For 100 yen, a box from the Sushi Strap Collection can be selected, whose contents remain unknown till you open it up.

I got this cute piece of hamachi, which followed us through-out Japan attached to our keitai.

This first excursion into a convenience store also happened to be where we picked up the ominous Bacon Caesar Salad Pringles…
shudder.

It was also a first for someone gawking at me in all my gaijin-ness. A man wearing a Britney Spears t-shirt gave me a speechless jaw dropped look when he spotted me in the store… and heavens I don’t resemble the pop star at all! But it did seem like he was going to start chasing after me any second…
Maybe he was wondering if I could pass on a fan note to Britney.

Taking in all the drink types in the coolers, it was also noted that one can purchase plastic cups filled with ice (because there is no soda fountain self-serve culture). I tend to believe that most sodas and juice taste better over ice, so these ice cups with a box of grapefruit juice quickly became a favorite way to beat the Japanese heat. Mmmm… I can practically taste the grapefruit juice as I think of it!

I remember being all a flutter upon finding dark chocolate Kit Kats during a brief visit to Canada last summer. They were great, a pleasure to find a variation on an old favorite. And a much more rewarding experience than the stinky yucky Bacon Caesar Salad Pringles… shudder.

Well… check these babies out! Adzuki Bean, Fruit Parfait and Green Tea flavors of Kit Kats.

By the way, feel free to help me out with translations on the packages… I’m just kind of guessing that top one is adzuki bean.

The Adzuki Bean and Fruit Parfait came in traditional Kit Kat size, vs the Green Tea with Adzuki Bean ones that were a smaller size and came in a bag. The imagery on their bag is of green tea shaved ice topped with adzuki beans and condensed milk- a common treat that we spotted being served at several of the temples we visited. The Green Tea ones were by far my favorite… not too sweet, smooth, with a hint of smokey tea flavor. This combination of flavors won a place in my heart when I first sampled them ala Haagen Daz. The pairing of deep caramel like flavors with the more identifiable green tea flavor are soon to be finding their way about my kitchen here at home! I’ll have to see how far I can stretch my tiny 4 oz jar of adzuki paste. Not enough I can tell already.

The other two Kit Kat flavors were unfortuantely too sweet to really enjoy. The sugar level was surprising given that most of the deserts we had had up to that point were delightfully scaled down in their sweetness. The Fruit Parfait definatley had a melange of fruit going on, strawberry, melon, and a hint of banana. And they really were as pretty as the package indicates them to be.

These were a fun play with new takes on old favorites.

• French Bakeries are everywhere! Cream puffs are very popular and sold refrigerated to keep the cream filling very cold. Tiramisu is another popular dessert flavor. It fits in very well with the easily found parfait style dessert.
• In a land of many food stores and bakeries lining the streets- I have yet to see anyone eat outside of a restaurant. Food is simply not eaten out in public! I’ve been marveling at this all along, but yesterday’s gazing out at the crowds of Kyoto’s train station was simply stunning in that no one was drinking or eating. Were this America, every teenager would have a Big Gulp glasped in their hand, and all the Christina Agularia looking fashionistas would be clutching mochas or some other Starbucks type whipped drink.
• Take home convenience meals are very notable in the grocery stores. Lots of prepped food items, from pre-chopped stir fries, and meats already threaded on a skewer, to breaded items that just need deep frying.
• Chocolate is gaining ground in popularity. Apparently word got out that cocoa can be good for you, now single varietals with cocoa percentages listed is the rage. We even see 99% cocoa bars sold along side candy bars here! In a moment I can only attribute to jet lag, I bought one to try… yep, its just baking chocolate… eeeuuuch! For all its gaining popularity, chocolate is still very much an accessory flavor. The bakeries for example, don’t carry chocolate-items per se. They do have chocolate filled crossaints, but I have not seen a chocolate cookie or brownie. I think a brownie would blow their minds.
• Japanese desserts are a nice mellow level of sweetness- much more muted and subtle to my previous aesthetic. Maybe its the heat- but I find myself not being able to stand anything that is too sweet.
• Hot dogs and sausages are popular. Corn dogs are noted asAmerican style hot dogs. Our night out for sushi revealed even cute weiner nigiri! A finger sized sausage on a pillow of rice, strapped down with a nori belt and drizzled with mayo.
• With such the influx of buttery pasteries and other non-Japanese style treats, I can’t help but speculate on Japan’s changing health statistics…

Sweets and I have been up to venturing around by ourselves in the nearby grocery store. Our new standard lunch is to share a salad topped with slices of maguro or tamago and maybe a fried something or other from the deli section. The grocery store has been such a fun array of goodies. Everything is begging to be taken back with me in my luggage. From the dark sesame toast spread, to my favorite chu-hi, I’m glad we packed light on our way over!

And oh my- the Chu-Hi! Japan’s answer to the wine cooler, these are alcoholic soda’s that run 5-6% alcohol with out tasting one bit different from a soda. So far my favorite flavors are grapefruit, lime and litchi. Being a sucker for marketing, my favorite brand has a wrinkled can that ripples into a drum noise when you first pop the can open! I can’t wait to see that gimick catch on in the USA.

Fun varieties of American foods have been popping up like crazy. From the bacon caesar salad flavored pringles to amazingly delicious Haagan-Daz parfaits, we’re floating in a world of wonderful flavors. Ok, except for the pringles… those were crazy aweful. Surprisingly the bacon flavor did not work in the concept recreation. Instead, these crisps taste like sour cream and onion with a hint of weiner. Yuck.

The layered thing works well with the pastries here. This ice cream parfait captured my heart our first night. From the smooth creamy ice cream mixed with the sweet roasted tasting bean paste… it’s a sumptuous blend of flavors and textures as the chewy beans pop in for some extra time to play around your mouth. Also available are more western style flavors like chocolate nut ice cream parfaits, and layered flavors like tiramisu. I’m really trying to not go for western flavors though… heck, I can get those when ever.

Sweets and I are going to be bringing back a list of goodie favorites to ask our nearby Asian Market to import. Like the kit-kats we just spotted tonight at the local Sunkus (like 7-11)! Oh, just you wait till I post those flavors!

Tomorrow we are off to Hiroshima, then Himeji-jo and meeting up with our friend Chris at Kyoto. It will probably be a couple days till we next update our flickr set!

Till then, happy flavors and sweet dreams…

Ask for a special meal option. Sweets did the ticket arranging and put us both down for the kosher meal option. This was the first time trying airline kosher- it gets a thumbs up. Additionally, having a special meal means they bring your food to you first.

Our kosher meal consisted of baked chicken on rice with carrots and green beans, a cold wild rice raisin salad, two rolls- one wheat one white, and a brownie with a cup of tea.

Air Canada also offers the following meal choices:

• asian vegetarian
• baby
• bland/ulcer
• children



• diabetic
• fruit plate
• gluten free
• hindu
• low calorie
• low fat
• low cholesterol
• low sodium
• muslim
• non-lactose
• oriental
• strict vegetarian
• vegetarian lacto-ovo

Sweets and I are rested and ready to venture out when our host, Chris, comes back for lunch!

And btw- so much for escaping heat… Tokashima is 33C and 75% humidity!