Meiji and Sanrio (the Hello Kitty company) are collaborating on a campaign where Sanrio characters appear on various chocolate and confectionery products, and there is a daily giveaway of Sanrio branded goods via the internet. Not a big follower of Sanrio, but this promotion focuses on four groups of Sanrio characters: Shingancrimson, Plasmagica Yogulemons, and Maple Beat Punch. The first two of these are anime bands that actually appear on TV and release singles and the second two are anime bands formed from members of the Sanrio character stable. Just to be clear, these are animated singing groups created and I assume owned by Sanrio. It is easy to look up the current group of cute young girls who actually do the singing, but I assume they can be rotated in and out as necessary. As you might know, Japan pioneered the concept of completely animated pop groups starting with Hatsune Miku in 2007.
For this campaign, purchase does not appear to be necessary. People can submit entries up to once a day to be eligible for the daily prizes which consist of Sanrio anime band branded QUO digital money cards and waterproof smartphone neck straps.
Key Words: Meiji, Sanrio, Shingancrimsonz, Plasmagica, Yogulemons, Maple Beat Punch, Hatsune Miku, Japan, chocolate, confectionery 明治 サンリオ プラズマジカ シンガンクリムゾンズ ヨーグレモンズ メープルビートパンチ 日本 チョコ 菓子 初音ミク
http://www.meiji.co.jp/sweets/okashi-land/cmp/sanrio_1607/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
MOS Burger has had a line of special "Tobikiri" とびきり or "choice" burgers. All selections in this line use a "golden ratio" 黄金比率 of 100% Japanese pork and beef to produce the perfectly juicy burger. This incarnation uses fresh tomato and lettuce along with half-calorie mayonnaise and a tomato-vinegar sauce.
http://mos.jp/cp/tobikiri/
Key Words: MOS Burger, Tobikiri Burger, Japan, Food, モスバーガー とびきりバーガー 日本 食品 料理
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
For 25 years, this seasonal favorite has been a hit in Japan. There is always a big ad campaign and people seem to sincerely look forward to it. Tsukimi 月見 means moon viewing and the name comes from the round shaped sunny side up fried egg which forms the essential element of this burger. You might also note the rabbit image by the moon. This comes from Japanese traditionally having an image of a rabbit on the moon, instead of the western man in the moon. This comes from the Japanese fairy-tale Tsuki no Usagi 月の兎 or Moon Rabbit.
This year's varieties are the regular Tsukimi Burger (egg, slab of bacon), Tsukimi Burger with Cheese, and the Full Moon Tsukimi Burger with Cheese (ham slice instead of bacon, a tomato based sauce aurore, and buttery, fluffy, round moon-shaped buns made with fresh cream).
マックドナルド 月見バーガー
http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/campaign/tsukimi/index.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Nestle is bringing back a seasonal favorite for Halloween. As it states in the copy "both kids and adults love pumpkin pudding", so that is the flavor for this holiday. There are 13 individually wrapped chocolate bars per package. Although not shown, there are 6 different Halloween designs for the small individual packages. Nothing wrong with this, but it does sound a tad strange. Since there are 6 designs and 13 items per pack, which means 2 each of 5 designs and 3 of the remaining design? Sounds like this would add unnecessary complexity to the production process, but I suppose Nestle knows what they are doing.
ネスレ キットカット パンプキンプリン
https://d.nestle.jp/kitkat/limited/9416338.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
There is an ongoing local gourmet food craze in Japan. One of the popular local dishes is Kanazawa Curry. Tombow Beverage of Toyama Prefecture has taken this one step further by introducing a Kanazawa Curry flavored cola. Not available in my area - maybe that is just as well.
トンボ飲料 金沢カレー コーラ
http://www.tombow-b.jp/kanazawacurrycola/index.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
Burger King Japan has added Chicken Fries to its lineup, which are described as crispy and convenient to handle with an excellent balance of herbs and spices. These come with a choice of BBQ or honey-mustard sauces. The website offers a download so that you can decorate the chicken face on the package to look like various characters: Kabuki, Shogun, Ninja, Sumo and Manga. Some boxes also carry the slogan "Unleash the Chicken".
バーガーキング 日本 チキンフライ
http://www.burgerkingjapan.co.jp/campaign/cp178.html
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
As a variation on their boneless chicken, KFC now has a salty lime offering. There is not all that much added information, but a refreshing taste is followed by a spicy aftertaste, which appears to explain the lime, salt and pepper in the photo. ケンタッキーフライドチキン ソルティライムチキン
http://www.kfc.co.jp/menu/detail/?menu_id=426
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
For Lotteria the 29th is "Niku no Hi" 肉の日 or "Meat Day", because the number 29 can be read with the same pronunciation as meat "niku". For three days, the weekend plus the 29th, Lotteria is offering special versions of its premium burger, the zeppin burger 絶品バーガー or "masterpiece burger". The special versions consist of burger patties containing 1.5 percent more meat, double the amount of cheese (two slices of cheese made from Gouda and red cheddar), and extra chewy buns made with yeast cultured in rice malt 酒種. And for those who really need a meat rush, there is double patty version.
ロッテリア
https://www.lotteria.jp/campaign/000094/
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
As part of McDonald's McCafe by Barista series, they are offering a "New Barista Summer 2016 Collection" which due to the oppressive Japanese summer heat consists of cold smoothie drinks. There is a mango smoothie, a fruit and vegetable smoothie and now a grape smoothie.
This smoothie contains grape puree, with added grape juice and is topped with whipped cream and whole grapes. This looks much more indulgent than the more healthy smoothies appearing in convenience stores recently.
It might be of some interest, that there are Chinese characters for grape 葡萄, which are used here. But since they are not part of the standard set and few Japanese can write them from memory, the pronunciation is given in furigana above the characters to make sure everyone realizes just what they product is.
While the volumes are not noted here, the medium size is 460 yen, but the large size is only 40 yen more or 500 yen. Usually the upsell on size garners more extra money.
http://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/campaign/barista/index.html
マックドナルド 葡萄のスムージー
Photo is a web capture for explanatory purposes, copyright belongs to the company.
GeGeGe no Kitaro is one of the most popular anime from Japan, just one of the many works that show the unique imagination and creativity of Japanese storytellers. I used to record and then watch GeGeGe no Kitaro religiously for many years after coming to Japan.
Last night at a company party, we went to Inataya 稲田屋 a restaurant affiliated with a Tottori Prefecture sake brewer Inata Honten 稲田本店. As the author of GeGeGe no Kitaro made his home in Tottori Prefecture, there is a Mizuki Shigeru Museum and Mizuki Shigeru Road lined with characters from this series there. Inata Honten is also based in Tottori Prefecture and they produce the GeGeGe no Kitaro shochu in the photo above. Shochu is an alcohol distilled from potatoes (in this case) or in other cases from rice, barley, etc.
I am adding a link to the Shigeru Mizuki 水木しげる Wikipedia page. If you want to read about an fascinating and praiseworthy life, have a look. From being conscripted in the Imperial army and being the lone survivor of his unit to peace activist and WWII documentarian, he was certainly much more than a talented anime writer and storyteller.
http://www.inata.co.jp/
http://inataya.co.jp/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeGeGe_no_Kitar%C5%8D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigeru_Mizuki
ゲゲゲの鬼太郎 焼酎 稲田屋 稲田本店 水木しげる
