Japanese with anime voice: episode88
Hello, I’m Sachi.
July 3, today is Soft Cream Day. On this day in 1951, a carnival was held in Tokyo to celebrate the U.S. Independence Day, sponsored by the U.S. military. Soft-serve ice cream was sold at the carnival, and it is said that the Japanese public ate soft-serve ice cream for the first time. This is the reason why today’s anniversary is celebrated. It was a big hit at the time because it was so rare to be able to eat the whole thing, including the cone part of the handle. Since then, they have been sold in famous department stores and coffee shops one after another.
I guess everyone was amazed at the food, because it was something that had never existed in Japan. And to think that even the handle is an edible dessert. What a surprise! However, what was such a surprise at that time is now sold here and there in many different flavors of soft-serve ice cream. And some of them are very unique flavors. Have you ever experienced a unique flavor of soft-serve ice cream in Japan?
I did a little research to see what kind of soft-serve ice cream was available, so I’ll introduce some of them here. Surprisingly, there were many unusual types of soft-serve ice cream. I’ll start with the flavors that are easy to try.
- New ginger soft serve ice cream
This pink soft-serve ice cream looks cute. It has a strong taste of fresh ginger, which seems to stimulate the throat. Although the ginger taste is strong, it seems to go surprisingly well with the sweetness.
- Wasabi soft serve ice cream
There are two types of Wasabi soft-serve ice cream: green soft-serve ice cream with Wasabi paste, and vanilla soft-serve ice cream with Wasabi. People’s opinions were divided, and I couldn’t tell whether it was spicy or not, but it seemed to taste like wasabi anyway.
- Azuki bean soft serve ice cream
Azuki beans go well with soft-serve ice cream, and this one is definitely delicious. It is said to be a dull pinkish color, with a perfect salty and sweet taste, and a refreshing flavor.
And now, let me introduce you to a very unusual flavor of soft-serve ice cream. This one is not so much an unusual flavor anymore, but rather a strange soft-serve ice cream.
- Kamatama Ice Cream
This is a local soft-serve ice cream from Kagawa Prefecture, where udon is a specialty. It is shaped like soft-serve ice cream but looks completely like udon. And the toppings are green onions and soy sauce. It is hard to imagine what it tastes like from the picture.
- Toma-Q soft serve
Tomato-flavored soft serve ice cream with mini-tomatoes and cucumbers. It is so innovative that we are at a loss for words. They use a cucumber as a spoon. It’s so eco-friendly. If the soft-serve ice cream is tomato-flavored, it seems to go well with the cucumber. Maybe.
- Gyoja Garlic Soft Ice Cream
Gyoja garlic is a vegetable with a strong garlic-like aroma and is a member of the leek and chives family. This soft-serve ice cream is topped with a green sauce. The catchphrase is that once you try it, you will never forget the taste. And indeed, it seems to be an unforgettable taste.
- Squid Ink Soft Serve
Soft-serve ice cream made from squid ink. It looks gray and a bit cool, but considering the color of the soft-serve ice cream, it has quite an impact. The taste is not fishy, so it is said that it is normally tasty. If it smelled fishy, I wouldn’t want to eat it as soft-serve ice cream.
I guess that’s about it. There were also fried oysters on top, lotus root chips on top, on-tama (soft-boiled egg) on top, and many other things that I don’t even understand. I would like to say that it is not enough to put everything on top of everything. But still, everyone’s ideas are amazing.
As for me, I have never tried any of the soft-serve ice creams introduced here. The one I would like to try the most is the fresh ginger soft-serve ice cream. I like ginger and it looks kind of delicious. I would also like to try kamatama ice cream just out of curiosity. Which one would you like to try the most?
Most of the soft-serve ice cream introduced here is local soft-serve ice cream, so you have to go to the place to try it. But if I have a chance, I would like to try it during my trip. Now, do you have soft-serve ice cream with unusual flavors in your country? Please let us know what kind of flavors you have. Are there any more unusual flavors than Japanese ones?
