Random Japan

We chow down on new cheesecake ice cream bar made with real cream cheese

evie lund

With temperatures in Tokyo dropping below freezing, you’d be forgiven for thinking that everyone’s wrapping up snuggly warm and eating nothing but hotpot. In truth, however, it’s mostly business as usual, with schoolgirls continuing to risk chillblains by pairing short skirts with tiny socks, and we’ve also caught sight of plenty of people continuing to enjoy conbini ice creams or other frozen snacks despite the fact that there’s snow on the ground.

In fact, there’s been no lull in the ice cream industry in Japan, since it’s continuing to bring out new and exciting snack creations during the cold winter months. One such snack is the frozen cheesecake ice cream bar released in collaboration with cream cheese brand Kiri, featuring, as its name implies, plenty of cream cheese. We roped in our lovely Japanese writer Meg to try out the new treat and let us know her thoughts—since the very thought of eating ice cream while we’re already shivering gave us brain freeze!

THUNDERBOX AT PLAY

Gaming gear is reborn into fashion

BY SAMUEL THOMAS | POSTED ON JANUARY 26, 2016

Thunderbox, from designer Tsuyoshi Morita, is a surprisingly well-kept secret on the Tokyo fashion scene. Word of it spreads purely via its fans’ backs across the city as fellow streetwear aficionados clock the geek-chic references and gravitate to the Thunderbox mothership. Accordingly, the recently opened flagship is named Nazo no Mise—literally, “the mystery shop”—and, in keeping with the designer’s subcultural leanings, is located in Nakano over in West Tokyo, a stone’s throw from the subculture mecca of Nakano Broadway.

The streetwear style Thunderbox subscribes to is in line with a lot of the hype-fuelled brands of the Harajuku backstreets. But once in the store, it’s an altogether welcoming experience—even if the store staff are known to wear the Thunderbox masks that accompany each season. 


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5 reasons why Japanese expats say sayonara to their homeland for good

Japan may be an awesome country, but for some Japanese people who’ve experienced life abroad, it’s just not for them anymore.  

But what does it take to make your average Japanese person decide to take the drastic step of packing up and leaving the Land of the Rising Sun for good? Popular Japanese blogger Madame Riri has compiled a list of the top five reasons why Japanese people who’ve experienced life abroad decide to throw in the towel and call it quits on their own country. Here are five reasons why.

Reason 1: The discrimination can be too much to bear

Madame Riri’s contributors list several aspects of discrimination that they feel are more commonly encountered in Japan, namely childhood and workplace bullying and sex discrimination in the workplace.

“As a child in Japan, I was bullied based on my appearance, then I was bullied for the same reason when I entered the workforce. When I quit my job and went abroad, the discrimination based on my looks stopped, so I decided to study abroad there for a year. – Keiko”

“I experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in Japan, it feels like it’s an environment for men. – Ebi”