The Jazz Youkan is a cute confection made from sweet adzuki red bean paste and made to look like a little piano. It’s made in Japan’s Oita Prefecture, but Tokyo residents can now enjoy this sweet treat at HARAJU Cross JAPAN MASTERY COLLECTION_est which is located on Floor B1F of WITH HARAJUKU, a shopping complex in front of Harajuku Station. It is being sold until February 14 in three flavours: Chocolat, Matcha Chocolat, and Classic.

The Jazz Youkan

The Jazz Youkan is a confectionery made by Jazz to Youkan Yufuin CREEKS, a shop in Yufu, Oita. It’s part of their concert series of sweets and pairs well with a cup of coffee or glass of wine.

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Chocolat | ¥2,646

The seasonal winter Chocolat is made with sweet white bean paste, couverture chocolate, dried cherries, fig, and raisins. All the chocolates in this series are individually handmade by the shop’s chocolatiers, and this time, the classic Chocolat variant has been made even more delicious. It’s smooth, moist, and rich without being too sweet. Best enjoyed with coffee or wine.

Matcha Chocolat | ¥2,646

If you love matcha then this is the treat for you. It’s different from the normal Chocolat version of this sweet as it’s made without dried fruits. Instead, it contains large-grained adzuki beans for an irresistible texture.

Classic | ¥2,160

The Classic version is made with brown sugar from Okinawa and adzuki beans and contains dried figs soaked in wine. Another perfect pairing with coffee or wine, and the piano face shows the work of true Japanese artistry.

©冬季限定 ジャズ羊羹 chocolat

McDonald’s Japan is teaming up with Nestlé next week to bring back last years’ customer-favourite McFluffy® KitKat® for a limited time starting on January 27.

McFlurry KitKat | ¥290

The delicious dessert combines McDonald’s tasty soft service ice cream with crushed KitKat and finishes it with a drizzle of special sauce made with couverture chocolate. Mix everything together for pure chocolatey heaven goodness.

McFlurry Oreo | ¥290

McDonald’s Japan also serves the McFlurry Oreo, a regular item on the menu, and right now is the only time you can enjoy comparing the tastes and textures between both the Oreo and KitKat McFlurries.

Which one has you drooling more?

McDonald’s Japan is teaming up with iconic Japanese actor and singer Takuya Kimura, also known as Kimutaku, once again following their collaboration with him in 2020. The star is featuring in a new commercial and campaign by McDonald’s that centres on rediscovering the value and taste of the fast food chain.

The first in a series of commercials hit Japanese televisions on Tuesday (January 12) for McDonald’s Japan’s revamped hot and iced Cafe Lattes. The second commercial will be released next Tuesday (January 19) for the Yakkii grilled ginger burger. The ¥200 burger is arriving on the menu at McDonald’s Japan the following day on Wednesday.

McDonald’s Japan is bringing back its popular Belgian Chocolate Pie from last year and is also introducing a new Crème Brûlée Pie, both of which will hit the menu at all McDonald’s branches from January 13 for a limited time.

Crème Brûlée Pie | ¥150 (Before Tax)

Belgian Chocolate Pie | ¥150 (Before Tax)

The hot pies are filled with deliciously sweet cream and are a perfect, cosy treat during the cold weather.

Nana’s Green Tea is serving up a brand-new dessert in collaboration with Häagen-Dazs for Valentine’s Day at 77 branches in Japan. The dessert was released on January 6 and will be available up to February 14.

Matcha Chocolate Glass with Häagen-Dazs | ¥880 (Before Tax)

The dessert is a tempting sight to behold – not only is it delicious but visually appealing to the eye too, and layered with various textures so that every bite is a surprise.

The dessert is made with Häagen-Dazs’ “Sweet Chocolate” ice cream coupled with Nana’s Green Tea’s own original matcha ice cream, soft and crunchy meringue sticks, crumbled cookies, white chocolate whipped cream, and matcha chiffon cake. Sat at the bottom waiting to be discovered is a sweet strawberry sauce for a tangy kick.

Saryo FUKUCHA in Kyoto is now serving up a very special selection of succulent strawberry and matcha parfaits until May 30, 2021. These exquisite delights will see only 10 made of each per day.

Saryo FUKUCHA is a cafe that was opened by FUKUJUEN in Kyoto Station in April 2019. This year, they have brought back their extremely popular strawberry and matcha parfaits : the Konome, Konoha, and Konoka. They have also introduced a new addition to the line-up: the Strawberry & Matcha Milk Parfait. Also on the menu is a strawberry matcha latte.

Matcha & Strawberry Parfaits

Konome | ¥1,350

Konoha | ¥1,450

Konoka | ¥1,550

Strawberry Matcha Milk Parfait | ¥800

Strawberry Matcha Latte | ¥650

Discover the taste of Japanese tea in a new way with Saryo FUKUCHA’s matcha and strawberry parfaits and latte.

McDonald’s Japan is set to celebrate the New Year with a series of 3 white chocolate strawberry beverages at McCafé by Barista up and down Japan starting on January 6, 2021.

White Chocolate Strawberry Frappe | Regular Size ¥490

The White Chocolate Strawberry Frappe is made with a milk base laced with a strawberry sauce made from fresh strawberries and is topped with fresh cream, a drizzle of that sweet sauce, and white chocolate shavings. Enjoy a silky combination of sweetness and refreshing flavour.

White Chocolate Strawberry Latte | Regular Size ¥390

Similar to the frappe, the latte variant is a hot strawberry milk made from strawberry sauce, strawberry syrup, and refreshing milk. It’s topped with whipped cream, more sauce, and white chocolate shavings. And don’t worry if you’re not a coffee drinker as this drink contains no coffee – it’s just pure strawberry heaven.

Iced White Chocolate Strawberry Latte | Regular Size ¥490

A refreshing twist on the hot latte. It contains the same ingredients but is served iced instead.

McDonald’s Japan is collaborating with the camping and outdoor brand Coleman to release fukubukuro lucky bags for the New Year in limited quantities.

McDonald’s Fukubukuro 2021 | ¥3,000 (Tax Included)

Those in Japan can sign up to enter a lottery to win one of the bags up until December 22, 2020 at 23:59 (JST).

Tote Bag / Square Pouch / Mug

Fries Clock / McDonald’s Voucher

The lucky bags include a variety of merchandise combining McDonald’s and Coleman designs as well as an alarm clock, a McDonald’s voucher priced at ¥3,160, and more.

Gold McCard | ¥500

One in every ten lucky bags also contains a Gold McCard voucher worth ¥500 too.

Tully’s Coffee Japan is adding a new seasonal drink to its menu on December 26: the “Brown Sugar Syrup & Soy Flour Matcha Latte.”

Brown Sugar Syrup & Soy Flour Matcha Latte (Hot/Iced) | Tall ¥520 (Before Tax)

Matcha beverages at Tully’s Coffee are all made with Uji matcha from Kyoto. The powder is prepared in-house at Tully’s Coffee, ensuring that the original taste and fragrance of the matcha is fresh. Their new seasonal beverage takes their classic Uji Matcha Latte and sweetens it with brown sugar syrup and Hokkaido soy flour.

Brown Sugar Syrup & Soy Flour Matcha Suwakuru® (Frozen) | Tall ¥540, with tapioca +¥100 (Before Tax)

Adding tapioca pearls creates a perfect combination with the syrup and soy flour, creating a taste and texture that’s like the traditional Japanese confection warabimochi.

Uji Matcha Kouign-amann | ¥290 (Before Tax)

Tully’s Coffee is also baking up some seasonal treats, like a Japanese-style Kouign-amann and red bean paste-filled doughnuts.

Milk Red Bean Paste Doughnuts | ¥300 (Before Tax)

The doughnuts are also made with milk from Hokkaido.

2021 Year of the Ox Mug | ¥1,500 (Before Tax)

And to celebrate the upcoming Year of the Ox, the coffee chain is also rolling out a cute ox-themed mug.

The Gurakoro Burger is a seasonal item added to McDonald’s Japan’s winter menu every year. This year, they are releasing a new rich beef stew flavour on December 2 for a limited period.

“Gurakoro” is a portmanteau of the Japanese words for “gratin” and “korokke,” the latter being the Japanese version of a French croquette. The Gurakoro burgers are crunchy on the outside and melty on the inside. They first appeared at McDonald’s Japan in 1993 and have returned every winter since, popular for its combination of the Gurakoro patty which is filled with creamy ebi, cabbage, a special korokke sauce, and an egg sauce, all squished between a toasted bun.

Gurakoro Burger | ¥340

The burger was created with a new recipe in 2019 that makes the flavour richer. The number of egg yolks used for the egg sauce was also increased, as was the spiciness of the korokke sauce.

Beef Stew Gurakoro | ¥390

This year, McDonald’s Japan is adding a beef stew sauce made with a combination of red wine and demiglace sauce. Added to this is mustard, creating a delicious flavour that goes hand in hand with the creamy gratin korokke.

McDonald’s Japan has revealed two new beverages which will be sold at McCafé by Barista branches of McDonald’s from November 25: the “GODIVA Chocolate Espresso Frappe & Macaron” and the “GODIVA Chocolate Espresso Frappe.”

This is McCafé by Barista’s first collaboration with the Turkish chocolate company GODIVA. The drinks were made under the supervision of Yannick Chevolleau, an executive chef and chocolatier pâtissier at GODIVA, bringing together a match made in heaven of rich chocolate and espresso.

GODIVA Chocolate Espresso Frappe – Regular Size (¥540)

The beverage contains a dark chocolate sauce which combines cacao powder and roasted cacao beans which is mixed together with fragrant espresso and milk before being topped with whipped cream drizzled in a couverture chocolate sauce made from 54% Belgian chocolate.

GODIVA Chocolate Espresso Frappe & Macaron – Regular Size (¥540)

You can also get it topped with a vanilla-flavoured macaron which adds sweetness to the rich beverage and looks even more Instagram-worthy.

Starbucks Coffee Japan has revealed that its second instalment of its limited-edition holiday season 2020 beverages will be the “Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate” and “Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate Frappuccino®” which customers can order from November 24. A new batch of festive Starbucks merch will also hit Japanese branches on November 30.

A harmonious fusion of matcha and sweet white chocolate

Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate Frappuccino® Tall ¥590 (Tall-size only)

Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate: Short ¥450 / Tall ¥490 / Grande ¥530 / Venti® ¥570 (Hot option only)

Matcha is one of Starbucks Japan’s signature flavours and just to happens to have been in the spotlight in last year’s holiday season drinks. This year sees marbling mixture of of rich matcha sauce and sweet white chocolate syrup with the Frappuccino®, finished with a squirt of whipped cream, brownie bits, and snowy powdered sugar. The hot version comes as a marriage of matcha and white mocha mixed together with steamed milk to warm the cockles of hearts during the cold months.

New holiday season merchandise

The theme of the second batch of merchandise is “Brilliant Season” which capture the bright and sparkly vibe of winter like with the snowflake-covered stainless steel bottle, a glass mug with beads in it that move around when shaken, a snow globe, and more. The perfect line-up for capturing the holiday season mood during your coffee break.

Starbucks Japan is currently serving the Berry x Berry No-Bake Cheesecake Frappuccino® and Berry x Berry White Mocha holiday season drinks for the holiday season until November 24 when they will be replaced by the Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate and Matcha x Matcha White Chocolate Frappuccino®. It is also serving the Starbucks® Christmas Blend, Gingerbread Latte, and Macadamia Toffee Latte until Christmas Day.