Sebastian Masuda to open SUSHIDELIC, a new sushi restaurant in Soho, New York City. The location will open on June 28, 2023.

“King of Kawaii” Sebastian Masuda, creator of Harajuku’s “KAWAII MONSTER CAFE,” loved by celebrities around the world, has created a new restaurant concept  in New York City

Enjoy an Immersive Kawaii Experience

Featuring a Menu Developed by Japanese Chefs and Supported by AUTEC, Inc.

Opening in SoHo, the Trendiest Neighborhood in New York City

SUSHIDELIC is scheduled to open at 177 Lafayette St. in the heart of the SoHo area, where the latest fashions and trends are born and where many fashion brands have opened their flagship stores.

We will keep you updated with the latest information as it becomes available. Please look forward to the chemistry between “Sushi” and “Kawaii,” two of Japan’s proudest exports.

Sebastian Masuda

In Saiki City, located in the southernmost part of Oita Prefecture, visitors will find a unique project. For a limited time, guests can enjoy a sushi-netarium, where sushi–not stars–will be featured in the sky. Saiki City, where the event takes place, is a treasure trove of seafood thanks to the Bungo Channel and boasts the largest catch in Oita Prefecture. It’s also known as Oita’s premier sushi destination, with more than 350 varieties of ocean delicacies to enjoy each year. Saiki Sushi, made from fresh local fish, is known for its firm texture and for having just the right amount of fat. To promote this tasty dish throughout Japan, the interactive sushi-netarium promotion was created!

A Planetarium Experience Featuring Soothing Music and a Sky Filled with Sushi

The sushi-netarium is said to have a relaxing effect comparable to that of Beppu Onsen, the most famous tourist attraction in Oita. Those taking part will be able to see not only a sky filled with sushi, but a sushi meteor shower and the Gari Borealis. As you watch, it might become impossible not to crave sushi! Visitors will be able to take part in this special viewing at certain locations in Beppu City and at Oita Airport from September 22 until November 30. In a public announcement, the city invited guests to eat plenty of tasty local food and soak in the Beppu Onsen before enjoying the sushi-netarium to wrap up a wonderful day. 

The Beautiful ‘Sushi Projector’

Check out these impressive projectors made exclusively for the sushi-netarium! These original sushi projectors in the shape of Saiki sushi are the only five such projectors in the world and come in the shapes of tuna, yellowtail, octopus, egg, and shrimp. 

Come enjoy this strange sushi-centric activity in the south of Japan! Participating facilities are listed on the website below.

LDFS Co. Ltd., which operates six cafes and brands in Tokyo, has opened a new location! The company currently operates THE GREAT BURGER, a gourmet burger shop in Harajuku, The Little BAKERY Tokyo, and GOOD TOWN DONUTS. Now, they’ve brought the old-school burger store Jennifer Seven to Harajuku!

Jennifer Seven is a combination general store and burger store that sells apparel, kitchen items, and groceries. While it may seem like a general store with a coffee stand at first glance, the back door opens to reveal a secret burger shop! The innovative location will serve simple burgers, not the hearty and massive gourmet burgers available next door at THE GREAT BURGER.

General stores are found in rural America and carry a wide range of daily necessities, much like a yorozu-ya in Japan. Jennifer Seven sells original apparel, sundries, and goods with a vintage flare, as well as tableware and other items from the U.S. In addition, guests can find unique food items like handmade jellies and jams, fresh fruits and local veggies, natural wines, small gifts, and plenty more.

The drive-thru coffee stand attached to the store sells GOOD TOWN COFFEE, and Chinese-American steamed buns are also available at the Harajuku location!

Each classic burger will come with simple and tasty ingredients, including the beef patty, ketchup, mustard, original burger sauce, pickles, and onions. The restaurant’s simple interior features white and vintage wood with blue-grayish green accents and was designed by the owner himself, inspired by diners and school cafeterias in rural America.

Come enjoy a classic burger at this secret burger joint!

High casual brand PAGEBOY has begun selling limited-edition collaboration items with sushi chain Hamazushi at stores nationwide, the official web store, and ZOZOTOWN. An original novelty box will be gifted to customers buying collab items while supplies last!

Lineup

Long Sleeve T-Shirt

Short-Sleeve T-Shirt

Short-Sleeve Patterned T-Shirt

Bucket Hat

Socks

Plates

Fans of the popular sushi chain can grab a shirt featuring Hamazushi’s unique wave pattern motifs. Unisex brand PAGEBOYLIM also announced a simultaneous collaboration, with a long-sleeve T-shirt perfect for the guys out there.

A new restaurant by the name of Kimura Don is set to open inside Shinjuku Takashimaya’s Restaurant Square on July 20, 2021.

Kimura Don is a new donburi restaurant produced by Koji Kimura, a chef whose popular sushi bar Sushi Kimura, located in Futakotamagawa, has held two Michelin stars since 2013. His new eatery continues the traditions and techniques honed at Sushi Kimura while spinning innovation into new donburi rice bowl dishes conceived from the many ideas Kimura has conceived over the years.

The donburi to be served recreates that perfect balance between vinegared rice and toppings which Kimura mastered at his sushi bar. Customers can enjoy a range of additions including donburi classics such as meat and fish as well as seasonal ingredients. The restaurant also uses locally grown and reared produce and ingredients that’s also environmentally-friendly from Tokyo such as Kinuhari rice from Hachiojo and Akigawagyu beef. This will help to foster a relationship between local farmers and consumers. 

Lunchtime Dishes | ¥3,500 Each | Serving Times: 11:00-17:00 (Last Orders 16:00)

Pick from five different donburi bowls such as tuna, pilchard, and roast beef. Each season will also has its own exclusive dish made with seasonal ingredients. There’s also a special option to order a set of two smaller versions of the dishes too for ¥3,800. 

Evening Courses | From ¥12,000 | Serving Times: 17:00-23:00 (Last Orders 22:00)

The evening course line-up is also made up of five different bowls as well as seven seasonal snacks.

Koji Kimura | Comment

“I’ve been set up in Futakotamagawa for 16 years. I studied how to prepare sushi rice for many years, since it serves as the foundation, so that I could create unique sushi. I have made sushi rice that’s unique and draws a line under other restaurants, rice which when combined with toppings explodes with umami flavour. I use this same sushi rice as the basis for lots of innovative donburi dishes, and I’d love for people to enjoy a taste at the first place in Japan to do this.”

The Kirby Café branches in Tokyo and Hakata rolled out their Spring 2021 menu on Friday which is set to run until June 6. Themed on a springtime picnic, the line-up includes three items: six siz different temari-zushi servings, cherry blossom mochi, and a cherry blossom latte, all inspired by the Kirby video game series.

The Menu

Cherry Blossom Temari-zushi: Eat In ¥2,178 / Takeout ¥2,138

A serving of six sushi rolls perfect for a spring picnic. Each roll features designs that will be instantly-recognisable to Kirby fans.

Souvenir – Lunchbox (4 Designs)

Kirby’s Spring Search | ¥1,078 (Tax Included)

Kirby is playing hide and seek under the cherry blossom tree in this cute dish which is adorned with shiny coloured candy.

Cherry Blossom Latte | ¥968 (Tax Included)

A light pink-coloured cherry blossom latte with a touch of salt. Mix everything together for a tasty sipping experience.

DMM VR lab released a new 3D VR game last week on Steam and DMM.com titled No Sushi, No Life.

The game is set in the year 20XX in a sushi bar in Neo Tokyo City. The aim of the virtual reality game is simple: to eat as much sushi as you can. Players must grab all the sushi coming their way and wolf it down. Their reflexes are tested as more sushi plates speed toward them on the conveyor belt. If a plate of sushi falls to the floor, it’s game over. As players eat more sushi the conveyor belt will run faster and faster. Can you survive the culinary onslaught?

The Gurakoro Burger is a seasonal item added to McDonald’s Japan’s winter menu every year. This year, they are releasing a new rich beef stew flavour on December 2 for a limited period.

“Gurakoro” is a portmanteau of the Japanese words for “gratin” and “korokke,” the latter being the Japanese version of a French croquette. The Gurakoro burgers are crunchy on the outside and melty on the inside. They first appeared at McDonald’s Japan in 1993 and have returned every winter since, popular for its combination of the Gurakoro patty which is filled with creamy ebi, cabbage, a special korokke sauce, and an egg sauce, all squished between a toasted bun.

Gurakoro Burger | ¥340

The burger was created with a new recipe in 2019 that makes the flavour richer. The number of egg yolks used for the egg sauce was also increased, as was the spiciness of the korokke sauce.

Beef Stew Gurakoro | ¥390

This year, McDonald’s Japan is adding a beef stew sauce made with a combination of red wine and demiglace sauce. Added to this is mustard, creating a delicious flavour that goes hand in hand with the creamy gratin korokke.

Japanese food and confectionery company Bijuu is opening a new restaurant called Tsurigitsune inside Osaka International Airport’s North Terminal on August 5, 2020. The restaurant will specialise in inari sushi, a type of sushi packed into pouches of deep-fried tofu.

Bijuu is known for producing and selling such products as Kyoto’s famous coarse sweet red bean paste-filled yatsuhashi otabe crackers.

Tsurigitsune will serve “Kyo Dashi Oinari,” a type of inari sushi made with fried tofu Saga Tofu Morioka—a long-standing tofu shop in Sagano, Kyoto—soaked in lots of sumptuous Kyoto-style dashi. The restaurant will also serve a special type of sweet otabe cracker which cannot be eaten anywhere else.

Kyo Dashi Oinari (Includes 15) | ¥3,240 (Tax Included)

The dashi that the Kyo Dashi Oinari are soaked in take up all the delicious flavour of kombu, sababushi smoked mackerel, iwashibushi pilchard, and katsuobushi dried bonito, all of which serve to add that authentic Kyoto flavour.

Tanto Otabeyasu | ¥930 (Tax Included) *Served 6:30-10:00

As well as Kyo Dashi Oinari, Tsurigitsune’s menu includes a line-up of dishes that celebrate the flavour of dashi, including soba, dashimaki tamago omelette, and more.

If you’re travelling to Osaka, why not get an authentic Kyoto experience too by dining at Tsurigitsune?

This summer, McDonald’s Japan is releasing three beef burgers inspired by flavours of three countries. From Japan is the “Kalbi Mac,” from Canada is the “Mighty Beef Original,” and from the UK is the “Smokey BBQ.”

When you think of McDonald’s, the first thing that’s sure to come to mind are their beef burgers. The fast food chain has added many different burger flavours to its menu, every country around the world has its own popular style of beef burger. That’s where McDonald’s Japan got the idea for this new series of international burgers, each made using recipes from their respective countries.

Mighty Beef Original: ¥490 / Value Set: ¥790 (Serving: June 24, 2020 – Early August 2020)

Released at McDonald’s Canada, this bacon-filled beef burger is lathered in a rich sauce that has a smokey aroma and garlic punch mixed with black pepper. The salty and smokey bacon bits are what made this burger so deliciously irresistible.

Smokey BBQ: ¥490 / Value Set: ¥790 (Serving: June 24, 2020 – Early July 2020)

The smokey flavour is intense with this juicy beef burger which comes from the UK. It’s filled with over 10 spices, including smokey bacon, black pepper, and cinnamon.

Kalbi Mac: ¥420 / Value Set: ¥720 (Serving: June 24, 2020 – Early August 2020)

And from Japan is beef-on-beef Kalbi Mac which is filled with spicy kalbi beef and a juicy beef patty served between a sesame seed bun. The refreshing sweet lemon sauce and crunchy lettuce serve to elevate the tasty flavours of both beefs.

This is just the first three international burgers to be released at McDonald’s Japan. A new set will be released in mid-July.

Freshness Burger released a new limited-time burger on Wednesday called the “Teriyaki Spam Egg Burger.”

Freshness Burger’s spam burgers made more delicious

Spammy-kun

The teriyaki spam egg burger is made with the restaurant’s spam burger patty. Out of the menu’s 22 regular items, the spam burger is the staff’s favourite. The new teriyaki version switches the bun to a pumpkin bun for new delicious flavour.

Teriyaki Spam Egg Burger – ¥490 (Tax Included)

The patty is topped with browned spam and covered in a specially-made sweet and spicy teriyaki sauce made with koji. It’s also topped with a sunny-side up fried egg, kale, and mayoーand all of this squished between a pumpkin bun. You get the saltiness of the spam, sweetness of the teriyaki sauce and pumpkin bun, and finally the richness of the egg and smoothness of the mayo.

Spam Burger – ¥420 (Tax Included)

The spam burger is also served with browned spam which is covered in teriyaki sauce. It’s topped with an egg, shredded cabbage, and tomato for a compact and hearty serving.

Be sure to try the Freshness Staff’s number one spam burger made even more delicious.

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.

Hinamatsuri is almost here, and I’ve got the perfect treat for this year’s festival: Hello Kitty Sushi Cakes. These Hello Kitty decorations can be made with basic Japanese ingredients, so follow along and try making them yourself.

1: Equipment/Ingredients

15cm cake tin

1 cup vinegared sushi rice

200g tuna

200g salmon

3 Japanese rolled omelettes (dashi-maki tamago)

20 beefsteak plant

Ikura salted salmon roe

Hanpen pounded fish cake

2:

Line a cake tin with baking sheet paper like in the photo. Use a cake tin with a detachable bottom spanning 15cm. In the case that you don’t have a cake tin with a detachable bottom, cover the bottom of your tin with cling film which will make it easy to remove everything afterwards.

3:

Cut Hello Kitty, flowers and other shapes into some hanpen pounded fish cake.

4:

Slice the tuna, salmon, and Japanese egg into cubes about 1.2cm each.

Pile the ingredients in this order: rice→tuna, salmon, and egg→rice. Refer to the photo below.

5:

Leave the ingredients exposed around the outside like so✨

6:

Top with the rest of the ingredients as you like.

7:

Finish by adding your Hello Kitties and flowers which you can decorate with leftovers, like the noses and middle of the flowers. I also used cucumber and crab sticks for the head decorations.

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!