Chances are you’ve seen the Hokkaido Menkoi Nabe Kuma-chan Onsen. Menkoi means ‘cute’ in Hokkaido dialect, and these cute little bears are made from soup stock. Set them in a pot, and they begin to melt, looking like they’re enjoying a hot spring bath. Once they melt, you can enjoy their delicious flavor! Currently, the only place in Japan to offer this adorable and creative dish is a little shop in Miyamasu-Zaka, Shibuya, which opened in 2021. The shop is full every day, and getting a reservation can take up to a month!   For those unable to visit Japan, you can now purchase these tasty bears online.  Variations Available Online   Grab one of these cute bears and whip up the tastiest and most adorable meal you’ve ever had!

Popular anime series World Trigger is getting a Valentine’s Day pop-up store at six LOFT locations starting January 7, 2022. The event will feature exclusive illustrations of the main characters with lots of chocolate motifs.   

Replica Small Avatar Mascot: ¥1,100 (Tax Included)

 

World Trigger Acrylic Stand VD: ¥1,650 each (Tax Included)

Acrylic Keychain VD: ¥792 each (Tax Included)

 

World Trigger Acrylic Stand Heart Cat: ¥990 each (Tax Included) 

World Trigger Acrylic Keychain Heart Cat: ¥792 (Tax Included) 

World Trigger Heart Pins: ¥440 each (Tax Included) / BOX: ¥3,960 (Tax Included)

World Trigger Imabari Towel Replica: ¥990 each (Tax Included)

 

World Trigger Pen: ¥396 each (Tax Included) 

World Trigger Clear Folder: ¥440 each (Tax Included)

World Trigger Hoodie: ¥5,720 (Tax Included)

 

World Trigger Crunchy Chocolate Pin Sweets: ¥864 (Tax Included)

World Trigger - Ikoma’s Eggplant Curry: ¥972 (Tax Included)

 

World Trigger Acrylic Stand Badge Sweets: ¥880 (Tax Included) / BOX: ¥7,920 (Tax Included)

World Trigger Plate: ¥1,650 (Tax Included)

 

World Trigger Chocolate: ¥880 each (Tax Included) *Available in February

World Trigger Masking Tape: ¥462 each (Tax Included) *Available in February

      ©葦原大介／集英社・テレビ朝日・東映アニメーション

With just a small bit of ingenuity, turn everyday food into something cute using Kaori’s easy recipe! With a few simple ideas, an ordinary recipe magically transforms into a cute dish.   In this recipe you'll learn how to make a "Pompompurin Cookie Shot," perfect for Valentine's Day! It may look difficult but I have made it so it's nice and easy to make!   1: Ingredients/Equipment 2 glasses or purin cups 40g unsalted butter or margarine 75g flour 20g sugar 1 cup milk Chocolate  2: ①Knead together the unsalted butter, flour and sugar. ②Add the milk in little by little while kneading. Knead until the it has a consistency moister than regular cookie dough. ③Coat one glass with a little oil or butter. ④Affix the dough from step ② around the inside of the glass as shown in the photo below. ✩It's best to make your dough a little softer than regular cookie dough to prevent cracks from forming. ✩Press the batter firmly to ensure air doesn't get into it. If you don't do this then the batter will split. ⑤Place aluminium foil into the centre of the dough to stop it from expanding when baking. ⑥Shape a cup handle and Pompompurin's ears with leftover dough from step ④. ✩Bake for approximately 10-minutes at 190° with the handle and ears. Remove the handle and ears and bake the cup for a further 5-10 minutes. 3: Melt the chocolate over a bain marie. 4: Remove the aluminium ball and once the cup has cooled remove the cookie and smear in the chocolate. ✩It's possible to remove the baked cookie smoothly by coating with butter but it will make it break easily so ensure to do it carefully. The inside of the cookie will look a little uneven after removing the aluminium ball but you won't be able to see it after adding the chocolate. Once completely cooled use the leftover chocolate to draw on Pompompurin's facial features and use it to attach the handle and ears. After attaching the handle and ears hold them in place for a moment for the chocolate to  harden. You can make a hat from the remaining chocolate but I made one from sliced chocolate. All done!   Kaori invites you into her world of character-themed food dishes in her recipe series. Be sure to check out her Instagram where she has uploaded many pictures of her character dishes!

Karaoke chain PASELA is teaming up with the Black Thunder chocolate bar from February 1, 2019 which will see select PASELA branches getting decked out with Black Thunder chocolate products.   PASELA branches to sell Black Thunder Honey Toast

Black Thunder Honey Toast: ¥1,290 (Tax Included)

PASELA's famous honey toast is topped with chocolate sauce and baked, but this version takes it to the next level by crowning it with an entire Black Thunder bar, adding a satisfying crunch to the fluffy honey bread.

Black Thunder Cafe Mocha: ¥690 (Tax Included)

Sip on a sumptuously sweet cafe mocha made with lots of Black Thunder chocolate and finished whipped cream and mint.   These chocolate treats can also be enjoyed when going to karaoke with your sweetheart for Valentine's Day or with a friend.   Select PASELA branches to open Black Thunder shop! Special Black Thunder shops will be open at select PASELA branches from February 1 to 14 where the eye-catching chocolate bars will be sold. The bars are enough to please anyone so why not pick some up as presents to your friends?   10,000 Black Thunder chocolate bars to be handed out on Valentine's Day! Select PASELA branches will be handing out 10,000 Black Thunder bars to customers. First-come, first-served!

The Valentine's mood has set in strong already in Japan. Shops across the country are now selling limited time food and dessert for the season of love. It can be tough picking out the right gift for Valentine’s Day, but a meal or delicious treat is always a winner. And if you’re in Japan, you have plenty of options.   This is part two of our list of seasonal sweets you and your special someone can enjoy this Valentine’s Day. Click here for part one and here for part two.   Itohkyuemon - Matcha Meets Chocolate Fair 2019 The Matcha Meets Chocolate Fair is currently ongoing at Kyoto-based green tea store Itohkyuemonーa longstanding location which first opened its doors at the end of the Edo period. There are over 10 matcha and houjicha chocolates for you chocoholics out there to choose from. One example is the new eye-catching matcha parfait that's made with dark chocolate and cocoa meringue before being topped with raw matcha chocolate, houjicha chocolate and strawberry matcha truffles. Is your mouth watering yet? Click the link below to find out more.   Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/161227     Gion Tsujiri - Valentine Soft Gion Tsujiri introduced its takeaway Valentine's soft serve ice cream to the Tokyo Skytree Town Solamachi branch on January 16. The main player of this dessert is Tsujiri's incredible matcha ice cream made with rich Uji matcha. Packed into the little cup with it is a houjicha tea chocolate chip cookie and heart-shaped strawberry chocolate jelly. Underneath the delicious pile is granola and marble chocolate for added crunch.     Sanrio Valentine Sanrio has prepared a delicious line-up of character themed goodies perfect for the Valentine's season. Available at Sanrio stores and department stores stocking Sanrio products, items include a DIY cookie kit, a Hello Kitty mini chocolate bar assortment and more. Enjoy chocolate based on eight characters: Hello Kitty, My Melody, Cinnamoroll, Marumofubiyori, Mewkledreamy, Runabouts, Snoopy and Doraemon.     GODIVA's 2019 Valentine Collection Exclusive limited time Valentine's chocolates, colourful baked treats and more are now available from GODIVA. This includes the GODIVA Fairy Cake Keepsake box of four magical fairy cakes, such as the strawberry mousse and ganache cupcake. The packaging is super cute and dreamy too!   Full Details: https://www.moshimoshi-nippon.jp/161443     Find your favourite sweets this Valentine’s Day♡

With just a small bit of ingenuity, turn everyday food into something cute using Kaori’s Easy Recipe! With a few simple ideas, an ordinary recipe magically transforms into a cute dish.   In this recipe you’ll learn how to make “Pompompurin rich chocolate mousse”, which is perfect for valentine’s season♡   1： Ingredients Chocolate        50g Gelatin               5g Fresh cream  180g Sugar-free cocoa powder    1 table spoon Sugar             2 table spoons   2： Put all the ingredients into a pot and stir while cold. Heat and melt the chocolate, being careful not to boil it.  Add 1 tablespoon of water to the gelatin until it becomes soft and then add to the mixture and stir until dissolved. ☆Mix well while still cold, otherwise the powder will go lumpy.     3： From step 2, filter the mix after the gelatin has dissolved.   4： Pour the mixture from step 3 to a vat, let it cool down a bit and then refrigerate until firm. 5： Slice a yellow peach to make Purin, by drawing the eyes, nose, and hat with chocolate. ☆Wipe any syrup off from the surface of the yellow peach with kitchen paper, and then draw the parts. Ears are connected to the face when the syrup dries, however you can also use some pasta to make it stronger.   6： Put some cereal, whip cream, yellow peach and chocolate mousse of your choice in a cup, then place Purin on the top and you are done!   Just a little bit of chocolate mousse makes the parfait simply scrumptious! The taste of yellow peach and crunchy cereal makes for a good combination♡ Kaori also invites you into her world of character-themed rice dishes in her recipe series! Please check out her Instagram where she has uploaded many pictures of her character dishes!