Twentythree

Sure anyone can plonk an apple on a hamburger, but can they make it taste as sweet as it looks?

Our most gluttonous of reporters, Mr. Sato, lives by a simple code: All food is made to be eaten. From the moment it is born at the hands of its creator, its fate is to enter his (or failing that, someone else’s) stomach. However, sometimes there exists a food so beautifully prepared, that Mr. Sato’s prime directive is threatened and he hesitates to immediately cram it straight into his gullet.

One such food can be found the Tokyo neighborhood of Yoyogi, about a minute’s walk from Minami Shinjuku Station on the Odakyu Line. Called the “Ringo Burger” (Apple Burger) it is rumored to look more like a luxury dessert rather than a greasy old grilled meat sandwich.

But the Ringo Burger would only be available for a limited time, so Mr. Sato hurried down to the 10-seat burger shop that serves it to try one.

The restaurant’s name is Icon, and since its opening in March of 2017, it has steadily built a reputation among burger connoisseurs for its high-quality, original offerings. Word has it, that their best burger is the Macamburger which is a hamburger topped with macaroni and cheese for 1,500 yen (US$14). The visual impact of the massive amounts of cheese oozing from the bun is said to heighten the burger-eating experience considerably.

Mr. Sato would be totally down with that, but his mission on this day was to try the Ringo Burger. So, he placed an order for the 1,700 yen ($16) special item crafted in celebration of Icon’s first year in business.

Prior to the main dish, our reporter was given a small cup of thin-sliced beef tendon soup with a kick of black pepper.

Up to this point, Mr. Sato hadn’t even seen a picture of the Ringo Burger, only talk that it resembled a luxurious dessert. This was hardly his first burger with apple on it though. Many restaurants had done it before.

Suddenly, Mr. Sato was taken aback by the bold flavor of the soup. With his mind on burgers he wasn’t expecting much from this appetizer, but was impressed with the effort that went into making it really flavorful.

Then the Ringo Burger appeared…

It was nothing like he imagined. Rather than some slices of apple, there was an entire apple on top, thinly sliced but relatively in its original shape.

The vivid red color of the apple with its fine yet deep contours shone brightly atop its protein-rich throne of cheese, bacon, and beef, like a beacon guiding wayward ships to its bounty of deliciousness.

Also impressive was the bun, which was custom-made by Icon to accommodate this particular arrangement of toppings. Most restaurants attempting this would probably just toss an apple onto a currently existing sandwich and let it fall apart into a disappointing mess upon eating. Not Icon, though. They cut the bun in an uneven 3:7 ratio for optimal eating.

These guys knew what they were doing.

But we weren’t paying Mr. Sato to sit there and stare at the thing. It was time to dig in…

Mr. Sato found himself frozen by the burger’s beauty, but after a moment his infallible professionalism kicked in and he picked up the sandwich.

On first bite the bun gently yielded to Mr. Sato’s teeth but was also crispy, which helped lead the way down into the crispy apple slices nicely. There was also a slice of red onion on the bottom to balance out the texture. They really thought of everything!

The balance of flavors was intricately crafted as well. Although overpowering to the eye, to the tongue the apple’s supportive sweetness served to bring out the inherent savoriness of the beef. The flavors of the bacon, cheese, and onion were all present as well, contrasting each other but in perfect harmony.

So it can be said that the Ringo Burger is not just a visual gimmick, but a culinary beauty through and through. And as it marks only the first year of Icon’s existence, it seems we can look forward to much more in their bright future, shining from atop the burgerscape of Tokyo.

Restaurant information
ICON / アイコン
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Yoyogi 2-30-4, 1st floor
東京都渋谷区代々木2−30−4 1F
Open: 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday), 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (Thursday, Saturday, Sunday)
Closed Mondays
Website

Photos ©SoraNews24

Many would say Yoshiki’s contributions to Japanese music culture are priceless, so in a way, you could say this is a bargain.

Japanese musician Yoshiki has already carved out an enduring legacy for himself as the leader of the massively popular and influential rock band X Japan, but that’s not his only claim to fame. In addition to numerous solo and crossover music projects with other bands, he’s also dabbled in the worlds of fashion modeling and design, giving him a professional resume that few of us can ever hope to come close to.

However, fans will soon have a chance to be physically close to Yoshiki, as the musician has announced his fifth annual dinner show, dubbed “Evening with Yoshiki 2018.”

This year’s iteration will be held at the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo, part of the swanky Roppongi Hills entertainment complex. The highlight, of course, is the live musical performance by Yoshiki, taking place in much more intimate confines than the stadiums his concerts routinely sell out. Lending even more culture to the program is a performance by the Asami Maki Ballet Company, and Yoshiki will also be peppering the proceedings with charismatic chatter for the entertainment of the assembled audience.

All of this is accompanied by a full-course French dinner prepared by the Hyatt’s chefs, some of the most highly respected culinary professionals in Tokyo. There’s no word on whether or not Yoshiki’s beloved cheese rice crackers will be on the menu, but it wouldn’t be a shock if they’re among the souvenirs and limited-edition merchandise being offered for sale at the event, which will also include a charity auction.

Of course, a small-venue concert by one of Japan’s biggest stars doesn’t come cheap, nor does gourmet cuisine, and the combination of those two rarefied treats means that tickets to Evening with Yoshiki 2018 are priced at 86,400 yen (US$810) per person. Still, if you’re a superfan, apparently it’s money well-spent, and at least one X Japan-loving member of the SoraNews24 team says it’s “a bargain.”

For each of the last four years, tickets have sold out almost instantaneously, and things will probably be no different when they go on sale this year. Reservation details have yet to be announced, but the dates are set, as Yoshiki’s dinner show will be held nightly from July 13 to 16. That sounds like a pretty intense schedule, so hopefully he remembers to listen to his body and take care of his health while putting on what’s sure to be a very entertaining show.

Related: Yoshiki official blog
Source, top image: Press release

Clever production innovation lets designers create amazingly convincing contrast between skin and other textures.

The anime figure business might seem simple. All you have to do is wait for the new season of shows to start, see which series are hits, and then fire up your plastic molds and make figures of their most popular characters, right?

But otaku are sticklers for visual quality, and just as anime artwork itself has gotten more polished in the modern era, so too must figures be a better match for the 3-D vision of the character that fans have in their mind’s eye. To that end, anime merchandiser extraordinaire Bandai has announced a new figure line, called Figure-rise Labo, that’s the result of some very cool innovation.

The primary theme of Figure-rise Labo is “skin,” and not in the sense that the debut figure, Gundam Build Fighters Try’s Fumina Hoshino, is showing a lot of it. Rather than apply coloring directly to the figure’s skin to create rosy cheeks and other natural-looking color variations, Bandai uses two layers of material, with differing thicknesses of the paler, semi-translucent top layer allowing a greater or lesser amount of the brighter lower layer to show through.

Not only does this more closely match the look of actual skin tone, not having to add different colors to the top layer lets designers leave it with a low-gloss matte finish. That, in turn, helps emphasize the shine on materials that should be reflective, such as Fumina’s swimwear, which would be made out of some sort of sleek, shimmering fabric.

The contrasting effect is especially noticeable in the video below, where the figure rotates as the surrounding light sources cycle through various settings and the figures skin and swimwear look uncannily like their real-life counterparts would, as opposed to the pure plastic aesthetics of figures made with less-advanced figures.

Of course, it’s likely no coincidence that Bandai has put so much effort into developing and showcasing how well the Figure-rise Labo line can handle skin and swimwear, considering that figures of bikini-clad anime ladies have always been a sure-fire way to get shoppers to open their wallets.

What’s surprising is that the Fumina figure’s flesh tones are arguably closer to that of a real human’s than the super-shiny skin seen in many anime. Still, Bandai is likely to have plenty of interested buyers when the figure goes on sale in June, priced at 5,940 yen (US$56). Of course, you could always try to save a few bucks by being patient and waiting for one to show up on the used market…but we wouldn’t recommend it.

Source: Bandai Hobby via Jin
Top image: Bandai Hobby
Insert images: Bandai Hobby (1, 2)

”I have a good reason for doing this,” our reporter insisted as he stepped out the door wearing his camouflage foliage suit.

Earlier this week, after putting in a few hours at SoraNews24 headquarters, our crack reporter Mr. Sato started heading for the door, dressed in the SoraNews24 camouflage ghillie suit. To be honest, we didn’t pay him too much mind, since Mr. Sato making unusual wardrobe choices is actually more common than, say, his coworker Seiji going on a date with a happy ending.

But this time, Mr. Sato told us he actually had a legitimately logical reason for his behavior. “You know that PC game, World of Tanks?” he asked. They just updated it to Version 1.0, and it looks so much better now!”

The screenshots he excitedly showed us did indeed show a major leap in graphics quality, especially on the trees, bushes, and grass covering the maps. “So I figured it’s time to upgrade the ghillie suit’s appearance too.”

Realizing we were now at the point where investing logic in the conversation was going to start showing rapidly diminishing returns, we wished Mr. Sato luck as he hopped on the train, eventually getting off at Jiyugaoka Station.

▼ Ironically, Mr. Sato’s camouflage attracted tons of attention, and he could feel almost everyone’s eyes on him as he walked out the gate.

Located about 15 minutes south of Shibuya, Jiyugaoka is a fashionable but laid-back neighborhood, with boutiques, specialty sweets shops, and even a rabbit cafe. Feeling just a little out of place among the well-groomed and well-dressed young ladies and gentlemen he passed, he nevertheless put one foot in front of the other as he made his way to one of the district’s numerous hair salons.

Arriving at his destination without being hauled in for questioning by the police, Mr. Sato stepped into the elevator and punched the button for the fifth floor, where the salon is located.

The receptionist quickly showed him to a seat, either because of the salon’s great customer service or to get him out of the lobby/out of sight as quickly as possible.

Before long, the stylist came over, and Mr. Sato asked for a trim, leaving the details up t the discretion of the professional hairdresser by simply saying “Please change me from Version 0 to Version 1.0.”

Since ordinary hair-cutting scissors weren’t going to do the trick on the ghillie suit’s imitation foliage, the stylist came back with a heavier-duty set of shears. As Mr. Sato sat back and relaxed, the stylist went to work.

Obviously, the tangle of vines and leaves was too thick to comb through smoothly, and while Mr. Sato basked in the posh surroundings, he could see the face of the stylist, reflected in the mirror, crease with bewilderment at this crossover between cutting hair and pruning hedges.

Still, the stylist soldiered on, and eventually, the project was complete.

▼ “So, what do you think?”

▼ “Pretty stylin’, huh?”

▼ Version 0 (top) and Version 1.0 (bottom)

After paying his bill, Mr. Sato was back out on the street, and with a new confidence swelling inside of him. Remember how we said he initially felt out of place in Jiyugaoka? After his trim, it was just the opposite, as he blended right in…literally.

▼ Spot the Sato

Eventually, it was time for him to stop rubbing elbows with his fellow beautiful people, so we headed to the station and got on the train for home.

But remember, should you happen to be out and about in Tokyo and find yourself thinking, “My, that shrubbery over there looks rather dapper,” it just might actually be Mr. Sato.

Related: World of Tanks
Photos ©SoraNews24