All-frozen ramen restaurant appears in Tokyo, shows us we don’t really need the restaurant

https://ift.tt/3qzWWwm Casey Baseel

Ramen Journey Showroom does things a little differently.

If you’re running a ramen restaurant in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro neighborhood, you’d better bring your A-game. Ikebukuro is a ramen-loving neighborhood in a ramen-loving country, with a high-concentration of high-quality noodle joints resulting in fierce competition for customers.

So imagine our surprise when we spotted an Ikebukuro restaurant that proudly boasts that all of its ramen is frozen.

Equal parts intrigued and hungry, we stepped inside Ramen Journey Showroom and took a seat. An employee handed us a menu, and a quick glance at it revealed that the “Journey” part of the restaurant’s name isn’t just some stylish gratuitous English. Instead of a singular house ramen, Ramen Journey offers a variety of types of frozen ramen produced by popular and famous restaurants from different parts of Japan, which you can either take home and prepare or have the staff heat up so you can eat it right there.

In addition to ramen representatives from restaurants in Tokyo’s Shibuya and Nerima Wards, the options also included ramen from noodle houses in Yokohama and Osaka. With most prices hovering around 1,000 yen (US$9) they were a little on the pricy side, but not unreasonable for their pedigree.

We were still a little apprehensive about paying so much for frozen ramen, but ultimately decided to order a bowl of shio (salt) ramen from Shinka, whose restaurant is located in Tokyo’s Machida City, with an added free topping of sliced onion, and this turned out to be a very smart choice.

The bowl of ramen the staff placed in front of us was immaculately beautiful, and also incredibly delicious. If we hadn’t known ahead of time that it was frozen, we never would have guessed from how it looked and tasted.

And that’s actually sort of the whole point of Ramen Journey Showroom. It turns out the place is an offshoot of the Ramen Journey online frozen ramen shop, and their main goal in opening the restaurant was to give people an opportunity to see that frozen ramen, when done right, can taste as good as the freshly made kind.

Unfortunately, Ramen Journey Showroom is a pop-up operation, and will only be open until July 1. On the plus side, the whole point was to show us that how good their frozen ramen tastes, and now that we know that, we can order it and eat it at home whenever we want.

Restaurant information
Ramen Journey Showroom / ラーメンJourney ショールーム
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Higashi Ikebukuro 1-23-5
東京都豊島区東池袋1丁目23-5
Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
In operation until July 1

Related: Ramen Journey
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Japanese TV show about women sprinting up hills and panting adds its first-ever male performers

https://ift.tt/3ds0efK Casey Baseel

After 15 years of a very focused formula, Zenryokuzaka is making a change.

Japanese TV has a reputation for being pretty weird sometimes, and things don’t get any less unusual once you hit the late-night time slots. Even in that niche, one of the odder programs is broadcaster TV Asahi’s Zenryokuzaka, which translates to “Full-Power Hill” or “All-Out Hill.”

Airing at 1:20 a.m. Monday to Thursday, each episode Zenryokuzaka is only six minutes long, including the credits and commercials. That’s because the concept is extremely focused. Each episode, the program introduces a new steeply sloping street, usually somewhere in Tokyo or other nearby cities. After setting the scene, a stylish young woman, usually an actress, entertainer, or other media personality, runs up the hill as fast as she can. As she pumps her legs narrator Mitsuru Fukikoshi intones “This, too, is a hill that makes you want to run up it.”

▼ A clip from Zenryokuzaka

TV Asahi leaves the specific appeal of the program up to the viewer to decide. Japanese TV has several programs that introduce walking or urban exploring courses, so maybe some enjoy Zenryokuzaka as a showcase of picturesque backstreets. Others may appreciate the whimsical athleticism of running full-speed along the street, something just about everyone enjoys doing as a kid, but stops indulging in once they grow up. And, almost certainly, some Zenryokuzaka fans are there for the final seconds of each episode, when the camera lingers on close-ups of the woman, having just come to the top of the hill, panting and sweating post-exertion.

Whatever the secret to Zenryokuzaka’s success, the overall package has proven popular enough that the program recently celebrated 15 years on the air. However, TV Asahi has announced that this summer they’ll be tinkering with the program by, for the first time in its history, showing men running up hills as well, starting with actor Ryosuke Miura, perhaps best known for his role of Ankh/Shingo Izumi in Kamen Rider OOO.

// 16/02/2021 //
[ 16/02/1987 ]

34 Years

Happy Birthday to

Ryosuke Miura [ 三浦 涼介 ]
- Ankh and Shingo Izumi // Kamen Rider OOO [ 2010 ]#三浦涼介#三浦涼介生誕祭 #三浦涼介誕生祭 #三浦涼介生誕祭2021#仮面ライダーＯＯＯ pic.twitter.com/zJbTQPvzJu

— Sentai Rider BANK48G/46G (@rider_sentai48G) February 16, 2021

“It’s an honor to be the first person chosen for this new initiative,” says Miura, who has already completed filming. “I work out regularly, but I don’t often sprint up hills like this, so it felt great. I’m really happy to have been able to appear on Zenryokuzaka, which I’ve been watching since I was little, and to be accompanied by Fukikoshi-san’s narration.”

With Miura currently being 34, his recollection of watching Zenryokuzaka “when I was little” seems like a liberal use of the term. His enthusiasm appears genuine, though, as he’ll be appearing on the show twice, both times to run up hills in Tokyo’s Chofu City district.

Zenryokuzaka still plans to feature predominantly female talent, but says that men will appear on the first and third Thursday of each month, with Miura’s debut on July 1 and his follow-up on August 5.

Source: Oricon News via Otakomu
Top image: Pakutaso
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Eel-fortified chocolate now on sale in Japan

https://ift.tt/3AfMuyr Casey Baseel

Just in time for the summertime heat, here comes unagi chocolate.

For sweets fans in Japan, Tirol Chocolate is an archetypal impulse purchase. Bite-sized, inexpensive, and available in just about every convenience store and supermarket in the country, deciding to buy one usually requires next to no cognitive self-convincing.

That said, the newest special flavor of Tirol is something you might need to spend some time mulling over before buying, because the special ingredient is eel.

Yes, following up on last month’s Peach Parfait Tirol, this month the company is going with the less conventional pairing of chocolate with unagi, or freshwater eel. In the above cross-section, the top right arrow is pointing to powdered unagi extract, a measure of which goes into each and every piece of the eel Tirol. The other ingredients are less eyebrow-raising/spine-chilling, being pie crust-flavored chocolate, coarse granulated brown sugar, and fiantine (baked crepe dough).

In some ways, the idea isn’t as crazy as it initially seems. Grilled unagi is a popular delicacy in Japan, and there’s even a pre-existing snack food from Shizuoka Prefecture called Unagi Pie that’s made with eel. However, Unagi Pie is dry, wafer-like, and not all that sweet, and it’s going to be interesting, to say the least, to see what happens on the taste buds when unagi extract mixes with something as sugary and creamy as chocolate (maybe even as interesting as when we tried Tirol’s cheese pizza chocolate).

For their part, at least, Tirol is promising a sweet, crunchy, and “fragrant” morsel, with the intended aroma ostensibly being that of the pie crust-inspired chocolate, not a bouquet of sizzling eel flesh. They’ve also timed its release to coincide with rising temperatures in Japan, as many Japanese people believe eating unagi is a good way to ward off summertime heat exhaustion, and Unagi Tirol is on sale now, priced at 162 yen (1.50) for a pack of seven pieces.

Source: PR Times via Hachima Kiko
Images: PR Times
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We try Starbucks’ new Strawberry Choux Cream Frappuccino

https://ift.tt/3xbBGzB Oona McGee

Sure, we love puff pastry, but what’s it like to drink it?

One of the great things about our team having a reporter based in Taiwan is the fact that she’s able to give us a firsthand account of all the fantastic local Starbucks treats over there that we sadly miss out over here in Japan.

Now, she’s back to make us all green with envy once again, this time with Starbucks Taiwan’s newest limited-time offering: the Strawberry Choux Cream Frappuccino.

While this is the first time for the Frappuccino to land on Taiwanese shores, the Strawberry Choux Cream Frappuccino appeared in South Korea in 2017 and 2019 to huge acclaim. Now, it’s not only on the menu at Starbucks in Taiwan, but at a number of other Starbucks branches in east and southeast Asia as well.

Check in to cream puff paradise with the #ChocolateChouxCreamFrappuccino and find divine comfort amidst the rich chocolate sauce, vanilla bean custard sauce and Graham Cracker sprinkles. pic.twitter.com/bsI8LFLJoT

— Starbucks Malaysia (@StarbucksMY) June 16, 2021

The drink has been getting rave reviews from everyone who’s tried it so far, but our reporter Yui Imai wasn’t so sure if choux cream would make for a great Frappuccino, given that the milk bases they usually contain are already so creamy on their own.

Another potential problem was the fact that the drink doesn’t contain any cream puffs, which is the sweet Yui usually thinks of when she hears the words “choux cream”. Instead, the base is a blend of vanilla custard cream and milk, with plenty of strawberry pulp at the bottom.

Instead of cream puff pastry, the drink contains a topping of graham cracker pieces for a textural accent, and when Yui took her first sip of the drink, the initial flavour was similar to vanilla ice cream. A second or two later, the acidity and jelly-like texture from the strawberry pulp jumped into the flavour profile, providing a fruity refreshment to the creamy base.

Yui was almost upset to admit the beverage was actually amazing. And as for the missing cream puffs, the graham cracker pieces on top did a really good job of recreating the familiar pastry-and-cream combination. In fact, it was probably a better option than including real puff pastry pieces, which would have clumped together and created a cloying texture.

As she sipped through the drink, Yui was surprised to find that the crispy texture of the cookie, the mellow custard-flavoured Frappuccino base, and the strawberry pulp mix combined beautifully together to create an overall flavour that really tasted like a choux cream pastry.

This playful Frappuccino is available in three sizes, priced from 145-185 TWD (US$5.19-$6.63), and will be available for a limited time from 23 June.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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New takoyaki gacha toys designed by a Japanese voice actress come with surprise fillings

https://ift.tt/3dukPQK Oona McGee

Clever new design makes the capsule just as exciting as its contents.

Ever since takoyaki first appeared in Osaka in 1935, these small, piping-hot fried octopus balls have spread in popularity throughout Japan and across the world.

Usually sold in boat-shaped paper trays with a toothpick as the provided eating utensil, takoyaki is one of the nation’s most beloved food stall snacks, and now the iconic octopus ball is getting its turn in the spotlight as the star of a new series of gacha capsule toys from gacha toy manufacturer Tama-kyu.

▼ All the fun of a Japanese food stall, coming soon to a gacha machine near you.

There are six items in the series to collect:

▼ A red tentacle to represent the filling inside the ball.

▼ A headband octopus that mimics the look of a food vendor.

▼ A golden octopus

▼ An octopus Weiner, which is the name given to Weiner sausages that are sliced at one end so they resemble octopuses once they’re cooked.

▼ A squid, which is sometimes used in the filling instead of octopus.

And…a kite, which seems out of place, until you realise that the Japanese word tako can be used to mean both kite and octopus, depending on the way it’s written.

▼ The kanji for tako (蛸/octopus) is written on the tako (凧/kite).

That’s not the end of what’s on offer, though, because we can’t have a takoyaki gacha series without an appearance from the famous octopus ball itself. And that appearance comes by way of the capsule, which looks exactly like a sauce-slathered, green laver-topped fried takoyaki.

▼ The series is described as “capsule-less” because the capsule itself doubles as a capsule toy.

It’s a clever design from Tama-kyu, which bills itself as a purveyor of “new standard capsule toys“. They can’t take all the credit for the new series, however, as Japanese singer and voice actress Haruka Nishio, who goes by the stage name Yuka Nishio, was the one who planted the seed for the humble octopus ball to become the star of the new collection.

▼ Nishio even appears in an ad for the new range.

What could be more fun than opening up a takoyaki to see what kind of filling is hidden inside it? That’s what this collection offers takoyaki fans, who will no doubt be hoping to avoid the squid variety, as we all know the feeling of disappointment that comes when we’ve been duped with a filling of white squid instead of a bright red octopus tentacle.

The new toys will be available from 28 June, priced at 300 yen (US$2.71) each. And if you’d like to see more of Tama Kyu’s weird and wonderful toys, this taiko and safe collaboration comes with an epic love story video that’s both moving and hilarious!

Source, images: PR Times
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Dragon Quest at Olympics opening ceremony? Game theme, Eva-connected song heard coming from stadium

https://ift.tt/2TfI1vk Casey Baseel

Long-awaited start of the Tokyo Olympics might be a special treat for sports fans and otaku alike.

Almost as soon as Tokyo was announced as the host city of the 2020 Olympics, there’s been speculation about what kind of music will be played at the opening ceremony. Guesses for the musical accompaniment have ranged from songs by idol groups and boy bands all the way to bona fide J-pop royalty like Utada Hikaru and Namie Amuro, and now some signs are pointing to the possibility songs that will be very familiar to video game and anime fans.

The opening ceremony will be held at Japan National Stadium, and with the start of the Games not far off, rehearsals are already being held. Since  the stadium is an open-topped structure located in downtown Tokyo, some passersby have been able to pick out familiar melodies leaking from the building, as with the video here where the unmistakable main theme of role-playing video game series Dragon Quest can be heard.

Meanwhile, some other social media users have posted about hearing “Tsubasa wo Kudasai” while walking past the stadium during rehearsals. Originally written in 1970, “Tsubasa wo Kudasai” (which translates to “Please Give Me Wings”) has become one of Japan’s most enduring folk songs, but a cover of it, sung by voice actress Megumi Hayashibara, is heard during a pivotal moment of 2009’s Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance movie, forming a solid connection between the song and the anime franchise in the minds of many otaku.

That said, “Tsubasa wo Kudasai” has nearly 40 years’ worth of non-anime context as an uplifting song that’s easy for a crowd to sing along to, so it wouldn’t be an unusual selection for a non-anime event like the Olympics. The Dragon Quest theme, though, is a video game anthem through and through. Still, it’s a dramatic and rousing tune, and the Tokyo Olympics organizers have already shown a willingness to lean into the international popularity of Japanese pop culture, most dramatically when then-prime minister Shinzo Abe cosplayed as Super Mario at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympics. But on the other hand, Dragon Quest composer Koichi Sugiyama has arguably become as known overseas for his controversial political views as his music, which could make the piece a risky choice for an event that will draw global viewership.

There’s also the possibility that neither the Dragon Quest theme nor “Tsubasa wo Kudasai” will be part of the opening ceremony, and are simply being used for acoustics checks, seeing as how they’re both songs that the average Japanese person has heard many, many times and so has a pretty good mental image of how they’re supposed to sound. With no official announcement of the program yet made, it looks like we’ll have to wait until the ceremony actually takes place on July 23 to find out what music will be played, and also whether or not Sailor Moon will have anything more to say to the competing athletes.

Source: Jin, Twitter/@a_la_nozo, Twitter (1, 2)
Top image: Wikipedia/Arne Müseler
Insert image ©SoraNews24
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We visit a Latin supermarket in Tokyo, get our hands on some Inca Kola and spicy chocolate

https://ift.tt/369RI0R Dale Roll

How does Mr. Sato like the taste of Inca Kola?

It’s been a while since our Japanese-language reporter Mr. Sato was last able to travel, so he’s been hankering for a taste of the international. Luckily, he lives in Tokyo, which is a mecca for cuisines and groceries from all over the world!

In fact, Mr. Sato recently learned about a South American supermarket known as Kyodai Market, which specializes in Brazilian fare but also sells food items from Peru and other South American countries, so he was keen to check it out. Located only a short distance from the East Exit of Gotanda Station on the central Yamanote Line, it should have been easy to find, but when Mr. Sato went looking for it he soon learned that it’s not visible to passersby but rather on the sixth floor of a fancy-looking office building. He wondered why an international grocer would be hidden away in such a place until he realized that the building also houses the office of the Brazilian Consulate-General, since it’s not unusual for embassies to be housed in conjunction with shops that serve their international needs.

Curiosity at its peak, Mr. Sato took the elevator to the sixth floor, which opened directly upon the entrance to Kyodai.

The interior was filled with foods, drinks, spices, and all kinds of things that Mr. Sato had never heard of. From coffee, tea, and chicha morada (a sweet juice made of Peruvian purple corn)…

To jars of olives and spicy sauces…

To huge stocks of Peruvian spices and seasonings, there was so much to explore!

Of course, they also had Latin America’s favorite snack, maiz cancha, or toasted corn nuts.

A refrigerated section was filled with tasty-looking sausage and empanadas that you could warm in a toaster oven, but Mr. Sato had neglected to bring a cooler bag with him, so he sadly couldn’t try any this time around.

He was particularly taken with a huge package of linguiça sausage he saw in the frozen food section. “I’m going to take that home one day,” he told himself as he gazed upon it. “And I’m going to eat the whole thing on my own!”

Alas, today would not be the day, so knowing in his heart that this wouldn’t be his last visit to Kyodai Market, Mr. Sato settled on three very simple, easy-to-carry, shelf-safe items: Marilan chocolate wafer cookies, Tabasco spicy chocolate, and a bottle of Inca Kola.

The Marilan chocolate wafer cookies were only 135 yen (US$1.22) for a 115-gram (4.1-ounce) pack, which Mr. Sato thought was a very reasonable price for the size.

These cookies are made by a Brazilian company, but Mr. Sato found them to be similar to wafer cookies he’d eaten in the past. Still, they were superbly crunchy and very tasty.

The Tabasco chocolate is actually made in the U.S. and was a little pricey at 680 yen for 50 grams, but Mr. Sato liked the cute little can they came in and didn’t mind too much.

Inside, 8 wedge-shaped pieces of chocolate were neatly arrayed in a circle like wedges of cheese, which Mr. Sato also appreciated.

Excited, he popped one into his mouth but was initially disappointed to realize that it tasted just like regular chocolate. That is until he finished eating it. The spicy aftertaste hit him like a flamethrower to the mouth. A few years ago, he’d heard on social media that these chocolates were tasty, but Mr. Sato is not much of a spicy food fan, so to him, that kick was something of a shock.

Lastly, he tried the world-famous Peruvian soft drink, Inca Kola (162 yen for a 450-milliliter bottle).

Mr. Sato had heard of it before, but he’d never seen it or tasted it. The soda was super yellow and reminded him of Coca-Cola’s Mello Yello soda.

It was extremely sweet, like someone had taken shaved ice syrup, carbonated it, and bottled it. While Mr. Sato isn’t as big of a soda drinker as some of our other reporters and the sweetness didn’t appeal to him as much, he could see why this drink is popular among soda fans, because it did have a nice flavor.

All-in-all, Mr. Sato was pleased with the results of his first venture to Kyodai Market. He has every intention to go back and buy a sausage rope to eat all on his own, so if you decide to visit the shop yourself, you might run into him! Kyodai Market also has an online store, and you can buy all three of these items there, so definitely check it out if you’re interested in trying some Latin American snacks.

Shop information
Kyodai Market / キョウダイマーケット
Tokyo-to Shinagawa-ku Higashi-gotanda 1-13-12 Ichigo Gotanda Building 6th Floor Number 602
東京都品川区東五反田1-13-12　いちご五反田ビル6階602号
Open 9:10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Monday-Friday), 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (Saturday-Sunday)
Open every day except for New Year’s

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Harajuku Street Style w/ Una Burke Leather Armour, UN3D Top, Corset, Alexander McQueen, LIMI Feu & United Nude

https://ift.tt/3Afa4eL

Emmanuelle is a Tokyo-based software engineer, DJ, and model who we met on the street in Harajuku.

She is wearing leather shoulder armor by Una Burke over a UN3D. sheer top with a corset, a ruffle skirt by Japanese designer Limi Feu, a quilted Alexander McQueen bag, silver rings, and patent United Nude metal heeled shoes.

Emmanuelle’s favorite fashion designer is Limi Feu and she likes techno music. Follow her on Instagram for more of her fashion and Tokyo life.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

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