Glico Okinawa Salt Vanilla Ice Cream

Giant is Glico's brand of ice cream cones which can frequently be found in convenience stores. This new Salty Vanilla variety uses salt from the oceans around Okinawa. Among other things, such as brown sugar, Okinawa is known for good tasting salt. グリコ 沖縄海塩 バニラ

http://www.glico-dairy.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Starbucks Fresh Banana and Chocolate Cream Frappuccino

Starbucks just introduced the Fresh Banana and Chocolate Cream Frappuccino, which includes a whole banana in a chocolate frappuccino topped with chocolate brownie crumbs, whipped cream and chocolate syrup. Looks great, but it should not be mistaken for coffee - 397 calories vs 0 calories for coffee.

http://www.starbucks.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream Sandwich

Very nice step by step instructions on ice cream sandwich construction by Ben & Jerry's Japan. ベン＆ジェリーズ

http://www.benjerry.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Lawson Miyazaki Tartar Sauce Flavored Karaage

Karaage is often translated as Japanese fried chicken. It consists of smaller, boneless chicken pieces fried with Japanese seasoning. Not really chicken nuggets because the chicken is not minced.

It is so popular and traditional that it has its own trade organization, The Japan Karaage Association, which holds promotional events in stores all across the country. Interestingly, there are regional karaage varieties, and in the Miyazaki area, tartar sauce is used with karaage. So the Japan Karaage Association and the Lawson convenience store chain have collaborated on developing Miyazaki tartar flavored karaage for sale in stores. It appears the tartar flavor is in the batter, so you don't have to bother with separate tartar sauce packets.

The chicken character on the package is Karaage-kun, the Japan Karaage Association mascot.

日本唐揚協会 ローソン 宮崎タルタルソース味 からあげクン

http://www.lawson.co.jp

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Pokka Sapporo Green Shower Sparkling

This week, Pokka Sapporo Beverage is introducing a new carbonated, lightly flavored water drink called Green Shower. Carbonated waters have become much more popular in recent years here in Japan. This product uses a special hops from the Furano area of Hokkaido, called Furano Beauty, for flavor and has introduced an interesting (or slightly strange) mascot in the form of a giant, but gentle, forest hops monster (called the Green Shower Monster). You never know what will catch on, this might be genius marketing. ポッカサッポロ グリーンシャワー 富良野 北海道 フラノビューティ

http://www.pokkasapporo-fb.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Kirin Tanrei Green and Cherry Blossoms

Kirin suggests toasting the cherry blossoms with Kirin Tanrei Green Label their second category, or happoshu, beer with 70% reduced sugar. キリン、淡麗、グリーンラベル

http://www.kirin.co.jp

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Suntory All-Free and Cherry Blossoms

Suntory All-Free is an alcohol-free beer which as the name implies is also calorie and sugar free. Zero alcohol beers are a cash cow for beer companies as they are positioned on the beer shelves of stores and look cheap in comparison with heavily taxed beers, even though they are priced at a hefty premium. サントリー

http://www.suntory.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Meiji and the Colors of Spring

Using this nice shot of products from various companies, Meiji explains that in product packaging, the colors of spring are typically pink, yellow and green. 明治

http://www.meiji.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Morinaga BB536 and Cherry Blossoms

Connecting a probiotic yogurt and cherry blossom viewing is a bit more difficult than making the same connection with alcohol products, but Morinaga suggests that you make a yogurt sauce with Morinaga Bifidus Yogurt BB536 and use it to top fried chicken nuggets or boiled eggs. 森永ビヒダスヨーグルト

http://www.morinagamilk.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.

Ito Ham and Cherry Blossoms

Ito Ham is one of the major food companies specializing in meats, thus the ham in the name. Their cute mascot is drawn from the shape of sliced ham and is named Ham Kakaricho, or Assistant Manager Ham. Since sliced ham is used for most bento lunch boxes these days in Japan, the connection with cherry blossom viewing makes sense. The bottle of sake and the red cheeks would also be familiar to anyone in Japan. 伊藤ハム ハム係長

http://www.itoham.co.jp/

Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.