A surprising product just sneaked into Lawson’s upsize campaign.

Right now, Japan’s Lawson convenience store chain is holding a special “Chou Happy Sugi Challenge” campaign, which literally translates as “Super Happy Too Much! Challenge”. Running over four weeks in June, each week sees a new lineup of products getting upsized at no extra cost to customers, and right now, in week three, there’s one particular item that has caught everyone’s attention.

Most of the products in the campaign are larger-than-usual food and drink items, but this week, Lawson surprised everyone by upsizing an unexpected product – the long soft towel.

With the standard version being already a metre (3.3 feet) long, we needed to know what the 51-percent upsize would look like, so we purchased both towels for a size comparison.

▼ Two different sizes, but at the same 348 yen (US$2.44) price point.

Starting with the regular version, it definitely lived up to its “long” moniker. As much as it was long in length, it was also short in width, which is in keeping with the style of towel that’s popular in Japan for drying or washing small areas like your face and arms, and wearing around your neck or forehead when doing outdoor work.

Next, we unfolded the 51-percent larger version, and discovered that… it was loooong! Absolutely ridiculously long! Its length was almost double that of the regular version, making it an unusually oversized towel that you wouldn’t normally ever come across.

To get a true feel of the size difference, let’s take a look at them again.

▼ Standard size

▼ Super Happy Too Much! size.

▼ Whereas the standard is handy for wicking away sweat when worn around the neck of one person…

▼ …the long version can do the work for two people!

Needless to say, our reporters were overjoyed with the towel, and everyone in the office couldn’t help but marvel at the size of it. While they weren’t initially sure why Lawson thought to give this particular product the upsize treatment over all the others they could’ve chosen from, it certainly made an impact.

After thinking about it, we realised that upsizing the towel actually served a greater purpose, as it directed us to the daily sundries section, which is one of the least visited sections of a convenience store. It’s a clever way to get us to look beyond convenience store food, and now that we’ve seen what’s hiding there, we know there’s more to Lawson than just its massive bento lunches.

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Moo. #grickledoodle #horror #cow #cowboy #west #cartoon #weird #art #drawing #funny #humor

Japan’s Kansai region inspires some very bold baking in Shakey’s Japan’s ovens.

A while back, Shakey’s celebrated its 50th anniversary of arriving in Japan with a special selection of pizzas that it called the “American Pizza Tour.” But having passed the half-century mark in Japan now, the chain has seen some very tasty stuff in this country too, and brings us to Shakey’s newest creations, pizzas inspired by the culinary traditions of central Japan’s Kansai region.

We start with the Kansai Chili Con Carne Style Pizza. The topping for this complex concept is sujikon, a dish popular in Kansai made by simmering gyusuji (beef tendon) and konnyaku (konjac gelatin) simmered in a soy sauce-based stock. The sauce here has a Kansai twist too, as it’s a mixture of tomato sauce and Doro Sauce, a thick savory Worcestershire-like sauce made in Kobe with a little spicy kick to it.

Next we have the Saikyo Grilled Spanish Mackerel Alfredo Style Pizza. Kyoto is also part of the Kansai region, and while history buffs love the city for its temples and shrines, foodies are especially fond of saikyoyaki, a Kyoto specialty of white miso-marintaed grilled fish. Sawara (Spanish mackerel) is the most commonly used type of fish for saikyoyaki, and so that’s what comes with this pizza, with its elegantly sweet notes accompanied by a buttery Alfredo sauce and crisp mizuna (Japanese mustard greens).

Dessert also comes courtesy of inspiration from Kyoto cuisine. Though not mentioned in the name of the Matcha and Strawberry Dessert Pizza, here Shakey’s is drawing from nama yatsuhashi, Kyoto’s representative confectionary of folded mochi with anko (sweet red beans) inside and often a dusting of cinnamon. This dessert pizza has a butter anko sauce and is topped with little balls of gyuhi (extra soft mochi) and strawberry pieces, with matcha powder and cinnamon which should deliver an intriguing mix of sweet, bitter, and tart sensations.

And finally, Shakey’s will be serving up Doro Sauce BBQ Spaghetti too, which should let you get an even more pronounced taste of the condiment than with the Kansai Chili Con Carne Style Pizza.

There’s no denying that the new pizzas are all very bold, pioneering innovations…but it’s also hard to deny that they’re pretty weird. Since Shakey’s Japan operates on a flat-fee, all-you-can-eat system, though, there’s no need to commit to ordering a whole pie, so you can try a single slice first, then go back for more if/when they win you over.

Shakey’s Japan Tour 2026 Kansai, as the new items’ stint is called, runs from now until August 31.

Source: PR Times
Top image ©SoraNews24
Insert images: PR Times
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Avast, here not be free mooring, declares Kawasaki.

Even without much of a background in Japanese geography, I’m willing to bet that a lot of people would assume, correctly, that Kawasaki Ward is inside the city of Kawasaki. What far fewer people would be able to guess, though, is that inside Kawasaki Ward is a pirate ship.

And yet…

▼ Yarrr!!!

That 24.7-meter (81-foot) long vessel is the Anniversary Cruise. Okay, maybe not as intimidating a name as the Queen Anne’s Revenge or Night Rambler, but still a fitting-enough moniker for a party boat rentable for excursions in Tokyo Bay or the waters of the capital’s neighboring coastal prefectures of Kanagawa and Chiba. Or at least the Anniversary Cruise was available for rent, until its owners docked it in the Port of Kawasaki, directly to the south of Tokyo, in October of 2018.

Now, you might be thinking that the building it’s moored at looks like neither a pirates’ den nor a cruise office, and you’re right. That building behind it is the facility of Nihon Dust, a recycling and industrial waste management company. And if you’re surprised that a pleasure boat would be docked there, so too was Nihon Dust. Not only does Nihon Dust not rent out mooring space to other companies, extended mooring at that part of the canal is prohibited under the port’s regulations.

And yet, the Anniversary Cruise’s owners decided to park there anyway, apparently in the hope that no one would notice, or mind, a giant pirate ship that had suddenly appeared. Things, of course, did not turn out that way, and in November of 2018, Kawasaki City ordered the ship’s owners and operating company to remove the ship, but economic and legal issues hindered swift enforcement. So for nearly eight years, the Anniversary Cruise has remained abandoned in front of Nihon Dust.

You may have also noticed, though, that the Anniversary Cruise seems rather dramatically angled for a vessel that’s been sitting idle for close to a decade. On a day this past February when especially fierce winds were blowing, the ship tipped far enough that it began to take on water, and with the owners not in the mood to come by with a bilge pump, the listing is getting worse, as photos taken since then show that it’s partially sinking.

▼ April

ド派手な海賊船アニバーサリークルーズ号、川崎で何年間も放置された挙句浸水という可哀想な船
過去に鶴見線の橋梁に衝突したことがある pic.twitter.com/dLLTks8WBR

— レ 鉄 (@16_MCV) April 11, 2025

▼ May

まもなく川崎市の強制代執行で解体される、白河運河で座礁している海賊船アニバーサリークルーズ号

2枚目は鉄道の架線柱の間から女神像を
4枚目機銃掃射後と海賊船アニバーサリークルーズ号を#海賊船アニバーサリークルーズ号#白河運河 pic.twitter.com/7RDR8gGFN0

— MP (@mp_project2023) May 24, 2026

▼ June

「川崎の工業地帯に廃船がありますよ。」と教えてもらったので急遽見てきたんだけど、工業地帯で想像する船にしてはメルヘンすぎるだろ。
近々撤去されるらしい pic.twitter.com/iBL74RUUJ4

— toshibo｜書籍『8月32日』｜廃墟と写真 (@JIYUKENKYU_jp) June 15, 2026

Should the ship capsize and or/drift away from its mooring, it could severely disrupt shipping lanes and other port traffic, and so now Kawasaki City has decided that enough is enough, announcing on June 16 that it will begin demolition and removal of the Anniversary Cruise, scheduled to begin the next day. The process is projected to take approximately one month and cost roughly 33 million yen (US$209,000), an amount the city plans to charge the owners with covering.

Source: Sankei Shimbun, Funeco
Top image: Wikipedia/Binnette
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Not quite as glamourous as a secret bank account.

For most people doing long-haul domestic travel in Japan, the Shinkansen is their default method of getting from Point A to far-away Point B. However, sometimes it’s just as quick, if not quicker, to fly, especially if you’re starting at one end of the country and going all the way to the other.

In addition, while Shinkansen tickets are more or less constant in price, airfares fluctuate, so if you time your trip right, flying can be quicker and more economical than taking the train. Taking a plane starts to look like an even better option if you’re racking up frequent flyer miles…unless, that is, you’re a member of the yakuza, in which case trying to get frequent flyer miles can get you arrested.

On May 17, the Fukuoka Prefectural Police arrested Yuta Hirayama, a 42-year-old man from the town of Onojo, Fukuoka Prefecture. According to his arrest report, Hirayama has no officially designated job, but the police say he is a registered member of an organized crime syndicate that’s a subordinate group to the Kudo-kai, a Japanese mafia group based in Fukuoka.

Between June and November of 2023, Hirayama took nine domestic flights with a major Japanese airline, including flights between Fukuoka and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to visit an acquaintance who was in prison in east Japan. In the process, he accrued 4,224 frequent flyer miles to an account registered in his name. However, the terms of service for the airline’s frequent flyer program includes a clause that members, by using the program, profess that they are not members of a criminal organization. Based on their assertion that Hirayama is a member of such a group, the police say that by using his account to accrue miles, he committed an act of fraud.

As we’ve discussed before, transactions and service contracts with no-yakuza clauses are common in Japan. It’s illegal, for example, for yakuza members to make mobile phone contracts or attend professional baseball games, as telecom providers and sports leagues don’t want to be associated with criminal organizations. Businesses are especially leery of having yakuza as members of loyalty programs that offer any sort of customer credit, since it could be construed as providing them with financial benefits. That’s why, for example, there are supermarket point programs with no-yakuza clauses, and with 4,224 miles within the frequent flyer program that Hirayama was a member of being exchangeable for 4,224 yen (US$27) in flight credit, the airline has a no-yakuza clause as well.

There is an additional wrinkle to this case, though, in that Hirayama had been a member of the frequent flyer program since 2013, but the airline only added its no-yakuza clause in 2022. As such, even if proven to be a member of a criminal organization, Hirayama’s initial entry into the program wasn’t fraudulent. However, the 2022 no-yakuza clause was ostensibly among the periodic terms of service updates that such programs require users to agree to when logging into their account, placing the legal responsibility on yakuza members to read through the new terms and withdraw from the program. So while many people simply scroll down to where they can click “OK” on such updates, if you’re a gangster, you really should read through them.

It’s unclear whether prosecutors will seek jail time for Hirayama, but if he is confirmed to be a yakuza member, his frequent flyer miles will be forfeited.

Source: Asahi Shimbun via Yahoo! Japan News, Yomiuri Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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Grand theft arbor.

In this age of social media, it can be easy to get swept up in the lives of others and feel a pang of jealousy for those who have nicer things. Nevertheless, when it comes time to choose a plant to spruce up your home, it’s important to get one that fits your budget rather than splurging on the kind of high-end greenery all the famous celebrities are flaunting these days.

But for one 26-year-old man in the city of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, the allure of a really nice little tree in a local home center was, unfortunately, too powerful to resist. In the late afternoon of 7 June, the man was eyeing up a particularly premium potted plant selling for 275,000 yen (US$1,700). Averse to parting with so much money, he instead took a price tag from another item valued at 3,980 yen ($25) and replaced the plant’s one with it.

The plant in question is rather rare, so rare in fact, that it doesn’t even have a normal name and just goes by its scientific one of Operculicarya hyphaenoides in both English and Japanese. They’re native to Madagascar and are related to cashew trees. This type is also known as a caudex because of its fat trunk that stores water. These kinds of plants are quite popular for houseplant enthusiasts, partly because they have a natural bonsai feel to them.

▼ This video gives us a really good look at some.

However, when he attempted to purchase it, the cashier luckily had a keen eye for foliage and suspected something was wrong, refusing the purchase. The store had an incident involving someone swapping price tags the previous month, and was on high alert for it.

The man decided to leave without causing a scene, but the store contacted the police, who reviewed security camera footage. The video contained enough evidence to identify the man and implicate him for the houseplant fraud, resulting in his arrest on 8 June for the most recent incident.

The rareness of this particular plant also seems to have confused the media in Japan, which referred to it as a “cactus,” likely because it was in the cactus section of the home center where it was sold. Naturally, upon reading the news, many people online searched the plant’s name and were further confused by the mislabeling.

“It cost that much, and it doesn’t even look like a cactus?!”
“It looks like a baobab tree.”
“I have no idea what is good about that plant.”
“It’s got a strange shape, but the leaves look cute.”
“Cacti prices have really gone up, haven’t they?”
“They say it’s easy to grow cacti. He should have tried that.”
“That staff member knows the prices well.”
“He probably just wanted to sell it online.”

Police are currently investigating the man’s motive and whether he was involved in any other related crimes. If he did plan to sell it, he would have had a hard time of it. Given the rarity of these plants and the fact that each one tends to have a distinct look, it would have been pretty easy for police to spot it as soon as it appeared online.

So, chances are he just likes plants, but lacked the patience and discipline to save up for one himself. Let that be a lesson to all of us who have heard that devil whisper in our ear, seducing us into committing felonies for really nice houseplants. It’s just not worth it.

Source: TBS New Dig, Itai News
Top image: Pakutaso
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Whatever happened to just faking a stomach ache?

In March, a restaurant in Saga City received a phone call, and when an employee answered it, the voice on the other end of the call gruffly commanded “Go check your entrance.” When the staff did, they discovered a piece of paper with a chilling message written on it:

“I have planted a bomb.”

On this same night, the restaurant had a reservation for a farewell party, in which a group of coworkers was celebrating a colleague who was leaving the organization. Obviously, the restaurant couldn’t tell customers to come on in after receiving a bomb threat, so the party was cancelled, though thankfully no explosives were found, and the threat turned out to be a hoax.

Since the party was supposed to be for a police officer in the Saga Prefectural Police, you might expect the culprit to be someone with a beef against the justice system. Maybe it was a teenage delinquent he’d busted for shoplifting, or the loyal lieutenant of a yakuza boss serving time after the officer put him behind bars. Following an investigation into the matter, though, it was discovered that the bomb threat came from the police officer himself. Why? In his words:

“I didn’t want to go to my farewell party.”

The officer, a man in his 20s attached to the central division of the Saga Prefectural Police, was supposed to be leaving the force at the end of March, meaning he had less than a month to go until he’d be free from all such after-work functions. Apparently one more after-work night with his coworkers was one too many for his tastes, though.

His base motivation isn’t so hard to understand. Work farewell parties can sometimes be unpleasant for the person who’s being celebrated, since avoiding saying anything bad about the job everyone else at the party still has, and also not coming off as bragging about their new job, can make for tense, awkward conversations. Unfortunately for the officer, who has admitted to making the bomb threat, he’s no doubt since had to have many much more awkward conversations since his actions came to light.

▼ “How come you don’t want to work with us anymore?” is still an easier conversation than “How come you threatened to blow up a building?”

The ploy even seems to have extended his time at his job, as instead of reaching the end of his duty period at the end of March, he was given a formal reprimand and resigned on April 30. His case has been referred to the public prosecutor on charges of forced obstruction of business and intimidation, though it’s unclear whether or not his case will go to trial.

So remember, whether you’re dreading going to a work function or simply have a grudge against Nintendo, a bomb threat is never the wise way to solve your problem.

Source: RKB Mainichi Hoso via Yahoo! Japan News via Golden Times
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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Animals & Monsters: Cute, Scary, and a Little Weird is the perfect exhibition for anyone who delights in art that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

This summer, once you’re done shopping in the trendy streets of Tokyo’s Harajuku district, you won’t have to go far to enjoy a little taste of high culture. In fact, there’s some conveniently located right in front of Tokyo Metro Meiji-Jingumae Station and just around the corner from JR Harajuku Station at the Ota Memorial Museum of Art, a preeminent museum of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and drawings. However, this repository is offering a fun twist in its upcoming exhibition that might leave you laughing in the gallery.

From June 23-August 23, the Animals & Monsters: Cute, Scary, and a Little Weird exhibition will have 140 works on display, approximately one-fifth of which are new to the museum’s collection. The event will also be split into two parts that will display entirely different works of art during each.

So what makes it “cute, scary, and a little weird,” you ask? It’s the fact that even master artisans from 200 years ago weren’t afraid to be a little bit silly with their craft. Take this print that’s part of Yoshikazu Utagawa’s Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido series, for instance. At first glance, it appears to show some people being startled at a potato with a tail and legs (for the record, it’s actually a stone tiger–which still leaves us with lots of questions).

▼ “Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido Road: Oiso” by Yoshikazu Utagawa

If anthropomorphized animals are more your thing, you’ll enjoy the series of cat-humans (human-cats?) going about daily life in a variety of settings such as at a public bathhouse. This print would make for an excellent addition to your bathroom with the ability to potentially disturb your guests.

▼ “Cats’ Bathhouse” by unknown artist

Meanwhile, these cats seem to have rented a property with a bunch of their Japanese yokai friends and are throwing an all-night rager.

▼ “Cats’ Blowdart Stand” by Yoshifuji Utagawa

On the cuter side of things, there are plenty of prints of animals engaging in all kinds of antics. Take this fox that seems to be wearing the latest in cabbage couture and practicing the choreography to “Thriller.”

▼ “Dancing Fox” by Koson Ohara

Moving into the realm of the bizarre, don’t be weirded out by this chimera of all 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac that’s supposed to bring good luck to the household. Good luck in getting people to give a name to this guy, that is…

(Hey, at least it doesn’t look like it’s about to say, “Ed…ward…”)

▼ “Twelve Animal Signs of Oriental Zodiac Gathering to Form One Animal” by Yoshitora Utagawa

Finally, the jury’s still out on whether the below image is bizarre versus downright scary, but we’ll let you decide for yourselves. In all honesty, though, hopefully the museum will be selling merch with this print so that we can commemorate our visit to the real-life pond in Japan where human-faced fish are supposed to live with one.

▼ “Goldfish Resembling Kabuki Actors” by Yoshiiku Ochiai

Admission to the Ota Museum of Art is by cash only, at 1,200 yen (US$7.53) for adults and 800 yen for university and high school students. Junior high school students and younger enter for free, though you’ll have to be the judge of whether any kids you take with you will find the artwork to be hysterical or terrifying.

Come to think of it, our team of writers will have to take a field trip to see the exhibition when it opens. They’ll fit right in with all of the strange antics being depicted.

Exhibition information
Animals & Monsters: Cute, Scary, and a Little Weird / アニマル＆モンスター  かわいい・怖い・ちょっと変
Ota Memorial Museum of Art / 太田記念美術館
Address: Tokyo-to, Shibuya-ku, Jingumae 1-10-10
東京都渋谷区神宮前 1-10-10
Duration: June 23-August 23 (Part I: June 23-July 20, Part II: July 25-August 23)
Open: 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. (last entry at 5 p.m.)
Closed: June 29, July 6, July 13, July 21-24, July 27, August 3, August 10, August 17
Website

Source, images: Ota Memorial Museum of Art press release
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If you need a break from the noise in your life, this Koenji cafe is waiting for you.

In Tokyo you’re never very far away from a convenience store or vending machine, so going to a cafe to have a drink is about more than just quenching your thirst. It’s about enjoying the atmosphere of a cozy or stylish space, and while some people might see that as conducive to lively conversation, others prefer a place that offers peaceful relaxation conducive to contemplation, and for those in the latter group, there’s R Zadokushokan.

早番報告
外がしっとりした空気になってきて、水槽の音がいつもよりお店のと馴染んでいるような気がします。
窓から少し入る風が心地よくてしっとりしている中で少しさらさらしたような気持ちになれます。

一人立ちしたての新人スタッフですが、空気の質を細かくとらえてくれてます

13:00空席7 pic.twitter.com/bxVwP0R15e

— 読書喫茶室 アール座読書館 (@rzadokushokan) April 29, 2026

Located in Tokyo’s Koenji neighborhood, The “Zadokushokan” part of R Zadokushokan’s name translates to “sitting and reading building,” and the place has the vibes of a classy reading room.

空気報告→ふかふかの毛布に包まれているような雰囲気です

店主:心身を深く緩めることが出来ると、そんな心持ちになれます

20:30 空席5 pic.twitter.com/15MncEDHXP

— 読書喫茶室 アール座読書館 (@rzadokushokan) May 14, 2026

But what really makes R Zadokushokan unique is that the cafe explicitly asks customers to “please refrain from long conversations.” So while walking across the threshold doesn’t mean you’ve committed to a monastery-like vow of silence, it does mean that customers agree to keep their chitchat at a minimum. Aside from a few words exchanged between customers and staff when ordering, and the occasional sounds of the city outside that seep through the walls and windows, the only things you’ll be hearing are ambient sounds like the burbling of the water pump for the cafe’s aquarium or the soft mechanical click as its electric fan gently turns back and forth.

アール座読書館、エセルの中庭ではアルバイトの応募を随時受付けております。
※募集のタイミングで選考が行われます。

曜日固定 週2〜3日程度

ご興味ある方はスタッフまでお声がけ下さい。
折返し仕事内容や選考についてご説明致します。

内容詳細→https://t.co/PrsYPfe7Jd pic.twitter.com/OFNFO1fOT2

— 読書喫茶室 アール座読書館 (@rzadokushokan) May 9, 2026

Our ace reporter Mr. Sato isn’t exactly a regular customer at R Zadokushokan, but he’s visited more than a few times, and recently stopped by one again. Mr. Sato spends most of his days chasing down trends as he looks for weird and wonderful things to write about, and when he’s on the move he’s pretty much always listening to music through earphones stuck in his ears. It’s exciting and all, but after a while that sort of sensory overload can start to saturate his cerebrum, and when he feels that sensation coming on he makes a detour to R Zadokushokan.

R Zadokushokan doesn’t have rules banning the use of smartphones or laptops (as long as they’re not emitting noise from their speakers). Even without any such formal policy, though, Mr. Sato feels like electronic devices would be sort of a mismatch for this atmosphere, and so when he visits he goes old-school in his musings, writing down his thoughts and drafting articles with pen and paper.

Being here, Mr. Sato’s thinking process starts to slow down, but it becomes clearer too. Yes, writing this way takes more time than typing, but when he’s at this cafe, speed isn’t his goal. He’s looking for a place where he can think deeply and thoroughly, and he doesn’t want to waste the opportunity to find meaningfully expressive words by rushing though his search for them.

With each line his pen leaves on the paper, Mr. Sato feels like he’s clearing away the unwanted, unnecessary distractions from his mind, and transferring what he really wants to say onto the page. That sensation of the world coming into sharper focus by stepping away from both the literal and mental noise that so often surrounds us is why he keeps coming back to R Zadokushokan, and why he recommends it to anyone looking for the same sensory reset.

Cafe information
R Zadokushokan / アール座読書館
Address: Tokyo-to, Suginami-ku, Koenji Minami 3-57-6
東京都杉並区高円寺南3丁目57-6
Open noon-10 p.m.
Closed Mondays
Twitter

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Even with a shop name like Mayo x Mayo, we weren’t expecting this much mayo.

The word “original” has a bit of a different nuance in Japanese. It’s not so much used to describe something revolutionary or inventive so much as something that’s unique to a specific place. So, for example, a restaurant that makes its own roux from scratch, as opposed to using any sort of pre-made version, might boast about its “original curry,” even if the restaurant’s curry itself is pretty orthodox in style.

But we recently stumbled across a mayonnaise specialty shop in Kobe that’s original in both senses of the word.

▼ オリジナルマヨのお店 = original mayo shop

Called Mayo x Mayo, the simple but inviting storefront is flanked by a little outdoor terrace section. After stepping inside the shop, we saw that they do indeed offer their proprietary mayo in both pouches and glass jars.

But what really grabbed our attention was the blackboard with Mayo x Mayo’s wares listed on it, which included a section for wagashi…

…a.k.a. Japanese sweets?!?

The first item under the wagashi heading was mitarashi dango. Dango are mochi dumplings, generally served skewered, and mitarashi dango is what they’re called when they’re slathered with sweet soy sauce glaze, but at Mayo x Mayo, the mitarashi dango come with mayo too.

We’re not talking about a little dab of mayo for color or a subtle flavor accent that might go undetected if you weren’t looking for it. Mayo x Mayo puts a ton of mayo on them, so much so that there might even be more mayonnaise than mitarashi glaze.

While Japan has a loyal foodie sub-demographic of hard-core mayo fans, our Japanese-language reporter Haruka Takagi doesn’t count herself among them, but she doesn’t dislike mayo either. She likes mayonnaise, but thinks of it as just one of many tasty condiments there are in the world, or at least that’s what she thinks when she bothers to think about mayonnaise at all, something that doesn’t happen all that often, to be honest. This made Haruka the perfect candidate for taste-testing duties, since she isn’t predisposed to love or hate mayonnaise itself. She was, however, understandably apprehensive about this unusual flavor combination would play out, and so, steeling her resolve, she swiftly bit down and tore one of the dumplings off the stick…

…and it turned out she hadn’t needed to worry at all!

To her happy surprise, Mayo x Mayo’s mayonnaise mitarashi dango tasted great! Part of this is thanks to Japanese mayonnaise being comparatively thicker in consistency and less sour-tasting than its western counterparts, and another part is thanks to Mayo x Mayo’s mayo having very little sourness to it at all, even in comparison to other Japanese versions. What you’re left with is a very pronounced creamy sensation, which blended deliciously with the sweet and salty flavors of the mitarashi glaze. Haruka had expected the two sauces to acrimoniously fight each other for dominance and for her taste buds to suffer as collateral damage from the battle, but they actually played very nicely together, and the mitarashi glaze that Mayo x Mayo uses being an especially sweet example also helped.

Mayo x Mayo charges 240 yen (US$1.50) for its mayo mitarashi dango, but you can also get a skewer of regular mitarashi dango, without mayonnaise, for 200 yen. However, you can’t get away from the mayonnaise with another of the shop’s desserts, their daifuku.

Daifuku are also a kind of mochi dumpling, but whereas dango are solid spheres, daifuku have a mochi wrapping that goes around some sort of filling, most commonly anko (sweet bean paste). At Mayo x Mayo, though, the filling also includes mayonnaise.

Mayo x Mayo offers two kinds of daifuku, both with a cream cheese anko filling with mayo mixed in too. The Black Daifuku (which is actually brown on the outside) also gives you the flavor of hojicha (roasted green tea) while the White Daifuku’s extra ingredient is honey (both are priced at 300 yen).

Once again, the result was much more delicious to Haruka than conventional wisdom would have led her to expect. The primary impression here came from the rich cream cheese flavor with a touch of saltiness, and though the mayo wasn’t nearly as pronounced as it was with the dango, she could still taste its presence.

Haruka had also picked up a pouch of Mayo x Mayo’s original mayo, for 680 yen, though, so she decided to add a squeeze of the stuff to her daifuku…

…and though she was no longer surprised by this point, she was happy to find that this was also a great-tasting combination.

Since then, Haruka has tested Mayo x Mayo’s mayo out with other, non-dessert food, and she reports that it works great for more conventional mayonnaise uses too. A trip all the way back to Kobe to restock might not be in the cards when her pouch runs out, but thankfully Mayo x Mayo sells its mayonnaise online too. And if seeing photos of daifuku has your stomach growling more so than the mayo, there’s a new dessert spot opening in Tokyo soon that you won’t want to miss.

Shop information
Mayo x Mayo
Address: Hyogo-ken, Kobe-shi, Higashinada-ku, Yamakitamachi 3-7-11
兵庫県神戸市東灘区本山北町3-7-11
Open 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.
Closed Sundays
Website

Photos ©SoraNews24
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Japanese convenience store food, like you’ve never seen it before. 

If you’re looking for value-for-money on your next convenience store run, then Lawson is the place to go right now, because the chain is holding a special “Super Happy Too Much! Challenge” campaign, where select products are being upsized for free.

This is the second week of the campaign, which brings us a new lineup of 10 larger-than-usual products, and the standouts for us turned out to be two products in the bread aisle.

▼ The 51-percent upsized Shrimp Crackers with Sweet Rice Wine got a second look from us as well.

While we ended up bypassing the crackers, we couldn’t resist purchasing the Too Much! Menchi Burger (387 yen [US$2.41])…

▼ … and the Curry Bread and Minced Meat Cutlet (192 yen).

These wildly inventive creations have been causing a buzz since they were released on 9 June, and when we saw them in person, we immediately understood why.

Firstly, the Too Much! Menchi Burger is visually stunning, as the weight of the menchi katsu (miced meat cutlet) has been increased by more than 51 percent compared to the regular version.

▼ The cutlet is now so big it juts out the sides like a meaty moustache.

While the menchi-to-bun ratio is now drastically outweighed, the taste remains outstanding. Since it’s prepared in-store, as part of Lawson’s “Machikado Kitchen” prepared food lineup, the menchi katsu comes out hot and crispy, with an irresistible, freshly fried crunch.

▼ The inside of the cutlet is plump and generous, with onion adding extra flavour to the juicy meat.

Next, we move on to the curry bread, which has a Japanese name that translates as: “Too Much Pairing! European-Style Curry Bread & Jutting-out Menchi Katsu“.

Curry bread, or “Kare Pan” as it’s known in Japanese, is usually served on its own, as a rounded morsel of battered, fried bread with a curry filling in the centre. This new product, however, changes everything we thought we knew about curry bread by using them as buns, and sandwiching a fried meat cutlet between them.

▼ A triple-fry burger, with a menchi katsu jutting out from the centre.

Despite the fry-heavy elements, this “burger” was actually less greasy than we thought it would be. Both the curry bread and the menchi katsu did have strong, distinctive flavors, though, so there were moments when we found ourselves thinking, “Wait, what exactly am I eating right now?” To be honest, the combination is so intense that it can leave your taste buds feeling a little overwhelmed as the two main ingredients compete for your attention, and it’s seriously filling so you might want to eat it in two sittings.

▼ The curry bread and cutlet were a full-on pairing, so it lived up to its name.

While Week One of the campaign went overboard with drinks that were extremely salty and extremely sweet, our choices for Week Two challenged our bellies and our preconceptions of what convenience store food can be.

We learned that too much menchi katsu can be well matched for a burger, while the too-much pairing of curry bread and menchi katsu can be too much for the taste buds. In the end, though, we were left with full bellies and a new appreciation for Lawson, who dared to take convenience store food to new realms with such bold, attention-grabbing creations.

Photos ©SoraNews24
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Summer in Japan can be brutally hot, but thankfully, Thanko is here to help.

We’ve still got some time until the full force of the summer heat hits, but with the weather in Japan expected to get so hot that the government had to start deciding on new words to officially describe it, it’s already time to start thinking about countermeasures. And sure, those Studio Ghibli uchiwa paper fans are beautiful, but for those looking for heavier-duty heat relief, Japanese gadget maker Thanko has, as it so often does, an unusual offering ready for the task.

Thanko calls it the Cold Wind USB Spot Ice Fan, and it’s meant to provide you with a more effective blast of cold air than you’d get with a regular electric fan, but without the side-effect waste heat, costly installation, or high running costs of a conventional air conditioning unit.

The unit draws in air from near its base, sucks it up, and then blows it out the tube at the top. In between, it passes through an ice pack, cooling the air and then compressing it into the exit hose, so that it blows out with extra force, focusing the breeze exactly where you want it to, most likely directly on yourself.

The reusable ice pack comes pre-filled with a powdered freezing agent. Add water and freeze it, and it’ll last you for four hours of fan use.

It’s extremely rare for homes and apartments in Japan to have centralized heating/air conditioning systems, and instead you have to install a separate unit for each and every room you want coverage in. This often means that hallways, bathrooms, and spaces towards the center of the home end up with no air conditioning, and the Cold Wind USB Spot Ice Fan looks like a handy way to cool off those places where putting in a full AC unit would be impractical and/or expensive.

As for the USB part of the name, the device gets its power though a USB C port, and can be used either plugged into an AC adaptor or a mobile battery. The fan has three speed settings (high, medium, and low), and Thanko says that even though its efficient design means it uses only about one-fifth the electricity of a normal electric fan, it’ll still have you feeling three degrees Celsius (5.4 degree Fahrenheit) cooler.

The Cold Wind USB Spot Ice Fan is available through Thanko’s online store here, where it’s priced at 7,980 yen (US$51). And if you’re wondering if Thanko has weird and wonderful ways to keep you warm in the winter too, they sure do.

Source, images: PR Times
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