Asakusa welcomed the newest and third branch of matcha dessert specialist shop Kaminari Issa on October 2, 2020, which opened its doors along Dempoin Street. The shop is just a 3-minute walk from Asakusa Station and 2-minutes from Kaminarimon.

Signature delights on Kaminari Issa’s menu include the Okoicha Warabi Latte and Okoicha Gelato. Everything on the menu is made with rich, high quality matcha, from the matcha tea lattes to the matcha beer, parfaits, ice cream, dacquoise, and more. If you love matcha, and you’re in Tokyo, this place is a must-visit.

There are plenty of items to get your hands on in this newest store, which also has its own eat-in space, tea leaf display, and more.

They even sell kits so you can make your own Okoicha Warabi Latte and Wakocha Brown Sugar Warabi Latte at home.

GRAPESTONE is releasing a new sweets collection at Disney SWEETS COLLECTION by Tokyo Banana, which is located in Tokyo Station, in collaboration with the Disney classic Fantasia. The confections will be released in limited quantities from October 30, 2020.

© Disney　Disney SWEETS COLLECTION by Tokyo Banana JR Tokyo Station

Disney SWEETS COLLECTION by Tokyo Banana opened on the JR Line side of Tokyo Station in November of last year. The shop is a joint-collaboration with Tokyo Banana—the official souvenir sweet of Tokyo—and Disney. The shop sold over 100,000 products in the first week of its opening, and caught the attention of Disney fans on social media who described the shop and the packaging of their sweets as cute.

Disney Fantasia Chocolate Sandwich (Contains 28) | ¥3,024 (Tax Included)

The cute packaging features Mickey Mouse as The Sorcerer’s Apprentice in the 1940 animated film Fantasia. The light and crunchy cat tongue cookies at filled with chocolate banana milk shake flavoured cream

The confections serve as the perfect gift or souvenir from Japan to yourself or any fan of Disney.

© Disney

Sanrio Puroland has announced that this year’s PURO RAINBOW CHRISTMAS event will run from November 13 to December 25. The theme for 2020 is “Rainbows,” and this time around, the event can be enjoyed both at the park and online.

Colourful and Kawaii Christmas Food

Sanrio Puroland will once again serve up a special Christmas menu of ten items, with iconic characters like Hello Kitty, My Melody and the Little Twin Stars wearing colourful Santa Claus hats.

Food includes dishes like “Hello Kitty’s Christmas Gift Curry” with Hello Kitty holding a Christmas present, the snow white “Rainbow Christmas☆Snow Omelette Pasta,” and more. There are also desserts such as “My Melody’s Pink Yule Log Cake” and “Pochacco’s Pistachio & Strawberry Tree Parfait.” The multi-coloured menu line-up takes up Christmas classics like chicken and snow.

Cute Rainbow Coloured Merchandise

Mascots | ¥1,650 Each (Tax Included)

A collection of different mascots from Sanrio Puroland each wearing colourful Santa outfits.

Confectionery Set | ¥1,080 (Tax Included)

An assortment of confections served in an eye-catching box featuring familiar Sanrio faces.

Christmas Illuminations – “Rainbow Santa’s Christmas Eve”

An exciting Christmas illumination show will take place at Puroland Village to the sound of Christmas-y Puroland music. Lights will brighten up the place with in a kaleidoscope of colours.

PURO RAINBOW CHRISTMAS Special Greeting

Visitors will be able to meet and take photos with the Sanrio characters in person for one whole minute. The cast will wear Christmas red outfits from November 13 to December 1 and change into white costumes from December 5. This will take place on the first floor Event Corner and will see Hello Kitty, My Melody, Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, Wish me mell, and Dear Daniel make an appearance.  It will be carried out using social distancing measures.

Enjoy Puroland Christmas at Home

This year, Sanrio Puroland will stream past popular Christmas events held at the park on the Japanese video streaming site SHOWROOM on December 12. Shows include “HAPPY GIFT CHRISTMAS” from 2016, “The Puro Christmas” from 2019, and more.

Infinite Online Greetings

Sanrio Puroland launched online content back in June in response to COVID-19 which included getting to meet the characters online. They will host a special Christmas version on December 22 also on SHOWROOM where the characters will wear their white costumes from the Christmas show “The Puro Christmas.” Participating characters include Hello Kitty, My Melody, Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, Little Twin Stars (Kiki & Lala), Wish me mell, and Dear Daniel.

©’13,’20 SANRIO　S/D・G　©’15,’20 SANRIO　S/T・F　©’15,’20 SANRIO　S/F・G　©’17,’20 SANRIO　MP,TX©’75,’76,’79,’84,’85,’86,’88,’89,’90,’92,’93,’96,’98,’99,’01,’04,’05,’10,’12,’20 SANRIO

Pokémon Cafe and Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe are releasing a new teatime menu at their respective branches on October 24, 2020.

Pokémon Cafe

Polteageist & Sinistea Tea Party! Fruit Tea Set ~Apple Flavoured~ | ¥1,188 (Tax Included)

Polteageist & Sinistea Tea Party! Fruit Tea Set ~Strawberry Flavoured~ | ¥1,188 (Tax Included)

Pokémon Cafe is serving up two different fruit tea sets based on the Ghost-type Pokémon Polteageist and Sinistea. Customers are free to pour in their desired amount of fruit syrup which changes the colour of the tea. The sets come with a cute cookie too.

Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe

Left: Polteageist’s Tea Party! Fruit Tea ~Mixed Berry Flavour~ / Right: Polteageist’s Tea Party! Fruit Tea ~Peach Orange Flavour~ | ¥700 Each (Before Tax)

Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe is also going to serve up some Polteageist themed fruit teas as well as a selection of desserts like macarons and financier almond cakes which have Pokémon tail and ear designs.

After ordering one of the Polteageist fruit teas, customers can place their cups under the Polteageist tea pot as pictured above and activate the pot to dispense their drink, so it’s like Polteageist  really pouring tea for you.

Left: Swirlix Strawberry Macaron | Middle: Pikachu Vanilla Macaron | Right: Galarian Ponyta Pistachio Macaron – ¥500 Each (Before Tax)

Treat yourself to one of the super cute Swirlix, Pikachu, or Ponyta macarons each with designs that tell you instantly which Pokémon they’re inspired by.

Polteageist Fruit Tea and & Pikachu Macaron Set

Customers can order a tea and macaron combination set too.

Pikachu Parfaits

Pikachu Glass Parfait Set | ¥1,500 (Before Tax)

An adorable set of Pikachu parfaits, one being caramel banana flavoured and the other chocolate.

Pikachu Tea Party Assortment – Pika Pika Pikavee Set | ¥2,800 (Before Tax)

Another set to share between friends and family, this time with two Pikachu glass desserts as well as Pikachu and Eevee cupcakes.

Pikachu Tea Party Assortment – Ghost Type Set | ¥2,800 (Before Tax)

This set comes with the Pikachu glass desserts as well as Ghost-type Gengar and Litwick mousse cakes.

The Polteageist teapot and Sinistea teacup used at the Pokémon Cafe and Pikachu Sweets by Pokémon Cafe will also be released at Pokémon Center Online in Japan on December 5, 2020.

© 2020 Pokémon.©1995-2020 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc.
Pokémon, ポケットモンスター, and ポケモン are registered trademarks of Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and GAME FREAK inc..

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) announced earlier this month that its new Nintendo-themed area SUPER NINTENDO WORLD will open in spring 2021. While the grand opening of SUPER NINTENDO is still a while away yet, USJ has everyone covered, as the new and first of its kind Mario Cafe & Store officially opened inside the park’s Hollywood Area on October 16, 2020.

The cafe and shop is dream come true for fans of the Mario bros as they enter into a world inspired by the video game series with Mario and Luigi and level decorations in every corner. It can be easily spotted thanks to the red and green “M” and “L” letters on the windows symbolising Mario and Luigi as well as the Mario and Luigi hats. Gamers can enjoy this exciting space while they wait for the official opening of SUPER NINTENDO WORLD.

Themed food and merchandise line-up

Decorations are instantly recognisable with Question Blocks and Pipes on the walls, Mario Mushroom-coloured tables, and more.

The food line-up includes dishes, drinks, and desserts like pancake sandwiches made to look like Mario and Luigi’s hats, fruit dream soda inspired by the brothers’ moustaches, and a selection of original merchandise which reads “WHOSE CAP?” on it like T-shirts and more. You can see more of what’s on the menu here.

© Nintendo.

AROMA SMOKE SHIROKANE is a new shisha bar set to open in Shirokane, Tokyo, this November, offering private booths to all customers.

Shisha is a flavoured tobacco made from a syrupy tobacco mix. The shisha experience is popular worldwide with groups coming together to enjoy the experience at shisha bars or hookah lounges and in recent years have grown in popularity in Japan, particularly amongst women and people who weren’t regular cigarette or roll-up smokers before.

Private rooms for a shisha get-together with friends

Shisha bars continue to open up in Tokyo, but AROMA SMOKE SHIROKANE boasts as the only place in Japan’s capital with completely private rooms for all customers. This is particularly favourable during the pandemic in order to greatly reduce the risk of coming into contact with other customers.

Enjoy shisha while having a meeting

Shisha is enjoyed by a lot of business-people in Japan, and recently there has been an increasing demand for more business meetings to be had over shisha. The private booth setting makes AROMA SMOKE SHIROKANE perfect for realising this request, so customers can discuss all their ideas over a smoke.

Try two different flavours on the same visit

Customers are able to change up their shisha flavour once during their two hour session, allowing them to try two completely different flavours on the same visit completely free of charge. Now that’s service.

With the professional interior design of AROMA SMOKE SHIROKANE one can’t help but feel like it’s otherworldly. Customers can spend their time in class and comfort and smoke without having to worry about others. If you visit Tokyo, and love shisha, then this is a place you can’t pass up.

LEGS, INC. has announced that it will open three cafes themed on the mobile game Disney: Twisted-Wonderland at OH MY CAFE branches in Tokyo and Osaka on November 20 and in Nagoya on November 27.

Disney: Twisted-Wonderland is a Japanese mobile game that was released on March 18, 2020. The concept, character designs, and scenario for the adventure rhythm game were conceived by Yana Toboso, the creator of the popular Black Butler manga series. The game is centred on the villains of Disney.

The cafe’s theme places customers in the food hall of Night Raven College, the magic training school where the game is set. It will be adorned in decorations inspired by the game’s food hall, and coupled with that, the cafe will serve up food and drink that actually appear in the game. There’s also exclusive merchandise for players to get their hands on.

The Menu

There are four different lunches to pick from, all of which are low in salt content and so are a healthy option for wizards and witches flying into the cafe.

Food

<Lunch Option A>

Deluxe Menchi Katsu Sandwich | ¥1,990, with plate ¥4,290 (Before Tax)

The most popular item on the food hall’s menu is the non-fried menchi-katsu meat cutlet sandwich.

<Lunch Option B>

Salmon Cream Stew | ¥1,990, with plate ¥4,290 (Before Tax)

A cream stew packed with salmon and vegetables and served with slices of baguette for dipping.

<Lunch Option C>

Tomato Base Squid Ink Pasta | | ¥1,990, with plate ¥4,290 (Before Tax)

A colourful tomato-based veggie pasta in squid ink and served with fruity yoghurt.

<Lunch Option D>

Four Mushroom Risotto | ¥1,990, with plate ¥4,290 (Before Tax)

A creamy, mild-flavoured risotto served with four different kinds of mushrooms.

Drinks

Character Drinks (7 Flavours) – Heartslabyul, Savanaclaw, Octavinelle, Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde, Diasomnia | ¥890 with coaster ¥1,790 (Before Tax)

A selection of colourful tinted waters inspired by seven different characters seen in the game.

Merchandise

Superdeformed Series Art Example

Pattern Series Art Example

Magic-wielding players can get their hands on a selection of merchandise both at the cafes, and from November 20, via the OH MY CAFE STORE website. There are two different designs for the merch line-up as pictured above.

Bonus Items

Customers who book a table in advance (¥650 before tax per person) at the cafe will receive one of 22 possible lunch mats, and if they order a drink, one of 22 coasters.

©Disney

Tokyo Midtown has announced that its winter event ‘MIDTOWN WINTER MOMENTS’ will run from November 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021.

“ANOTHER WORLD” is the concept for this year’s rendition of the annual event, which will see new winter illuminations, Christmas decorations, the opening of an ice rink, and plenty of other fun experiences for people to enjoy throughout the entire day, right into the evening.

MIDTOWN WINTER LIGHTS

A highlight of the event will be the “MIDTOWN WINTER LIGHTS,” warm illuminations to light fires in hearts during the cold winter season that will create a dazzling spectacle the likes of which cannot be missed.

Path of Light – An Illuminated World

The pedestrian walkway will welcome a strip of gorgeous golden lights affixed to towering trees to guide your way. More golden lights than ever before are being prepared this year to pull visitors into a romantic and dreamy world.

SNOW LIGHT GLOBE – A World of Snow

The SNOW LIGHT GLOBE is a giant 3-meter tall and 4.5-meter wide snow globe inside which glistens sparkling snow, crystals, and aurora. The lights are ever-changing throughout the day, presenting itself differently every time you look at it.

STEP LIGHT – A Colourful World

STEP LIGHT is a fun and interactive illumination display with lights that light up when you step on them, creating a colourful walkway.

Running: November 19, 2020 – February 28, 2021

Time: 17:00-23:00 (Until 24:00 around the plaza)

Location: Midtown Garden

MIDTOWN ICE RINK – A World of Ice

MIDTOWN ICE RINK is something people in Tokyo look forward to every winter. This year, the rink is opening in November. It’s one of the biggest ice rinks in Tokyo and provides real ice for people to skate on, welcoming everyone from children and beginners to pros. The rink will be open into the evening too when it will be lit up so people can enjoy a little night skating session.

Running: November 19, 2020 – February 28, 2021
Time: 11:00-21:00 (Last Entries 20:00)

*Opens at 17:00 on November 19 and is closed on January 1

*Opening hours subject to change depending on weather
Location: Tokyo Midtown
Prices:

General (High School Students and older) – Weekdays ¥2,000 / Weekends & Public Holidays ¥2,500

Children (Junior High School Students and younger) Weekdays ¥1,500 / Weekends & Public Holidays ¥2,000

Midtown Christmas Trees

Various Christmas trees will be set up in the Tokyo Midtown garden area, indoors, and elsewhere to set in the holiday season mood.

Running: November 19, 2020 – December 25, 2020

Present Christmas Tree – A World of Fantasy

The Tokyo Midtown garden will welcome a mysterious kind of Christmas tree for the first time every this year—one which sprouts presents. 25 presents will be grown, and in December one will be given out each day.

Time: 17:00-23:00
Location: Midtown Garden

Santa Tree – A Miniature World

Around 1,800 individual Santa Claus ornaments will make up the 4-meter tall Santa Tree inside the Tokyo Midtown Galleria

Time: 11:00-Midtown
Location: Galleria 1F Tree Shower

Choose! Choose! AR Tree – An Original World

Tokyo Midtown also has something for people to enjoy at home. They can use an app that makes use of AR tech so that a Christmas tree can appear when you go to take a photo which you can decorate with an assortment of ornaments. There’s over 1,000 possible combinations. More details about this will be posted on the event website in early November.

L’OCCITANE CAFE Shibuya is getting ready for Halloween with the reveal of its sweet potato and apple parfait which will be served from October 21 to 31. The Tokyo-based cafe is centred on the food culture and lifestyle of Provence in southern France.

Sweet Potato and Apple Parfait | ¥1,280 (Tax Included)

The seasonal treat is a mix of purple sweet potato and regular sweet potato, baked apples, apple sherbet, and vanilla ice, all topped off with whipped cream, roasted nuts, and almond tuile biscuits in the shape of ghosts and a pumpkin.

Warehouse TERRADA opened up the new art cafe ‘WHAT CAFE’ in Tennozu, Tokyo, on October 15, 2020.

Left: Overlap of paint (dot3) by Soichi Yamaguchi | Right: Ichijiteki ni Inu, Ichijiteki ni Hito, Ichijiteki ni E by Dan Isomura

WHAT CAFE will serve as a hub to support artists in Japan’s art industry by functioning as both a gallery and cafe in a 800㎡ space. The gallery will change out the artwork from time to time to allow for more artists to showcase their works to visitors throughout the year. There will be hundreds of pieces shown in an entire year.

Left: Peel off the paint “No.125” by Haruna Shinagawa | void #35 by KIKUCHI Ryo

Tokyo’s Tennozu area is looking to become a major stop for art in Japan and is currently home to various art facilities like the pigment lab PIGMENT TOKYO and Japan’s biggest gallery complex TERRADA ART COMPLEX.

If you’re interested in contemporary art in Japan, and are visiting Tokyo, then you won’t want to miss a stop to Tennozu. Be sure to stop by WHAT CAFE.

To celebrate 25 years since the screen debut of the beloved clay animated Shaun the Sheep, a new shop and cafe called “Shaun the Sheep Farm Cafe Stand” is opening up in Kanagawa serving up themed food, drink, and desserts.

Shaun the Sheep Farm Cafe Stand

Shaun the Sheep Farm Cafe Stand will open on October 15, 2020 in Kamiooka, Kanagawa, as a takeout cafe stand inspired by Shaun the Sheep. Customers can look forward to a selection of coffees and desserts based on the adorable sheep himself. And to celebrate the cafe’s grand opening, a special free show will take place there from October 15-18, 2020.

Shaun Soft Cream | ¥500 (Before Tax)

Subtly sweet soft serve ice cream topped with a Shaun the Sheep cookie.

Shaun Cafe Latte | ¥700 (Before Tax)

A foamy latte with a cute Shaun marshmallow sat on top.

Shaun the Sheep Farm Cafe Stand

Location: mioka LIST (Floor 6F)

Access: Directly connected to Kamiōoka Station via the Tokyu Line and Yokohama City Blue Line
Opening Hours: 11:00-21:00 (Last Orders 20:45)

Shaun the Sheep Village Shop & Cafe

The Shaun the Sheep Village Shop & Cafe in Minami Machida Grandberry Park, which opened in November 2019, introduced a limited-time autumn menu last month which is still being served.

Shaun’s Special Meatball Spaghetti | ¥1,580 (Before Tax)

A hot meatball spaghetti served with a Shaun the Sheep waffle which can be enjoyed together with fresh cream, maple syrup, and the meat sauce.

Baby Shaun’s Forest Grape Trifle w/ Drink | ¥1,480 (Before Tax)

A towering trifle topped with seasonal grapes, vanilla ice cream, grape sherbet, custard, and grape jelly for a sweet and sour autumntime mix.

Fluffy Baby Shaun Custard or Caramel | ¥250 for one, ¥1,000 for five (Before Tax)

An adorable confection enjoyed by both child and grown-up customers. The cafe has now introduced a new caramel flavour.

Shaun the Sheep Village Shop & Cafe

Location: Grandberry Park Central Court Wonder Theatre (Floor 1F)

Opening Hours: 10:00-22:00 (Food Last Orders 21:00 / Drinks Last Orders 21:30)

Shaun the Sheep Farm Cafe: Halloween Menu

Shaun the Sheep Farm Cafe, a permanent cafe located inside Prime Tree Akaike Shopping Mall in Aichi, is serving up a special Halloween menu this year.

Shaun’s Happy Halloween Plate 2020 | ¥1,380 (Before Tax)

A bright-red tomato sauce hamburger served with pumpkin cream soup and salad.

Shaun’s Happy Halloween Dessert Assortment | ¥1,180 (Before Tax)

A sweet combo of pumpkin mont blanc and a pumpkin tart.

SHAUN THE SHEEP AND SHAUN’S IMAGE
ARE ™ AARDMAN ANIMATIONS LTD. 2020

The Asahi Shimbun and Nippon TV are set to host an exhibition centred on Mickey Mouse at the MORI ARTS CENTER GALLERY in Roppongi, Tokyo, from October 30, 2020 to January 11, 2021, in celebration of 90 years since Mickey Mouse’s screen debut. The exhibition will showcase works shown at the Mickey: The True Original Exhibition held in New York in 2018-2019.

Before the exhibition opens, five participating Japanese artists have each revealed their never-before-seen artworks which will be on display.

The Tokyo exhibition will be a travel back through time, looking at Mickey Mouse from the past to the present. It will be split into three zones: “The Origin,” “The True Original,” and “Beyond.” The five artists showcasing their work early will be featured in the “Beyond” zone and include Tomoko Oshima, Kosuke Kawamura, Nana Soeda, Calligrapher MAMI, and WAKU. Below are their featured pieces along with their comments.

Tomoko Oshima | Comment

“What’s fascinating about Mickey Mouse is, for reasons I can’t begin to work out, how he became a part of each person’s life. I was raised in a household that banned cartoon characters, so it always felt like something unobtainable. Mickey Mouse is like a hero to all of us. He’s dazzling and radiant, a kind of being I can’t look directly in the face of. When working on my Mickey Mouse art [for the exhibition], my concept was to create a Mickey that’s special only to me, so I challenged myself to turning that Mickey Mouse that everyone feels happy looking at and loves into my usual art style.”

Oheya (Bedroom), Tomoko Oshima

Kosuke Kawamura | Comment

“What I find fascinating about Mickey Mouse is that no matter how old I get, he always transports me away from the real world to a world of dreams. He’s an idol of mine. I even have my own collection of merchandise I’ve been collecting over the years. For the exhibition, I needed to creating something for the Beyond [zone], so I tried shaping Mickey Mouse from how I see him in my head. I’ve always made sure to balance my artwork in such a way that it can be seen in two ways. When you stand close, you can see the detailed composition, but when you step away, it looks different. This time around I gave myself a little challenge and made the silhouette of his face and hands using flowers. If you get close to it you’ll see that it’s made up of lots of flowers, but stand from afar and you’ll be able to see the facial expressions and his pointing figure. I’d like people to give both a go, so when you’ve looked at it up close then take a step back.”

Untitled, Kosuke Kawamura

Nana Soeda | Comment

“I feel Mickey Mouse’s appeal from his long history and how he has changed overtime, so I tried to express these aspects in the piece I made. The theme for it is centred on Mickey Mouse in the future, so when I was thinking about what he might look like in the future, I looked to past [designs] and tried fixing them up. So in my piece there’s a trace of looking back at past Mickey Mouse while giving him an update. Creating those ‘futures’ made me feel like I was walking through my own past and processes. You can’t know exactly what’s to come in the future even for someone as internationally popular as Mickey Mouse. But by learning from past memories and mistakes, you can draw on those to create a future, don’t you think? That’s something I wanted to convey in this piece, and I did so by creating something that’s close to the Mickey Mouse of the past with both 2D and 3D surfaces. The Mickey Mouse I drew is the one of ages past that looks completely different to his appearance today. But those look at it might feel something newer about it than older. That, or they might feel uncomfortable seeing him in a way they’re not used to. I want people to take their time looking at both and feeling whatever they feel when they do.”

LOVE, Nana Soeda

Calligrapher MAMI | Comment

“I’ve captured Mickey Mouse’s silhouette as its own kanji by using calligraphy. His appearance is iconic worldwide, and by making him recognisable through this common language, I’ve tried to create a new kanji, effectively breaking the language barrier of calligraphy, something which is difficult in itself to overcome for people. Another thing with calligraphy is that you can write the same piece hundreds of times which means it can be fine tuned over and over. I believe that overlaps with Mickey Mouse’s design as he has too has evolved for a hundred years. But by no means have his designs he just spring out of existence immediately. He has undergone trial and error through the times, and always shines bright. It’s because of everyone who will see my piece as this exhibition that I’ve been able to create something I can feel from the heart.”

ZEN Mickey, Calligrapher MAMI

WAKU | Comment

“I think the appeal of Mickey Mouse lies in the fact that people around the world all remember him from their childhoods. We form memories during our childhoods, and ever I’ve been able to recognise those memories inside of me, Mickey Mouse was something that was always close to me. When I see three circles together, Mickey Mouse’s face comes into my mind. He might be the first internationally recognisable symbol. I felt that the affinity between symbolism and neon signs is very high. So for my piece, I incorporated the techniques used for traditional Japanese neon signboards, something which I see less of these days. I took that and created the three Mickey Mouse circles using light.”

Untitled (Still Being Worked On), WAKU