Poké-summer fun is here with Baskin-Robbins Japan's limited-time Pokémon collaboration
Baskin-Robbins Japan (known popularly as '31' in Japan) kicked off its 31 Poké Summer! Campaign on August 1. The ice cream chain teaming up with Pokémon over the summer has become an annual event for Poké-fans to look forward to, and we couldn't wait to get our hands on this year's goodies for ourselves.
The main draws of the campaign are some creative Pokémon tie-ins. For instance, with purchase of a Pokémon Double Cup (Small for 51o yen [US$3.44], Regular for 610 yen), you'll receive one of 20 randomly selected stickers and one of two special yellow spoons. With purchase of a Pokémon Sundae (600 yen each), you'll receive a Frienda Pick, which is a rectangular plastic tile with a Pokémon's information for use in the Pokémon Frienda arcade game.
Of course, given our unofficial motto of 'Go big or go home,' we sprung for a pricier option in the form of the Pokémon Exciting Ice Cream Box (Small) for 3,500 yen, which also comes in a Regular size for 4,140 yen. For this deal, you select nine flavors of ice cream to go home with you in special box which is in turn placed inside a Pokémon-patterned refrigerated bag.
We were quite pleased by our haul when we got home and laid it all out on the table.
The refrigerated bag in particular is remarkable for its two-way functionality. It initially comes as a smaller-sized bag that's a perfect fit for the Ice Cream Box.
However, when you release its side buttons…
…the bag transforms into a tote! This point makes it a perfect addition for all of your summer picnicking needs.
Honing in on the box, it has a colorful design with Poképals old and new.
We were delighted to open the lid and find a coloring page as well.
Let's check out the ice cream itself now. This summer's special flavor of note is Pikachu's Toropika Soda, meant to evoke the taste of a nostalgic soda float and perfect for a hot summer day. Combining sorbet with vanilla cream, it has a refreshing base with a mix of creaminess to it.
It also comes with candies in the shape of Pikachu's face that taste like white chocolate and have a crunchy texture somewhere between chocolate and ramune soda-flavored candies.
All in all, everything was simply, summery sweet!
The Baskin-Robbins Japan x Pokémon campaign will be around through September 3, so swing by your local branch when you need to add a boost of Poké-power to your day. On your way, you might also want to stop by several JR East train stations to earn yourself one of these giant Pokémon cards while supplies last.
Reference: Baskin-Robbins Japan
All images © SoraNews24
● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
[ Read in Japanese ]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SoraNews24
17 hours ago
- SoraNews24
How true to life is the trailer for Brendon Fraser's movie about Japanese rental families?
Rental families are thing in Japan, but is Rental Family going to show what life in Japan is really like? In the decade-plus that SoraNews24 has been around, we've never once mentioned Brendan Fraser. This isn't because of any long-standing beef between us, but simply a result of the Academy Award-winning actor not having any major connections to Japan-related happenings during that interval. So to all our loyal readers who also happen to be fans of Mr. Fraser, we apologize for the wait, which is now over thanks to the release of the trailer for Rental Family. An upcoming release from Los Angeles-based Searchlight Pictures, Rental Family stars Fraser as a foreigner living in Japan, eking out a living acting in commercials. When that line of income starts to dry up, he finds a job with a 'rental family' agency, where customers pay to have someone play the role of a family member or friend. This isn't such a far-fetched premise. There's an entire ecosystem within the Japanese show business industry of foreign resident actors who specialize in bit roles in commercials, movies, TV dramas, and historical reenactment programs that need non-Japanese on-screen cast members (the live-action adaptation of manga Thermae Romae , for example. has a scene set in an ancient Roman bathhouse with dozens of non-Japanese extras). The size of these parts, though, means that the actors aren't making A-lister money, so Fraser's character needing to take on an unorthodox job to make ends meet is pretty plausible. Likewise, Japan, really does have rental family agencies. They first started attracting significant attention in the early 2010s, and we've even tried their services out for ourselves, such as when our reporters rented a middle-aged man or sister (two sisters, actually). That said, judging from the trailer, it's debatable whether Rental Family , directed by professionally mononymous Hikari, who was born in Japan and moved to the U.S. after high school, is attempting to accurately depict the status of rental family agencies in contemporary Japanese society, or whether its main goal is to tell a dramatic and emotional story with Fraser's character's job as its framing device. For example. a major plotline seems to involve a Japanese woman hiring Fraser's character to pretend to be the father of her daughter, who appears to be of mixed Japanese/Caucasian ancestry. 'This girl needs a father,' Fraser's boss tells him, and when he introduces himself to the child as such, in a public place, she shouts 'I hate you!' and storms off. 'She hates me,' Fraser laments to his boss, who replies 'That's what being a parent is.' Now, it's definitely true that most countries don't have rental family services, and the obvious reason is that the concept would be seen as just too weird. But while the idea isn't too weird for Japanese society as a whole, renting a family member is still considered unusual by most Japanese people. There's no real pushback against it, since it's seen as quirky but harmless fun for those who're intrigued by the proposition, and you could argue Japan is already somewhat softened regarding paid quasi-social relationships, what with hostess/host bars having been a thing for so long. However, hiring a stranger to pretend to be your child's father, especially as an attempt to address clearly severe psychological issues stemming from the parent's absence, is something that most Japanese people would say is a cruel disservice to the child, and not the sort of benefit that rental family agencies promote themselves as providing. Yes, you can rent a 'dad' in Japan, as Conan O'Brien famously did during his time in the country, but again, the service is targeted at adults wanting a fatherly figure for roleplay, not as a way to address the emotional trauma of a minor. Similarly, Japan's 'rental grandma' service is more about the sage wisdom, traditional skills, and calming presence that a woman of advanced age can provide, not necessarily acting as a substitute for an actual familial connection. So what about the two scenes where Fraser appears to have been hired to play the role of a groom at a wedding, one a Western-style ceremony and one a traditional Japanese one? Surely that's got to be crossing some sort of marriage-fraud line, right? Except, no, those are actually possible scenarios, though maybe not the most plausible. That's because in Japan, wedding ceremonies, whether performed at a church or temple, aren't legally binding. The only way to make your marriage official in the eyes of the law is to submit your marriage registration paperwork to your local city hall or ward office. So as long as the chappal or temple is OK with it, you could, in theory, hold a wedding ceremony, and a reception too, as a purely for-fun thing, perhaps if circumstances mean you're unlikely to ever get legally married to an actual life partner. Sure, it'd involve considerable expense, and there's no guarantee that all of your friends and family members would be onboard and happy to attend, but there's no legal barrier to doing it if you want to have the wedding experience without actually getting married. Oh, and you also have to give Rental Family credit for making sure to pick a suitably niche console to be the system of choice of the lonely man who hires Fraser to pretend to be his buddy. ▼ Your true friends are the ones who'll still hang out and play Dreamcast games with you in 2025 (but they'd be even better friends if they helped keep any snacks off of the disc drive cover). The trailer also includes a few shots of the Shibuya Scramble intersection, but I'm pretty sure the U.N. recently passed a resolution mandating the landmark be shown at least once in any foreign-produced movie with scenes set in Tokyo. The more aggravating thing is when the preview has someone saying, ostensibly to Fraser, 'You could live in this country for a hundred years, and there will still be things you won't understand.' Yeah, Japanese culture has its initially confusing quirks, just like any country's culture does, but playing up the inscrutability of the Japanese psyche is a pretty tired cliche, especially considering how many of Japan's real-world foreign residents effectively adapt to the local social norms way before they hit the century mark of living here, and even more especially when the line is paired with visuals showing people waiting at a train crossing which doesn't exactly make one say 'Ah, Japan…so mysterious!' ▼ Granted, the barriers do tend to go down earlier in Japan than in some other countries, but 'Wait here so you don't get hit by a train' isn't so hard for non-Japanese people to wrap their heads around. So you could say that it's kind of a mixed bag in terms of how much of a window into modern Japanese life Rental Family is going to be, but that might not really be its intention anyway. Fraser's character himself even says 'You know sometimes it's OK to pretend' as the trailer wraps up, so 100-percent real-world accuracy probably isn't the goal, and if nothing else it looks like it's going to be a story that's both introspective and encouraging of empathy, neither of which are bad emotional spaces for a movie to take its audience. Rental Family opens in theaters in North America on November 21. Source, images: YouTube/SearchlightPictures ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Following Casey on Twitter also does not count as a legal marriage.
SoraNews24
19 hours ago
- SoraNews24
Poké-summer fun is here with Baskin-Robbins Japan's limited-time Pokémon collaboration
A new Pikachu-inspired flavor, arcade game tie-ins, and collaboration merchandise are great ways to celebrate the peak of summer right now. Baskin-Robbins Japan (known popularly as '31' in Japan) kicked off its 31 Poké Summer! Campaign on August 1. The ice cream chain teaming up with Pokémon over the summer has become an annual event for Poké-fans to look forward to, and we couldn't wait to get our hands on this year's goodies for ourselves. The main draws of the campaign are some creative Pokémon tie-ins. For instance, with purchase of a Pokémon Double Cup (Small for 51o yen [US$3.44], Regular for 610 yen), you'll receive one of 20 randomly selected stickers and one of two special yellow spoons. With purchase of a Pokémon Sundae (600 yen each), you'll receive a Frienda Pick, which is a rectangular plastic tile with a Pokémon's information for use in the Pokémon Frienda arcade game. Of course, given our unofficial motto of 'Go big or go home,' we sprung for a pricier option in the form of the Pokémon Exciting Ice Cream Box (Small) for 3,500 yen, which also comes in a Regular size for 4,140 yen. For this deal, you select nine flavors of ice cream to go home with you in special box which is in turn placed inside a Pokémon-patterned refrigerated bag. We were quite pleased by our haul when we got home and laid it all out on the table. The refrigerated bag in particular is remarkable for its two-way functionality. It initially comes as a smaller-sized bag that's a perfect fit for the Ice Cream Box. However, when you release its side buttons… …the bag transforms into a tote! This point makes it a perfect addition for all of your summer picnicking needs. Honing in on the box, it has a colorful design with Poképals old and new. We were delighted to open the lid and find a coloring page as well. Let's check out the ice cream itself now. This summer's special flavor of note is Pikachu's Toropika Soda, meant to evoke the taste of a nostalgic soda float and perfect for a hot summer day. Combining sorbet with vanilla cream, it has a refreshing base with a mix of creaminess to it. It also comes with candies in the shape of Pikachu's face that taste like white chocolate and have a crunchy texture somewhere between chocolate and ramune soda-flavored candies. All in all, everything was simply, summery sweet! The Baskin-Robbins Japan x Pokémon campaign will be around through September 3, so swing by your local branch when you need to add a boost of Poké-power to your day. On your way, you might also want to stop by several JR East train stations to earn yourself one of these giant Pokémon cards while supplies last. Reference: Baskin-Robbins Japan All images © SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Bar event for sitting and spacing out opening in Tokyo; offers the luxury of doing nothing
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 Tokyo's Boutto Suru Bar is set to welcome customers this month, but part of its name is a little misleading. When you hear 'bar,' you probably imagine a place that serves beer, wine, or cocktails, but the Boutto Suru Bar's menu consists of non-alcoholic beverages, coffee and tea. So you could make the argument that it should really be called the Boutto Suru Cafe. We'll give it a pass, though because the place is on much more solid ground with the Boutto Suru part of its name, since boutto suru is Japanese for 'space out,' and that's exactly the experience the Boutto Suru Bar is offering. A limited-time even hosted by art gallery Muun in downtown Tokyo's stylish Hiroo neighborhood, the Boutto Suru Bar says it hopes to provide visitors with 'a luxurious time of doing nothing and spacing out for an extended period of time.' Doing nothing, in this case, seems to mean doing nothing physically or mentally taxing, since each customer will be served a soothing cup of either Spacing Out Coffee or Spacing Out Herbal Tea to sip. You don't have to just stare at the walls, either, since the Boutto Suru Bar event is a collaboration between Muun and design studio Vitro, creators of the Dew relaxation lighting device. Image: PR Times Dew is modeled after** **senko hanabi, traditional string-shaped handheld fireworks that emit a soft shower of sparks and are nostalgic symbol of innocent summer fun in Japan. Instead of sparks, though, Dew uses drops of illuminated water, with the fluctuations as the light refracts through the liquid and illuminates ripples in the pool it falls into shown in testing to significantly reduce stress levels in those who watch the cycle. ▼ Dew demonstration video Because of the senko hanabi connection, Boutto Suru Bar will a one-day event held on August 7, Japan's 'Fireworks Day' quasi-holiday. There will be three seatings, at 6, 7, and 8 p.m., with one-drink-inclusive tickets priced at 1,500 yen and reservations available online here. Event information ぼーっとするバー / Boutto Suru Bar Venue: Muun / ミューン Address: Tokyo-to, Minato-ku, Minami Azabu 4-12-7 東京都港区南麻布４丁目１２−７ Reservations Source: PR Times Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Crazy Tokyo bar rewards you with free drinks for accurate ax throwing, offers shuriken option -- Tokyo convenience store has full bar inside with Japanese whiskey, will smoke your combini snacks -- Japanese motor home is like a time machine to a bubble era Tokyo private bar, on sale now【Photos】 External Link © SoraNews24
