Japanese model Yuri Sugunama, a.k.a “Yurippa,” is taking us on her next trip in this series where she goes to personally experience Japanese culture and cultivate new hobbies. Yurippa loves chocolate – she eats one tablet of the stuff day. In this Valentine’s-special second entry, Yurippa sampled different chocolates that are popular right now.

For Valentine’s Day in Japan, it’s custom for girls give guys chocolate and convey their feelings towards them. Guys return the favour on a day called White Day, which falls on March 14. So, since there’s one month to go before the big day, that means the most delicious chocolate in the world is about to hit shelves in Japan – popular both in Japan and overseas.

The first pick was the classic “KitKat,” a very well-known brand in over 100 countries. The Japanese brand of KitKat is actually made in Japan. It’s received much attention around the world for its original flavours. It’s also known for being associated with exam season for students – the word KitKat in Japanese (kitto katto) almost sounds like the phrase “Kitto Katsu!” which means “You will surely win!”

Yurippa tried out the new “KitKat Chocolatory” series, created by the chef and owner of “La Patissier Takagi,” Yasumasa Takagi. The “Sublime Valentine’s Assortment” costs ￥2,400 (tax excl.) and includes 7 KitKat bars with 6 different flavours. There’s dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, matcha, raw, and a pink coloured ruby flavour. It’s a great selection to share and eat together with people.

The centerpiece of the collection is new Ruby KitKat, developed by the Swiss chocolate makers Barry Callebaut over a period of more than 10 years. The chocolate uses no colouring agents – the pink colour is made naturally to create an entirely new chocolate. Yurippa gave it her stamp of approval, saying it’ll be popular with girls for its vivid pink colour. She couldn’t contain her surprise for this newfound chocolate, saying “The berry flavour has a sour taste, but it’s different from strawberry chocolate. It’s something I’ve never tasted before.”

Next on the list is “Tea Chocolate Premium Matcha 7”. Costing just ￥1,000 (tax excl.), these chocolates are made by Shizuoka Matcha Sweet Factory “Nanaya,” who are known for producing the world’s most rich flavoured matcha gelato. These matcha chocolates don’t hold back on the milk so as to bring out the fragrance and taste of the tea leaves to the max. The set comes with 7 different matcha chocolates of varying intensity and 1 houjicha flavoured chocolate.

Yurippa expressed her excitement for the delicious chocolate before opening it. “When you open the packaging, the fresh smell of the tea whets your appetite so much you can’t wait to tuck in!”

The chocolate and tea leaves have a good combined balance of 3.1%, and the smell and taste of the leaves kicks in with a strong flavour combination of 21%. “The tea leaf combination is different but my impression of the chocolate changed dramatically!”

“If you eat the chocolates in order as written on the packaging, you can understand each flavour’s intensity much better! This chocolate would go better with hot milk or soy milk than coffee. The richer chocolate flavours are fairly moderate when it comes to sweetness, so if you’re on a diet then you can eat them without feeling guilty.”

The last pick is from the long-standing chocolate maker Mary Chocolate. The KANADE Japanese Sake Truffles (￥1,000) come in 3 flavours – milk, sweet and white – and are topped with carefully selected Japanese sake. Only the finest sake from Japan is used, such as Gokyo Junmai Sake from Yamaguchi Prefecture. Since the truffles contain alcohol, be wary not to hand them out to minors or people that are driving.

“There’s a good balance between the chocolate and sake, and depending on which brand of sake is used, you can enjoy a different flavour on your taste buds from each!”

Yurippa’s favourite was the milk truffle topped with Koyama Shuzo. She was very satisfied having recently acquired a taste for sake. “It brings out the enduring qualities of refreshing Japanese sake and a fruitiness. I really want people who like Japanese sake to try these! If you’re not too good with sake from Japan, then I recommend the white chocolate truffle with Ichiro from Dewazakura. The subtle fragrance of sake that you can feel inside the smooth texture of the white chocolate makes it really sophisticated.”

Yurippa gives friend chocolate to everyone on Valentine’s Day, guys and girls. Why don’t you try tasting this unique Japanese collection of chocolates recommended by Yurippa with everyone?

The beer garden named, “ABENO HARUKAS Beer Garden – Beer300” will open in the observatory of Japan’s tallest building, ABENO HARUKAS, starting on April 28th (Sat.).

This will be the fourth year for this beer garden called HARUKAS 300 to open. This beer garden is gathering much attention because of the great view from 300m up and because of its highly satisfying menu line up. Last year’s new menu item called, “Barbeque Menu” was very popular in that the customers could barbeque what they liked by themselves. This do-it-yourself feeling matched this wide open view of Osaka’s skyline.

For this year’s “Barbeque Menu” the highlight meats are thick cuts of “skirt steak,” “pork shoulder” and “spicy chicken” which goes well with beer. The great variety of meats will make for a hearty BBQ meal.

The drink menu includes such drinks as sparkling wine, tropical cocktails and drinks which many women will want to upload on their SNS accounts. Furthermore, so as to not keep anyone waiting, self-service beer servers and wine servers have been installed. Everyone is for sure to have a wonderful time at this beer garden.
　
For customers wanting to order the “Barbeque Menu” advanced reservations are necessary. In the case of rain, there are seats installed alongside the windows at Beer 300 so there is no need to worry about getting wet. Here is a beer garden you can enjoy without having to worry about the weather. In addition to the “Barbeque Menu” there are many single item menu items and you can also choose the “all-you-can drink” plan with no advanced reservation.
　
Why not visit this beer garden 300m up in the sky and enjoy the sense of expansiveness as you eat and drink with your friends or family.

Tachinomi is a type of Japanese bar that focuses on standing and drinking rather than sitting down. The new branch of Junmaishu YATA is one of these, and will open in Chubu Centrair International Airport on April 25, 2018 as the first branch from the company to open inside an airport.

The idea behind the new store is that rather than branching out overseas, they wanted to set up shop at Chubu Centrair International Airport where both Japanese and those from overseas gather to offer seriously delicious sake for everybody to enjoy.

YATA is a standing-style bar where customers can casually and easily enjoy Japanese sake. All the drinks on their menu are junmaishu, which is sake made from just rice and rice malt with no added. There's no menu display. Instead, you can converse with the staff while choosing a drink of your course.

The bar is thoroughly particular about the ingredients, brands, chasers and so on of the drinks served there. There's even an all-you-can-drink option.  It's great for how simple it is, as well as the reasonable prices.

Despite the current climate of strict regulations, YATA has overcome various hurdles and will successfully open in Chubu Centrair International Airport. Head on in if you're passing through and experience their passion for yourself.

A mobile app called SakeWiz used for finding information on Japanese sake was released on May 8, 2018 and is available on iOS and Android in Japan, the US, Canada and Singapore.

There's been a boom recently amongst young females in Japan for local sake. SakeWiz was developed to play a role in helping spread the boom of Japanese sake even more through the internet.

The app was officially endorsed by Sake Service Institute (SSI), a Japanese sake service that authorises the Kikisake, or Master of Sake course.

Using artificial intelligence, the app has label scanning software to search for Japanese sake brands and names which can be difficult to remember. Additionally, you can save your favourite brands on the app to share and recommend with friends.

Sake has a tendency to mostly be enjoyed by males and females in their 30s. The polyphenol effect, which became the impetus for the first wine boom in Japan, also played a role in lighting a fire amongst young women who are consistently the leaders consumption in this area.

There are plans to implement more functions such as to enable users to be able to comment on sake and food they like, as well as introduce coupons. The app is also available in multiple languages, including Chinese and Korean.

If you love Japanese sake or someone who wants to try out all the sake that Japan has to offer, then consider downloading SakeWiz.