Japan’s summers are scorching, and one ever popular way to beat the heat is with a sweet and icy treat.

Haagan-Dazs are always on hand with a litany of limited edition, Japan exclusive flavours offering a level of luxury that you wouldn’t expect of a cup of ice cream found in your local supermarket.

Especially since these seasonal ice creams often make use of traditional Japanese flavours and ingredients such as purple sweet potato and green tea among others, making a novel way to sample some very Japanese deliciousness.

Hana Mochi is a range of ice creams that combines rich flavourful ice cream with the soft texture of mochi, and their newest flavours showcase some traditional Japanese dessert foods.

They’ve updated a previous entry in the range, reborn as Hana Mochi Ginsen Kinako Kuromitsu for this season. The flavour also appeared in 2015 and 2017, but now Haagen-Dazs boast that the flavour has been ‘powered up’. Kinako (soybean flour) ice cream is mixed with kuromitsu (brown sugar syrup) and topped with mochi and soybean flour.

The second new flavour is Hana Mochi Zunda. Zunda mochi is a regional sweet from the Tohoku area, made from green soybeans. Zunda goes surprisingly well with milk and dairy treats and Haagen Dazs make full use of this fact, when pairing the slightly salted zunda sauce with ice cream and mochi.

Both flavours will be available in supermarkets and convenience stores all over Japan from 17th September, costing 295 yen (plus tax).


By - grape Japan editorial staff.