[Japan] And More Food!

In Joanna Lumley's Japan (a 3-episode show that features her trip to this country), Joanna mentions that cute is big business in Japan. And it's definitely true. Because I ended up buying a lot of cute and/or interesting food items during my trip. First is Tokyo Banana. There is the standard Tokyo Banana (which you can see here) but I ended up buying special themed ones, even if they were more expensive, such as Minions...

Tokyo Banana Minions design

...and Pokemon.

Tokyo Banana Pokemon design

It was also during a trip to The Akiba, a shop in Radio Kaikan in Akihabara, that I discovered Tokyo Banana Cookie Sandwich. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but when I saw this box for Pokemon-themed Tokyo Banana Cookie Sand (I didn't even know what cookie sand was, only to discover later it was a cookie sandwich), I wanted to try it.

Tokyo Banana Cookie Sandwich Pokemon design

Two designs and flavors: standard Pikachu and chocolate Eevee

In Tokyo DisneySea, my mom got a box of cookies with Mickey and Minnie designs.

Cookies from Tokyo DisneySea

It was only when we got back to Manila that we got to try these snacks. I discovered that I actually like the Tokyo Banana Cookie Sandwich more than the normal Tokyo Banana and I wished I got more boxes of it. The Disney cookies were quite impressive in that the faces of Mickey and Minnie were embossed and even featured a bit of color!

Tokyo Banana Cookie Sandwiches and a DisneySea cookie

Speaking of DisneySea, I ordered this Mickey Mouse-designed tiramisu donut. It was really good!

Tiramisu Donut at Tokyo DisneySea

While we're on amusement parks, I also got to try some interesting desserts at Universal Studios Japan. I ordered this Nobara Kugisaki Strawberry Rose Cake at Beverly Hills Boulangerie (which is located right in front of the Jujutsu Kaisen 4-D attraction). Appparently, Nobara Kugisaki uses a hammer with a heart as her weapon, hence the heart-shaped dessert with a chocolate nail in it. I haven't watched Jujutsu Kaisen but I still ordered this dessert since it looked really interesting and the flavors appealed to me. At 900 yen, it was very expensive but thankfully it was also really, really good!

Nobara Kugisaki Strawberry Rose Cake

Another good dessert I got to try at Beverly Hills Boulangerie in USJ is this Mini Parfait with Double Pudding. This was also really good!

At the entrance of the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest, we saw a Snoopy Chocolat Shop and went in. I ended up getting a couple of boxes of a snack that seems to be called Chocolat Monaka.

Chocolate Monaka from Snoopy Chocolat

If I recall correctly, the big box I got had two flavors - chocolate and matcha. I also got a smaller box with 2 lemon-filled snacks.

Chocolate Monaka with matcha and chocolate fillings

While at the Shinkansen station on our way from Osaka to Tokyo, we saw a Krispy Kreme store that had several donut designs that seemed to be available only in Japan. I decided to get a box with these interesting designs and unique flavors.

Unique Japanese designs and flavors at Krispy Kreme

Finally, when we were at Hunters Bar, we saw several other game-themed restaurants. I took a picture of this display at the entrance that showcased some sample dishes from Luida's Bar, a Dragon Quest-themed bar. If I were a fan of Dragon Quest, I would surely visit this place.

Luida's Bar

Next: Hotel Vista Osaka-Namba