Twentythree

This cute collection covers everything from paw to tail. 

Japan has a tonne of special days on the calendar, dedicated to everything from maids to twintails and retort curry.

Even furry animals like cats have their own special day, so when Cat Day rolled around on 22 February, we had our eyes peeled for a way to celebrate. A quick visit to convenience store chain Family Mart served up the perfect solution: cat treats!

Dubbed “Family Nyato“, as a play on “Family Marto“, using the Japanese pronunciation of “mart” and the Japanese word for “meow” (“nya”), these treats are for humans, and we grabbed all ten of them for a taste test.

▼ First up, we have the Bread That Looks Like a Cat Paw (150 yen [US$1.10])

This was an impressive bread to behold — not only did it look like a paw, its plump and fluffy texture made it feel like a paw too!

Being about the size of a human palm, this was a fun treat to eat, and the milk cream filling added an indulgent sweetness to every bite.

▼ Next up, we have the Milk Paw Pad Bun (130 yen).

This was closer to a real-sized paw, and filled with a white bean paste that complemented the milk-flavoured dough beautifully. Soft, supple, and slightly squidgy, this was a cute and tasty way to pay homage to the cute cat paw.

▼ Latte Chocolate Cookie (118 yen)

Sometimes simple classics don’t need to be messed around with, and that was certainly the case here, with a pair of cat ears adding just the right amount of cuteness to this deliciously soft cookie.

▼ Caramel Roll Cake (160 yen)

Like the cookie, this roll cake kept things simple, focusing on classic flavours while adding an adorable touch with brown stripes that resembled the tail of a tabby cat.

▼ Caramel Milk Cream Sandwich (145 yen)

This long bread roll also uses the cat’s tail as its inspiration, adding caramel milk cream in between the folds for sweet bursts of deliciousness in between bites.

▼ Baked Cheesecake (220 yen)

This adorable product has been produced in collaboration with Coony, an illustrator specialising in cats, who has created four different cat designs for the packaging on this particular sweet.

Upon opening the package, we couldn’t help but let out a little squeal at the cute cat silhouette awaiting us inside. It was gorgeous to look at, and fantastic to eat, delivering bagfuls of rich, creamy flavour despite its tiny size.

▼ Chocolate Brownie (198 yen)

This was another cute-looking morsel, shaped like a feline but filled with moist, chocolate flavour that was absolutely delicious!

▼ Mofu Sandwich (225 yen)

“Mofu mofu” is the phrase used to describe something fluffy and soft to the touch, like a cat, and “Mofu Sand” is a brand by cat illustrator Juno.

▼ This treat comes branded with one of four designs by Juno and each pack includes an original sticker by the artist as well.

Smooth on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside, this was a tasty sweet filled with milk cream.

▼ Cafe Latte Soufflé Pudding (328 yen)

This soufflé was so moist and juicy that it let out a tantalising hiss when we poked into it with a fork. Layered from the bottom with latte-flavoured pudding, followed by whipped cream, caramel sauce and the latte-flavoured soufflé, this was one of the tastiest of the bunch!

▼ Finally, we have a drink called Caramel Cream Nyatte (228 yen)

“Nya” means “Meow”, and it’s the sound you might be tempted to make upon seeing the cute cat ears atop the beverage.

The ears definitely helped this drink stand out from all the others in the fridge, and the milky caramel flavoured latte inside made every sip worth the calories.

In fact, the whole collection was worth the calories, as there wasn’t anything here that didn’t appeal to the eyes as well as the taste buds. The only downfall is the range isn’t available year-round so we won’t be able to bite into any tails or paws again until Cat Day next year!

Photos © SoraNews24
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Very topical.

I wasn’t expecting balloons to make a big comeback in 2023 but here we are talking all about them. And while they’ve certainly shown their effectiveness at dubious surveillance and intriguing UFO researchers, it’s important to remember the enormous recreational potential of gasbags.

That’s where Hokkaido startup Iwaya Giken comes in. On 21 February they opened applications for special tours of the Earth’s stratosphere in which travelers can float 25,000 meters (15 miles) into the sky on a balloon.

▼ These tours are a part of the engineering firm’s wider Open Universe space tourism project

The company has designed a special capsule that seats two for the journey. The T-10 Earther is made with a special plastic designed to handle the extreme temperature and pressure changes that occur with such a rise and also has a charming Tie-Fighter cockpit feel about it.

The initial rise takes two hours, after which about an hour is spent floating well above the altitude of commercial flights. Here you can see both outer space and the curvature of the Earth, making it the perfect gift for that special flat-earther in your life.

▼ Aw, who are we kidding? They’d probably just blame it on the round window.

Afterward, the 40-meter balloon descends and plops your capsule safely in the ocean for retrieval. The price is expected to be around 24 million yen (US$176,000) per person and flights are hoped to begin around December of this year.

A project of this scope had to have taken years of research and development, meaning that the timing of this announcement and the recent spate of news regarding high-altitude balloons being shot down must be largely coincidental. As a result, it seemed that only a few of the people who left comments online were keen to try it out.

“I’m not afraid of heights, but that’s a little above and beyond.”
“I wouldn’t go even if someone invited me and offered to pay.”
“Balloon? Aren’t those the things getting shot down recently?”
“This actually looks more fun than those other space rockets.”
“I don’t want the last thing I ever see to be a sidewinder missile.”
“Timing is everything.”
“Isn’t that what the Saiyans ride in?”

Granted, floating about in the airspace that North Korea likes to use as a missile shooting range is a little worrisome. On the other hand, it would be really cool to get a perspective on the world that few people ever have a chance to see firsthand.

I’ll let you know how it goes once SoraNews24 approves that 24-million-yen raise I requested. Fingers crossed!

Source: PR Times, NHK News Web, Hachima Kiko
Images: PR Times
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Two of Japan’s best dessert flavors combine in a springtime ring of deliciousness.

We know this is going to be hard to believe, what with how much we enjoy chowing down on Big Dac Burger Pizzas, massive-calorie count set meals, and all-you-can-eat tarts. But the truth is that even at SoraNews24, there actually is a limit to how much we can stuff ourselves with in one sitting.

For example, we took a recent taste-test trip to Starbucks to try both their Sakura Saku Saku Frappuccino and Sakura Soy Latte, and then their prosciutto ham salad wrap caught our eye too, so we added one of those to our order. But as we sat there, happy and full, we realized something terrible.

We didn’t have any space left in our stomach for the new Sakura and Matcha Donut.

Obviously, we weren’t about to let sakura season pass us by without trying Starbucks Japan’s new sweet, so a return trip was in order, and this time we made sure to start with the 285-yen (US$2.20) Sakura and Matcha Doughnut.

Right away, you can see that this is a mix of Japan’s two most iconic and beloved representative dessert flavors: green tea and cherry blossom. Viewed from above, it’s primarily a sakura show, with the sakura chocolate glaze accented with a few stripes of matcha chocolate. The aesthetics instantly put a springtime smile on our face, but despite the breezy color scheme, the donut also has a tantalizing weighty look to it.

But even though sakura gets top billing in the donut’s name, there’s plenty of green tea goodness waiting inside. The dough has green tea powder mixed in, and at the core of the ring is a liquid center of smooth matcha cream. The cake itself is joyously fluffy, and the matcha’s gentle bitter notes work wonderfully with the salty sweetness of the sakura chocolate coating, which has a flavor reminiscent of traditional sakura mochi Japanese sweets.

The mix of flavors and textures was immensely satisfying, but we’re always looking for ways to make ourselves even happier through food and drink, so we asked the staff for their recommended drink pairing. Surprisingly, they steered us not towards the Saku Saku Frappuccino or Sakura Soy Latte, but to the Spring Latte (465 yen for a tall).

This is a cafe latte with a sprinkling of pink pearl sugar, which makes it look like you’ve got cherry blossom petals floating on the top of your drink. It’s a great choice if you’re craving a donut but want something less sweet than a full-on dessert beverage to sip while you munch.

The Sakura and Matcha Doughnut is pretty much everything you could ask for in a springtime Japanese donut, and it’ll be sticking around until March 14. And if you should find yourself with room for four more sakura donuts, we can help you with that craving too.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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Move right along with your business–there’s nothing out of the ordinary going on at the city hall.

For most of Japan, February 22 marks the annual celebration of Cat Day. For Koka City in Shiga Prefecture, however, the day marks something a little different–Ninja Day. Ironically, the reasoning behind February 22 for both of these celebrations is thanks to the exact same linguistic pun. “Ni” means “two” in Japanese, which is the same sound that begins both “ninja” and the written symbol for “nyan” (“meow” for Japanese cats). Therefore, “ni ni ni” (2/22) is the ultimate punny day to celebrate either ninja or cats.

But why is Ninja Day so important to Koka City in particular? It’s because the city is the historical stronghold of the Koka-style of ninjutsu (sometimes spelled Koga-style), which is the main rival school to the Iga-style of ninjutsu from Mie Prefecture. In fact, it’s not even the first time that Koka City’s municipal workers have cosplayed as their brethren from centuries past.

Take a glimpse into this year’s celebratory atmosphere inside Koka City’s Tourism Planning Promotional Department on February 22.

To bring about their transformation, 14 workers from the abovementioned department simultaneously made hand signs and chanted, “Nin nin nin!” at their desks around 8:30 a.m.

POOF! Transformation complete. These city workers weren’t simply fooling around, either, since they paid careful attention to fine details such as wearing masks with shuriken patterns. After all, one can’t be too conspicuous in the workplace.

They then proceeded to go about their jobs for the rest of the day exactly as usual, whether it was working at their desks…

…or interacting with the public at window stations. One of the workers commented that the ninja garb provided them with a boost to be extremely quick-witted and nimble at their work on that day.

In addition, 42 of the city’s preschools, elementary schools, and junior high schools also ate ninja-themed “kurokagemai” (“black shadow rice”) and clear soup with shuriken-shaped kamaboko fish cakes in their kyushoku school lunches. There’s been no word yet on whether any of the children escaped from afternoon classes through the windows after consuming such a menu.

As one final note, I have a small request for Koka City. How about just making February 22 “Ninja Cat Day” instead? I think plenty of people and felines alike could get behind that idea.

Source: Sankei News
Images: YouTube/YOMIURI TELECASTING CORPORATION NEWS CHANNEL
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This chain takes konbini food to a whole other level.

Japan is famous for its convenience stores, which sell everything from whiskey and fried chicken to pancake steamed buns.

While the top chains — Family Mart, Lawson, and 7-Eleven — tend to steal the spotlight from smaller ones like Mini Stop, Daily Yamazaki and New Days, we’ve been keeping an eye on a new contender, that some people are saying is even better than 7-Eleven.

▼ The chain is called “Sakura Mikura“, and it has sakura petals in its logo.

So what makes the chain so good? Well, on a recent trip to Gunma Prefecture, home to Sakura Mikura, our reporter Masanuki Sunakoma walked through the sliding doors to find out why this place is so special.

The chain, which opened in 2021, is run by Zensho Holdings, which operates some big names in the food industry, like the Sukiya beef bowl chain, the Hama Sushi conveyor belt sushi chain, and the Cocos family restaurant chain. The focus on food is evident in the presence of tables outside the store, an unusual sight at a konbini, where customers can enjoy a spot of alfresco dining.

The chain has grown from four to nine branches in just over a year, and they’re all located in Gunma Prefecture.

▼ According to the company, the “sakura” in the name aims to “bring smiles to the region, as the cherry blossoms do“.

There’s plenty to smile about here, because as soon as you enter the store, the first thing to catch your eye is the unusual “みくら食堂 (“Mikura Shokudo”or “Mikura Dining Hall”), which is what makes the chain so great.

Unlike Japan’s top convenience stores, where food options are lined up on shelves or in a display on the counter, the food at Sakura Mikura is on a whole other level. 

Diners here can order hot food in much the same way they would at a shokudo eatery, and what’s even better is the fact that it’s handmade in-store 24 hours a day, for ultimate freshness and flavour.

▼ Like eating at a fast food restaurant, but inside a convenience store.

The menu includes a wide variety of hearty, reliable favourites, like rice bowls, meat sauce pasta, and even motsunabe (offal hotpot).

Masanuki used the touch panel to order a Karaage Don (Japanese fried chicken rice bowl) for 518 yen (US$3.84). You can select dishes with or without toppings and either on their own or as part of a set, and once you’ve ordered, you simply pay for it at the cash register, along with any other products you pick up while browsing the aisles.

You’ll want to pick up some onigiri rice balls here, as they’re all made in-store rather than being trucked in from a large facility like the ones you get at the big chains.

Masanuki picked up a rice ball filled with Kishu Nanko Ume — nanko ume is the highest quality brand of ume, or Japanese plum, and Kishu, the old name for the region covering Wakayama and southern Mie, is one of the top producing areas — and he was thoroughly impressed by the quality and flavour.

Bursting with freshness, it was like a rice ball that his mother would’ve made for him at home when he was a child.

The Karaage Don was also a big hit with Masanuki. It contained three pieces of freshly fried chicken, which were crunchy and juicy, and the rice below was plump and delicious, nothing like the bland rice you get in bento boxes sold at big convenience stores like 7-Eleven.

▼ Like a freshly made bento from a bento shop!

Served with mayonnaise and seaweed flakes, this was a fantastic meal, and if Masanuki lived in Gunma, he’d happily eat rice bowls here every day.

Masanuki describes Sakura Mikura as “a bento shop combined with a convenience store”. It’s amazing that they serve food this good 24 hours a day, and Masanuki couldn’t help but ask the operators why they only operate in Gunma Prefecture.

The company told him that Sakura Mikura is currently in its “experimental stages“, which is why you can only find it in Gunma at the moment.

That’s all they would reveal to him, though, so Masanuki has his fingers tightly crossed for the possibility that they may expand into other areas soon. If Sakura Mikura were to open in his Tokyo neighbourhood, it would be way more exciting than the opening of a big-name chain, which, as we’ve seen before, is already pretty exciting.

So, the big convenience store chains better look out, because if this konbini makes inroads into other prefectures, they’ll have some serious competition on their hands!

Related: Sakura Mikura
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