Relive an iconic scene from anime Weathering with You with Japan’s rentable Hina umbrellas

Take Hina with you for all kinds of weather this weekend!

The most recent film from Your Name director Makoto Shinkai, Weathering with You, was yet another smash hit. Though in our eyes it didn’t have quite as much storytelling impact as Your Name did, there’s no doubt that the film was visually stunning, earning it a nomination for Best International Film at the Oscars, and inspiring lots of colorful collaborations, like a convenience store jelly tea and an entire menu of cafe items.

So memorable is the art, in fact, that even now, a year and a half later, it’s still inspiring creativity. For example, for a limited time only right now, you can rent umbrellas that imitate the most iconic visual of the film!

These umbrellas are available to rent from umbrella sharing service i-Kasa, which is has stands in hundreds of stations across Tokyo and in other cities in Japan. Though i-Kasa typically offers plain umbrellas, for a limited time they’re renting out clear umbrellas that have a tiny image of the film’s female lead Hina, who can control the weather, printed on them, along with her famous line from the film, “You know, it’ll clear up now”, and the film’s Japanese logo, underneath.

They’re designed in such a way that when you look up at the sky through the umbrella it will look like Hina is floating up high, as she did in the movie, making these umbrellas a must-use for fans of the film. They’re also a great opportunity for photo shoots, because depending on the weather and the time of day, the view will be totally different!

But the umbrellas weren’t only crated in appreciation of the film; they’re also to commemorate Weathering with You‘s first airing on public television! The film will be on-air at 9 p.m. on January 3 on TV Asahi, so be sure to tune in if you live in Japan.

As for the umbrellas, they’re available for rent for 70 yen (US$0.67) per 24 hours now until January 3. You can find them in 14 locations around Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Yoyogi Stations, where the central plot of the film takes place, but you can return them to any i-Kasa station location in the city. For the specific locations of each stand, check the “i-Kasa” app, which is available for both Android and Apple.

Related: i-Kasa
Source, images: PR Times
Images ©2019『天気の子』製作委員会 (Weathering with You Production Committee)
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Happy New Year from SoraNews24!

Congratulations, it’s 2021!

Shinnen akemashite omedetou gozaimasu!

That’s how you say “Happy New Year” in Japanese. The literal translation, though, is “Congratulations on the new year starting,” and with 2020 throwing so many curveballs (and uppercuts) at us, congratulations definitely seem in order for everybody on making it through the past 12 months.

That’s not to say it was all bad, though. Japan’s ingenious kitchen gadgets and amazing takeout options took some of the sting out of fewer restaurant dining opportunities. Free Ghibli anime backgrounds let us add some extra personality to our video chat sessions, and we saw some inspiring creativity from tech-savvy kids and Pokémon-playing fish (yes, fish) that brought us together in spirit even if we couldn’t all be in the same room.

As we start 2021, we’re taking the day off to relax, possibly use the beginning of the Year of the Ox/Cow as an excuse to treat ourselves to a nice, juicy protection-from-evil burger, and count our blessings, which absolutely include the support of readers like you.

Thank you for visiting SoraNews24 in 2020, and we hope you’ll be back many times in the year ahead!

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Japan’ deadliest New Year’s food may be even more dangerous in 2021 due to the coronavirus

Eating the ironically risky symbol of long life is the latest thing that requires extra caution during the pandemic.

New Year’s is a pretty laid-back time in Japan. Most people spend most of the first three days of January at home, starting the year off with a focus on relaxation and family…and, in some cases, choking to death.

Mochi rice cakes are a traditional new year’s food, because their extremely stretchy nature is thought to be symbolic of longevity. Ironically, though, every year a number of people in Japan have their lives come to an abrupt end when a piece of mochi gets clogged in their throat and they suffocate before they can get medical attention.

▼ New year’s mochi is often eaten as part of the soup called ozoni, pictured here.

おはようございます

昨日納め
久しぶりに飼育員が帰宅
ネコちゃんも大喜び
は料理が出来ないので大晦日にお雑煮を作って貰い
食べました。

皆さん
今年もありがと
大晦日ゆっくりしてくらさい

良いお年を pic.twitter.com/WueWN7MVh2

— chuukasobaを食べるパンダ《ﾏﾙｵ》 (@kishuPANDA) December 30, 2020

Mochi is an annual culinary threat, but health experts are warning that this year it has the potential to be even deadlier than usual. The reason, as with so many unpleasant things these days, is the coronavirus, though at least we can be thankful that the virus hasn’t started infecting mochi batches. Instead, the added danger comes from hospitals crowded with coronavirus-infected patients receiving treatment.

Time is of the essence in treating suffocation victims, but with hospital staff and infrastructure more taxed than usual, response times (from calling an ambulance to receiving in-hospital treatment) will likely be slower, experts warn. Considering that many new year’s mochi choking victims in January 2020 were already unconscious when they arrived at the hospital, additional delays could be fatal, and so even greater levels of caution when eating mochi are being called for as we head into 2021.

Mochi suffocation occurs most commonly among elderly people and young children, whose teeth and jaw/throat muscles may not be strong enough to sufficiently bite through, chew, and swallow the sticky foodstuff. Should such diners decide to eat mochi anyway, experts advise making sure their throat is moist prior to eating, cutting the mochi into small pieces, and concentrating on chewing thoroughly and swallowing carefully.

Sources: Japan Agricultural News via Otakomu, Asahi Shimbun Digital via Livedoor News via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso
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Lack of otaku blood from cancelled Comiket contributing to donation shortage in Japan

In a normal year, right now anime fans wouldn’t just be emptying their wallets, they’d be filling up blood vials too.

Twice a year, massive crowds gather at Tokyo’s Big Sight convention center for Comiket, Japan’s largest gathering of dojinshi comic creators. Otaku are so eager to be first in line to drop wads of cash on their favorite artists’ newest works that their mad dash from the station gates to the doors of Big Sight has become an event in itself.

At least, that’s what happens in a normal year. The coronavirus pandemic caused the planned May 2020 Comiket to be cancelled outright, and the customary December iteration to be pushed back until May of 2021. That means there was no Comiket flow of otaku cash this year, and also no flow of Comiket otaku blood.

See, for the past several years, the Japanese Red Cross Society has held a blood drive at Comiket, and the otaku community has been remarkably generous with its hemoglobin. The Red Cross usually sweetens the deal by giving donors an exclusive anime character poster for their cooperation, and the response has been so positive that about 1,500 otaku make a standard-size 400-mililiter (13.5-ounce) donation each Comiket, with organizers dispatching some 30 mobile blood donation buses to Big Sight.

▼ A Japanese blood donation bus

But no Comiket means no Comiket blood drive, and that’s especially unfortunate since right now Japan needs blood donations. In a normal year, blood donation buses and other blood drives are actually a pretty common sight in downtown Tokyo, often with signs posted letting passersby know what blood types medical facilities are especially in need of. However, when the pandemic started picking up momentum in the spring, many people began working or attending classes online from home. At the same time, caution against large gatherings prompted the Red Cross to cancel many of its blood drives in Tokyo and its surrounding prefectures.

The combined result is that between April and November, the Red Cross fell far below its target in blood donations for the Tokyo and the Prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, collecting roughly 45,700 fewer 400-mililiter donations than it was aiming for and causing its transfusion reserves to dip to 80 percent of their ideal levels.

While they wouldn’t have made up the deficit all on their own, 1,500 Comiket blood donors would have been a significant contribution. There’s still a special opportunity for conscientious otaku to help out this New Year’s season, though.

Between December 30 and January 31, the Red Cross will be rewarding 400-miliiter donors at its permanent blood donation centers with a poster set featuring virtual YouTuber Kanata Amane and BanG Dream band Argonavis.

Related: Japanese Red Cross Society
Sources: NHK News Web, J-Cast News, Japanese Red Cross Society
Top image ©SoraNews24
Insert images: Wikipedia/BetacommandBot, Japanese Red Cross Society
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Mister Donut x Pokémon fukubukuro lucky bag is a deliciously cute adventure

Chansey and friends are just the icing on the cake for this doughnut extravaganza. 

It’s that time of year again when we race about town catching as many of Japan’s fukubukuro lucky grab bags as possible, and one that we never let slip through our hands is the one from Mister Donut.

As has been the case in past years, Mister Donut has collaborated with Pokémon for their lucky bags this year, and this time Chansey, known as “Lucky” in Japanese, will be bringing us good fortune–and good doughnuts–in 2021.

The “MisDo Pokémon” lucky bags went on sale in Japan on 26 December, in 1,100-yen (US$10.64), 2,200-yen, and 3,300-yen varieties, and we went all out by purchasing the most expensive option, which gave us a whole heap of goodies in return.

▼ First up was this cute wall calendar, featuring Chansey with a parade of starter Pokémon on the cover.

Next up was a small pouch, which was the perfect size for a pencil case. Covered in sweet Pokémon hiding out amongst even sweeter doughnuts, this pouch will ensure Mister Donut is never out of your thoughts for too long over the coming year.

Another cute find was this beautifully decorated zip-lock pouch, slightly smaller than the other pouch, but just as cute with its Pokémon-in-a-jar design.

▼ There’s also a tote bag with Pikachu and Chansey printed on the side…

▼ And a 2021 diary with Pikachu on the front cover!

▼ Cute images inside include this one of Pikachu’s rear, seen through a doughnut hole.

▼ Rounding off the cute merch was this roll of masking tape adorned with Pokémon.

While the Pokémon goods were fantastic, what really elevated the lucky bag to one of the top spots for us this year was the addition of these two free doughnut coupon cards. Each card can be exchanged for a total of 15 doughnuts up to the price of 160 yen, which equates to 4,800 yen of value!

Seeing as the bag cost 3,300 yen, this was like getting all the cute Pokémon merch for free AND getting nine doughnuts for free as well! How’s that for value?!

With the coupons valid through to 31 May 2021, we’ll be visiting at least once a week to make sure we don’t miss out on all our free doughnuts. As always, these lucky bags tend to sell out fast, though, so if you love doughnuts and Pokémon as much as we do, you’ll want to grab one of these as soon as possible!

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10 amazing manga to read over the winter holidays

Here are our top ten recommendations for comics to read as the year comes to an end.

2020 is drawing to a close, and while it may have been a year where a lot of stuff was cancelled or postponed, for some it was a year of productivity, with new-found free time being put to good use. Some of us learned how to cook, some took up photography. For some of us, though, 2020 was the perfect time to hunker down with a cup of tea and a good manga. And with people being encouraged to stay home and stay safe over the next couple of days, there’s no better time to lose yourself in a good story or two!

SoraNews24 Japanese-language writer K. Masami has compiled a list of the top ten manga that she’s planning to read over the winter holidays. Have a peek at them and see if any take your fancy!

1. Silver Spoon (Hiromu Arakawa) — 15 volumes

First on Masami’s list of books to read is Silver Spoon. Written by Hiromu Arakawa, the author behind the Full Metal Alchemist series, Silver Spoon is a charming tale about life in an agricultural high school (Arakawa herself is a graduate from an agricultural high school). Silver Spoon tells the tale of protagonist and city boy Yuugo Hachiken, as he struggles to fit in with his classmates, all of whom come from agricultural families. If you like coming-of-age stories or cows, this may be the perfect manga for you.

2. Tokusatsu Gagaga (Niwa Tanba) — 20 volumes 

Tokusatsu Gagaga tells the story of Kano Nakamura. By day, she’s a super girly office worker, but by night, she’s a huge fan of tokusatsu series (think Power Rangers and Kamen Rider!) The story makes you think; who dictates what sort of things you’re supposed to be into as adults? So what if you’re still into the same things you were when you were younger? People should be free to pursue whatever hobbies and interests they want, regardless of age or gender.

3. Hozuki’s Coolheadedness (Natsumi Eguchi) — 31 volumes

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Next up is Hozuki’s Coolheadedness, a dark comedy from Natsumi Eguchi. The story revolves around demon Hozuki, who works for the King of Hell. Hozuki is tasked with sorting out which kind of Hell incoming dead people will be sent to. The story doesn’t particularly have any big moments, rather more like a slice of life series set in Hell. The series was made into an anime back in 2014.

4. Daddy and Pop’s Home Cooked Meals (Yu Toyota) 13 volumes

Written by the same author as the hit drama Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!, this manga is about two single fathers who share a house together, along with their children. The story is about their daily struggle to cook meals for their kids; after all, cooking not just for yourself but for others is tough, but often more fun. Not only is the story charming, but there are some pretty tasty looking recipes in the story that you’ll want to try out yourself, so this manga doubles up as a cookbook too! And for budding mixologists, we recommend the spin-off series Daddy and Pop’s Homemade Drinks.

5. Let’s Eat Together, Aki and Haru (Makoto Taji) — ongoing series

College students and close friends Aki and Haru go on a gastronomic adventure in this story. Author Makoto Taji has a way of drawing food that has us drooling the instant we see it. Whenever the characters are eating, it feels like we are eating vicariously through them. Much like Daddy and Father’s Home Cooked Meals, this manga has us itching to try out some of the recipes in the story for ourselves!

6. Miss Sumire Doesn’t Want to Cook (Hiromi Ookubo) — ongoing series

Protagonist Sumire Shirayuki is elegant, beautiful, stylish, she is a well respected piano teacher. But while she seems perfect at a glance, she shocks everyone by being completely unable to cook. Not only that, she is broke, single and in her thirties. Is her problem really being unable to cook? If she learns how to cook, will her troubles disappear? This story is about how society’s expectations might not be for everyone, and how women are not defined by their ability (or inability) to be ‘wife material’. Perfect for anyone who hates cooking or hates society’s expectations of women.

7. Demon Child (Hiromi Nagashima) – 2 volumes

A horned-demon child suddenly finds himself living with the Fukuda family. This whimsical tale follows Oni-kun and his journey from loneliness to finding warmth and friendship with his new family. All pages in the manga are in colour, making this charming tale even more fun to read.

8. Howling at the Moon (Yukiko Seike) — ongoing

A remake of an old classic, Howling at the Moon takes you on a whirlwind of emotions. Often abbreviated to ‘Tsukiho’, the story takes place in a fantasy world called Poetry Town, with characters inspired by famous poets and artists. When one of the characters finds an unidentified dead body, everyone works to get to the bottom of the mystery.

9. Kei x Yaku (Yoshie Kaoruhara) — ongoing

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This boys love tale follows Ichiro, an investigator at the Metropolitan Police Department, and Shiro, a yazuka member who uses sex to blackmail politicians and just happens to be the younger brother of a senior investigator who has gone missing. Ichiro and Shiro team up and work together to solve the mystery of the missing investigator, acting as lovers to fool any higher ups who may be onto them.

10. Burn the Witch (Tite Kubo) — ongoing

Bleach fans rejoice, because author Tite Kubo is behind Burn the Witch, a spin-off that takes place in the Bleach universe. The story is about Noel Niihashi and Ninny Spangcole, two witches who work in the western branch of Soul Society. The pair try to protect and domesticate the dragons that roam around in Reverse London. The story is cute and fun, and while the first series finished with just four chapters this year, a second series has been announced for next year.

There are a whole bunch of manga that Masami wanted to include in her list, but top tens wouldn’t really mean much if we had more than ten entries, now would they? Hopefully there’s a series or two that sparked your interest. Have a look at your local bookshop or library and you’re sure to find something good to read; just be sure to give them back once you’re finished with them!

Featured image: Pakutaso
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CoCo Ichibanya lucky bag here to keep you happy and full of curry

Bring in the Year of the Ox with some delicious beef curry, courtesy of CoCo Ichibanya!

The year coming to a close means only one thing here in Japan — lucky bags! Lucky bags (called fukubukuro in Japanese) let you get an assortment of goods from your favourite store at a fraction of the price, the catch being that you don’t know the contents of the bags until you’ve already paid for them. Sometimes you can get really lucky, and sometimes you end up with a bunch of crab; that’s the fun of lucky bags!

So what lucky bags have we got your eyes on this year? Well, fresh from the spicy highs of Curry Bread Day back at the beginning of December, we decided to get Japanese curry chain CoCo Ichibanya’s 2021 lucky bag. The CoCo lucky bag was a steal at just 2000 yen (US$19.30), but what sort of things would we find inside a restaurant lucky bag?

Right away, we noticed was that the contents of the lucky bag seemed somehow different than usual. Where were the predictable ‘bonus items’, like cup noodles or novelty curry? There didn’t seem to be any of that this year.

No, what caught our eye first was not curry at all, but rather four 500-yen coupons for use at the restaurant. Wait a minute… that’s 2000 yen worth of coupons, meaning if you’re a CoCo Ichibanya fan, you’ve already got your money’s worth with the coupons alone.

Die-hard CoCo Ichibanya fans may be scratching their heads at this point; after all, they give out these coupons every year as part of their lucky bags. Why is this year any different? Look closer at the coupons and you’ll see something isn’t the same…

While previous coupons were able to be used up until March of that year, 2021’s lucky bag coupons are going all-out and extending their use-by date until the end of April, giving you an extra month to enjoy some tasty curry. We’ll take this any day, especially over useless ‘bonus’ items! CoCo Ichibanya, you’ve really come through this year, like when you pop to the toilet quickly before paying, and you come back to find your boss has already settled the bill. What a great feeling!

But wait! There’s more! On top of the 2,000 yen worth of coupons, the lucky bag itself comes in the form of a denim tote bag. For the last three years, CoCo Ichibanya have given away freezer bags as part of their lucky bag sets, but this year bucks the trend again with this stylish tote bag made by Onward. It’s cute and sophisticated, two words that instantly spring to mind when one thinks about curry.

And not only is the tote bag sophisticated, it’s practical too; it can hold about six 500-mililiter (16-ounce) plastic bottles, or about three liters of curry (we don’t recommend this though, unless you really, really like curry.)

Of course, it wouldn’t be a CoCo Ichibnaya lucky bag without some actual curry in it. 2021 is the Year of the Ox, so this year’s curry offering is two sachets of beef keema curry, using CoCo Ichibanya’s original recipe.

So if you’re still on the fence as to what lucky bag to go for this year, you really can’t go wrong with CoCo Ichibanya. The lucky bags went on sale December 26, but they will be offering a second round of lucky bags at the beginning of 2021. Head to your local restaurant to check when they go on sale and how many bags are left to order, and thank us later when you’ve got a belly full of delicious curry. Don’t forget to leave some space for dessert too, with this Mister Donut lucky bag!

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Japan’s number-one cosplayer Enako sparks heated debate after revealing insane 2020 income

Not everyone was happy about Enako revealing her riches during a year that’s been financially tough for many.

Getting paid to cosplay is all in a day’s work for Japan’s “number one” cosplayer Enako, who earned the informal title after continually drawing massive crowds at big events.

▼ Take a look at this crowd surrounding her at Summer Comiket 2018.

コミケ94（3日目）のえなこりんの囲みである。
えなこりんも凄いが、防災公園の端まで大砲のようなカメラを持って集まった野良カメコ諸君も凄いと思う今日この頃である。
元祖有名レイヤーの乾曜子さんとえなこりんのツーショットもレアであった。#C94コスプレ #cosplay pic.twitter.com/dcKGBWHrHI

— だよね＠野良カメコよ永遠なれ！ (@dayonesoudayone) August 12, 2018

▼ And here she is again, at the centre of what one witness estimated to be over 1,000 people, at Winter Comiket last year.

1000人以上かも?#コミケ #C97 #C97コスプレ #防災公園 #えなこ pic.twitter.com/X8ef8jGPrm

— Leo Lui (レオ) (@leolui2013) December 30, 2019

Crowds aren’t the only thing the 26-year-old has been amassing over the years, however, as the attention has been bringing her a considerable amount of wealth as well. Back in 2016, she blew everyone’s minds by announcing on television that she earned more than one million yen (US$9,640) a month through cosplay, and then followed up with similar revelations about her staggering earnings in 2018 and last year as well.

Now, Enako has come out yet again to let everyone know how much she earned this year, sharing this tweet on her Twitter account on 27 December.

よきゅーんさん(事務所の社長)と今年の反省会をやっていて
今年の年収見たら5000万円超えてたー！*(^o^)/*

— えなこ (@enako_cos) December 27, 2020

The tweet above reads:

“I was having a review meeting this year with Yoko Inui (the management office president) and when I saw this year’s annual income, it exceeded 50 million yen!”

In case you were wondering how much 50 million yen is, it’s roughly US$482,000.

That’s right — Enako earned almost half a million dollars in just one year through cosplay and merchandise sales, proving that with each passing year, her bank balance has been growing exponentially.

It’s quite a feat, considering Enako’s biggest money-earners–Summer and Winter Comiket–had to be moved online this year due to the pandemic. The coronavirus situation has hit a lot of people hard financially this year too, which may have been what prompted one Twitter user to leave this comment in response to Enako’s joyous tweet:

“This might be rough but I wish you’d stop exposing your income. I know you work hard, but I’d like you to remember there are people whose income doesn’t increase no matter how hard they try and try at work.”

While that Twitter user did have a valid point, Enako’s fans rushed to her defence by making equally valid, yet harsh, points of their own:

“So it’s okay for male celebrities to talk about their earnings but Enako can’t?”
“I think it’s inspirational to hear about people doing things they love and being successful!”
“Money doesn’t come to people who sit around and complain about not having any.”
“Instead of being jealous, we should be happy for her success.”
“Half of this will probably go towards tax anyway.”

Enako did follow up with a tweet reminding everyone that she belongs to a management company and properly files all her taxes, so while her gross earnings may seem like a lot, there are a lot of deductions to consider.

Another thing to consider is the fact that despite Enako’s current success, which included her first cover and gravure spread in Weekly Shonen Champion this year, there’s still plenty more room for her to grow and increase her earnings in years to come. After all, if cosplayer and gravure idol Yoko Inui is the president of Enako’s management company at the age of 39, who knows what the future holds for Enako as Japan’s number-one cosplayer?

Sources: Hachima Kikou, Otakomu 
Featured image: Twitter/@enako_cos
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Naomi Osaka is first-ever Japanese athlete to be named AP Female Athlete of the Year

Naomi Osaka’s meteoric rise to the top earns her a prestigious title, both for herself and the country she plays for.

When Naomi Osaka won her first US Open in 2018 against her childhood idol Serena Williams, the world sat up and took notice.

Osaka was a powerful and dynamic presence on the court, but she struck chords with viewers for all manner of reasons even after the game was over. Despite living in the United States, Osaka had the choice of playing on behalf of Haiti or Japan due to her father and mother’s respective nationalities, and she chose Japan; despite her incredible skill on the court, she was shy and quiet in interviews, especially in Japanese; she stayed calm and resolute in the wake of criticism about her attitude, her dress, her own identity.

You already know I had to bring out the headwrap for this one pic.twitter.com/YAlLk01hwm

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) September 13, 2020

Two years on, Osaka is practically the face of modern tennis, all on her own. She’s also proven herself to be a powerful brand ambassador, a passionate human rights activist, and the star of her own upcoming intergalactic manga. In this turbulent, intense year Osaka has stood firm and triumphed over her second US Open and worked hard not only to promote herself but to inspire and uplift others.

how it started how it‘s going pic.twitter.com/IqhdYaVZ3V

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) October 7, 2020

Her hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Associated Press announced Osaka as their Female Athlete of the Year alongside LeBron James, their Male Athlete of the Year. Previous winners of the Athlete of the Year Award include Serena Williams, Tiger Woods, Simone Biles, and Michael Phelps, but Osaka is the first Japanese athlete to ever hold the title.

https://t.co/QAnKJaeCSt

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) December 28, 2020

As with all news about Osaka relating to her identity, there has been a degree of backlash from conservative netizens; especially considering the overwhelming presence of American athletes in the line-up of previous award-winners, some have dismissed or diminished the importance of her title for Japan as a whole. For those with Japanese citizenship who are routinely labeled as “not Japanese enough”, though, this could be a vital step towards validating and legitimizing their own place in Japanese society.

No matter what, we’re watching with bated breath to see what Naomi Osaka has in store for us in 2021 as she continues to play tennis on behalf of Japan, and are glad to see her kindness and sportsmanship both on and off the court. Congratulations!

Top image: Wikimedia Commons/Rob Keating
Source: Sponichi Annex via Otakomu
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Let’s try making our own Chinese McDonald’s Oreo-Spam burgers!【SoraKitchen】

Well, maybe see how it went for us before trying it yourself at least.

We recently reported on the highly limited Spam and Oreo burger sold at Chinese McDonald’s restaurants for one day only. It’s a burger concept that captivated imaginations around the globe and normally we’d charter a private jet to head down and try one ourselves.

But with travel off the table due to COVID-19 and our inability to afford a private jet, we instead had to try and craft our own burger. Luckily, it’s made from items sold worldwide and getting the raw materials wasn’t an issue. So, without further ado, here’s how we made our own version of these sandwiches that appear both highly sought after and highly repulsive at the same time.

I wanted to try and make the sandwich as authentic as possible, so first I bought a tin of Spam and box of Oreos from the local supermarket. Then, I headed over to McDonald’s so I could get an official sesame seed bun.

I went with the Bacon Lettuce Burger since it had a similar bun to the Spam & Oreo Burger and the other toppings aside from the mayo didn’t seem like they’d interfere, like they would with the heavy sauce on the Teriyaki Burger.

First I took two slices of Spam and fried them up until they were about as brown as in the McDonald’s China advertisement.

Once that was finished I started to extract the bun from the Bacon Lettuce Burger. Unfortunately, there was an abundance of finely diced onions mixed into the sauce that I had to pluck out. Not only that, but I noticed it was much more yellow than depicted on the menu and later learned it was more of dijonnaise that a solid mayonnaise.

The amount seemed less than the Chinese picture too, so I pulled out my trusty bottle of Kewpie and doubled it up.

Finally, I got to work on making the crushed Oreos. A lifetime of pulling them apart cleanly to make my own double-stuffed had finally paid off.

It seemed like three single cookies would be enough to cover the sandwich, but I went with four to be safe and able to make two double-stuffed.

Assembly was easy enough but took a bit of time, so I popped it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it back up in true fast food fashion. After that, we were ready to go.

Sure, it wasn’t like the advertisement’s picture, but such burgers rarely are. Rather than the mayo oozing out over the cookies, the cookies seemed to have flooded into the mayo and occupied its space.

As for the taste, all of the three main toppings tasted good, but the sandwich seemed to lack harmony. The flavors were all existing together in this sandwich but they weren’t really going together in anyway. It was weird though because they weren’t really clashing either.

Chewing one moment would give a blast of spam but the next moment a taste of that distinct Oreo chocolate. The mayo/mustard was surprisingly the most mild of the three.

It’s hard to really judge it. I guess it was okay and an interesting experience, but there was nothing amazingly good about it.

It was tasty but I don’t think I’d recommend it unless you’re really, really bored.

Speaking of which, after finishing off the sandwich I was left with the Bacon Lettuce innards. This whole experiment in cookies and burgers inspired me to go one step further on the hypothesis: If cookies can be put into a burger, then a burger can be put into a cookie.

The flaw in this design was painfully clear in that the single Oreo is way too small to cover the patty, but it did do a surprisingly good job at holding everything together. I actually had little trouble eating it.

This was a rather similar experience to the Spam & Oreo burger but this time the Oreo cookie overpowered the taste of the beef. In that way I could see how the Spam was a really smart call in that it kept the Oreo from dominating the overall taste.

▼ The cream filling didn’t really do it any favors either

Then it dawned on me that maybe harmony isn’t alway the goal in flavors. Maybe there’s something to be said in having balance without harmony. I’m not sure the Spam and Oreo burger nailed this concept, but it did bring it to the forefront.

So, I don’t think this combination will set the world on fire with deliciousness, but it is a very important step in the overall field of burgerology. If burgers were musicians the Spam and Oreo would be more like a Merzbow than a Kenshi Yonezu.

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