette) and Fried Chicken pouch is classed as a medium, measuring 30 x 20 x 12 centimetres.

▼ An ideal size for smaller items of clothing.

Those wanting to pack more into their luggage can complete the set with three smaller pouches, sold separately.

▼ These three retail for 2,970 yen.

The addition of the “food divider” pouch and drawstring bags was a detail the designer, a lover of bento boxes, insisted on. The bags feature grilled salmon and “tako-san weiner” (octopus sausage), both classic bento items.

▼ Octopus sausages are made by cutting one end of a red sausage into four or eight “tentacles” that curl when grilled.

▼ Drawstring bags are convenient for storing underwear, socks, and skincare products…

▼ …and it just wouldn’t feel like a bento box without a green grass-like divider.

▼ All the pouches are designed to fit snugly together to resemble a delicious bento.

▼ The second collection in the Travelling Boxed Lunch range is the Omurice Bento.

The largest pouch here resembles omurice (omelette rice), complete with tomato sauce topping. While the real thing contains a centre of rice, open this one up and you’ll find your clothes inside instead.

Though Omurice is commonly served on its own, here it’s paired with a side of “Napolitan to Hamburg” (Tomato Sauce Spaghetti and Japanese-style Hamburger Steak), for added colour and storage.

The three smaller pouches add some other common bento elements to the boxed lunch set.

▼ Shrimp tempura

▼ Cherry tomatoes

▼ Lettuce

▼ Another delicious set that’ll make you want to open your case at customs.

Priced identically to the two sets that make up the Hinomaru Bento, the Omurice Bento packs are equally sized, with the larger pouches having enough room to store around four T-shirts and three pairs of jeans together.

The cleverly designed Travelling Bento really comes to life when packed into your suitcase, where it looks so much like a boxed meal you’ll be tempted to buy all the pouches to fill both sides. The sets can be purchased at the Pino Poche online store (Hinomaru here and Omurice here) and at online retail sites like Rakuten.

Source: Press release
Featured image: Pine Poche
Insert images: Pine Poche (1, 2), press release
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Char’s invasion of Side 7 looks a little different in this continuity.

McDonald’s is the world’s biggest burger chain, so if they’re going to do a collaboration, they’re going to team up with partners at the top of their fields too. Cute character collab? Hello Kitty. Fighting game cross over? Street Fighter. Mecha anime?

Yep, Gundam!

Specifically, it’s the OG (original Gundam) Mobile Suit Gundam TV anime that McDonald’s Japan is teaming up with, promoting the 35th anniversary of the Chicken Tatsuta fried chicken sandwich and a new variant of the menu item with the creation of a Chicken Tatsuta Custom version of the RX-78 Gundam, revealed in a video produced by Gundam anime studio Sunrise.

The video takes many cues from the opening episode of Mobile Suit Gundam, with charismatic antagonist Char invading space colony Side 7, which is now shown to have its own McDonald’s branch.

The dramatic narration says:

“Char takes aim at McDonald’s new Chicken Tatsuta. Meanwhile, Amuro enters the cockpit of the Gundam Chicken Tatsuta Custom to face off against him. The invincible Chicken Tatsuta. The new Tartar You Lin Ji-style Chicken Tatsuta. What is Char’s true objective? A destiny covered in tartar sauce gives birth to emotions across space. A limited-time Chicken Tatsuta rises at McDonald’s!”

In addition to the mobile suit sporting the McDonald’s colors, the video shows members of the Gundam finding time to enjoy a Chicken Tatsuta or refreshing McDonald’s beverage.

▼ Lalah Sune’s Chicken Tatsuta could have been like a lunch to Char.

▼ Dramatically pointing while holding a Chicken Tatsuta leaves Commander Bright Noa no hand left with which to literally slap subordinates into shape, so he must really like the sandwich.

As mentioned in the video, joining the standard Chicken Tatsuta and Cheese Chicken Tatsuta on the McDonald’s menu, for a limited-time, is a version inspired by the flavors of spicy Chinese-style You Lin Ji fried chicken. Starting April 15, all three of these items will be served in special Gundam-themed packaging.

Arriving at the same time is a new McFizz soda with citrus and yogurt flavors, available with or without a swirl of vanilla ice cream, in a cup depicting Gundam’s iconic “Last Shooting” scene.

McDonald’s and Sunrise are also promising an extended TV commercial with all-new animation featuring the Gundam Chicken Tatsuta Custom that will start airing on April 14.

There is, unfortunately, no word of McDonald’s taking this opportunity to bring back the spicy Char burgers from its previous Gundam collaboration, even though it’s a given that the always ambitious and duplicitous Red Comet would no doubt like nothing better than to see his own agenda advanced.

Source: YouTube/マクドナルド公式（McDonald’s), Digital PR Platform
Top image: YouTube/マクドナルド公式（McDonald’s）
Insert images: YouTube/マクドナルド公式（McDonald’s), Digital PR Platform
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