Twentythree

In an age where some people have hundreds, or even thousands, of friends on social networking sites, rustling up just three of them will get you a hefty discount.

From March 1, McDonald’s restaurants across Japan will be offering their coffee at discounted rates for groups of two, three or four people ordering together.

A normal medium-sized cup of hot Premium Roast Coffee would usually set you back 150 yen (US$1.33) but buy two with a friend and it drops to 240 yen for both, or 120 yen each. Three’s a crowd, but should you manage to manoeuvre that crowd into line, the prices drops again to 330 yen for three coffees. Finally, if you’re blessed with three whole friends, the four of you can sip away at some sweet joe for a mere 400 yen total.

To take advantage of this offer you’ll need a campaign coupon, which are available via the official McDonald’s app on Android or from the Apple Store, the official Twitter account, or the McDonald’s website.

And for the misanthropic among who have no normal need for friends, where better to start the hunt for a temporary cheap coffee-based relationship than in the queue? Fair-weather friends for the fast food era. The official website mentions nothing about a friendship test, although it may be worth learning some key information just in case. Go for the coffee, stay for the human contact.

▼ Coffee, defier of sleep and now facilitator of friends?

The group coffee discount will run until the end of the March.

Source: Entabe
Top image: McDonald’s
Insert image: ©RocketNews24

We fall under the dark, stretchy spell of the company’s newest mochi ice cream.

American-based, European-sounding Häagen-Dazs has earned quite a faithful following for its premium ice creams in Japan. In addition to standard flavors like chocolate and strawberry, the company also routinely rolls out special offerings inspired by Japanese cuisine, such as sweet red bean, purple potato, or matcha green tea (a.k.a. ice cream Jesus).

One of the most popular parts of Häagen-Dazs localized lineup is its mochi ice cream, which goes on sale every winter and sells out quickly. Because of that, we got up bright and early on February 28, the day when Häagen-Dazs’ new sesame walnut mochi ice cream went on sale, and headed to the grocery store to secure some samples.

Japanese sweets fans say the optimal way to enjoy Häagen-Dazs is to let it sit for a while after taking it out of the freezer, so we gave our snacks 20 minutes to get just a bit melty. Then we removed the lid, and were greeted with a sauce as dark as our covetous, ice cream-craving hearts.

The ice cream comes topped with a light-absorbing black sesame sauce, seemingly formulated to satisfy those with a penchant for sharing snapshots of their food on social media or simply really miss Japan’s black hamburger craze of a few years back. That’s not the only sesame contribution, though. Underneath all that sauce is a mochi-enhanced ice cream with white sesame paste mixed in, and also crunchy walnut chunks.

But the real visual impact comes when you scoop up a mouthful of ice cream, which thanks to its mochi content has become astoundingly stretchy.

The mochi and ice cream blend seamlessly well together. With two types of sesame involved, the seasoning provides the primary flavor profile, and also a sophisticated aromatic element to the treat, yet never becomes overpowering.

In the end, we’ve got no complaints about Häagen-Dazs’ sesame walnut mochi ice cream, and we’re happy to have found a dessert that’s as entertaining to look at as it is delicious to eat.

Photos ©RocketNews24

田宫公司在迷你四驱车20周年时送给所有热爱四驱车玩家的视频、有情怀一定会被感动。

Come for the unlimited beer, stay for the Japanese-style fried chicken (and probably the ramen).

Earlier this month, we visited a Tokyo restaurant with an incredibly cheap 10-minute all-you-can-drink plan. While we had fun trying to beat the clock, for our next unlimited alcohol outing, we wanted something just a little more leisurely paced, but still extremely easy on our wallets, which is how we wound up in front of Kobushi in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighborhood.

Kobushi is actually a ramen restaurant specializing in tsukemen, in which the noodles and broth are served separately. However, what brought us to Kobushi’s doorstep is its all-you-can-drink plan which costs just 300 yen (US$2.65) for 30 minutes of unlimited alcohol.

As with many ramen restaurants, you order by buying meal tickets out of a vending machine located near the entrance.

▼ The buttons for the two all-you-can-drink plans, circled in red

Kobushi offers two tiers of the all-you-can-drink deals. 300 yen gets you a limitless supply of Clear Asashi low-malt happoshu beer, whiskey high balls, shochu, sake, wine, chuhai shochu sour cocktails, or soft drinks. Dropping another 200 yen and stepping up to the 500-yen course adds Asahi Super Dry beer to your options.

▼ The complete all-you-can-drink menu

While the restaurant is open for lunch, the all-you-can-drink plan is only available from 5 to 10 p.m. (starting time). Still, knocking back a cold one at 5 in the evening, when most of adult Japan is still dutifully at its work desk, makes the brew all the tastier.

As a matter of fact, it was so refreshing we’d polished it off before we knew it, and promptly ordered another.

Kobushi’s all-you-can-drink plans are priced to that once you finish your second glass, you’re coming out ahead on the deal. We decided to celebrate this economic victory with some Japanese-style fried chicken, and so added an order of karaage for just 380 yen.

Some people saw you shouldn’t drink alone, but we’d argue that probably depends on your individual psychology and drinking habits. On the other hand, trying to eat an entire order of Kobushi’s karaage by yourself is a difficult endeavor, considering how big the portion is.

Not that you won’t want to eat the whole thing on your own, because of its crisp breading wrapped around the juicy, flavorful meat.

Once you get 25 minutes into your 30-minute all-you-can-drink campaign, you can ask the staff for a 30-minute n extension, which costs another 300 or 500 yen (depending on which tier you’re drinking at). We decided to be conservative, though, and instead put in an order for a third, and final, drink before our half-hour ran out.

▼ Umeshu (Japanese plum wine) on the rocks

We were so satisfied that it wasn’t until we’d left that we realized we forgot to try Kobushi’s ramen. On the bright side, that means we have an excuse to go back.

Restaurant information
Kobushi (Shinjuku West Exit Otakibashi-dori branch) / 麺処 古武士 新宿西口小滝橋通り店
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Nishi Shinjuku 7-4-6
Open 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Website

Photos ©RocketNews24

World record-holder becomes member of Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Team Skull.

For the most part, the golden era of foreign celebrities appearing in Japanese advertisements is over. A domestic celebrity boom, coupled with Internet video-sharing making it harder for Hollywood stars to keep their Japanese shilling on the down low, means that you’re unlikely to see Silvester Stallone hawking canned ham or Leonardo DiCaprio expressing his admiration of humble, incredibly inexpensive Suzuki kei cars, as both did in days gone by.

However, occasionally Japanese marketing still teams up with internationally famous luminaries, as The Pokémon Company just did with eight-time track and field Olympic gold medalist, multiple world record-holder, and generally accepted fastest person on the planet Usian Bolt.

Bolt appears in two ads for Pokémon Sun and Moon, the latest paired installments of the Pokémon franchise’s mainline video game series. Dressed in the outfit of the games’ treacherous Team Skull, Bolt is introduced with on-screen game text announcing “Team Skull’s Bolt wants to battle!”

“Even in a Pokémon battle, I’m number one,” declares Bolt in English, before switching to Japanese and instructing his Pikachu to use his Thunderbolt (juman boruto) attack, which the Pocket Monster does while striking Bolt’s signature victory pose.

In the second ad, Bolt references the sport he’s dominated, greeting the audience with “Yo! We meet again. Don’t think you can run away,” and crouching into a sprinter’s starting stance with Pikachu at his side.

Since Pikachu is known more for his cuddly cuteness than his blazing speed, we doubt he was able to keep up with Bolt once they started running. Still, meeting the star athlete must have been a pretty cool birthday present for the franchise mascot.

Source: YouTube/ポケモン公式YouTubeチャンネル via Lynzee Loveridge at Anime News Network
Images: YouTube/ポケモン公式YouTubeチャンネル

自从这群歪果仁谈了中国对象以后。。。

李玉刚、杨树林版《一人我饮酒醉》，不一样的感觉!