Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo, is welcoming Häagen-Dazs through its doors who have prepared a very special dessert buffet for the hotel’s “Summer Trip with Häagen-Dazs” service. The sweet treat line-up will be served from June 1 to September 30 along with a range of savoury foods from around the world – an inviting prospect to those unable to travel during the pandemic.

Sweets Collection with Häagen-Dazs ~Ice Cream Holic~ | General ¥4,800, Children (Aged 4-12)

The first entry to the Summer Trip with Häagen-Dazs is the “Sweets Collection with Häagen-Dazs ~Ice Cream Holic~” dessert buffet. To protect customers, all desserts are ordered and served like a course rather than going to pick up the food yourself. This marks the third year of the dessert buffet, and this time it’s inspired by ice cream shops in New York, the home of Häagen-Dazs. Ice cream will be served in a cool and refreshing variety of ways.

Experience that feeling of picking out a flavour from the ice cream store with a line-up of eight flavours including classics such as vanilla and strawberry as well as the new rich royal milk tea. Each serving is customisable with numerous toppings.

Other menu items include mini ice cream croissants, ice cream sodas, ice cream cake, and more. There’s also a line-up of savoury food too if you want to line your belly before dessert: fried chicken, burgers, hot dogs, fries, and so on.

While the buffet is on, the hotel restaurant itself will be transformed into an ice cream theme park with summery tropical fruit colouring as well as designs and decor inspired by ice creams and cones.

This summer, Southern Tower Dining and Lounge South Court—both of which are located inside Odakyu Hotel Century Southern Tower—are serving up a fluffy matcha shaved ice dessert called Wa -Nagomi- from June 1 to September 30.

Southern Tower’s Famous Fluffy Light Snowfall Wa -Nagomi- Shaved Ice | Eat In ¥1,470, Takeout ¥700

The matcha-flavoured shaved ice has a texture as light and fluffy as snow. As you spoon through the dessert your taste buds are met with a range of delicious tastes and textures like the Japanese rice flour confection known as gyuhi, winter melon syrup, black soybean flour ice cream, and cream.

The dessert can also be ordered for takeout. The black soy bean flour ice cream adds a crunchy cereal-like texture to the soft shaved ice, and with the takeout option, there’s also chocolate-coated wheat bran and brown sugar syrup.

Japanese publisher SHUFUNOTOMO released a new recipe picture book based on the Studio Ghibli’s 3D CG movie Earwig and the Witch on April 28.

Earwig and the Witch Recipe Book | ¥1,540 (Tax Included) 

The book features simple to follow recipes including famous British meals, desserts inspired by the movie, and lots of other mouth-watering delights that look like something straight out of Earwig and the Witch.

St. Morwald’s Home for Children’s Shepherd’s Pie

Shepherd’s pie is a classic British meal and makes an appearance in the movie when Earwig eats it at St. Morwald’s Home for Children. It’s her favourite meal: mash sat on top of a tomato sauce-loaded mince, carrots, green beans, onion, and paprika combo.

Boy Scout Fried Toast

Fried toast is another common food on the British breakfast menu. The recipe takes thickly-sliced bread and fries it in the juices of bacon and sausage. It’s based on the scene where Earwig messes up making her fried toast. The recipe is made Frech-style with egg, milk, sugar, and butter.

Earwig’s Pretzels

Using hot cake mix, learn how to make frosted white chocolate pretzels that look like Bella Yaga’s magical worm minions

Goro Miyazaki | Comment (Taken From Recipe Book)

“Cooking is fun, isn’t it? I myself love cooking: taking various ingredients and peeling them, chopping them, crushing them, and mixing them. You boil, you steam, you simmer, you fry. Using fire makes it all the more fun. What I make doesn’t always turn out perfect, but you can turn off and forget everything while you’re cooking, but it’s an amazing feeling when you sit down to eat the fruits of your labour and people tell you what you made is delicious. It’s even more amazing when you eat something that someone else made for you. Tasty food is like magic. Speaking of which, the magical spells that Earwig learns at Bella Yaga’s house are a lot like cooking. Carving, crushing, mixing. I’m sure that if you’re a skilled witch you’ll be a skilled cook too. I hope the people who read this book and think for the first time that they want to try out cooking will try making all sorts. Getting better at cooking might even lead you on the path to becoming a witch.”

The recipe book’s front cover was designed specially for this book by Goro Miyazaki.

For this year’s Golden Week, Royal Park Hotel in Tokyo is serving up a limited-time selection of two desserts on its first floor cafe and bakery IKI: the Koinobori Roll Cake and Animal Sweets & Pastries, both of which are available now until May 5. It’s also selling two different mont blancs for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Carp streamer-inspired roll cake and animal pastries

Koinobori Roll Cake – ¥2,160 (Tax Included)

Animal Sweets & Pastries: Sheep Cheesecake, Bear Tiramisu, Rabbit Mousse – ¥540 Each / Piglet Pastry, Dog Pastry, Chick Pastry – ¥324 (Tax Included)

This line-up of takeout desserts and pastries are made at the hotel’s own cafe and bakery IKI, all of which have been made to celebrate Children’s Day which falls on May 5 every year. This includes a moist chocolate and strawberry carp streamer roll cake which is popular at IKI every year. There’s also a cute selection of animal delights including the light and fluffy Sheep Cheesecake, mascarpone cream and coffee Bear Tiramisu, and a sweet and tangy Rabbit Mousse made from assorted berry mousse and jelly, as well as three pastries made to look like a chick, dog, and piglet.

Serving: April 29, 2021 – May 5, 2021

Happy Father’s Day & Happy Mother’s Day Specials

Mother’s Day Mont Blanc / Father’s Day Mont Blanc – ¥1,944 Each (Tax Included)

The Mother’s Day Mont Blanc is a wonderfully light combination of strawberry jelly, fresh strawberries, white chocolate mousse, and strawberry cream. The Father’s Day version is made with a fresh mascarpone cream, a mont blanc base that’s made from chestnut and blackcurrant jam, chocolate cream, and caramelised nuts.

Mother’s Day Mont Blanc: May 7, 2021 – May 9, 2021

Father’s Day Mont Blanc: June 18, 2021 – June 20, 2021

Monthly Breads: May & June

Each mother, IKI releases limited-time breads or pastries. For May, customers can enjoy the rich Edamame & Bacon Parmesan France and the bitter Chocolate Cream Cornet. In June, there’s an Orange Cream Cornet made with sliced orange peel, and the Tomato Rustic which is crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle, combining tomato and cheese. There’s also Shokupan made with matcha and large-grained adzuki beans.

Edamame & Bacon Parmesan France / Chocolate Cream Cornet (Dark Chocolate) – ¥302 Each (Tax Included)

Orange Cream Cornet – ¥302 / Tomato Rustic – ¥302 / Shokupan (Matcha & Adzuki Bean) – ¥648 (Tax Included)

May Monthly Bread: May 6, 2021 – May 31, 2021

June Monthly Bread: June 1, 2021 – June 30, 2021

The Ginza branch of Shiseido Parlour in Tokyo released its new BOUQUET DE FRAISES biscuit cake on Friday. The dessert is inspired by Shieido Parlour’s strawberry parfait and is made to be held in one hand. It comes with three kinds of creams, and each is a crunchy and customisable delight decorated like a bouquet.

BOUQUET DE FRAISES | ¥540 (Tax Included)

The buttery cone is a cat tongue biscuit and is filled with cream shanty, cream patissiere, and strawberry jam. The bouquets are also topped with fresh strawberries.

BOUQUET DE FRAISES (Box of 10) | ¥5,724 (Tax Included) | Reservation-only

The Kawasaki-based Fujiko F. Fujio Museum, which is dedicated to the Japanese manga writing duo who created Doraemon, is now serving up its new Doraemon Korosuke Chiffon Sandwich which was added to the menu on Wednesday.

Doraemon Korosuke Chiffon Sandwich | ¥1,280 (Tax Included)

The new arrival sees Doraemon and Korosuke turned into chiffon sandwiches with the beloved blue robot cat made from chocolate and filled with banana cream and his friend filled with mango cream.

Check out some of the other items available on the menu at the museum too.

Doraemon Arrabbiata | ¥1,230 (Tax Included)

French Toast de Anki Bread | ¥980 (Tax Included)

Fork into the Doraemon Arrabbiata with tomato sauce and a Doraemon face made from egg sheets, or a French toast inspired by Doraemon’s Copying Tost, one of his many Secret Gadgets.

ⒸFujiko-Pro

From Hello Kitty to Pompompurin, Cinnamoroll, My Melody, and more – Sanrio’s internationally adored cast of characters can be universally agreed to be representatives of Japan culture of ‘kawaii.’ In celebration of Sanrio’s 60th anniversary, the company have announced an exhibition centred on the beginning of kawaii culture. The event will take place at TOKYO CITY VIEW from September 17, 2021 to January 10, 2022.

60th Anniversary Sanrio Exhibition: The Beginning of Kawaii is currently taking place at Matsuzakaya Art Gallery in Nagoya until June 12 and will move to Ōita Prefectural Art Museum where it will run from July 10 to September 5 before heading to TOKYO CITY VIEW.

© 2021 SANRIO CO., LTD. APPROVAL NO. SP610376

This exhibition will not only look back over Sanrio’s 60-year history, but will also dive into how Japan’s culture of ‘kawaii’ came about. Fans of Sanrio and Japan’s kawaii can expect product and design showcases, in-depth explanations, and more.

Over 800 products, documents, and materials related to Sanrio will be presented, many of which will shine a spotlight on some of their most famous characters out of their roster of 400, such as Hello Kitty and My Melody, and other characters that might not be known to those outside Japan such as best friends Patty & Jimmy.

What to look out for at Sanrio’s 60th anniversary exhibition

Unforgettable Tower by Sebastian Masuda

Sebastian Masuda, a pioneer of kawaii culture, will showcase his symbolic art pieces at the event at TOKYO CITY VIEW’s observation deck, combining his iconic work against a breathtaking background.

The Beginning of Kawaii

Learn about the history of Sanrio’s culture of kawaii, beginning as a service to ‘move people’s hearts’ through gifts and products. Visitors will get a chance to see the secrets of Sanrio’s iconic style which draw a line under fancy products from other companies.

There will also be a chance to see Japanese illustrators Takashi Yanase, Ado Mizumori, and Rune Naito’s work with Sanrio.

The Birth of the Characters

What makes something kawaii or not kawaii? Why do characters not necessarily need to have a story to become so popular? These questions are more will be answered as the exhibition looks at the birth of Sanrio’s characters.

Sanrio’s Characters

How did their hit characters come to be? During the 1980’s, Japan was a warzone for characters. Sanrio changed how characters became popular, moving from characters that were popular with everyone to creating characters that people wanted for themselves – their own personal characters. Discover how Sanrio’s long list of characters came about, including ones that have stood the test of time and ones that have declined in popularity.

Ichigo Shimbun

Ichigo Shimbun is a magazine published by Sanrio all about Sanrio and their characters – a familiar read to all fans in Japan. The magazine will be featured at the exhibition.

Hello Kitty: The Character Who Turned Into a Global Icon

Hello Kitty is known the world over, with even Lady Gaga having worn a dress of Hello Kitty plush toys in the past. This dress will be exhibited at the event, amongst many other things related to Sanrio’s global idol.

A Battle Between Artists

Artists from various artistic background will participate in the exhibition by creating a range of different Sanrio works. Participating artists and their specialities include Ryūsuke Fukahori (objects), Hajime Nakatomi (bamboo art), Takaya Mori (sculptor), Mio Hashimoto (sculptor), and Risa Fukui (paper cut-outs).

In promotion of the latest entry to the Detective Conan anime film series, Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet, which was released on March 18, Bandai released two traditional Japanese wagashi sweets from its Tabemas confection series at 7-Eleven convenience stores in Japan on April 23.

Tabemas Detective Conan 2021

Conan Edogawa

Shuichi Akai

‘Tabemas’ is an abbreviation of the Japanese words taberareru masukotto, meaning ‘mascots that you can eat.’ It is a Japanese confectionery series that combines well-known characters and Japanese sweets made from ingredients like red bean paste, sugar and rice flour. The sweets are also made with a dough called “nerikiri” which is used in making traditional Japanese wagashi sweets.

The sweets feature titular character Conan Edogawa and FBI agent Shuichi Akai from the new film, recreating their looks in adorable detail and making the custard and chocolate flavoured respectively. The colours of the confections are naturally-derived from the ingredients used, meaning no artificial colourings are used.

(C)青山剛昌／小学館・読売テレビ・TMS 1996

Japan’s confectionery shop Ginza Cozy Corner are releasing a new collection of petite Pixar cakes at all branches on April 23.

The cakes comes in time for celebrating Children’s Day in Japan, as well as making a perfect snack for Golden Week and for kids and parents to enjoy together. Pixar fans have nine to enjoy in the collection such as the Little Green Men from Toy Story, Nemo and Dory from Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, Sully from Monster’s Inc., the Pixar Ball, and more.

Pixar Collection (9 Included) | ¥2,700 (Tax Included)

Flavours include the strawberry mousse Lightning McQueen, the Jack Jack raspberry jelly and mango cream, the Buzz Lightyear blueberry jam and cheese mousse, and more.

Pixar Cake Assortment (6 Included) | ¥540 (Tax Included)

The packaging also features cute artwork of everyone’s favourite Pixar characters. Choose between the whole nine cake box collection or this assortment of six white chocolate and strawberry cookies.

Pixar Sweets Box (10 Included) | ¥918 (Tax Included)

There’s also a 10-piece box of six cookies and four madeleines.

In accordance with Earth Day, which is set for April 22, Nestlé released its limited-time KitKat Mini Maple on Monday to raise awareness of environmental issues and the future of the planet.

KitKat Mini Maple (3 Included)

KitKat Mini Maple (12 Included)

9 packaging designs with different messages related to the environment

‘KitKat Always For Earth Day’ online talk event to take place on April 30

In September 2019, Nestlé began packaging five of its major large-sized KitKat bags in paper bags rather than plastic, and since autumn 2020, most of their large sized bags are now made from paper. This has helped reduce 450 tonnes of plastic per year.

Now, Nestlé is releasing a new collection of packages for Earth Day featuring original designs by up-an-coming young artist SUGI. Each features messages from members of MIMO, a group managed by Japanese model Mila Aina, stating messages about helping to protect the environment and the future of planet earth.

This spring, Hilton Nagoya is set to serve up a special afternoon tea set and buffet plan at its first floor all-dining restaurant IN PLACE 3-3. The theme of the afternoon tea line-up, which will be served either as a set-only plan or the set plus a buffet, is ‘Lost in Europe.’ Fans of Lewis Carroll’s beloved novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland can look forward to jumping in the rabbit hole as they indulge in a colourful and delicious line-up that sends them straight to wonderland.

The plans will run for three months during which three different menu line-ups will be served, each with a European feel to them as Alice finds her curiosity tending away from Japanese cuisine to the delectable assortments of overseas.

Spain will serve as the first menu. Travelling to Spain, Alice finds the country one overflowing with creativity in the arts, so says the story of this fun afternoon tea. Dishes will be plated with desserts fusing together Spain’s food culture with that of Wonderland, traditional Spanish desserts, sweet treats inspired by Spanish art, and more. Many of the irresistible items will also be made with almonds – Spain being the second largest producer of almonds in the world.

Inside the restaurant, diners will feel like they have travelled to a Spanish rendition of Wonderland with a mix of styles from both locations, such as Spanish sunflowers, mosaic tiles, stained glass windows, and more.

A little look at the menu (some of it)

1. Afternoon Tea Set Menu: ¥4,600 (Tax Included)

Cubism Cheshire Cat Arroz Con Leche

A coconut-flavoured Spanish rice pudding made with coconut lavender jelly. Its design, from the stripes to the grinning teeth, are references to the Cheshire Cat.

Blue Caterpillar Siesta Cake

A cake covered in striking blue chocolate, made with pistachio mousse, and filled with a mixed berry jelly.

Butterfly Windmills Mousse

An artistic delight made with smooth chestnut mousse and colourful butterfly wings attached.

Plate Menu

Pistachio Crema Catalana in Berry Sauce

A traditional dessert of Catalonia, this crema catalana features a rich pistachio-flavoured custard cream and is served with a berry sauce.

Savoury Items

Salted churros that are crunchy on the outside and fluffy in the inside, and a checked bocadillo filled with Spanish omelette.

Lost in Europe Afternoon Tea Set Summary

10 desserts, two savoury items, and a choice of a soft drink, coffee, or tea.

2. Afternoon Tea Set & Dessert Buffet: Adults ¥5,000 / Children ¥2,500

Mischievous Crazy Clock Cake 

A warped, melted clock made with passion fruit cream and orange and mango mousse.

Mosaic Tile Sangria Jelly (Non-Alcoholic)

A refreshing beverage made with non-alcoholic white wine and grape, strawberry, and grapefruit jelly, all made to look like mosaic tiles.

Savoury Items

Pick from nine different savoury items like paella, sopa de ajo garlic soup, patatas bravas, tapas, and more.

There are also a range of other desserts like a coffee jelly ice cream, a melon cake, and more, as well as fruity iced candies.

Afternoon Takeout Box

Customers can also get their afternoon tea set to go with a mix of desserts and savouries.

Neko Neko Cheesecake is set to open pre-sales for its new Nyan Cheese Mikan cheesecake at Pastel branches of Neko Neko Cheesecake on April 22 before rolling it out at all Neko Neko Cheesecake branches.

Neko Neko Cheesecake is a sister brand of Neko Neko Kuu Pan from the same company which serves cat-shaped bread.

Nyan Cheese Mikan | Single Slice: ¥237 (Tax Included)

Nyan Cheese Mikan | Box of 4: ¥1,080 (Tax Included)

The cheesecake is made with Brie de Meaux, aka the king of cheeses, and cooked at a high temperature to add a gorgeous browned surface. They contain rich juice from mandarin oranges to give them a refreshing kick perfect for the spring season. A perfect snack or post-dinner dessert.