Dydo Melon Shake: There were always tons of Dydo vending machines in Tokyo selling discounted drinks at most street corners or metro stops. Perhaps because drinking in public is considered a bit of a faux paus in Japan, lots of the vending machines sell very small bottles for quickly quenching your thirst. This small melon shake came in a stout aluminum can / bottle and is an uncarbonated combination of melon and sugary milk. It had an unmistakable cantaloupe flavor but tasted more like candy than a drink.... (read more) 2.0/5.0
drinks vendingmachines japanese dydo melon shake 2.0
Samanco red bean ice cream: Really disappointing. dry styrofoam coating, generic vanilla ice cream, syrupy red bean 1.5/5.0
hmart japanese asian samanco red bean ice cream 1.5 icecream
Marusan sesame honey soymilk: Taste is reminiscent of black sesame porridge you can buy in powder packets. All three flavors are present (black sesame, honey, and soymilk) but fail to work together. Very sweet, strange flavor overall. Not recommended. 1.5/5.0
marusan japanese drinks soymilk avoid blacksesame 1.5 honey soy sesame
Glico vanilla ice cream snack: I've seen variants of this product before and have always been somewhat curious but not enough to purchase. This particular snack came in my latest #munchpak installment, which was a good excuse to try it. It consists of a wafer-like cone with an airy, yet oddly moist filling that resembles whipped butter in texture and texture. I really disliked the cone, which had a texture similar to cardboard (and a flavor to match). The vanilla filling had a slimy mouthfeel, which is off putting to say ... (read more) 1.5/5.0
glico japanese icecream vanilla 1.5 avoid sweets ice cream snack
Meiji Ujikintoki Ice Bars: I've been very slowly working through this box of popsicles for about a month now. Having previously tried a Lotte version of packaged kakigori ice bars, I decided to try this matcha version not realizing it was from a different brand (Meiji). These ice cream bars are really quite bad; the green tea ice is very hard and crunchy and lacks flavor, whole red bean throughout the ice have a very dry texture, the viscous condensed milk that sits on top of it is far too sweet, and the outer coati... (read more) 1.5/5.0
popsicles japanese dessert avoid maretsu icecream popsicle meiji ujikintoki ice bars 1.5
Suntory Melon Pop Soda: I'm not sure what I expected from this atomic green soda, somehow even more neon green than Surge, the height of artificial soda in America. But I think I was craving some variety after not drinking any interesting beverages for some time. I purchased the bottle from a 100¥ discount vending machine. It tastes just as you would expect: super sweet, but not actually tasting that much of melon; more like liquid fruit gummy candy. I've actually just realized that I believe this is the melon ... (read more) 1.5/5.0
avoid drinks japanese suntory melon pop soda 1.5