Coming to live in Japan means getting used to new things, like navigating streets with large uncovered ditches beside them for gaijin to ride their bicycles into in the dark, and the agony of finding you’ve run out of kerosene for your space heater on the coldest night of the year. It also means encountering a lot of new and sometimes strange flavors, such as melonpan, a vaguely brain-shaped round bread with sugar and melon juice on the outside. The Japanese are fond of milk-flavored products like “milk-bread,” which is not something my brain is set up to process, and milk-flavored “soft cream” (soft-serve ice cream) is also quite common as a separate flavor from vanilla entirely. The Japanese go out of their way to eat healthy foods, and my wife is always giving me strange things like cookies made from black sesame seeds, washed down with a cold glass of vinegar. Aloe may be great for making your skin supple, but the Japanese think it’s tasty, too, and there are several brands of aloe yogurt to choose from in the supermarket. If you’ve ever browsed J-List’s extensive list of snack offerings, you’ve probably been surprised by one or two items, such as Ginger Ale Kit Kat or the unique Azuki flavored Pepsi, and if you really want to enjoy a selection of unique flavors, there’s always our line of Japanese Food Drops, candies that taste like some of Japan’s most famous dishes.
Shana of the Blazing Eyes is a big fan of Melonpan.
