Osaka Expo nightmare-fuel mascot needs name, organisers ask for suggestions and Twitter delivers

22:14 cherishe 0 Comments

The mascot, described as aggressively disgusting, is currently without a name to call it by.

The organisers of the 2025 Osaka World Expo have decided to once more enlist the help of the public, this time to help them come up with a new name for their mascot.

You may remember the mascot was making waves online when it was first announced, as unlike normal character mascots, it looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

As one of the mottos of the event is designing a future society of shining lives, the monstrosity of a mascot has already been given a unofficial name by netizens —  Inochi no Kagayaki-kun (Shining Life-kun). However, organisers have recently commented: “We aren’t considering that as the official name at this point.”

▼ “Wait, its name isn’t Inochi no Kagayaki-kun?! I hope they can find a great name for it!”

Instead, the organisers have decided to ask the public for suggestions for a name. Seeing as the mascot will be used for promotional activities and official merchandise, this is a great opportunity to really be a lasting part of the 2025 World Expo.

Before you go rushing to suggest the mascot be named Sleep Paralysis Demon, be aware that the person who suggests the winning name will net themselves a cool 300,000 yen (US$2,310). The entry form also requires you to write your reasons for coming up with your suggested name, so “I’m suggesting ‘AGGGGGH-kun because just look at it,” probably won’t do you any favours.

Although you definitely won’t be alone in suggesting horror-based names, if comments by Japanese netizens are anything to go by. Those who had recovered from the shock of learning it was not in fact called Inochi no Kagayaki-kun were quick to come up with some gruesome suggestions of their own.

“I’m gonna suggest Death Bringer.”
“I think Curse from the Abyss would be a good choice.”
“What about End of the World-kun?”
“I’ve seen a lot of suggestions for Kill Me-kun, haha.”

▼ This Twitter user added some art to go with his suggestion of Game of Death.

Anyone can submit a name for consideration, and two suggestions are allowed per person. The name must be written in either hiragana or katakana, and names that are gender based will not be considered, as the mascot is genderless. Unfortunately, only Japanese nationals or people with Japanese residency are eligible to enter, but anyone who meets those requirements can send their suggestions here. Entries will be open until May 16.

In the meantime, take the time to cleanse your mascot palette with something a little less grotesque, like this drunk airplane mascot from Osaka International Airport.

Source: Livedoor News via Hachima Kiko
Images: Osaka 2025 World Expo Official Site
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New spreadable melon pan changes the way we eat toast in Japan

09:14 cherishe 0 Comments

Making melon bread, and curry bread, just got a whole lot easier. 

When you’re looking to stock your pantry with exciting products from abroad, or equally exciting products from Japan, popular chainstore Kaldi is the place to go. Previously, they’ve given us delights such as Sea Urchin butter and matcha curry and now, they’re treating us to a super easy way to enjoy the sweet taste of melon pan (“melon bread”) at home.

The new product is called “Nutte Yaitara Melon Pan” (“Spread It, Bake It, and It Turns Into Melon Bread“), and though it looks like a regular spread, it doesn’t taste like any other spread on the market, as it tastes like musk melon.

▼ Not a bad deal for 306 yen (US$2.34).

This new flavour is a follow-up to the chain’s “Nutte yaitara Curry Pan” (“Spread It, Bake It, and It Turns Into Curry Bread“), which debuted in 2020 and quickly sold out due to popularity.

As the names suggest, all you have to do with a spread like this is spread it on a slice of bread, pop the slice under the grill, and once it’s done, your toast will be transformed into a culinary delight with a very Japanese flavour!

We couldn’t wait to try the new spreadable melon bread as soon as it became available on 26 April, so we immediately headed out to our nearest Kaldi, where we found the store had placed a two-per-customer purchase limit on the product to stop it from selling out immediately.

Happy to get our hands on one of the tubs, we took it home to try it out, and when we spread the paste on a slice of bread, we found it glided on effortlessly, smooth and soft as cream.

▼ Yes, we use the back of a teaspoon to spread our spreads – easier to lick off the reminder afterwards!

According to the instructions, the trick is to not use too much of it, so that it doesn’t burn or catch fire under the grill, and it’s suggested that you use a chopstick to draw a chequered pattern on it before grilling it, to give it the same look as a real melon pan, like the one seen on the packaging.

We weren’t so fussed with achieving a spectacular look, though, so we decided to just spread it on and forego any further decoration to see what it would look like on an ordinary morning when we’re rushing to get breakfast ready.

▼ After grilling it in the toaster oven for a few minutes, this was the tasty looking result.

Not only did it look fantastic, it smelled glorious too. With our kitchen now filled with the scent of sweet melon bread, we tore our slice apart, and found that the texture on the outside was now crispy and sticky, while the inside remained soft and light.

Taking a bite, we crunched through the different textures, and yep — this was undoubtedly the flavour of melon pan. The distinct taste of musk melon stood out in the flavour profile, and it was sugary sweet, just like the melon breads you can buy at specialty stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores.

It was a truly decadent toast experience, and after eating the entire slice, we started craving something salty to counter all the sweetness we’d just consumed. That’s when we came up with the brilliant idea of satiating our desire for sweetness with…a dash of spreadable Curry Bread.

Now this was a game changer. Spreading one half of our bread with the melon-flavoured spread and the other half with the curry-flavoured spread gave us the best of both worlds — sweet and salty together on one delicious slice of toast.

This two-in-one style might look extra indulgent, but it actually contains less calories, as the curry pan spread is less calorie-rich than the melon variety. You’ll just have to make sure you exercise some self-restraint, though, because you might just be tempted to keep spreading and eating slice after slice after slice…

There’s never been an easier way to enjoy the taste of melon bread at home, so if you’d like to transform your toast into a decadent treat, be sure to pop by Kaldi and pick up a tub before they sell out. And if you’d like to add even more melon bread into your everyday routine, you can always try your hand at turning it into an edible mask, like these Japanese students did last year!

Related: Kaldi/Nutte Yaitara Melon Pan
Photos © SoraNews24

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How do Japan’s host club hosts get their professional names? We talk with five Kabukicho pros

06:15 cherishe 0 Comments

Interviews reveal backstories behind the genjina.

“What’s in a name?” some people ask, but the answer is “Quite a lot” when you’re talking about the men who work in Japan’s host clubs. A good host name has to be steeped in stylishness but also feel approachable, paving a smooth path to popularity with repeat and new customers alike.

Most hosts don’t work under their real names, but instead use a genjina, or “professional name.” So how do they come up with one? To find out, our ace reporter Mr. Sato spoke with five hosts currently working in Tokyo’s Kabukicho bar district, all staff members at clubs managed by Smappa Group, to hear their stories.

● Host #1: Reiwa

Mr. Sato: So, I’m guessing you changed your name when the Reiwa period started, right? Did you decide to do that yourself?

Reiwa: Yeah, it was when the Reiwa period started, but I didn’t come up with the idea on my own. Our company also runs a cake shop, and a TV crew was coming to do a story about it. My boss said “How about if you appear with your name as Reiwa?” Basically if I changed my name, I could be on TV. It took me a while, but I decided to do it, and my boss started calling me “Reiwa” too after that.

Mr. Sato: That’s pretty forceful.

Reiwa: But that meant I got to be on TV, and there were people who saw me and remembered my name and still come to the club as customers even now, so I’m glad I changed it. Actually when the Reiwa period started, there were a lot of hosts who changed their names to Reiwa, but I think I’m the only one who’s still using it.

Mr. Sato: You’re a survivor. Do you ever think about changing it again?

Reiwa: When hosts get promoted to executive host positions, they start going by their family name. So when that happens to me, I’m planning to use “Reiwa” as my family name, and my old host name as my given name…There are still some customers who call me by my old name, so I’d like to do that for them.”

● Host #2: Takumi Saito

Mr. Sato: Wait, is your name supposed to make people think of Takumi Saito, the famous TV drama actor?

Takumi: No. I’ve been in this business for over 20 years, and I’ve been using this name since I started. The manager of the club I used to work at was a big fan of the manga Initial D. Its main character is named Takumi, so he gave me the same name. As for Saito, in those days people said I looked like the twin actors Shota and Keita Saito, and putting those together made me Takumi Saito.

After that, I had a fortune teller look at my name, and they told me that the number of strokes it took to write it was unlucky, so I changed my kanji for Takumi, from 拓海 to 工. But once the actor Takumi Saito started getting popular, I had people got upset at me for not looking like him, telling me I was a low-quality imitation.

Mr. Sato: Wow, that’s rough. But have you felt like there are upsides to having the same name too?

Takumi: It does make it easier for customers to remember it…Come to think of it, there used to be a lot of hosts named Takumi, usually guys with kind of a bad-boy image, but these days there aren’t so many anymore…Recently, there are a lot of hosts with 夜, the kanji for “night” [pronounced “yo” or “ya”] in their names, or guys with sparkly, cute-sounding names.

● Host #3: Musashi

Mr. Sato: “Musashi” doesn’t seem like such a flashy name.

Musashi: It actually used to be “Miyamoto Musashi.”

Mr. Sato: Whoa, like the famous swordsman? Did you pick the name out for yourself?

Musashi: I took it from the manga about Miyamoto Musashi called Vagabond. It’s easy to remember, and it sounds tough.

Mr. Sato: And why do you always write it using the alphabet, instead of Japanese text?

Musashi: It makes it easier for people to find me when doing Internet searches…It’s kind of like the boy band Exile does.

Mr. Sato: Do you ever think about changing it?

Musashi: Nope. I’ve spent over half my life as Musashi, the host, so it’s become my identity, and I’m not going to change it.

Mr. Sato: Is part of that because you look up to Miyamoto Musashi?

Musashi: I guess it is. The name alone already sounds strong and masculine, and I want to be the same way.

● Host #4: Reman Aoyama

Mr. Sato: Reman is a unique name. How did you get it?

Reman: When I first started out as a host, I was planning on using my real name. Then one of my seniors told me that having a host name would be better. When you’re working as a host, you’re being a different person than you usually are, so you have a different name for each persona.

But I couldn’t think of a name that really clicked for me, so I asked our club’s producer for advice, and he said, “You’re an oshare (fashionable) guy, so how about Oshare Man? So I was Oshare Man for a while, but it was kind of an awkward name to use.

Mr. Sato: Yeah, I can imagine.

Reman: Like, it’s weird to meet a new customer and be all “Nice to meet you! I’m Oshare Man!” So I changed it to “Reman” for two years, and then when I got promoted to executive host, I became Reman Aoyama. For Reman, I chose the kanji 礼満, as a short version of Rei wo tsukushite manzoku shite itadaku (礼を尽くして満足して頂く, “be courteous to satisfy others”).

Mr. Sato: I see. “Reman” isn’t a collection of sounds you hear very often in Japanese.

Reman: That’s true. People sometimes call me “Roman” or “Lemon,” but I don’t get bent out of shape over it. I don’t plan on changing it either. It’s a name no one else has, so it’s easy to find me with online searches.

● Host #5: Haru Ninomae

Mr. Sato: Did you pick your name out by yourself?

Haru: Yeah, the Haru part anyway. In the Takuya Kimura TV drama Pride, his character is named Haru Satonaka, and I liked his cool attitude, so I took he Haru part from there. Also I was born in spring [haru in Japanese], and my club manager, who’s now the president of our company recommended it, so there were a lot of overlapping reasons.

Ninomae was the family name one of my host seniors who I really looked up to used, so after he retired from the industry I took it over.

Mr. Sato: Oh, wow, like kabuki actors do! I didn’t know hosts did that sort of thing too.

Haru: I’m actually not sure if other hosts do that or not, but that’s what I did. I’ve heard of other hosts taking one kanji from their senior’s name though and using it to make one for themselves.

Mr. Sato: Did you feel any extra pressure when you started using your senior’s name?

Haru: I did, but in a good way. It became a source of motivation, motivation to not sully the name. Moreso than pressure, you could call it an increased consciousness, in a positive sense…It’s a name I have a lot of pride in.

Though Haru was the only one to explicitly say so, Mr. Sato came away with the sense that everyone he spoke to has a lot of pride on their host name, and that every day they’re working hard to live up to the expectations of their customers and themselves.

Related: Smappa Group
Photos: SoraNews24
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New Saizeriya gacha toys make us severely regret our life choices as we defy rules of probability

22:13 cherishe 0 Comments

New set of Saizeriya gacha turns from ‘let’s collect them all‘ into ‘this feels like torture‘.

It’s hard not to fall in love with Japan’s weird and wonderful world of gacha capsule toys, with mini replicas of all kinds of bizarre items coming out every other day.

The latest gacha trend is the ‘Minature Collection’ from Italian restaurant chain Saizeriya. The collection of tiny replicas of Saizeriya’s most famous dishes was wildly popular when the first run was released last year. Our resident gacha fan Ahiruneko was thrilled when he heard that there was a second run, and rushed out to try and collect the whole set.

The collection consists of six replicas — Grilled Escargots, Spaghetti with Cod Roe sauce, Doria with Meat Sauce and Egg, Italian Custard Pudding, a set of Kids’ Menus with Spot the Difference puzzles and the Saizeriya signboard. Ahiruneko was particularly keen to get his hands on the cod roe spaghetti, as it was a favourite of his, but the goal was to leave with all six replicas.

Each gacha cost 300 yen (US$2.30), so Ahiruneko gathered his coins, popped them in the slot and gave the crank a turn.

▼ A yellow gacha capsule popped out of the chute. What could it be?

▼ It was the Italian Custard Pudding!

The first gacha toy to come out was the Italian Custard Pudding. It’s a popular item at Saizeriya, but for a capsule toy it was a little unassuming. Still, it was the only dessert option available in the collection, and the caramel drizzled on top looked quite delicious.

But one mere gacha toy does not a collection make, so Ahiruneko spun the wheel once more and was met with a familiar sight —

▼ Another Italian Custard Pudding!!

Despite the fact that there were six available figures to get, Ahiruneko was now the proud owner of two Italian Custard Puddings. No matter, it wasn’t that unusual to get the same thing twice, but statistically speaking he was probably going to get something new on his next spin, so another 300 yen went in the coin slot.

Once more, a yellow gacha capsule popped out of the machine, and Ahiruneko was starting to get worried.

Maybe the capsule colours were the same but the contents were different, Ahiruneko told himself as he cracked it open.

But he was wrong, and yet another Italian Custard Pudding popped out.

Ahiruneko loves custard pudding as much as the next guy, but three plates of Italian Custard Pudding seemed just too much for one man. Surely he was due a cod roe spaghetti or a doria soon… so another 300 yen went in the slot.

▼ You already know what came out.

This was getting ridiculous. Were there actually any other gacha toys in the machine, or was it just full of Italian Custard Puddings?

At this point, he’d spent 1,200 yen on gacha toys based on a restaurant with notoriously cheap food, but Ahiruneko wasn’t ready to give up yet. He wasn’t going to leave with just four Italian Custard Puddings, so with another 300 yen in his hand and praying to the gacha gods, he carefully placed the coins in the slot, turned the crank, and…

▼ …ladies and gentlemen, this is Italian Custard Pudding number 5.

This… had to be a joke. Ahiruneko stood motionless, a fist full of Italian Custard Pudding, too stunned to do or say anything. What the hell were the odds of getting five of the same capsule toy in a row?

Ahiruneko began to throw every curse word in the book at the gacha machine, who had given him nothing but pudding. Enough was enough! It was time for something else! He’d spent 1,500 yen on five custard puddings and not a single cod roe spaghetti! Another 300 yen was shoved in the slot…

… and after what felt like a torturous eternity, something different finally came out!

▼ It wasn’t the cod roe spaghetti, but it certainly wasn’t the custard pudding either.

Finally! A new toy popped out — the Kids’ Menu with Spot the Difference Puzzles on them. The menus were very authentic replicas of the kids’ menus available at the restaurant, and Ahiruneko thumbed through them excitedly.

▼ Complete with prices…

▼ … and Saizeriya’s famous Spot the Difference puzzles, each with 10 differences to find.

▼ They really were very faithful replicas, but…

▼ … they were so small that it made the differences quite difficult to find.

The Spot the Difference puzzles are notoriously difficult to complete even at their normal size, and making them smaller made the differences even more tricky to spot. So Ahiruneko decided to compare the tiny replica menu with a real Saizeriya menu and headed to his nearest branch.

But perhaps his brain power had all been used up processing the logic-defying statistics that happened with his five pudding toys in a row, as he could only find two differences on the menu.

Feeling absolutely beaten, he decided to reward himself with the cod roe spaghetti he’d been aiming for all day.

And because one can really never have too many puddings, he decided to order the real Italian Custard Pudding as well.

But as he was about to tuck in to his meal, he noticed something that made his heart drop.

The gacha pudding had set him back 300 yen a pop, whereas the real Italian Custard Pudding was 250 yen. The real item was cheaper than the toy replica!!

Five of the replica puddings had cost Ahiruneko 1,500 yen, but if he’d ordered five real puddings from Saizeriya, they would have come to only 1,250 yen. Ahiruneko wasn’t quite sure how to process this information — did it mean that the gacha was an overpriced mess? Or was Saizeriya just selling really cheap pudding?

There simply wasn’t enough power left in Ahiruneko’s brain to figure out the correct answer, and in the end just ate his meal. Despite the debacle that had happened with the gacha machine, he’s still going to pop back some day soon to try and complete his collection.

In the meantime, if anyone needs a toy Italian Custard Pudding, we know a guy who has a few to spare.

Photos © SoraNews24
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Japan’s Slime ice cream will Heal you since it’s a Dragon Quest tie-up with Baskin-Robbins Japan

18:13 cherishe 0 Comments

Slimes drawn near! Command? Eat them, of course!

Having a scoop of ice cream in front of you is always something to be happy about. It’s even better, though when the ice cream has some extra special ingredient mixed into it, like ribbons of fudge or marshmallow bits.

Or Slimes. Slimes can be awesome additions for ice cream too.

It’s important to clarify that we’re talking capital-S Slimes here, marking them specifically as the lovable mascot monsters from the Dragon Quest role-playing video game franchise. Traditionally the first random enemy you encounter, they pose so little threat that fans have come to see them as more friend than foe, and so they’re showing up in a brand-new ice cream flavor at Baskin-Robbins Japan called Heal Magic Flavor (or Hoimi Flavor, to use the same term for Dragon Quest’s healing spell as Japanese-language-versions of the games do).

As shown in the diagram above, the cream itself is a mixture of apple sorbet (the green part) and vanilla ice cream. Coincidentally, the colors sort of look like paths through a forest, and dotting the landscape are gummy Slimes for your taste buds to encounter.

Baskin-Robbins says the Slimes are “soda-flavored,” but that doesn’t mean they taste like cola. In Japanese confectionary jargon, “soda” refers to a light apple/citrus flavor, like that of popular Japanese soft drink Ramune or popsicle bar Garigari-kun. All in all, it sounds like the Slime ice cream should have a refreshing, as opposed to oppressively sweet, flavor, making it a great dessert metaphor for Heal magic.

To celebrate the Slimes’ arrival, Baskin-Robbins is also offering a special Dragon Quest-themed box with eight scoops of ice cream flavors of your choice, which also gets you a set of eight art coasters as part of a promotional tie-up with mobile game Dragon Quest Keshikeshi.

Since Baskin-Robbins doesn’t accept gold coins for payment, a scoop of Heal Magic ice cream will cost you 390 yen (US$3.15), and the special flavor is available from now until May 31. Now if that Dragon Quest Heal Magic fried chicken would come back, we’d be all set for dinner and dessert.

Source: PR Times via IT Media
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: Baskin-Robbins, PR Times
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The end of Sailor Moon is coming with new Sailor Moon Cosmos theatrical anime【Video】

06:13 cherishe 0 Comments

Paired anime films from new director seek to put finishing flourish on the Sailor saga.

Despite a huge level of hype, Sailor Moon Crystal got off to an underwhelming start, with the remake/reboot failing to hit fans with the same mix of fun and drama that the original Sailor Moon manga or its 1990s anime adaptation did. The franchise has been on a steady upward trend in recent years, though, with later episodes of Crystal and last year’s two-part Sailor Moon Eternal movie being much bigger crowd pleasers.

And now the modern Sailor Moon anime is getting a chance to stick the landing, as the last arc of the manga is being adapted as Sailor Moon Cosmos.

Cosmos will cover the portion of the Shadow Galactica arc of creator Naoko Takeuchi’s Sailor Moon manga, which also served as the basis for Sailor Moon Sailor Stars, the fifth and final season of the ‘90s anime. With Sailor Stars arriving in 1996, as the franchise was starting to run out of steam in Japan, Cosmos represents an opportunity to tell the tale with a grander scale of spectacle, especially since Sailor Stars never had an associated theatrical feature, unlike the ‘90s series’ second, third, and fourth seasons.


With the modern Sailor Moon anime sticking closer to the manga than the ‘90s series, and Shadow Galactica being the manga’s last arc, odds are Cosmos is also the last Sailor Moon animation we’ll be seeing for quite some time. The preview video is certainly leaning into a climactic atmosphere, with Sailor Moon’s voice-over saying:

“If I wasn’t a Sailor Senshi, would my friends have reached out to me? Would we have even ever met?”

“Everything, always is my fault. Because of the power I have, everyone gets sucked into things. I don’t know if I can stop it anymore. My friends always risk their lives to protect me. So that’s why there’s something that only I can do. I believe that, without fail, our future will come.”

Like Eternal, Sailor Moon Cosmos will be a two-part theatrical anime, with both movies directed by franchise newcomer Tomoya Takahashi, whose resume includes credits as director of boys’ love movie Sekaiichi Hatsukoi: Propose and episode director for Den-noh Coil, From the New World, and Pokémon XY & Z. Kazuko Tadano, character designer for the original ‘90s Sailor Moon anime and Eternal returns in the same role, as does scriptwriter Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, who penned Eternal.

Both parts of Sailor Moon Cosmos are scheduled for release in Japanese theaters in summer of 2023.

Related: Sailor Moon Cosmos official website
Top image: Sailor Moon Cosmos official website
Insert images: YouTube/sailormoon-official
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Weird Japanese vending machine find of the day: Cream in cans?

22:13 cherishe 0 Comments

You’ll only find one thing in this machine, and it’s heaven for cream lovers.

Sweet trends have been sweeping through the country recently, with the maritozzo boom saturating the market with cuteness and weirdness at the same time. Now, a new trend is emerging with the release of cakes in cans, which are becoming a sell-out hit at exclusive vending machines around Japan.

These cans, developed by a Japanese company called Gaku, have revolutionised the way we eat cakes, as they can now be eaten on-the-go with a spoon. After wowing us with their perfectly packed strawberry shortcake, the company now has a new can that ups the cream content so much it’s branded simply as “Namakuri“, which is short for “Nama Cream“, or “Fresh Cream“.

It’s a pretty apt description of what’s inside, as 90 percent of the contents of this can is said to be fresh cream. They made their debut on 26 April at a vending machine inside Tokyo’s hip 109 shopping mall, a hub for youth culture, so our sweets-loving reporter Mr Sato headed out to buy one and see what it was like.

The machine looked like a regular drinks machine at first glance, but a closer look at the prices revealed these are no ordinary drinks. Each 330-millilitre can costs 780 yen (US$6.06), which is about seven times more expensive than a vending machine beverage.

Mr Sato fed his coins into the machine and out popped his can of cream, complete with a long spoon. Thankfully, there was an eat-in area close by, so Mr Sato was able to take a seat and enjoy his sweet indulgence fresh from the machine.

The first thing he noticed was the can itself, which was cleverly designed to create an optical illusion, making it look as if the can were see-through and the cream-coloured packaging was actually the cream inside.

Another unusual treat here was the fact that the can came with a pull-lid to open it, fooling the mind into thinking this would contain a beverage inside.

However, one the lid is removed, it’s clear that this is no beverage — the can looked to be filled right to the brim with fresh cream! 

It’s no wonder they call this the “Namakuri”. Scooping up a spoonful, Mr Sato could see it was mostly cream, with a liiiiiitle bit of sponge tucked away inside, to add some textural contrast.

As soon as he took a taste, Mr Sato closed his eyes in delight at the sweet richness and super soft texture of this decadent dessert. Apparently, mascarpone is used as a secret ingredient, along with fresh cream from Hokkaido, to give it its luxurious flavour. Each serving is handmade and delivered fresh from the factory to the vending machine each day, providing customers with a high-quality product that’s just as good as any sweet you’d buy from a high-end patisserie.

It was absolutely delicious, but seeing as Mr Sato has the taste buds of a middle-aged man, and not a teen girl, which is Shibuya 109’s target customer, he found it difficult to finish the entire can. As he dipped his spoon into the bottom half of the can, he longed for another accent of flavour, perhaps something like chocolate sauce, to give him a break from the richness of the cream.

That’s when he came up with the brilliant idea of taking it back to the office where he could pop into the convenience store across the street and pick up a banana and some strawberries to add to the cream. That made the whole thing even more delicious, and gave him two or three desserts in one, which, as we know, is the way Mr Sato likes to eat his desserts — the more there is, the better!

Vending Machine Information

Namakuri Vending Machine / 「なまくり」自販機
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Dogenzaka 2-29-1, Shibuya 109 Building B2F Mogu Mogu Stand (beside the escalator)
東京都渋谷区道玄坂2丁目29-1 SHIBUYA109 地下2階モグモグスタンド(エスカレーター脇)
Hours: 11:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.

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Mix-and-matching Yoshinoya, Matsuya, and Sukiya to create the ultimate beef bowl【Taste test】

21:13 cherishe 0 Comments

We tear the Big Three’s gyudon apart to see if we can rebuild them into something better.

Beef bowls, or gyudon, as they’re called in Japanese, are about as simple as a meal gets. You’ve got stewed beef, of course, plus onions and white rice, and that’s it.

And yet, Japan has three major gyudon chains, Yoshinoya, Matsuya, and Sukiya, all with their own version of the dish. So we started wondering, what would happen if you took the three gyudon components, beef, onions, and rice, from the big three chains and mixed them together? Could you stumble on the combination to unlock the ultimate gyudon?

We put our Japanese-language reporter MG Ogawa in charge of this highly scientific investigation, and he started by making a run to the local branches of Yoshinoya, Matsuya, and Sukiya, coming back with a beef bowl from each.

▼ Clockwise from top: Matsuya, Yoshinoya, and Sukiya

Arriving back at the taste-test center while each was still piping hot, MG removed the takeout containers lids, and a triple-spout of mouthwatering gyudon fragrances wafted up to stimulate his appetite and challenge his willpower.

MG stayed firm in his resolve, though, and got to work quickly separating the beef, onions, and rice for each.

▼ Left to right: Sukiya, Yoshinoya, and Matsuya

We’re going to have MG wait just a little longer to start digging in while we go over the rules. For this taste test, the three ingredients for each combination have to all come from different chains. So, for example, Sukiya beef-Yoshinoya onions-Matsuya rice is eligible, but Sukiya beef-Sukiya onions-Matsuya rice isn’t an admissible candidate.

That gives us a total of six different combinations to taste test, so let’s look at MG’s notes.

● Combination 1: Sukiya beef, Yoshinoya onions, Matsuya rice

“Sukiya’s beef [which has a touch of sweet and tangy citrus in its marinade] makes a surprisingly powerful impression. By comparison, Yoshinoya’s onions seem more like an occasional guest on the taste buds, and the flavor of Matsuya’s rice ends up completely hidden.”

● Combination 2: Sukiya beef, Matsuya onions, Yoshinoya rice

“Matsuya’s onions are the most flavorful of the three chains’, with a bit of crispness to them. With those factors in their arsenal, I thought they might clash with the Sukiya beef, but they actually go really well together, with the Matsuya onions supporting the flavorful beef nicely for a well-balanced result.”

● Combination 3: Yoshinoya beef, Sukiya onions, Matsuya rice

“Yoshinoya’s meat really comes on strong here. Its beef strips are the largest of the three, and their flavor envelops the onions and rice. This was pretty good, but so far none of the combinations have really surpassed what you get with a regular as-is beef bowl from one of the chains.”

● Combination 4: Yoshinoya beef, Matsuya onions, Sukiya rice

“HERE IT IS! This is the ultimate beef bowl-level I was waiting for. The Yoshinoya beef achieves a delicious harmony with Matsuya’s top-tier-flavorful onions, and because Sukiya pours on the most stew juices when putting together its gyudon, that flavor gets soaked into their rice, letting it make a great contribution here. This was shockingly good.”

● Combination 5: Matsuya beef, Sukiya onions, Yoshinoya rice

“Matsuya’s marinade has the strongest soy sauce notes, and that flavor hits you right at the start as you bite into a piece of beef. That’s followed by the gentle arrival of Sukiya’s onions, but together they kind of bury the taste of Yoshinoya rice. Maybe it’s because Sukiya and Yoshinoya’s seasoning is sweeter than Matsuya’s, but the beef kind of overpowers everything else here.”

● Combination 6: Matsuya beef, Yoshinoya onions, Sukiya rice

“Wait a second, what’s going on here? I’m supposed to be eating mix-and-match beef bowls, but this…everything goes together so perfectly. All the flavors come together so perfectly that this really feels like something that’s on the menu at one restaurant, instead of a combination of food from three different places.”

So in the end, it’s Combination 4, Yoshinoya beef-Matsuya onions-Sukiya rice, that packed the biggest pleasurable punch, while Combination 6, Matsuya beef-Yoshinoya onions-Sukiya rice did the best job of feeling, to MG, like a natural evolution and enhancement of the basic gyudon recipe. It’s worth noting that in both cases, the rice, bringing with it the marinade flavor, comes from Sukiya, so they’re really onto something with their seasoning.

Of course, the downside to making your own gyudon like this is that you end up with three gyud-…wait, actually there isn’t any downside at all.

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Studio Ghibli theme park announces ticket prices and reservation policy

20:13 cherishe 0 Comments

Getting into Ghibli Park will cost more on weekends and holidays, but still far less than Disneyland.

Some people will tell you that the best things in life are free. It looks like there’s going to be a pretty strong counterargument to that, though, in the soon-to-open Studio Ghibli anime theme park, though.

Currently under construction in Japan’s Aichi Prefecture, within easy daytrip distance from the city of Nagoya, Ghibli Park will, of course, be charging admission. As the park has previously alluded to, though, they’d like to keep admission affordable, and now official prices for Ghibli Park tickets, as well as more information on how to reserve them has been released.

Ghibli Park is being built as a collection of separate sections within the preexisting Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park. The first three to open to the public will be the museum-like Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse, Dondoko Forest (site of sisters Mei and Satsuki’s house from My Neighbor Totoro), and the Hill of Youth (with recreated locations from Whisper of the Heart and The Cat Returns). Tickets to each will be sold separately, with the breakdown as follows.

● Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse (weekdays)
Adults: 2,000 yen (US$16)
Children (4 years old-end of elementary school): 1,000 yen
● Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse (weekends, holidays)
Adults: 2,500 yen (US$16)
Children: 1,250 yen
● Dondoko Forest
Adults: 1,000 yen
Children: 500 yen
● Hill of Youth
Adults: 1,000 yen
Children: 500 yen

▼ Ghibli’s Grand Warehouse concept art

No discounted combo tickets have been announced, meaning that if you want to see everything, it’s going to cost adults 4,000 yen on weekdays or 4,500 on weekends and holidays, and kids between 4 and 12 (elementary school in Japan goes up to the sixth grade) 2,000 yen during the week or 2,250 yen on weekends/holidays. Admission for children 3 and younger is free.

In addition, Ghibli Park is taking a page from the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo’s operating procedure and requiring that tickets be purchased in advance via an online reservation system. As with the Ghibli Museum, your Ghibli Park ticket will be valid only on the date your reservation is for, and will also have a specific time at which you can enter the Ghibli Park area. Once you’re inside you can stay as long as you like, at least until closing, which is 5 p.m. (the park will open at 10 a.m. on weekdays and one hour earlier on weekends/holidays). The idea behind the date/time reservation system, ostensibly, is to limit crowd sizes at the park and allow guests to leisurely soak in the atmosphere, a policy that’s contributed to extremely high visitor satisfaction at the Ghibli Museum.

▼ Mei and Satsuki’s Dondoko Forest house

So how do Ghibli Park prices fare compared to Japan’s other high-profile theme parks? Adult tickets to Tokyo Disneyland range from 7,900 to 9,400 yen, depending on season, and Osaka’s Universal Studios Japan charges 8,400 yen, so a three-area pass to Ghibli Park only costs about half as much.

▼ Hill of Youth concept art

On the other hand, Ghibli Park looks to be smaller in both scale and spectacle than Disneyland or Universal Studios, with a greater focus on ambiance and exhibits than rides and shows. When compared to the Ghibli Museum, which charges just 1,000 yen for adults and between 100 and 700 yen for kids, Ghibli Park’s tickets, at roughly four times the cost, start to sound pretty pricy, though the park promises to be a much larger venue than the museum.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that when Ghibli Park opens this coming November 1, it won’t be completely finished yet. Already greenlit expansions include areas for popular Ghibli anime as Princess Mononke, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Kiki’s Delivery Service, which will be located in two more zones, Mononoke Village and Witch’s Valley, again assumedly with their own separate-cost tickets.

Still, Ghibli isn’t in the business of doing anything by halves when it comes to artistic quality, and with the high potential of a visit to the park to become a magical lifelong memory, a 4,500-yen ticket cost isn’t likely to dissuade many fans. Ghibli Park says its planning for tickets to officially go on sale this August through online ticketing service Boo-Woo Ticket.

Source: Ghibli Park, Boo-Woo Ticket
Top image: Studio Ghibli
Insert images: Boo-Woo Ticket
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Ukraine’s message of thanks and friendship gets really awkward with Japan

19:13 cherishe 0 Comments

All’s embarrassing in love and war.

As the war in Ukraine continues, the nation’s leaders continue to appeal to the world for aid and support to overcome the odds, in the hopes that one day the horrible conditions and hardship may end.

On 25 April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine took a moment to give thanks to those who responded in an emotional video message.

In the video Ukrainian General Valerii Zaluzhnyi expressed her appreciation on behalf of her country while standing in the ruins of a building devastated during the invasion. At the same time, a list of the countries who have given aid to Ukraine scrolls up the screen.

Naturally, one’s eyes would be drawn to their own country when viewing the list, so Japanese people quickly noticed that they weren’t among those thanked. What was in all likelihood an oversight was perfectly excusable considering the life-and-death struggle Ukraine is embroiled in, but some comments online could resist a little self-deprecating humor over the whole thing.

“Because Russia is threatening countries that support Ukraine, this is probably a good thing.”
“Did someone send them a lot of paper cranes?”

“What’s the big deal? People always have to get hysterical about stuff.”
“The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is probably pretty busy, so it’s nothing to get angry about.”
“It’s probably best to keep a low profile in this whole thing anyway.”
“They’re probably only mentioning the ones giving military support, since a lot more countries are giving financial aid too.”

However, it wasn’t all smiles and shrugs. The omission upset certain people who were already upset by a very recent tweet from the Ukraine government which featured Emperor Hirohito along with Hitler and Mussolini, referring to all of them as “fascists and Nazis.”

Given the fact that Japan’s WWII aggressions could be said to have had a lot more to do with then Prime Minister Hideki Tojo than the emperor, Ukraine apologized for the association and posted another message with Hirohito removed.

▼ The image appears at the end of the video, now with Hirohito removed

Without digressing into the functions of emperors and their symbolic significance of Japan, lumping him in with Hitler would be considered rather offensive to a lot of Japanese people under normal circumstances.

But under these highly abnormal circumstances it would be utterly absurd to think the Ukrainian government had either the time or the energy to make intentionally passive-aggressive slights against Japan. It’s fair to say that’s how a lot of people saw it here at least.

Nevertheless, hot off the the Hirohito controversy, some people and politicians from Japan’s ruling LDP party still decided to get even more up in arms about the thank-you video too.

“Japan is not among the supporting countries in the thank-you video of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. This is not right. I reported it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine through their embassy in Japan. It became an issue in the LDP subcommittee this morning.” (MP Masahisa Sato)

▼ “Japan is not among the countries that the Ukrainian government is thankful to. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed it.” (MP Hiroshi Yamada)

And so, it would appear that enough of a stink was raised that Ukraine took notice of the omission in MFA Ukraine’s video and took action. First, President Zelensky tweeted a message reporting that he thanked Japanese Prime Minister Kishida personally for Japan’s “important support.”

Then, on 27 April, another very similar video message of appreciation, this time by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, was tweeted and included Japan among the thanked countries.

Again, in light of the relentless horror occurring in Ukraine, it’s pretty gracious of them to take any action on such a relatively trivial matter at all. Upon seeing “Japan” now among the list, many comments from here expressed mortification that this was ever a matter to begin with.

“This is all kind of embarrassing.”
“When did we become so annoying?”
“We’re a country of complainers.”

“This is horrible. I feel bad for them.”
“When did we become a country that imposes gratitude?”

In the end, at least the matter was ironed over on a government level and the friendship between the two countries was officially reaffirmed, for what it’s worth.

If online chatter is anything to go by, though, the people in Japan who were initially upset with Ukraine are almost certainly still upset and those who weren’t are just left feeling incredibly embarrassed by the whole circus. And worst of all, the war goes on.

Source: Twitter/@MFA_Ukraine, Twitter/@DefenseU, My Game News Flash 1, 2, 3, Itai News 1, 2, 3
Top image: Twitter/@DefenseU
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