It’s time to get a jump on beautiful pink blossoms at this forest garden in Japan【Photos】

Why wait for sakura when ume are already almost here?

We’re past the midpoint of winter now, so it won’t be long until blossoming seasonal flowers produce pink pockets of beautiful scenery in parts of Japan. That’s not to say that you’ve got to wait all the way until spring when the sakura show up, though, because we’re just a few weeks away from the start of ume season.

Ume is the Japanese word for plum, used loosely to refer to the trees, fruit, and flowers. Most varieties of plum blossoms begin to open in mid-February, coinciding with the start of spring under classical Japanese seasonal reckonings, so they also have an ambiance of auspicious new beginnings in cultural depictions.

Perhaps because their flowers bloom at a chillier time of year, plum trees aren’t incorporated into parks and public space landscaping on the same scale as cherry blossom trees are. But while you might have to go a little farther out of your way to see ume than sakura, it’s well worth your time, especially if you make the trip to Suzuka Forest Garden in the town of Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, where the photos seen in this article were taken. Roughly 200 plum blossom trees stand within the grounds, many of them being a shidare, or “weeping,” variety, in which the boughs arc gracefully down towards the ground. One of the most breathtaking examples is the Ten no Ryu, or “Dragon of Heaven,” which is over 100 years old and thought to be one of the oldest kureha-shidare ume trees in all of Japan.

▼ Ten no Ryu

Ordinarily, Suzuka Forest Garden closes at 4 p.m. However, starting in mid-February, the facility stays open until 8:30 so that visitors can see the flowers illuminated at night, set against the black backdrop of the sky, with the lights coming on at 6 o’clock.

▼ The shape of the shidare ume make them look like floral fireworks.

This year’s Suzuka Forest Garden plum blossoms are expected to reach full bloom around the beginning of March, but even if you’re a little late to the party in pink it should still be a treat for the eyes. As seen in the below photo, by one of last year’s winners of the garden’s annual photo contest, as the flowers fall from the trees, they create a carpet of petals below.

▼ Another photo from last year’s contest shows the Chi no Ryu, or “Dragon of Earth,” also thought to be over a century old.

If you’re convinced that this place deserves a spot on your itinerary, bus operator Mie Kotsu runs shuttle buses to the garden from JR Yokkaichi and Kintetst Yokkaichi Stations in Yokkaichi City, and JR Tokai Tours also has buses that go from JR Nagoya Station directly to the garden (transportation access details can be found on the garden’s official website here). The plum blossom after-dark light-ups start February 15 and are scheduled to continue through late March.

Related: Suzuka Forest Garden official website
Source, images: PR Times
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Sanrio stars appear on new canvas for cuteness with Samantha Vega handbag collaboration【Photos】

Two companies with no shyness about cuteness join forces.

Japanese handbag and accessory brand Samantha Vega has never been shy about its belief that cuteness is fashionable. Pastel colors? Frills and flowing ribbons? Shiny, sparkly accents and heart iconography? Samantha Vega designers and fans unabashedly adore them all, and that aesthetic sense makes for a very natural-feeling partnership with another bastion of Japanese cuteness, Sanrio.

The Tokyo-based fashion company has unveiled its upcoming Sanrio Characters Collection, which welcomes four Sanrio characters to its A4 Tote Bag series. Hello Kitty is surprisingly sitting this one out, but in her place are four Sanrio stars who boast very large, very loyal fanbases of their own, starting with My Melody.

Also part of the lineup is My Melody’s self-proclaimed, one-sided rival, and soon-to-be Netflix series costar, Kuromi…

…and rounding out the group are multiple-time Sanrio popularity poll winner/current pancake muse Cinnamoroll…

…and Pochaco, who we last checked in on when he was in practical Happy Meal toy form.

Right away, the design draws the eye to what looks like an oversized heart-shaped charm, bearing a softly shaded watercolor-like depiction of each bag’s character. This is actually functional, though, as it’s a detachable pass case holder for if your Sanrio pal is accompanying you on your commute or other train rides.

Also unique to each bag is a metallic character plate…

…and character artwork on the inside lining.

Of course, this being Samantha Vega, you also get big, bold ribbons on the sides.

The bags are priced at 27,500 yen (US$175), but if you’d rather have something more compact, in terms of both physical size and cost, also part of the collection are pen cases for each character with the same character plates and inside liner art as the tote bags.

The entire lineup is available now through the Samantha Vega online store here, and will be showing up in brick-and-mortar retailers from February 1. And if you’re looking for some snazzy Sanrio clothing too, don’t forget about My Melody and Kuromi’s new two-in-one sukajan jacket.

Source: PR Times
Top image: PR Times
Insert images: PR Times, Samantha Vega (1, 2, 3)
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Japan to have full-flat overnight sleeper buses this spring【Video】

Why sit when you can lie down?

For long-distance travel in Japan, most people’s first transportation choice is the Shinkansen, followed by a plane if their destination isn’t easily accessible via the bullet train network. But for a certain segment of travelers, highway buses are the best fit for their needs.

Taking the bus tends to be the least expensive way to get from Point A to far-away Point B in Japan, but it comes with the big tradeoff that it’s also usually the slowest. However, the amount of time you spend on the road doesn’t really matter if it overlaps with the time you’re spending sleeping, and Japan’s overnight buses give you that option.

Overnight buses aren’t just regular city commuter buses that drive all night, either. The seats are wider and more softly upholstered, and oftentimes configured in three rows with aisles between them, so you don’t have anyone sitting directly next to you. There’s a space for storing suitcases and other large luggage pieces, often an onboard bathroom, and the bus makes multiple stops at rest areas during the night. Most importantly, there are blackout drapes blocking light from the windows in the passenger area and the seats recline, so that you can get some shut-eye.

▼ Though they do open the drapes up in the morning.

However, overnight bus seats don’t recline all the way, so while it’s more comfortable than trying to sleep on a plane, it’s still not as restful as full-flat slumber. That’s going to change for at least one bus operator, though, as Kochi Prefecture’s Kochi Ekimae Kanko is getting set to start Japan’s first-ever full-flat overnight bus service this spring.

The path to full-flat sleeper buses was cleared last year in November, when Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism created a set of safety guidelines for operators to follow, specifying design points such as secure plates on all sides to prevent passengers from sliding off/out of their sleeping area in addition to requiring that passengers continue to wear seat belts while sleeping.

As shown in Kochi Ekimae Kanko’s preview video, these beds are still reconfigurable seats, bolted into a framework that lifts one seat up and slides another underneath as they fold flat.

Given the need to attach the fall-prevention plates, though, as well as a ladder to climb into the upper bunk, it’s unlikely that passengers will be allowed to reconfigure the seats on their own, so odds are the seats will be put into one of the two available settings before passengers board, depending on whether or not that particular route is an overnight one or not.

Kochi Ekimae Kanko says it expects its full-flat overnight bus service, which it’s dubbed Sommeil Profound (“Deep Sleep” in French) and will run between Tokyo and Kochi, to be popular with domestic travelers looking to avoid the cost of hotels, which have been rapidly rising in price since the start of Japan’s inbound foreign tourism boom. In particular, the company predicts particularly high demand from young travelers headed to Tokyo specifically to attend concerts or other pop culture fan events, allowing them to slide into the city, do what they want to do, and then head back home without having to book accommodations.

▼ A video preview of the bus interior

But while full-flat sleep in and of itself is a plus, it might require a few compromises in other areas. For starters, it’s unclear whether or not top-tier passengers will be allowed/able to get in and out of their bunks while the bus is in motion, which could mean an onboard bathroom would be inaccessible except for when the bus is parked. It also doesn’t look like it’s possible to sit upright once the seats have been set in full-flat mode, so you’ll be stuck in a horizontal posture until the morning, or at least until a highway rest stop break.

▼ The seats’ dimensions

Finally, while a large part of the appeal of taking overnight buses is the cost savings, Sommeil Profound tickets will most likely be a bit more expensive than non-full-flat alternatives. Kochi Ekimae Kanko says it can fit a maximum of 12 two-seat units into its busses, for a total passenger capacity of 24. That’s about half the number of people that most overnight buses can hold, and since the trip is going to require the same amount of gas and driver hours, it’ll be surprising if Kochi Ekimae Kanko doesn’t charge Sommeil Profound passengers extra.

Still, having the full-flat option is definitely nice, and Sommeil Profound buses are scheduled to start running in March.

Related: Sommeil Profound official website
Source: Nihon Keizai Shimbun via Jin, Kochi Ekimae Kanko
Top image: Sommeil Profound official website
Insert images: SoraNews24, YouTube/高知駅前観光official
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Japanese instant yakisoba noodles now available in…Strawberry shortcake flavour?

Dessert noodles designed to be enjoyed with coffee.

Strawberry shortcake might sound like a very Western type of dessert, but here in Japan they’ve adopted it as their own. Not only has it become the national Christmas cake, but with the red-and-white hues being considered good luck, it’s also a popular choice for anniversary celebrations. Now, with Myojo Foods, maker of the Ippei-chan brand of instant yakisoba, celebrating its 30th birthday, it’s decided to mark the occasion with…shortcake-flavoured noodles.

▼ The product goes by the full name: “Myojo Ippei-chan Night Shop Yakisoba Shortcake Flavour“.

This crazy-sounding flavour was initially released in the Christmas of 2016, so with nearly a decade passing since, some people may have forgotten about the taste. However, one person who hasn’t forgotten is our reporter P.K. Sanjun, who, when he tried the product nine years ago, reacted like this.

That’s right — P.K. gave these noodles two big thumbs’ down, and nine out of the nine reporters who tasted it in the office described it as “bad”. Myojo, on the other hand, describes the product on its website as having received a “great response” from the public, which, reading between the lines, makes us think they know it’s a controversial product that generates a buzz, but not necessarily a good one.

P.K. and the team can think of many better ways to celebrate a birthday than with shortcake-flavoured yakisoba, but Myojo is excited for it, saying:

P.K. thought the noodles were sweet enough already, so he was shocked to hear they’d dialled up the sweetness even further for this new release.

▼ The first release was plenty sweet.

Still, when P.K. tried the noodles, he did have his savoury taste buds turned up, as his mind couldn’t get past the fact that he was eating yakisoba. With the company now leaning into the sweets theme, P.K. thinks it might have a better chance of success if customers approach the product as a sweet to be enjoyed with coffee, rather than a meal of noodles.

▼ But then again, the chain’s sweet chocolate noodles, released for Valentine’s Day in 2016, were pretty awful.

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, P.K. hope there won’t be a double-whammy with shortcake and chocolate in the noodles section of his local supermarket. According to Myojo, only the Shortcake will be returning for now, so try it if you dare when it’s released for a limited time at stores around Japan, at a suggested retail price of 245 yen (US$1.59) from 17 February.

Related: Myojo Foods
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Shibuya’s Hachiko Family public art installation will be permanently removed, not relocated

As Shibuya continues to change, 20 ceramic Akitas lose their home.

The top dog in downtown Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood is, of course, Hachiko, the famously faithful pet whose loyalty touched locals’ hearts so much that they erected a statue of the animal in the plaza next to Shibuya Station, which has now become a globally recognized landmark. The Hachiko statue isn’t the only adorable piece of pooch public art in Shibuya, though, because there’s also a whole Hachiko Family.

▼ TV personality and Shibuya native Jun Unoue poses in front of the Hachiko Family.

グッモー「ハチ公」の目線の先に「ハチ公ファミリー」の壁アートがあるのをご存知でしたか？しかし渋谷駅近辺改築と共に今月末から撤去が始まります。浮き彫りされた20“頭“の秋田犬に、ありが“頭“と言って来ました、ははは。惜しまれつつ35年の歴史に“幕を閉じ幕(ます)“。I渋谷 pic.twitter.com/2JOw2OHMxR

— 井上順 (@JunInoue20) January 29, 2025

Installed in March of 1990 to commemorate the official renaming of the Shibuya Station North Exit Plaza to the Hachiko Plaza, the Hachiko Family is an 11.2-meter (36.7-foot) wide, 4-meter tall ceramic relief depiction of 20 Akita dogs, the same breed as Hachiko. Designed by painter Ryutaro Kitahara while musing on the question of “What if Hachiko had a family?” and crafted by Tokyo-based public art organization Japan Traffic Culture Association, roughly 1,200 Shigaraki ware tiles were used in its construction.

▼　The Hachiko Family can be found on an exterior wall of JR Shibuya Station, on the opposite end of the plaza from the Hachiko Statue.

渋谷駅「ハチ公ファミリー」
ハチ公口に設置されていた壁面レリーフ
渋谷駅改良工事の為、撤去が発表されました
陶板でできた本作品は、色鮮やかで立体感のあるハチ公の姿が特徴的
設置から30年以上経た現在でも、綺麗な姿を保っているように見受けられただけに撤去は残念ですね pic.twitter.com/9WwWpiW4Ee

— zeiko (@zeiko24) January 28, 2025

However, at the edge of the background in Unoue’s tweeted photo, you might have noticed some partitions have been put up. They’re there as part of the ongoing construction work being done to Shibuya Station to ease congestion in and around one of the world’s busiest rail hubs, but sadly the Hachiko Family won’t be getting a new coat of polish as part of the renovations. Instead, the dogs are losing their home, and they won’t be getting a new one.

Since it’s part of the station building, the Hachiko Family belongs to rail operator JR East, and the company’s renovation plans require removing the relief from its current location. The company had considered moving the dogs elsewhere, but after looking into the logistics and consulting with the piece’s original installers, concluded that it would be prohibitively difficult to transport and reassemble the component tiles. As a result, the Hachiko Family is being removed, but not relocated.

JR East says that it does intend to preserve a portion of the relief, but how much will be saved and where it will be publicly displayed, if at all, has not been announced. The company has said, though, that the removal process will begin before the end of January.

遂に囲いに覆われ撤去が始まりそうな「ハチ公ファミリー」

覆われる直前→https://t.co/tRFjLlZYTE#東京 #Tokyo #ハチ公ファミリー #HachikoFamily #ハチ公前広場 #HachikoSquare #渋谷 #Shibuya #スクランブル交差点 #ShibuyaCrossing #ハチ公 #Hachiko #渋谷散歩 #ShibuyaWalk pic.twitter.com/wDAIT3b2wA

— Tokyo Hz / トーキョー・ヘルツ (@TOKYO_Hz) January 30, 2025

ううっ...#ハチ公ファミリー #パブリックアート #渋谷駅 #ハチ公 #秋田犬 #hachiko #Akita pic.twitter.com/lUAeGSo1rb

— LOVE Hachi (@LOVEHachi3) January 30, 2025

Though the space directly in front of the relief is already blocked off, the upper portion remains visible, so the clock is ticking for anyone wanting to catch one last glimpse at the Hachiko Family, who’ll soon join the Shibuya moyai statue as former Shibuya Station landmarks.

Source: Shibuya Keizai Shimbun, NHK
Top image ©SoraNews24
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Frito-Lay makes corn chips with shaketoba fish flavor just for Japan’s far north【Taste test】

What if you took a Dorito, ditched the cheese, and added salmon? You’d get Frito-Lay Japan’s shaketoba chips.

For foreign snack companies looking to offer something special for the Japanese market, a tried-and-true strategy is to take their existing knowhow and add a dash of a distinctly Japanese flavor. For sweets, some of the most common choices are introducing matcha or sakura flavors, while wasabi or teriyaki are options for savory treats.

But the Japanese division of Frito-Lay skipped all of those when creating our latest convenience store snack discovery, as the makers of Doritos have adapted their corn chip recipe to bring you the flavor of…fish?!?

Let’s start at the beginning, though. We came across these chips on a recent trip to Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture. Among the things Hokkaido is famous for are its chilly winters, its delicious seafood, and its local Seicomart convenience store chain.

All three of those things come together in Frito-Lay’s Shaketoba Corn Chips. Shake means “salmon” in Japanese, and toba translates to “winter leaves.” Put them together as shaketoba, and you’ve got the name of a kind of salmon jerky made in Hokkaido with fish caught in the fall which were hung outdoors in strips (looking like leaves) to dry so that people of generations past would have food to get through the harsh winter months.

In the modern day, shaketoba sustenance isn’t a survival necessity, but it remains a popular snack among locals and souvenir for visitors, which brings us back around to Frito-Lay’s Shaketoba Corn Chips, which are a Seicomart exclusive item. Since we always have room in our stomachs for new snacks, we picked up a bag, and then we opened it up.

Dried fish can be pretty pungent, and since these chips are made with powdered Hokkaido salmon extract, we braced ourselves for an aggressive aroma as we peered inside. To our pleasant surprise, though, neither the smell nor the flavor is harsh. Texture-wise, they’re very similar to Doritos, with the same light crispiness and appealing toasted corn base flavor, but without the cheese element. The fish notes are actually pretty understated, but there’s a light salmon sensation present, though those who haven’t looked at the bag might not immediately recognize just what kind of seafood taste is present. Overall, they were excellent and addictive, and once we introduced a little mayonnaise as a dipping sauce, we felt like we could happily eat a whole bag in one sitting.

So while “fish-flavored corn chips” might sound like a divisive, or even deranged, snack choice, it turns out Frito-Lay’s Shaketoba Corn Chips have a flavor that we think just about anyone could enjoy. And while we think just about anyone could also enjoy a trip to Hokkaido, if your near-future travel plans don’t include a run up to the north of Japan, they’re also available through Seicomart’s online shop here.

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One of Japan’s biggest restaurant chains calls three different sauces all just “sauce” in English

Would you like Yakiniku Sauce, Yakiniku Sauce, or Yakiniku Sauce today?

Matsuya is one of Japan’s largest and most popular gyudon (beef bowl) chains, offering quick and tasty meals at very affordable prices. Matsuya was even quicker than its rival Yoshinoya to start offering more variety in its menu items and seasonings, and an example of that is the trio of sauces Matsuya customers have at their table or counter seat.

Officially, these are yakiniku sauces, originally meant to be used with the strips of grilled beef or pork in Matsuya’s yakiniku set meals, Some customers also enjoy adding a squirt to their beef bowls, though, so it’s really up to you how to use them. Each bottle contains a different flavor, either an amakuchi (sweet) yakiniku sauce, a ponzu yakiniku sauce with citrus notes, or a “barbecue” yakiniku sauce with some extra salty/smoky flavors, and to make sure you grab the one that fits your current cravings, each bottle is clearly labeled.

…or, at least they’re clearly labeled in Japanese. If you’re relying on the bottles’ English labels, though, you’re out of luck, because…

ものすごい久しぶりに松屋なう。この焼肉のタレシリーズ、全部Yakiniku Sauceって、こんな不親切じゃ英語表記むしろ無い方がいいんじゃ無いかっていう。七味がSeven spiceってのもジワジワくる。 pic.twitter.com/VNhcRChZOi

— Ryo (@whatintheworlda) December 11, 2024

…every single one of them just says “Yakiniku Sauce.”

▼ What do you think? Does today feel like a Yakiniku Sauce day? Or are you in more of a Yakiniku Sauce mood? Oh, oh, maybe it’s time to really mix things up and go with Yakiniku Sauce!

同じく話題のYakiniku Sauce。見納めかもしれん。そもそも、これ、英訳が雑なのではなく、日本人向けなのか。たしかにこれらが焼肉のタレという情報が日本語で無い。
松屋「焼肉のタレ」、3種あるのに全部「Yakiniku Sauce」　英訳公募から1年超、切り替え作業進行中https://t.co/Rs9KF0qXS6 pic.twitter.com/nlffzOFIpo

— kusanoさん@がんばらない (@kusano_k) January 27, 2025

This isn’t a new problem, either. All the way back on November 9, 2023, Matsuya posted on its official Twitter account that it was soliciting suggestions for what to call the three sauces in English.

緊急募集
松屋の焼肉のたれ（3種）の英訳をご提案下さい
ご提案頂いた方から抽選で1名様に現在 松屋で使っている『焼肉のタレ3種のボトル』をプレゼントさせて頂きます

ご提案方法
・引用リポストにてお願いします
・ご提案の締切りは 2023月11月13日（月）まで。#YakinikuSauce pic.twitter.com/O812pcef4J

— 【公式】松屋 (@matsuya_foods) November 10, 2023

The “How do you say…?” text in the tweet image is especially ironic, since we’re not dealing with especially tricky translations in this case. Maybe a decade or so ago “ponzu” might have been a bit of a head-scratcher, but the citrusy soy sauce has now gone on to international popularity under its original name, so like “sushi” there’s no need to do anything other than write it out using the English/Latin alphabet. Amakuchi is also a translation slam dunk: just call it sweet yakiniku sauce.

Oddly enough “barbeque” is the biggest challenge, as Matsuya’s barbeque yakiniku sauce is much thinner and milder than what most English natives will imagine when they think of “barbecue sauce.” In addition, unlike ponzu, which is a common condiment in Japanese cooking, Matsuya’s barbecue yakiniku sauce is an original blend that the chain makes itself, presenting a difficult challeng- …oh, wait, then just call it “Matsuya original yakiniku sauce.”

▼ This isn’t “Kaworu says ‘Suki tte koto sa’ to Shinji”-level translation complexity here, Matsuya.

The whole situation would be understandable if Matsuya were a small independent restaurant or one without a lot of international customers, but since it’s one of the largest chains in Japan, and one with available English-language menus and order kiosk interfaces, it’s all pretty baffling, especially since Matsuya itself has been explicitly aware of the potential for confusion for at least a year and two months. During that time, Matsuya was able to negotiate for the Lithuanian ambassador to Japan to come in and work a shift in one of their branches, so surely they’ve had enough time to come up with three English sauce names, haven’t they?

Adding another strange wrinkle to the story is that Matsuya’s tweet seeking sauce name suggestions includes a promise that one respondent would be chosen to receive a prize. Contests where businesses solicit input from consumers can sometimes cause intellectual property tangles, and theoretically having to select a single prize recipient for three submitted names could make it hard to determine the rightful winner if there were partial overlaps between multiple entries. However, the contest rules state that the prize recipient would be randomly chosen, not necessarily an entrant who submitted names that Matsuya eventually chose to use, and in any case the prize was nothing more than a set of the three current yakiniku sauce bottles, hardly the sort of thing that would roadblock the entire initiative for clearer English labeling.

Matsuya has said, as of this month, that it is still in the process of redesigning/replacing the bottles, and that even once new ones start showing up, it will take some time for them to reach all branches. So in the meantime, since you’ll have to rely on the bottles’ Japanese text, 甘口 is the sweet sauce, ポン酢 the ponzu, and バーベキュー barbecue.

Source: J-Cast News via Livedoor News via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso (edited by SoraNews24)
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