All-you-can-eat ice cream at Cold Stone this month set to make Japan’s holiday season extra happy

This December tradition truly makes this the most wonderful time of the year.

Ever since we flipped our calendars over to December, we’ve felt a special, magical tingle in the air, and we can’t imagine we’re the only ones. Sure, the annual event that’s coming up might be something that’s primarily for kids, but anyone who’s young at heart can appreciate the special celebration that’s about to take place.

After all, it’s not like a love of ice cream is something you ever entirely grow out of right?

Yes, it’s time once again for Cold Stone Japan’s all-you-can-eat promotion, which it calls the Cold Stone Buffet. For three days this month Cold Stone branches across Japan (excluding the Landmark Plaza location in Yokohama) will be offering dessert lovers the chance to eat as much ice cream as they want. The privilege is priced at 1,480 yen (US$13), which seems pretty reasonable for such a blissful dining option, and in a stroke of heartwarming cold treat generosity, the Cold Stone Buffet is free for kids younger than elementary-school age (we’ll leave the debate of whether giving your five-year-old all the ice cream they can eat makes you a terrible or awesome parent up to individual families to decide for themselves).

The Cold Stone Buffet is a 40-minute deal, with starting times available between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., meaning you can choose between spoiling your appetite for lunch or dinner, whichever works best for you. While all of Cold Stone’s ice cream flavors are available, diners are limited to one serving per person of the limited-time Winter Holly Pistachio variety. For any other flavor, though, you can eat the entire tub, as long as you can scarf it down before your four minutes are up.

Reservations are required, and can be made by phone or in-person at participating branches. Alternatively, in the unlikely event that branches don’t fill up all their allotted reservation slots ahead of time, you can try your luck walking in on December 6, 7, or 8, the three days during which the Cold Stone Buffet promotion will be taking place. Whether you’ll be able to walk out under your own power, however, is something we can’t predict.

Related: Cold Stone location list/phone numbers
Source: Cold Stone
Top image: Cold Stone

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