GODIVA Japan released two new chocolate products at the Daimaru Kyoto branch of ATELIER de GODIVA, a chocolate shop which combines GODIVA’s skilful craftsmanship with chocolate artistry. Named “ATELIER Christmas Showpiece Santa Claus” and “ATELIER Christmas Showpiece Snowman,” the two chocolate artworks were released on Wednesday and are available until December 25.

Each and every one of these chocolate sculptures are handmade in-store by the shop’s chefs. They are exclusive to ATELIER de GODIVA Daimaru Kyoto and the perfect Christmas treat to adorn any Christmas party this holiday season.

These cute Christmas-exclusives not only taste delicious, but are fun to look at. Santa is sat in a chimney ready to deliver the presents while the snowman is sat next to a Christmas tree looking warm with its scarf.

Both of these are limited in stock and won’t be available ever again after they sell out, so don’t miss out.

Tokyo Station’s GRANSTA and GRANSTA Marunouchi shopping complexes are holding a New Year’s from December 26, 2019 to January 5, 2019 where sweets and souvenirs will be sold to beckon the new year. The items are based on the Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac for 2020.

Sweets and Souvenirs

Baked New Year 2020 (Contains 5) – ¥1,600 @ Fairycake Fair (Available from December 26)

Tuck into these adorable baked cookies with various celebratory designs including rats, flowers and the year 2020. They are egg flavoured and are made with caramel to create a taste similar to Japanese purin (a type of custard pudding).

High Grade Fresh Japanese Confection Assortment (Contains 6) – ¥1,848 @ Ginza Kanra (Available Mid-December to Mid-January)

Ginza Kanra’s assortment of fancy confections are so pretty they almost seem a waste to eat, each with a variety of motifs such as a rat as well as “Gin no Suzu”ーa silver bell inside Tokyo Station that’s famous as a meeting spot.

Ginza Kikunoya Fukiyose Kaiune Shikan (200g) – ¥1,998 @ Jimbocho Ichi no Ichi (Now on sale until all sell out)

This tin of assorted small sweets includes around 30 types of baked wheat bran treats and more. There’s plenty to keep you going through the New Year celebrations.

Left: Eto Kokeshi Rat – ¥2,090 / Right: Mame Kokeshi Rat – ¥880 @ SHARED TOKYO (Now on sale)

Available in limited quantities only, these cute rat kokeshi dolls would look good even as decorations in small spaces. Their red and white colours add to the festive vibe as these are celebratory colours in Japan.

New Year’s Card Shrimp Senbei Rice Crackers (Contains 11) – ¥1,080 @ Keishindo (Now on sale until all sell out)

Forget regular Christmas cards, hand someone one of these rice crackers instead which feature messages like “Here’s to another great year” in Japanese as well as other New Year motifs.

Osechi and New Year’s Bento

Houjou – ¥8,000 @ Asakusa Imahan (Available January 1 only)

Osechi is food prepared for the New Year in Japan, and this bountiful harvest includes Asakusa Imahan’s famous wagyu black beef, red rice, rice with minced sea bream, and more. These are limited to 10 sets only.

Osechi Shoufuku Suzen – ¥1,800 @Sasahachi (Available January 1-3)

Another delicious mix of osechi like fish wrapped in kombu seaweed, hand-rolled sushi, and more—all of which goes down best with a cup of sake. Limited to 20 servings per day.

This is just a peek into what’s available this New Year at Tokyo Station, so if you’re using the station this year, be sure to stop by.

*All listed prices include tax

Häagen-Dazs Japan released two new mini cup flavours of ice cream on December 10 which will be available for a limited time only: the “Strawberry Brownie Parfait” and “Fondant au Chocolate.”

The strawberry and brownie parfait ice cream is a mix of rich vanilla custard ice cream and chocolate brownie finished with a glaze of sweet and sour strawberry sauce. Enjoy a combination of three different flavours and textures.「

The “Fondant au chocolat” is a crispy sandwich filled with rich dark chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce. It’s sold in packaging that looks like a high-quality gift box.

If you’re in Japan for the winter then be sure to pick up these two holiday season delights!

LINE MUSIC-Bu is LINE MUSIC’s research team that studies popular music trends among teen girls. LINE MUSIC-Bu teamed up with love song-writer FUKI, who is releasing one love per month for 12 months, in order to produce a new bubble tea drink and tapioca dessert especially for couples. The drink and dessert is being sold at Tai Parfait Cafe, Yokohama World Porters. FUKI will also perform at a free live gig at Yokohama World Porters on December 25, which is the last day of collaboration drink and tapioca dessert sales. 

The collaboration pair-tapi contains two different drinks in a twin split cup. One side of the cup is filled with cafe au lait and the other with a strawberry-flavoured drink. Both sides are stuffed with yummy tapioca pearls and are topped with a mountain of cream. This cute drink sees the perfect opportunity to get closer to your partner. 

The second collaboration treat is the Tai Parfait Tapi which is stuffed with strawberries and tapioca pearls. The adorable tai fish is made from sweet dough – and it has cute eyelashes too. The fish’s enormously wide mouth can be seen chomping down on the delicious dessert. 

Enjoy a romantic bubble tea and make sure to check out FUKI’s love song LOVE and CRY, which is based on a true story. The song is currently available on a number of digital music services. 

Teen girls full of love problems find FUKI’S songs highly relatable. As Yokohama World Porters will be lit up for Christmas, you just can’t miss FUKI’s performance on December 25.

With just a small bit of ingenuity, turn everyday food into something cute using Kaori’s easy recipe! With a few simple ideas, an ordinary recipe magically transforms into a cute dish.

In this recipe, you’ll learn how to make Santa Rilakkuma cookies 

1: Ingredients: (For 10 Rilakkumas)

Unsalted butter: 55g

Icing sugar: 25g

White sesame seeds: 30g

Weak flour: 75g

2: Leave the unsalted butter out for a while until it reaches room temperature and then mix until smooth. Next, mix in the sugar, sesame seeds and then flour in that order. 

3: Next, split the dough into portions. To make one cookie, you need 15g for the face and 1g of dough for each ear. Arrange your face and both ears as shown in the photo below. 

Top tip: Rilakkuma’s face is oval-shaped so don’t make it circular.

4: After you’ve formed all your Rilakkumas, bake them at 180℃ for 15 minutes.

5: Please refer to the video below to decorate Rilakkuma’s face:

Before the cookies get cold, coat them in icing sugar, using a small brush to dust off the excess. Then, wait for the cookies to cool completely before decorating the face. Place a Meiji Apollo Strawberry Chocolate on Rilakkuma’s head for the Santa hat and you’re done. 

This is the perfect way to contribute to your next Christmas potluck and it is a flawless plan to impress all your friends.

Kaori invites you into her world of character-themed food dishes in her recipe series. Be sure to check out her Instagram where she has uploaded many pictures of her character dishes!

Tokyo Disney Resort® ‘s official hotel Hilton Tokyo Bay will be serving up a strawberry dessert buffet called Strawberry Playroom from December 28 at lounge O. The buffet will be served exclusively on weekends and national holidays excluding New Year’s Day.

Hilton Tokyo Bay has tipped over the toy box, creating a dessert buffet which is like the playroom of every little girl’s dreams. The interior decor of the buffet room is a nostalgic throwback to the Vaporwave days of dial-up internet, bulky CRT TVs and retro games, however, everything is transformed with a pop pink filter. 

If you think the decor is playful, just wait until you see the desserts. Slice into the heart-shaped Very Berry Cream Cake and a strawberry and heart-shaped chocolate filling will come bursting out like a jack-in-the-box. This is the dessert to go for if you want a slice of fun.

Delving deeper into the world of toys, you will discover the Berry Brownie Toys dessert, which is garnished with chocolate robot toys. 

The MELTY or NOT Mousse Cake is the only time you won’t feel disappointed seeing a dropped ice cream. This vanilla mousse cake is topped with a “melting ice cream” and is freshly baked from the fantasy oven.

When you need a break from all the sugar intake or are looking for a late lunch, make sure to check out the 15 savoury dishes. Some savoury dishes include the Infinite Coleslaw Tower, which is made of purple cabbage and crunchy fried noodles, the Peachy Pink Beetroot Scattered Sushi (Chirashizushi) which is made from purple sushi rice and the Macaroni Gratin Treasure Hunt which challenges you to find the macaroni with a unique shape. 

All together, the buffet includes approximately 40 varieties of fun savoury mains and desserts for you to enjoy and are bound to get lots of likes on your Instagram. 

Now it’s December, we can unleash our festive spirits without anyone telling us “it’s too early”. The streets are glistening with Christmas decor and Christmas dinners, drinks and desserts are around every corner. Every year, Starbucks never fails to hype us up with their Christmas drinks and so without a moment to waste, I headed over to check them out. 

For many, the excitement of Christmas starts to unfold at one moment: opening the stocking. Starbucks has hit home once again with the Santa Boots Chocolate Frappuccino®, which not only takes on the appearance of a stocking stuffed with treats, but tastes as jolly as one too. The Frappuccino® was released on December 4, 2019 and is enough to leave you with a very merry belly. 

Once you place your order, you will be handed a sealed straw transformed with Christmas magic to become an edible cookie straw. This drink is the first of its kind for Starbucks and is on a whole new level of excitement. Just holding the straw in your hand waiting for your drink will have your heart racing in anticipation.

Here it is:

The small, bright red baubles of chocolate will immediately catch your attention. The Christmassy cup is literally a stocking packed with a range of delicious flavours and textures.

Now it’s time to insert the straw. You will be surprised at just how strong and sturdy it is. Alternating between a few refreshing gulps and an odd chomp on the crispy straw creates a new kind of flavour experience. Rest assured that you are also provided with a regular straw so no need to worry about devouring the straw before finishing the drink.

The frappuccino® base contains a rich chocolate sauce and is sprinkled with crispy potato chips. There are also some potato chips on top of the drink to moderate sweetness and add texture. 

Not only will this fill your stomach, but just seeing the jolly drink will leave you fully topped up with the festive spirit. Sales will end once stock is depleted so make sure to try it asap if you are interested. 

Have a jolly Christmas filled with excitement and love. 

If you’re a Peanuts fan, you can’t miss out on the gorgeous Christmas menu which will served up at the PEANUTS Cafe Nakameguro, PEANUTS DINER Yokohama and PEANUTS DINER Kobe from December 2 – 25. 

Order the Christmas Dinner course for a large angus beef steak drizzled with a sweet and tangy sauce made of berries and raspberry vinegar.

After your dinner enjoy the luxurious Christmas desserts plate of bite-sized treats such as a soft and tender canelé and sweet madeleine. The plate is decorated with a Christmas Snoopy pick where Snoopy’s face can be seen peeking through a wreath. 

You don’t have to book in advance but we recommend you do. This can be done via the links in the information section below.

Order the Salmon Cheese Gratin Christmas Plate for a luxurious course of mains, salad and dessert all on one tray. The sautéd salmon is the steal of the show as it sits in a bath of creamy stew and is topped with a generous layer of cheese. This is served alongside fluffy bread branded with Christmas designs that will definitely put you in the Christmas spirit. A Snoopy pick replaces the traditional cherry on the sundae that will leave you with a sweet aftertaste after your meal.

The White Hot Chocolate is the perfect way to ward off the cold of winter. Like a white blanket of snow, white chocolate milk fills the cup and is topped with the traditional colours of Christmas. Allow yourself to be soothed by the drink’s mild sweetness.

Make the most of your Christmas with Snoopy and friends. 

© 2019 Peanuts Worldwide LLC

ROLL ICE CREAM FACTORYーan ice cream chain in Japan specialising in ‘rolled’ ice creamーreleased its Christmas menu today.

From Left: Reindeer’s Christmas / Pink Pink Christmas / Blue White Christmas / Royal Pink Christmas

This will be ROLL ICE CREAM FACTORY’s third-ever Christmas menu, which they have made even more fun. There are three festive ice creams to choose from, including two featuring Santa Claus and a reindeer. The ice creams can be served in either their regular cups, or the store’s new “Fuwamoko” snowstorm cups, which looks like snow blowing in the wind. Check out the video below.

Until now, people would take photos of the ice cream being made, but these new cups make for an even more Instagrammable post. Edit in a Christmas song or your favourite music to make your own cute video for your Instagram Stories. The Christmas menu is available until December 25, but these cups will be served until late February 2020. You’ll find the Christmas menu at the select branches and pop-up stores listed below.

HANAGATAYA is a souvenir variety shop that opened in Tokyo Station’s central passage back in July. After over 5 months of sales, the store has revealed its Top 10 most popular products based on sales.

The line-up features a selection of HANAGATAYA exclusives, as well as products from elsewhere which have received pre-sales at HANAGATAYA. You will be spoilt for choice with this selection, all of which are perfect for ringing in the New Year when travelling back home. Let’s take a look.

1st Place

Banana Custard Cream – Tokyo 2020 Olympic Emblem Design (Tokyo 2020 Official Licensed Product) – Contains 8 – ¥1,134 (Tax Included)

Officially licensed by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, these chewy cakes are made from domestic Japanese rice, and are filled with deliciously creamy banana custard.

2nd Place

Tokyo Banana Butter Madeleine (Tokyo Banana World) – Contains 4 – ¥560 Tax Included)

Exclusive to HANAGATAYA come these all-new butter madeleine’s created by famous confectionery company Tokyo Banana. These baked treats feature a buttery fragrance and taste, and are made with a banana confiture and finished with fresh lemon.

*Exclusive to HANAGATAYA GRANSTA Tokyo Central Street

3rd Place

Toro One Press Chocolate Chick (Tokyo Hiyoko) – Contains 3 – ¥648 (Tax Included)

This year marks 107 since the company Hiyoko was established. The “Toro One Press Chocolate Chick” is a new confection from them: an adorable skyward-looking chick made up of three chocolate layersーeach with their own distinct flavour. At the heart of the chick is a moist chocolate paste.

*Exclusive to Tokyo Station

4th Place

Cheese Wich – Contains 5 – ¥594 (Tax Included)

These light and refreshing cheese cookies, called Cheese Wiches, are filled with a chocolate-coated melted cheese sauce. Three layers means an enjoyable amalgamation of flavours and textures.

*Exclusive to Tokyo Station

5th Place

Chocolate Chestnut Eggs (Ginza Tamaya) – Contains 4 – ¥800 (Tax Included)

“Goma Tamago” is a popular bite-sized egg-shaped confection. This chestnut flavour was created for HANAGATAYA, a mix of dark chocolate and vanilla flavoured chestnut paste.

*Exclusive to Tokyo Station

6th Place

Strawberry Cookie Sandwich (Berry UP!) – Contains 8 – ¥1,296 (Tax Included)

Berry UP! is a cute confectionery brand which creates baked strawberry sweets. Keeping with that theme, they have created a crunchy quintuple-layered cookie sandwich filled with sweet and sour strawberry chocolate.

7th Place

Shinjuku Curry Ebi (Shinjuku Nakamuraya) – Contains 6 – ¥600 (Tax Included)

If you’re looking for something more savoury, then this one’s for you: Shinjuku Nakamuraya’s light, fluffy and melt-in-the-mouth ebi, coated in curry spices. One nibble is enough to get you instantly hooked.

8th Place

Strawberry Polvorón (Berry UP!) – Contains 6 – ¥1,296 (Tax Included)

Another entry from Berry UP!, these polvorón shortbreads are made from lots of fresh strawberries mixed with condensed milk and mascarpone, creating a subtle sweetness that’s enough to have your mouth watering.

9th Place

BLUE MELTIN SAND (Tokyo Campanella) – Contains 8 – ¥1,200 (Tax Included)

What if herbal tea and cookies became its own snack? That’s what Tokyo Campanella asked too, and so make it a reality. Their BLUE MELTIN SANDs are cat’s tongue cookies stuffed with a herbal tea sauce that has a natural blue colour.

10th Place

Premium Cacao Full Sablé (Mary Chocolate) – Contains 18 – ¥1,350 (Tax Included)

Finally, we have a premium edition of chocolate company Mary Chocolate’s Cacao Full Sablés. This one’s for the adults, a sophisticated combination of bittersweet chocolate and berries.

*Exclusive to HANAGATAYA GRANSTA Tokyo Central Street

Did you enjoy this list? Which one takes your fancy the most? Whether as a souvenir for the folks back home, or as a treat to yourself to celebrate 2020, if you’re in Tokyo this year then be sure to give HANAGATAYA a visit.

Sendai is famous for zunda mochi: a traditional dessert that fuses boiled mochi (rice cakes) and zunda (sweet edamame bean paste). The zunda mochi shop Zunda Saryo is collaborating with Nestlé to create a Kit Kat Mini with the regional flavour “Zunda Saryo Shake”, which will be released on December 1 at a number of shops including souvenir shops around Sendai Station and Sendai Airport, and selected KASHO SANZEN shops*

*(Omachi  Hirose-dōri, Koji Matsushima and Monzen Matsushima) 

Zunda Saryo spreads the delicious flavour of zunda across Japan through their variety of zunda-flavoured desserts and drinks. The Zunda Shake is an original drink made by fusing carefully selected milk with vanilla and then blending it with zunda to create an original sweet shake to represent Sendai. Kit Kat’s crispy wafers add texture to the layers of smooth chocolate, producing a divine flavour. Japan is home to more than 40 different Kit Kat flavours which are popular within Japan and overseas. 20 of those are from Japan’s regional flavour series, which is a collaboration with a regional specialty. 

Foreigners and even Japanese visitors from other parts of the country will have never seen this new flavour before. The new Kit Kat Mini Zunda Shake flavour is sure to be the best way to experience the flavours of the region. 

The cream filling is kneaded with edamame powder and sandwiched between crispy wafers. The Kit Kat is coated in Zunda shake-flavoured chocolate, creating the perfect Kit Kat flavour.  

Whether you’re looking for a small snack or a souvenir, the Zunda Shake Kit Kat is perfect for you.

Looking for Instagram-worthy ice cream in Japan? You definitely need to check out Asakusa Tsuno Koi. Soon after opening in Tokyo’s traditional Asakusa on July 5, 2019, their soft serve unicorn ice cream instantly earned its fame on social media. From November 28 to December 24, the ice cream shop will be releasing a series of Christmas-limited ice creams that are sure to become a hit sensation.

This shop is famous for being the only ice cream shop in the world to make unicorn-shaped cones out of financier cake dough and filling them with a sweet spiral of soft serve ice cream for the unicorn’s horn. This Christmas, the shop is introducing Christmas-limited toppings, flowers and wreaths to the decorations menu, making customising your ice cream more fun than ever before. 

* According to research conducted by Asakusa Tsuno Koi. Protected status has been received for America, Korea and Japan. Applications are still being processed in the EU, Singapore and Mongolia.  

For the Reindeer Soft Serve Ice Cream (￥780), each and every single financier cone is baked carefully, but this time in the shape of a reindeer – and it’s chocolate flavoured. Filled with soft serve ice cream, this reindeer is too cute to eat. 

The Christmas Tree (￥830) is a soft serve pistachio ice cream made using high-grade pistachos: the reigning queen when it comes to nut varieties. The ice cream is finished with one of Asakusa Tsuno Koi‘s original Christmas trees. 

The Santa Claus Soft Serve (￥500) is made using Asakusa Tsuno Koi’s rich-flavoured vanilla ice cream. Young or old, the moment you set eyes on Santa Claus’ face, a smile will automatically appear on yours! 

The Christmas-limited toppings include stars, candy, and gingerbread men (￥100 each). Can’t choose? There is set including all three which costs ￥250.

The shop interior is also looking more Christmassy. The interior is a fusion of Asakusa’s traditional heritage and the unicorn motif, which is popular in western countries. A colourful flowery background and Asakusa’s traditional folding fans and umbrellas perfectly finish the western-Japanese fusion scene, which is currently soaking in fame on Instagram.

Asakusa Tsuno Koi is serving up a totally unique kind of ice cream that has not been spotted anywhere else in the world. The Christmas-limited ice creams are definitely worth the hype. 

* Prices Before Tax