Local sweets-fan favorite serves as inspiration for one of two donuts not available anywhere else in the world.

You’d think it’d be hard for a city of nearly two and a half million people to get overlooked, but that’s the position Nagoya often finds itself in. Despite having some very cool stuff (like a castle and good access to the Studio Ghibli anime theme park), Nagoya is often skipped by travelers and pop stars alike, perhaps because it can’t match the big-city glamor of Tokyo and Osaka, but also doesn’t have the same traditional mystique as Kyoto or Nara.

But you know who never forgets about Nagoya? Krispy Kreme. The donut chain’s Premium Nagoya series is a selection of special, extra-decadent donuts that are only offered in Nagoya, and specifically only at the JR Nagoya Takashimaya branch in the Takashimaya department store that’s attached to Nagoya Station.

With the weather getting warmer, two new Nagoya-exclusive treats are on their way, one of which makes use of the city’s best-loved sweets themes: an (sweet bean past) and butter.

The Krispy Kreme Nagoya Premium Lemon and An Butter is a bun-style donut that wraps around a filling of sweet and tart lemon jam, an, and butter. While many Nagoya sweets shops combine butter and red an (such as in the an butter toast served by many cafes in the city), for this donut Krispy Kreme uses white an, which has a more refined sweetness and cleaner finish. Add in the richness of the butter, and you’ve got a complex flavor profile that also promises to be refreshingly citrusy as we head into the hottest time of the year.

Joining the lemon an butter donut on the menu will be the Krispy Kreme Nagoya Premium Peach and Vanilla. Aichi actually supplies quite a bit of Japan’s produce, including white peaches, and this donut is filled with peach jam with pieces of fruit in it, and also vanilla cream. You also get a swirl of cream around the top of the donut plus a pistachio accent, making the Nagoya Premium Peach and Vanilla very pretty to look at in those scant few seconds before your willpower crumbles and you dig in.

Both donuts are priced at 389 yen (US$2.50), go on sale May 27, and are projected to be around until late August, giving us all two more reasons to visit Nagoya this summer (though if you can’t make it, McDonald’s Japan has a way to bring some Nagoya flavor to the rest of the country too).

Shop information
Krispy Kreme Donuts (JR Nagoya Takashimaya branch) / クリスピー・クリーム・ドーナツ（ジェイアール名古屋タカシマヤ店）
Address: Aichi-ken, Nagoya-shi, Nakamura-ku, Meieki 1-1-4 JR Nagoya Takashimaya 1st floor North Block
愛知県名古屋市中村区名駅1-1-4ジェイアール名古屋タカシマヤ1F北ブロック
Open 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Website

Source: PR Times
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Salutes to local specialties of Hokkaido, Nagoya, and more now available across Japan.

A lot of the “Japan!” part of McDonald’s Japan’s recent offerings has come from tie-ups with popular Japanese pop culture franchises. And while we’re as happy as anyone about the Chiikawa Happy Meal toys, Gundam-themed sandwiches, and Hello Kitty-themed dessert drinks, the newest arrivals on the menu take inspiration from Japan for their actual flavors too.

The new Gotochi Mac, or “Regional McDonald’s” offerings, start off with a nod to the country’s northernmost prefecture in the form of the Hokkaido Jaga Cheese Teriyaki. With Hokkaido being home to Japan’s largest share of dairies and swaths of potato farmland, this is an enhanced version of McDonald’s Japan’s teriyaki pork patty burger, with a special filling of chunky Hokkaido potatoes and cheese, plus another slice of white cheddar for good measure.

Next comes the Tebasaki-style Black Pepper Juicy Chicken, a salute to one of Japan’s most criminally underrated local delicacies: Nagoya-style tebasaki (chicken wings). Treated with a sweet glaze with a touch of spice and plenty of pepper, this chicken cutlet sandwich lets you enjoy a taste of Nagoya without getting your fingers all sticky.

Then there’s the Hakata Mentaiko Butter Teriyaki, a teriyaki pork burger with cheese and mentaiko, spicy cod roe. A specialty of Fukuoka Prefecture, mentaiko ordinarily has a soft but gritty texture, but for this sandwich it’s mixed into buttery mayo for a creamier consistency.

And for early-risers, the Hokkaido Jaga Cheese Teriyaki also has a McMuffin variant.

Finally, rounding out the Gotochi Mac lineup is a new flavor for McDonald’s Japan’s Shaka Shaka French Fry series, in which you get a seasoning packet to pour onto your fries and shake up in the bag. The newest member of the Shaka Shaka family is Black Curry, the local-favorite type of curry in the city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. Aside from its darker color (which is really more of a very dark brown), black curry tends to be spicier than other kinds of Japanese curry and also has some bitter notes to its flavor profile, so this should be a unique fry-eating experience.

The Hokkaido Jaga Cheese Teriyaki McMuffin is priced at 410 yen (US$2.65), the other sandwiches at 490 yen, and the Black Curry Shaka Shaka powder at 50 yen (added on to whatever size of fries you’re ordering). The whole lineup is on sale now.

Source: McDonald’s Japan via Entabe
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One of Japan’s most popular dessert mascots is set to go with you as you tap through ticket gates.

Last year, one of Japan’s many railway companies, JR East, announced that they would be retiring their iconic mascot character featured on their rechargeable prepaid transit card, Suica, much to the dismay of many of its fans. Meanwhile, JR Central, another rail company, has decided to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Nagoya’s beloved dessert Piyorin with a special release of its Toica card.

Despite the similar sounding names, the massive JR (Japan Railways) network is split into independent regional companies that operate within their own territories. For example, JR East handles Tokyo and northern Japan, while JR Central manages the lines surrounding Nagoya and the central Tokai region. Unlike several countries where trains are state-run, Japan’s rail networks are entirely privately owned by companies such as these (though the JR network was previously the government-run Japanese National Railways from 1949 until 1987).

As a result of this regional division, each JR company issues its own transit card, commonly referred to as an IC card, for daily travel. Travelers arriving into Tokyo are usually introduced to the Suica (JR East) or Pasmo (Tokyo Metro and many other non-JR lines around Tokyo) cards that let them tap through ticket gates seamlessly. In the Central Japan region around Nagoya, the local equivalents are the Toica (JR Central) and Manaca (Nagoya Subway, Meitetsu, and other non-JR lines around Nagoya) cards.

While these cards are issued separately within their own regions and feature different mascots, which can lead some to travel around Japan collecting them, many of the cards are completely interoperable.

▼ I have a long way to go.

A Toica card purchased in Nagoya, for example, can be used on Tokyo subways, Kyoto buses, and at thousands of convenience stores nationwide.

The commemorative Piyorin Toica card has the standard Toica chick mascots alongside Piyorin on the face of the card.

Piyorin itself is a famous Nagoya fresh dessert made from locally sourced eggs, consisting of pudding wrapped in vanilla bavarois and covered in crumbly sponge cake.

People looking to grab the new Piyorin Toica card will need to make their way to the region operated by JR Central (Nagoya and its surroundings) where it will begin being dispensed in late May 2026 from automatic ticket vending machines and customer service windows at major train stations. For those further away, sales will start at JR Tokai ticket windows at major Shinkansen stations along the Tokaido line from September 1, 2026. Smaller stations within the coverage area will also get access to the Piyorin card supply at this time. Each card will cost 2,000 yen (US$13), which includes 1,500 yen as a usable amount and a 500 yen deposit.

As part of the celebration JR Central released a special online-exclusive Piyorin Toica card in a paulownia wood storage box costing 4,980 yen. However, the 3,000 sets were completely sold out within a couple of days of its launch, attesting to Piyorin’s popularity.

If you’re expecting to go out tomorrow and pick up a Piyorin Toica, you might face some disappointment, as they’ll only start to be dispensed when current Toica card stocks run out, so the start date of the sales will vary depending on the station. Sales of the Piyorin cards will also end when they run out at each station, so there is definitely an element of luck to getting one, if the online sales are anything to go by. That being said, a Piyorin card is a great way to make a souvenir of your travels just a little bit sweeter.

Related: Online-Exclusive Piyorin Toica Card, JR Tokai Ticket Window Locations, Toica Usage Information
Source: PR Times
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