Black As Night

I have to say this is the first time I’ve ever seen something like this. Black potato chips!

I was mystified be what the flavor would be. The picture on the bag didn’t help, showing a bowl of potatoes with mayo and pepper. None of those things explain the black color though. It was all solved when I brought them home. It turns out they are covered in squid ink powder. Here’s a photo of the actual chip.

They tasted good, but it doesn’t especially look appetizing.

Cream Croquette……Burger?

Yes, this is the new burger for this month at McDonald’s. It’s a Cream Croquette Burger. Croquettes are a common thing here in Japan, and very popular, so it’s a natural choice. You would never see this in Canada. I ate it and it was very good. Super creamy and delicious, as you can see in the picture below.

Cream croquettes are filled with potato whipped together with milk, and a few shrimp and pieces of macaroni in it. The burger is topped with some Tonkatsu sauce (a sweet tangy sauce), and some mayo and cabbage underneath. The bun they use is super soft and warm, making it very delicious. It’s kind of interesting that McDonald’s over here is constantly thing up new and unique things every month. I actually look forward to see what the new thing is. Also I’m eating there more often than I ever did in Canada. Which was very seldom. It’s great to have when I’m tired of eating Japanese food.

Gourmet Cheetos

It seems that Japan has a gourmet version of everything. Cheetos apparently are no different. The flavor is basil and salt. When I ate them I tasted no cheese flavor, which is strange for Cheetos. since they’re famous for cheese.

They were quite good tasting, and supposedly lower in calories and bad stuff. I especially like the black and gold bag. Also the large print proclaiming it “The Night Selection”.

Am I the only one that finds that a little weird sounding?

White Is The New Brown

Yes, that’s right white is now cooler than brown. That’s because Pepsi has come out with the new “Pepsi White”. As you can see in the picture below it is quite white. Not as disturbing as the blue pepsi I had previously posted about.

As the label states it gets it’s white color from…

Mixing Pepsi with yogurt! Believe me it doesn’t taste as bad as it sounds. I actually kind of enjoyed it.

Lucky Kids

Yes we have kids rides in Canada too, but do we have….

The Favourite of children all over Japan, the magical cat from the future, Doraemon. Or how about…

A very cute version of Godzilla. Ours are always poorly painted knock-offs or generic horses, car or helicopters. Kids of Japan, you are lucky and you don’t even realize it!

Inoki

Famous Japanese pro wrestler Antonio Inoki has a restaurant in Sendai.  As you can see in the picture below it’s very flashy, and impossible not to look at. The wife and I were walking by a couple nights ago and I had to snap some pictures.

It’s definitely more impressive during the night time. What’s also cool is the huge Inoki statue in the window.

The red towel around his neck is like his trademark. He’s also famous for his Inoki “Fighting Spirit Slap”, which people on the street will ask for, much like an autograph, except you get a huge red hand print on your face. Here’s a quick video of him giving his fans what they want.

Famous fights include Hulk Hogan and even Muhammad Ali. I haven’t eaten at the restaurant yet, but I really want to.

Yagiyama Zoo

This Friday for a work field trip we went to the zoo. Only having gone to the zoo once before in my life. I had never actually seen most of the animals that they had. Like the elephants….

Or tigers…

Or my personal favorite the gorilla.

It’s kind of funny though that I had to come all of the way to Japan to see a polar bear, which actually comes from my home country.

As you can see I got to see him real up close. He was sitting right at the window. Probably dreaming of eating all of the people who walked by. The zoo had these really cute towels for sale.

They also had a cute sign for the gorilla.

The cute gorilla is saying “Konichiwa”, which means good afternoon. He’s so polite!

Rilakkuma In The Wild

This giant Rilakkuma was spotted in his natural habitat, in front of a game center of course. He cute demeanor and laid back attitude luring in hoards of teenage girl. However caution should be taken! Remember, all bears love to eat humans given half the chance. Rilakkuma is no exception. Behind that cute exterior lies the heart of a cold blooded man-eater!

Becky’s Heaven

I spotted this UFO catcher machine at the local arcade. It’s full of very cute little Mameshiba dolls. Which I know my friend Becky loves. I’m sure she would spend a small fortune trying to get these.

Becky they want you to come to Japan and rescue them! They desperatly need your help!

You can almost see the tears in their eyes.

Bruchetta

Yes! It’s another flavor of Pringles! Those wizards at the Pringles factory in Japan are at it again. This time it’s Bruchetta flavor. I have to say it was pretty good. What will these guys think up next? I hope it’s lobster flavor or maybe cheeseburger or something. Who knows!