The Penny Ice Creamery Lemon Poppy Seed Ice Cream with Blackberry Compote: Waited in line for about 20 minutes to enter this small ice cream shop in downtown Santa Cruz. Entire clientele was student-aged. They make all their ice cream in house, and they had some interesting flavors like celery and raisin sorbet (which I sampled but found did not taste as much of celery as I would like). I got a mini scoop of their lemon poppy seed ice cream with fresh made blackberry compote, which cost a little more than $4. You can tell from the texture of the ice cream that ... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended pennyicecreamery santacruz icecream dessert thepennyicecreamery lemon poppy seed ice cream blackberry compote 3.5
KitKat Yuzu kitkat: There's a small KitKat shop in Ginza. I'm not sure if it's the main one because I've seen more KitKats in a room in most malls here, but they did have them individually packaged in nice collector cases. They were pretty pricey, a $3 for a single KitKat (not even the type you break in two, which I thought was a defining characteristic given the jingle but apparently not in Japan). I purchased the most interesting looking one: Yuzu. It's actually very good: sour and tart, like a lemon flavore... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended japanese citrus chocolate kitkat yuzu 4.0
North Colors Nori Potato Chips: Bought these potato chips from a local grocery store. The brand logo is a symbol of Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan and what I've learned is often representative of quality, particularly when it comes to food. According to the website, these chips are made with rice bran oil, salt, and sea water from Hokkaido, along with flecks of Nori. Unfortunately, I found the ridged chips to be subpar; they're very saturated in oil, which gives them a weak crispy texture and makes them feel... (read more) 2.0/5.0
potatochips hokkaido japanese northcolors nori potato chips 2.0
Fanta Socata Soda: This is a limited edition vending-machine exclusive in Japan from Fanta, the first in a series they're calling 'Delicious Flavours of the World,' where they introduce flavors only available in other regions of the world to the Japanese market. I found out about it because I was intrigued by the name SOCATA?! on the label, with the universal white and blue color scheme of mystery flavors (e.g. White Air Heads, Mystery Oreo, etc.) The label also features a castle in the background, hinting a... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks soda japanese vendingmachine fanta socata 3.5
Bake Cheese Tart Original Cheese Tart: While walking through Tokyo station, I came across this small shop with a sizeable, but not intimidatingly-so, line and the aroma of baked goods. They specialize in cheese tarts, some flavored with chocolate or seasonally with strawberry, but I went for the original, which is a little smaller than a typical Portguese / Chinese egg tart. The pastry base is twice baked, and the interior is largely cream cheese that has a baked browned crust of brueleed cheese. The texture of the cheese unde... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended tokyo tokyostation dessert tart creamcheese bakecheesetart original cheese 3.5
Yotchan Cuttlefish Snack: Bought this at a 7-11 on my way home mostly because of the packaging. I didn't bother translating anything about it in advance, so I was in for a surprise. Let me cut to the verdict: this is a truly awful snack. It tastes like white vinegar and salt and has a chewy yet stale texture like Bubble Tape that's been sitting around since the 90s. I gathered from the package that it was a squid snack, and I still think it probably is: little white squares of awful processed cuttlefish. At least it ... (read more) 0.5/5.0
711 japanese seafood junkfood yotchan cuttlefish snack 0.5 avoid