MOS Burger 4 Limited Sandwiches

MOS Burger introduced 4 new sandwiches today for a limited time. They claim to be 4 delicious tastes not widely known across Japan. What this means is they are developing these sandwiches based on regional dishes and are therefore introducing them to all of Japan. Not exactly an original idea here in Japan, but with the almost limited supply of regional dishes and variations, it is almost always fun.

The limited edition items are as follows:
Hokkaido, Kujiro - Spaghetti Pork Cutlet Burger (tomato spaghetti, meat sauce, tartar sauce)　スパカツバーガー
Osaka - Tonten or Pork Tempura Burger (Japanese pork tempura, salted onion sauce with sesame and ginger) 豚天バーガー
Hokkaido - Zangi Burger (fried Japanese chicken marinated in soy sauce, ginger and garlic, mayonnaise base including Sendai miso and soy sauce) ザンギバーガー
Miyazaki - Chicken Nanban Burger (fried Japanese chicken with a sweet vinegar and tartar sauce) チキン南蛮バーガー

http://www.mos.co.jp/cp/area/120814/

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

Pronto Party and Nominication

Proto has a promotion which uses two play on words. The first is the name of the promotion or club. It is called Pronto, but is written using the Chinese character meaning political party. The feeling conveyed is that you would almost be joining a movement instead of a discount club. The second play on words is the motto which goes something like "Now more than ever, regain the right to go drinking and communicate." Sounds better in Japanese "いまこそ、日本のノミニケーションの復権を", which is also worded like a political slogan. The play on words comes from the combining of the words for go drinking "nomini" and "communication" into a new word "nominication".

Most people who have spent any time in Japan know that Japanese businessmen are famous for going out with coworkers after work and having a drink. Much more so than in the US or Europe, this is the time when real feelings can be expressed and tensions relieved. Thus drinking and communication are very closely related here. The man in the photo here is showing an almost iconic pose with his necktie pulled up and used as a bandana of sorts. This is not an uncommon sight and shows everyone around that this person is letting his hair down. He is thus inviting other people to join in and can also be excused if he goes over the line a bit in something he says or does.

Oh yes, back to the promotion. If you join the Pron-to, you have to pay 500 yen, but receive a Ponto Edy card that qualifies you for numerous discounts at the Pronto bar.

http://www.pronto.co.jp/topics/detail.php?id=219

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

Smoked Turkey Leg and Beer

Great combination at a restaurant in Disney Sea.

Coca Cola Aquarius Zero & Salt

Coca Cola certainly markets water and salt replenishment heavily, but bucks the trend a bit by not using the word salt (), but instead sticks with sodium and one of the selling points for this Aquarius Zero sports drink is 40 mg sodium/100 ml of liquid. It can also be seen in this photo how this product is not only marketed for sports enthusiasts but also for mothers who spend a lot of time outdoors with their children and therefore are subject to the heat for long periods of time. To make sure the point is not missed, there is even space on the product page dedicated to the current weather and the number of heat related incidents or heat stroke nationwide. A link takes you to a special Coca Cola page for more detailed information (link below).

http://c.cocacola.co.jp/family/aquarius/

Coca Cola Weather Page were national and local weather are shown as well as incidences of heat related incidences or heat stroke. From here it is easy to navigate to your specific area or city.
http://c.cocacola.co.jp/life/weather_index.htm

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

Cool Down & Power Up

I saw this poster for a buffet at the Porto Restaurant in the Prince Hotel. With crab and roast beef it looks pretty good, but at 4,400 yen for 150 minutes, it is a bit pricey.

Morinaga Ototo Kanji Practice‏

As I have mentioned before how Ototo crackers are essentially a Japanese version of animal crackers, relocated to an oceanic environment. As students of Japanese know, many of the Chinese characters (kanji) for fish and other sea creatures, actually contain the Chinese character for fish itself as a component or radical. Building from its sea creature theme, Ototo offers a downloadable sheet to study these Chinese characters. Even though it is meant for Japanese school children, it could serve as a fun way for anyone to study Japanese.

http://www.morinaga.co.jp/ototo/download/kanji.html

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

Pronto July August Bar Menu

The July and August bar menu at Pronto is as follows:
Vongole Bianco Petine (ボンゴレビアンコおつまみペンネ)
Assorted Ham (こどわりハム盛り合わせ)
Marinated Whole Tomato (丸ごとトマトのマリネ)
Seafood Pizza (シーフードピザ)
Marinated Seafood (シーフードの塩麺マリネ)
Proschitto & Pancetta di Parma (パルマ産ホエー豚の生ハム切り落としとパンチェッタ)
   (from whey feed pigs)

http://www.pronto.co.jp/menu/bar/food.html

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

Sapporo Salty Bubbles Lime

Sapporo is selling a product called Salty Bubbles Lime which it describes as a collaboration between fruit and salt, and is a carbonated beverage with 10% fruit juice. While the product description does not mention salt replenishment, this product was introduced just in time for the hot summer season.

http://www.sapporo-inryo.jp/news_release/0000020103/index.html

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

Kirin World Kitchen Salt & Lychee

Kirin has a drink called "From the World Kitchen" or 世界のKitchenから, and each varition is inspired from a different country. Product developers visit different countries and their travels are described on the website. This variation is Salt and Lychee and is inspired by products in Thailand or a mother in Thailand (タイのお母さんから). This product uses Okinawan salt, a product for which Okinawa is known, and is marketed as a drink to replenish water and minerals during the heat of summer.

http://www.beverage.co.jp/kitchen/product/product_detail16.html

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

Coke Aquarius Lineup‏

Aquarius is Coca Cola's sports drink in Japan. There are currently 4 variations offered: Aquarius (which contains branched chain amino acids), Aquarius Sparkling (which is carbonated and contains 55 mg of sodium/100 ml and branched chain amino acids, also comes in a lemon flavor), Aquarius Zero (zero calories, carnitine and 40 mg of sodium/100 ml) and Aquarius Vitamin Guard (which contains 1,000 mg of vitamin C).

http://c.cocacola.co.jp/family/aquarius/

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