strawberry frappucino

The magical elixer of the Strawberry Cheesecake Frappuccino.

A creamy base with strawberry fruit swirl and marscapone whipped cream is topped off with shortcake crumbles, evoking all the joy of a perfect strawberry cheesecake in a surprisingly light and flavorful form. It is easily one of my all time favorite Starbucks beverage, perhaps even better than the Sakura Frappuccino.

Let’s talk about the marscapone whipped cream for a minute. Is Starbucks is doing this in other countries? It’s amazing. Light, sweet, but also tangy and somehow…exciting. The frap that proceeded this was also delicious, and I was really sad when I heard that the Tiramisu was leaving. Then the Strawberry Cheesecake came.

strawberry cheesecake frap

This is a picture of the last one Sean picked up for me before heading to California, and our lovely barristas even wrote a cute English message for us. Isn’t it adorable?

On Sunday I started worrying that it might be coming to the end of it’s lifespan, as all seasonal tastes in Japan do, and there’s always a chance that it will never return. In fact, the more you love something, the less likely it seems you’ll ever see it again.

So I put out a plea on Facebook, and within 24 hours, not one but two of these gorgeous things had been brought to me. Good friends, lucky girl.

Have you tried the Strawberry Cheesecake Frappuccino? Doesn’t it look amazing? I hope it sticks around for a while!

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Saitama’s Anime Tourism Campaign

There seems to be an interesting trend in tourism campaigns recently. First there was Disney’s gorgeous anime-style commercial for Tokyo Disney Resort which covered the life of a woman in 30 seconds and managed to pack in so much emotion and pathos that it went around the web like wild fire. The current top comments on Youtube are “Sh*t, why am I crying?” and “Still a better love story than Twilight.” Correct on both counts.

A few weeks later, Saitama Prefecture upped their game with an entire Original Net Animation campaign. There are four short films revolving around the seasons, each in a different genre and covering different locations. The animation is lovely and the stories are really well written. Cute, funny, entertaining, and lots of heart strings tugged, they almost create an instant emotional attachment to locations in the shorts, while also clearly showing how to go about getting there.

This isn’t the first time they’ve done something in animation, but they definitely learned a few things last time, and the overall product is much more polished and geared towards an international audience. There are versions subtitled in French, Korean, and Chinese in addition to English. Each film has a few minutes of story followed by a few minutes of directions so that you can see the locations for yourself, and ends with the (slightly self-deprecating?) tagline: Saitama, next to Tokyo!

The most surprising thing about these short animations is their effectiveness. I pass through all the time, and I’ve hung out with friends that live there, but I’ve never really spent much time or energy in the prefecture. Amazingly, Saitama’s tourism campaign makes me actually want to go to Saitama.

Do you know of any other prefectures with such lovely campaigns? I wish they all were this nice!

Spring | A sweet school-age Love Story

 

Summer | High School Comedy

 

Fall | Fantasy with a Samurai flavor. Super cute, and funny too!

 

Winter | Tear-jerker about a family dealing with illness. Grab the tissues!

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Happy Gorlden Week!

It’s Golden Week here in Japan, so lots of shops have specials running. Soup Stock Tokyo is one of my favorite places for a quick meal, but somehow I thought they were better than this…

Ah, well. It always seemed a little unfair that the term Golden Week is used despite its stereotypically difficult ‘l’ sound. I hear “go-ru-dan” more often than not. Anyway, Happy Gorlden Week, everybody! And thanks to the lovely @luvniku for the photo 😀

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Mmmmm…flesh juice!

Image

Today’s picture comes from the lovely Rosa! Don’t you want a glass of flesh juice? Yummy!

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Are you a wizard?

Every time we pass this building it is mandatory that we turn to each other and ask “Are you a WEZARD?”

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SPLUSH | Engrish of the Week!

ImageIf it’s not the problem of age, what is it the problem of? I feel like there’s some mystery here that I don’t have all the clues to. Like there’s a knowing smile and a nod on the other side of this sign.

Who is Splush such a problem for, anyway? Ah, well. Happy Friday!

 

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In memory of Noboru Ishiguro

This night is one of my favorite Otakon memories. As sad as we were to hear of the passing of Noboru Ishiguro on Tuesday, there is no doubt that his legacy as director of Space Battleship Yamato, the first color Astro Boy anime series (1980), The Super Dimension Fortress Macross, and Legend of the Galactic Heroes, among many others, will live on.

He touched countless souls, and not only was he an incredible talent but he was truly an incredible person. He was one of the true greats of the Japanese Anime Industry, and we were honored to have known him.

Photo taken by Scott Argenziano. Thank you, Scott.

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Kyary Pamyu Pamyu 『CANDY CANDY』 & Lyrics!

Kyary’s new video is out today! So exciting! The single is available from April 4th. What do you think?

Lyrics under the cut! Continue reading

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Kyary Pamyu Pudding!

Are you feeling blue? Perhaps life is getting you down? Has someone got a case of the Februarys? (It’s almost over, I promise!) Here’s the best way to combat ennui–with pudding! Better yet, pudding delivered by everyone’s favorite Harajuku It Girl, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu!

I know if Kyary showed up in my living room, or boardroom for that matter, I would cheer right the eff up! I mean, really. There’s a pudding on her head, your boredom is invalid.

In fact, I recommend incorporating the pudding dance into your daily routine, anytime you feel boredom or sadness approaching.

How could you be down about anything, when this exists in the world? There’s Kyary, confetti, and four grinning, dancing mini-me-esque pudding-wearing oompa-loompas. And while I’m slightly worried that the gang is going to burst into my dreams tonight with their pudding and their confetti canon, I’m sure it will be a happy dream. Right?

Dance! Pudding! HAPPY! Kyary commands you!

PREVIOUS KYARY POSTS

New Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, “Tsukema tsukeru” with lyrics!

Hengao, Pon Pon Pon Lyrics, and a Chance to Meet Kyary Pamyu Pamyu!

What is this I don’t even…Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

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McDonald’s Las Vegas Burger

Whoops! The newest Big America Burger is already out at McDonald’s, and I forgot to post the Las Vegas Burger. So, without further ado…

I have it on good authority that until recently, the Japanese language Wikipedia included a description of the traditional American breakfast as including broken glass.

I expected a similarly bizarre interpretation when McDonald’s Japan took on the challenge of how best to express the city of Las Vegas in burger form. While there is Continue reading

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