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.

Mister Donut Japan released its new tasty collection of limited-edition doughnuts in collaboration with Gion Tsujiri, the famous tea shop in Kyoto from April 9. 

The Line Up

Fluffy Uji Matcha Mochi with Black Honey 

Fluffy Uji Matcha Mochi with Soybean Whipped Cream 

Fluffy Uji Matcha with Azuki Red Beans Mochi 

Pon de Double Uji Matcha

Pon de Double Uji Matcha with Black Honey Mochi

Pon de Double Uji Matcha with Soybean Whipped Cream and Azuki Red Beans 

Uji Matcha Chocolate, Azuki Red Beans and Rice Cake Balls Pie

Special Edition: Mister Donut Voucher Card with Masaki Sudaミ

The 1st edition of collection released on March 12 with the theme of colouration 

that enhances the colour of matcha. The new edition launching this time was developed with the theme of Japanese ingredients such as black honey that brings harmony with matcha.  “Fluffy Uji Matcha” series consist of 3 flavours made of luxurious Kyoto Uji Matcha with fluffy donut which marks its first appearance of this year. “Fluffy Uji Matcha with Black Honey” is a glossy doughnut coated with matcha chocolate with black honey filling. A wide variety of doughnut featuring 7 combinations of matcha and Japanese ingredients are unbearably delicious and unmissable. 

Mister Donut holds a promotional campaign in collaboration with the Japanese movie God of Kinema starring Masaki Suda, current image model of the brand. 

During the campaign, follow Mister Donut’s official Twitter account and upload pictures of the collection with hashtag  “#ミスドでつや抹茶” and 428 lucky customers can win a voucher worth ¥500 with exclusive design features Masaki Suda.  Additionally, 67 lucky customers who have also participated in the 1st edition of Mister Donut ×Gion Tsujiri collection campaign previously can receive a voucher worth ¥2,000. 

Enjoy popular limited-edition doughnuts with Gion Tsujiri until your heart’s content. 

Blue Bottle Coffee Japan is opening its first-ever pop-up store this spring at Tamagawa Takashimaya S.C. where it will run from April 21 to May 11.

Check out some of the products that will be on offer from the minimalist and stylish coffee brand.

Castella & Coffee Bean Set | ¥3,564 (Tax Included) | Exclusive pre-sale at Tamagawa Takashimaya S.C.

Eco Bag & Instant Coffee Set | ¥4,180 (Tax Included) | Exclusive pre-sale at Tamagawa Takashimaya S.C.

First Light Single Origin | ¥1,944 (Tax Included)

Renewal Blend | ¥1,836 (Tax Included)

Coffee Beans (200g x 2 bags) | ¥3,456 (Tax Included)

Coffee lovers can get their hands on a range of Blue Bottle Coffee’s bean range as sold at their cafes across Japan as well as an original tote bag to encourage “Coffee Time, Everywhere,” pre-sales on select items like the Blue Bottle Coffee Castella developed in collaboration with Bunmeido Tokyo, seasonal coffee beans, and more.

The pop-up shop will not be serving coffee for customers, but they can enjoy their coffee picks once they get home. And don’t worry if you don’t have a coffee grinder as there are instant coffees too.

Japanese tea shop and cafe Tsuboichi Seicha Honpo has baked up a brand new matcha roll cake made with high quality matcha leaves specially selected by their own tea experts. If indulgence is your calling, then this cake is the perfect accompaniment with a cup of tea whether it be matcha, Japanese tea, black tea – or any other of your favourite kind of tea.

The cake is a striking black colour, one that is featured in traditional Japan. The soft matcha filling provides an eye-catching contrast to the sponge. It’s baked on a high temperature over charcoal and bamboo which serves to deepen the colours even more and elevate the vividness of the green matcha.

Cafe time can now be enjoyed at home with this very special treat.

COFFEE TIME WITH VAUGHAN released a new collection of items in collaboration with Koffee Mameya and Rokuyosha on Wednesday.

Just how coffee serves as a tool to help create a relaxed atmosphere when people get together to chat, so too do products like handkerchiefs, bags, and other sundries play a part in people’s bonds. It’s this concept that gave rise to the cafe design line-up of COFFEE TIME WITH VAUGHAN, which its releasing a new collection with Koffee Mamya of Tokyo and Rokuyosha of Kyoto.

Vaughan was born in Melbourne, Australia, aka the home of coffee. He is an enthusiast of Japanese cafes and has visited countless branches for over 10 years, shining a light on them through this unique lens through a variety of media, at events, and more. And no matter what he may be doing, whether it’s something new or something old, he has a profound respect for both.

COFFEE TIME WITH VAUGHAN Collection

Gauze Handkerchief | ¥1,100 (Tax Included)

Drip Coffee Bag Set | ¥1,650 (Tax Included)

A set of original drip coffees by Koffee Mameya and Rokuyosha.

KOFFEE MAMEYA

Koffee Mameya is a coffee bean shop that first opened in 2017 with a desire to help improve the quality of coffee we drink at home. The owner, Kunitomo, is a legendary barista and pioneer of thrusting baristas into the limelight. He has help produced many cafes throughout his career.

At Koffee Mameya, the barista hears from the customer what kind of coffee and tastes they like and choose a coffee bean for them based on that information. This creates an intimate one-on-one conversation between the barista and customer.

COFFEE TIME WITH VAUGHAN x KOFFEE MAMEYA Collection (Excerpt)

Handkerchief | ¥1,100 (Tax Included)

Tote Bag | ¥3,300 (Tax Included)

Rokuyosha

Rokuyosha is an old-time coffee shop first established in 1950. Serving classic and authentic coffees, the cafe is just a 5-minute walk from Sanjo Station in Kyoto. Its building exterior has a nostalgic feel to it that makes you instantly recognise it as a classic cafe. On the first floor, they served filter coffee that’s filtered through cloth. Downstairs, customers can enjoy some in-house straight coffee blends made with paper drips. The cafe wishes has always preserved the time spent over coffee and wants to continue to.

COFFEE TIME WITH VAUGHAN x Rokuyosha Merchandise (Excerpt)

Handkerchief | ¥1,100 (Tax Included)

Tote Bag | ¥3,300 (Tax Included)

Kyoto makeup brand Yojiya is now selling its own collection of snacks and drinks which it released via its website last week.

Yojiya Matcha Sandwich Cookies | ¥1,400 (Tax Included)

Yojiya Cafe Latte Chocolate Cookies | ¥1,350 (Tax Included)

Yojiya Matcha Milk | ¥950 (Tax Included)

Yojiya’s snack line-up is made with the idea of being able to enjoy high-quality food products at home. Their collection includes crunchy matcha and cafe latte cookies along with matcha milk, the latter of which is made with famous Uji matcha from Uji, Kyoto. Perfect for a tea/coffee break or as a souvenir.

Häagen-Dazs Japan released two new ice cream flavours as part of its Decorations mini cup series on March 23: the Matcha Chocolate Cookie and Almond Caramel Cookie.

The visually-striking Häagen-Dazs Decorations series is a smooth, rich-flavoured ice cream with delicious toppings to compliment the ice cream.

For the third entry to Decorations, Häagen-Dazs welcomes back the Almond Caramel Cookie from 2019 and adds the all-new matcha and chocolate combo Matcha Chocolate Cookie.

Matcha Chocolate Cookie / Almond Caramel Cookie – ¥295 Each (Before Tax)

Even more delicious after stirring

The best way to enjoy Decorations is to first spoon the ice cream as it is to taste the flavours. After that, you’ll want to stir it all together to all the flavours and textures fuse, creating a delightful contrast between the soft ice cream and crunchy toppings.

Almond Caramel Cookie

Almond Caramel Cookie takes inspiration from the Florentine biscuit which is a sweet pastry topped with nuts and fruits. The cup contains delicious caramel butterscotch ice cream laced with caramel sauce, all of which is topped off with crumbly sliced almonds and crunchy butter cookie pieces.

Matcha Chocolate Cookie

The Matcha Chocolate Cookie is exactly what it says on the cup: a fragrant matcha ice cream infused with chocolate sauce and topped with sweet chocolate and matcha cookies.

Dear readers, the time has finally come once again—the Spring season at Starbucks Japan officially begins on March 17, which means we can expect plenty of tasty-looking beverages to drool over. This begins with two coffee delights: the light and uplifting Banana Almond Milk Frappuccino®︎ and the subtly sweet Honey Oat Milk Latte, both of which will hit Starbucks branches across Japan this Wednesday.

Banana Almond Milk Frappuccino®︎ | ¥620 (Tall Size Only)

The Banana Almond Milk Frappuccino is exactly what it says on the cup. A bright, uplifting combination of naturally-sweet banana and the nutty flavour of almond milk. The drink is topped with Starbucks’ first-ever almond milk whipped cream and finished with a topping of banana chips fried in coconut oil for texture.

Honey Oat Milk Latte | Short ¥430, Tall ¥470,  Grande ¥510,  Ventii®︎ ¥550

The Oat Milk Latte made a delicious appearance at Starbucks Japan last year for a limited time where coffee-loving customers could customise their beverage. This year, it arrives in a new flavour: added to the shot of espresso and oat milk is an irresistible squeeze of honey flavoured-sauce which has a slight fruity flavour to it.

This is just the start of the Spring season at Starbucks in Japan, there are sure to be even more drinks to come so stay tuned.

Mister Donut Japan released a tasty collection of limited-edition doughnuts in collaboration with Japan’s famous tea shop Gion Tsujiri on Friday (March 12).

Sakura Mochi Doughnut With Cherry Blossom Bean Paste

Sakura Mochi Doughnut With Uji Matcha Chocolate

Sakura Mochi Doughnut With Uji Matcha Whipped Cream

Warabimochi With Cherry Blossom Bean Paste & Uji Matcha Whipped Cream

Warabimochi With Uji Matcha Whipped Cream

The doughnuts are a springtime mix and match of cherry blossom and matcha, the latter of which comes from Gion Tsujiri who have chosen the first picks of Uji matcha leaves for the collaboration. Pick between classic doughnuts as well as warabimochi-style ones glazed with lots of sweet treats.

McDonald’s Japan continues its flurry of delicious releases to its diverse menu with the addition of the new Coffee Jelly Pudding Frappe which hit McCafé by Barista® branches of McDonald’s on Wednesday (March 10).

The sweet beverage takes rich-tasting Japanese custard pudding, known as purin, and turns it into a drink. It’s topped with fluffy whipped cream and dunked with chewy pieces of coffee-flavoured jelly which sit temptingly at the bottom of the cup waiting to be enjoyed. Together with a drizzle of caramel sauce, the drink is a perfect balance of sweet and full-body. A must-grab for the arrival of the warm spring weather.

Ayataka, a brand of iced green tea produced by Coca-Cola, has announced the release of its new Ayataka Cafe Matcha Latte which will hit stores across Japan on March 22. Ayataka Cafe is a new beverage series made in collaboration with the Uji-based cafe Kanbayashi Shunsho Honten and speciality coffee shop Sarutahiko Coffee.

The matcha latte is the first entry to the Ayataka Cafe series and is made using specially-selected matcha from Japan. Ayataka is using larger tea leaves than it usually does with its matcha products for this series to create a delicious latte that’s combined with Japanese milk. The drink is produced using the same methods that Coca-Cola uses to create a truly luxurious and authentic matcha drink.

Ayataka Cafe Matcha Latte is bottled in a 440ml PET bottle, which is about in the middle of a small and regular drink, and features a refined design.

Blue Bottle Coffee Japan has announced that its new lounge space The Lounge -Kyoto- will open on the second floor of its Kyoto cafe on March 20, 2021.

An Exclusive Course at The Lounge -Kyoto-

KYO-TO-TO x Blue Bottle Coffee Original Hand Towel

¥1,700 (Exclusive to Blue Bottle Cafe Kyoto)

Blue Bottle Coffee opened its Kyoto-based cafe in March 2018 as its eighth branch. The first by the coffee chain to open in the Kansai region of Japan, the cafe is located near the famous Nanzen-ji Temple. The cafe building itself is renovated from a traditional two-storey Kyoto-style house which has a history spanning over 100 years. Blue Bottle Cafe retained many of the building’s traditional charms like the thick beams and pillars which are both rough yet refined and tasteful.

The Lounge -Kyoto- is also a renovation that maintains the warmth and welcoming atmosphere of the Kyoto-style house. This exclusive area seats just seven people, with seats needing to be booked in advance. Customers can enjoy Blue Bottle Coffee’s new coffee course menu which includes three different freshly-made coffees and two seasonal desserts. The cafe recommends trying each coffee as it is first to enjoy the flavour before customising it.

If you’re heading through Kyoto this spring or in the future, be sure to book seats at Blue Bottle Coffee’s new lounge space.