Latest news with #AmazonJapan
SoraNews24
5 days ago
- General
- SoraNews24
One week of Pop-Tart breakfasts – Can a Japanese man fall in love with the U.S. breakfast icon?
Seven days, seven packs of Pop-Tarts. Watching foreign movies and TV series can provide you with unexpected insights into overseas lifestyles, and recently our Japanese-language reporter Takuya Inaba keeps noticing the same thing in works from the U.S. It's not the family dynamics or workplace norms that have been grabbing his attention, though. Rather, it's a piece of set dressing that keeps showing up again and again in kitchen-set scene, a little blue box with 'Pop-Tarts' written on it. After doing some research, Takuya learned that they've been around since 1964, and are a beloved breakfast food in America. Here in Japan, though, they're almost entirely unknown, and completely different from the traditional Japanese breakfast of rice, fish, and miso soup, or even the standard Japanese image of a Western-style breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and/or salad. And so Takuya set out to get a taste of this part of American culture for himself, and pledged to eat nothing but Pop-Tarts for breakfast for an entire week…provided, of course, that he could actually get his hands on some, since unlike in the U.S., they're not commonly available in convenience stores or supermarkets in Japan. Luckily, Amazon Japan had Takuya covered, and after looking over the various flavors available through the online commerce giant, he decided on a box of Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tarts (the one here). Shipping was free and took about one week, and with 16 Pop-Tart packs in the box for a price of 1,650 yen (US$11.40), Takuya was looking at a cost of only about 100 yen a day for breakfast, provided these turned out to be a viable morning meal option. Opening up the box on Morning 1, Takuya pulled out one of the shiny packs, discovering that each one actually holds two Pop-Tarts. Tearing open a packet and pulling one out, he could see that from one side it looked like a pretty ordinary, if squared-off, piece of bread… …but when he flipped it around… …it looked like straight-up candy! Now, it's true that you can find a variety of sweet pastries in the bread aisle of Japanese convenience stores. Those aren't usually marketed as breakfast foods, though, and they're also not nearly as sugar-encrusted as what Takuya now held in his hand. Not that he was complaining, mind you, as he took a bite and found a pleasing quantity of strawberry jam waiting inside. The reviews from Japanese customers on Amazon had described Pop-Tarts' flavor as crazy sweet, but Takuya actually found it rather enjoyable. He wouldn't describe the taste as refined or balanced, but it wasn't as intensely sugary as he'd been bracing himself for. As a matter of fact, Takuya was startled by how unsweet the dough was in sections where it wasn't touched by sugar, frosting, or jam. Without any extra sweeteners, the flavor of the dough most reminded Takuya (who's a big burrito fan) of a tortilla. However, as he chewed Takuya took a closer look at the packaging and learned that the recommended way to eat Pop-Tarts is to warm them up in the toaster or microwave first, so that's what he did for his second pastry in the pack. OK, now this was getting good! The now warm, melty jam was amazingly tasty, and the dough had also become more flavorful, and gained a more inviting texture too. It was starting to make sense to Takuya how these things could have become an ubiquitous part of breakfast culture in the U.S., and so he went on to live this particular version of the American dream with a solid week of Pop-Tart breakfasts. ▼ Left to right then top to bottom: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday ▼ And then for the final day, Sunday, an alfresco Pop-Tart breakfast. Upon seeing an actual Pop-Tart for the first time, Takuya figured it'd be sort of hard to commit to this diet, but that turned out to be easier than he'd expected, since they taste good and are surprisingly filling. He will admit, though, that by the end of the week he was getting a little tired of starting every day with the same simple sweetness, and he never quite got over the sense of subtle guilt he felt from eating what still felt like a dessert for his morning meal. Curious as to whether or not a daily Pop-Tart breakfast ever starts to feel totally normal, Takuya headed to downtown Tokyo's Harajuku neighborhood, one of the most popular parts of the city among foreign sightseers, to find some Americans and get their take on the matter. Without exception, they were all familiar with Pop-Tarts, and confirmed that yes, they're a popular breakfast food in the States. But when Takuya told them about his solid week of Pop-Tart breakfasts, even Takuya's new American acquaintances said that sounded like a bit much, and that a daily Pop-Tart pack habit is something only super-fans or little kids have. Takuya had sort of developed such a hunch around the middle of his week, and so it made a lot of sense when the people he talked to told him that Pop-Tarts are more of a thing that people keep a box of in their pantry for mornings when they're too busy to make a regular breakfast or have particularly strong cravings for something sweet. That made even more sense when Takuya got back home and checked the expiration date for his Pop-Tarts and saw that they'll be good until April of next year, so he thinks he'll take his time and savor his remaining stock. Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
SoraNews24
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- SoraNews24
How to make pickled plums like the Japanese grandparents you may or may not have【Part 1】
Today in the SoraKitchen, we're not just making umeboshi, we're making umeboshi inside our office. SoraNews24's HQ in downtown Tokyo's Shinjuku neighborhood is made up of two rooms. There's the main room, where our in-office staff writes articles, and the conference room, which is used for meetings, interviews, and making pickles. That last one is a recently addition to the conference room activity list, courtesy of our Japanese-language reporter Go Hatori…but really courtesy of Go's grandpa and grandma. A few years back, Go's grandparents taught him their recipe for making umeboshi, Japanese-style pickled plums. Summer is the season for making umeboshi, and Go tried his hand at it for the first time in 2021. The results, he says, were less than delicious, and his plums turned out slightly, but not much, better in 2022. 2023 was a breakthrough, though, as Go managed to produce a truly tasty bath of umeboshi, and even his grandpa was impressed when he tasted Go's work. ▼ Go's granddad with a whole bunch of umeboshi Sadly, Go's grandpa passed away in 2024, and our reporter took that year off from umeboshi making. He's ready to try again, though, not just because he likes umeboshi, but also as a way of keeping his connection with his grandpa through his pickling legacy. But why is Go making his umeboshi in the office? Because he's having construction work done on his apartment balcony this summer and he won't have anywhere to hang the plums to dry (the final step of the process). He'll need to make periodic adjustments to the batch, so doing his pickling at the SoraHouse, way off in the mountains of Saitama Prefecture, won't work. That leaves making pickles at the office as the best option, and that also means that we get a front-row seat to the process, so even those of us without a Japanese grandpa or grannie of our own can learn how to make umeboshi too. From start to finish, it takes several weeks to make umeboshi, so today Go will be showing us the initial steps, and we'll check in with him again when it's time for the next stage. What supplies do we need at the starting stage? Japanese plums, or ume, as they're called in Japanese, are first on the list, naturally. Next we'll need coarse-grain salt (we'll explain the exact quantities below). A toothpick and paper towels will come in handy, but those are things you probably have in your kitchen already and won't need to make a special shopping run for. We're also going to need a container to keep the plums in as they pickle. While you could possibly get away with any old bucket, Go recommends getting a specialized pickling bucket, which has two lids. Amazon Japan has a bunch here, with several available for about 1,000 yen (US$7]. He suggests getting a 'pickling stone' too, which is a fancy name for a weight designed to sit on top of the pickling bucket's inner lid and keep it firmly clamped down. Again, you could probably use any suitably disc-shaped heavy object, but you can get a pickling stone from Amazon Japan for 2,000 yen or less, so Go thinks it's a worthwhile investment. And last, Go strongly recommends getting a pickling bag that can be tied up to protect the plums during the process, and once again, you can get them from Amazon Japan, with Go's preferred brand being about 500 yen for a set of two bags. And with that, it's time to get started making some umeboshi! ● Step 1 The first thing to do is to remove the stems from each of the plums. This is where the toothpick will come in handy, since it'll allow you to dig the stem out without slicing up the rest of the fruit. ● Step 2 Wash the plums in cold water to remove any dirt or debris. ● Step 3 Dry the plums using a paper towel. ● Step 4 Now let's talk about the quantities of plums and salt to use. For the plums, you can use as many or as few as you want, of course, but just make sure you weight them, because Go's grandpa's recipe ratio calls for an amount of salt equal to 15 percent of the total weight of the plums. So, for example, if you had two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of plums, you'd use 300 grams (10.6 ounces) of salt. For Go's batch of office umeboshi, he's got 1.89 kilograms of plums, so he measured out 284 grams of salt. ● Step 5 Place the pickling bag inside the pickling bucket. Really, this is a failsafe step, but the extra layer of the pickling bag will help keep things secure and hygienic during the pickling process. ● Step 6 Place the plums and salt in the pickling bucket. Start with a layer of plums, sprinkle salt over them, then add another plum layer, then more salt, and keep going until you've got all of your ingredients in there. ● Step 7 Tie the pickling bag closed and place the pickling bucket's inner lid on top of it, and then place the pickling stone on top of that, and then put the bucket's outer lid in place. ● Step 8 Place the pickling bucket in a dark, cool place. Oh, and if you're making your pickles at work, you'll probably also want to make sure it's somewhere so that the container won't be in the way while you and your officemates are working. And with that, we've completed Stage 1 of Operation Make Go's Grandpa's Umeboshi. We've got about two weeks until Stage 2, so like our pickled plums stay cool, and we'll see you back here then. Photos ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Japan Today
23-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
7-Eleven selling 'Japan's longest roll of toilet paper' that's 7.11 times longer than normal
By SoraNews24 Toilet paper is often the unsung hero of everyday life. It never gets the respect and reverence it deserves, at least until it's not there when needed and it suddenly becomes the most important substance in the universe. Perhaps sensing this paradigm, convenience store chain 7-Eleven has come up with possibly the grandest and most abundant toilet paper Japan has ever seen. Dubbed 'Japan's longest' roll of TP for home use, it boasts a length of 356 meters, about 7.11 times longer than a normal roll, which they estimate to be 50 meters. This roll of single ply is produced by Marutomi Seishi, who makes the previously longest roll of toilet paper, the Super Long Pulp 6x Roll 300m. With their special technique, Marutomi can create these rolls several times longer than conventional TP, but maintaining a diameter that's only slightly wider. ▼ This infographic shows that 7-Eleven is having lots of fun with numbers. Not only is the length, and therefore width, about seven times a normal roll, the diameter is about 1.1 times one. Marutomi said they developed the product based on a survey that suggests one in three married couples were dissatisfied with their toilet paper. One of the reasons being that it gets used up too fast and replacing it is a nuisance. That survey probably wasn't too enlightening since just having an empty tube next to the toilet is annoying to everyone, except maybe those really into arts and crafts. Considering how ultra-condensed it is, you might be wondering how well the paper holds up. Judging by the reviews for the Super Long Pulp 6x Roll 300 meters on Amazon Japan, all of the comments seem satisfied with the paper itself and the only complaint was that the roll can get warped as it gets near the end because there's no tube inside. So, we can probably expect the same level of quality from 7-Eleven's version too, and at a suggested retail price of 298 yen, it's even comparable to regular toilet paper, especially from a convenience store. Even if you only demand the finest in luxury for your bottom, it might be worth it to pick up a roll and squirrel it away in case of emergencies. You never know when people might start panic buying the stuff again. Source: PR Times, Amazon Japan Images: PR Times Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- People in Japan are now stealing toilet paper in midst of coronavirus crisis -- Toilet paper miracle ends 11 harrowing minutes in a Harajuku McDonald's restroom -- We try Rabbit toilet paper, a luxury roll made by suppliers to the Imperial Family External Link © SoraNews24
SoraNews24
18-06-2025
- General
- SoraNews24
7-Eleven selling 'Japan's longest roll of toilet paper' that's 7.11 times longer than normal
Outstanding mileage for the size. Toilet paper is often the unsung hero of everyday life, sometimes even unceremoniously thrown over the house of mean old Mr. Green up the street. Regardless of whether he had it coming or not for not giving me my ball back, the point is that toilet paper itself never gets the respect and reverence it deserves, at least until it's not there when needed and it suddenly becomes the most important substance in the universe. Perhaps sensing this paradigm, convenience store chain 7-Eleven has come up with possibly the grandest and most abundant toilet paper Japan has ever seen. Dubbed 'Japan's longest' roll of TP for home use, it boasts a length of 356 meters (1,168 feet), about 7.11 times longer than a normal roll, which they estimate to be 50 meters (164 feet). This roll of single ply is produced by Marutomi Seishi, who makes the previously longest roll of toilet paper, the Super Long Pulp 6x Roll 300m. With their special technique, Marutomi can create these rolls several times longer than conventional TP, but maintaining a diameter that's only slightly wider. ▼ This infographic shows that 7-Eleven is having lots of fun with numbers. Not only is the length, and therefore width, about seven times a normal roll, the diameter is about 1.1 times one. Marutomi said they developed the product based on a survey that suggests one in three married couples were dissatisfied with their toilet paper. One of the reasons being that it gets used up too fast and replacing it is a nuisance. That survey probably wasn't too enlightening since just having an empty tube next to the toilet is annoying to everyone, except maybe those really into arts and crafts. ▼ That should be just enough for a robot. Speaking of empty tubes, part of their space-saving technique is that these rolls have no cardboard tubes inside. Not only does this reduce added waste but it allows for easy storage that's great for disaster preparedness kits, reduces overall transportation emissions, and lets you buy a large amount of TP without having to carry one of those suitcase-sized packs all over the place. ▼ I don't usually also have an armful of loose rolls while shopping, but I guess the basic sentiment is the same. Considering how ultra-condensed it is, you might be wondering how well the paper holds up. Judging by the reviews for the Super Long Pulp 6x Roll 300m on Amazon Japan, all of the comments seem satisfied with the paper itself and the only complaint was that the roll can get warped as it gets near the end because there's no tube inside. So, we can probably expect the same level of quality from 7-Eleven's version too, and at a suggested retail price of 298 yen (US$2), it's even comparable to regular toilet paper, especially from a convenience store. Even if you only demand the finest in luxury for your bottom, it might be worth it to pick up a roll and squirrel it away in case of emergencies. You never know when people might start panic buying the stuff again. Source: PR Times, Amazon Japan Images: PR Times ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Japan Times
17-06-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
TikTok Shop to launch e-commerce service in Japan as soon as this month
TikTok is looking to enter the e-commerce market in Japan via the launch of its TikTok Shop — a service in which users can purchase promoted products directly from the social media app — as soon as this month. Japan would be the newest addition to a list of countries where the service is available, including the U.S. and the Philippines. How TikTok Shop will perform in the Japanese e-commerce market, which has been dominated by Amazon Japan and Rakuten, will be in focus once the service begins. TikTok Shop, which allows users to purchase products promoted in a video or livestream on one's feed or through the Shop tab directly in the app, has managed to become a powerhouse in the e-commerce market since it was first launched in 2021. In the U.K., one of the first regions where the service was introduced, there was a 131% annual increase in the number of shoppers at the end of 2024 along with a year-on-year rise of 180% in revenue. The service's unique feature allowing users to directly buy products on the app without having to jump to an external site makes shopping easier. TikTok receives handling charges from businesses selling their products on the platform. According to the Japan External Trade Organization, the app has over 33 million monthly users in Japan, with an average screen time of 96 minutes per day — higher than other social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. In Japan, TikTok has generated ¥237.5 billion ($1.64 billion) in estimated consumption, having contributed ¥485.5 billion to the country's nominal gross domestic product during 2024, it said. With around 60% of users on the app being between the ages of 18 and 34, TikTok Shops have a particularly strong reach when it comes to younger demographics. In countries where the service is already available, the platform is often used to sell products such as cosmetics, clothes and diet supplements. As anticipation for the Japan launch builds up, many advertisement companies are jumping on the bandwagon to provide support for businesses to sell on the new platform. Major Japanese ad agency Hakuhodo and Dentsu Group subsidiary Septeni Japan each launched a new service last month that helps clients in setting up shop on TikTok as well as marketing and increasing traction for their advertisements. MicroAd, another advertisement company, on Tuesday set up a new subsidiary called Universe Pulse, which will specialize in assisting businesses on TikTok Shop Japan. Artificial intelligence technology company Niusia launched a 24-hour AI call center service last month that utilizes AI agents to help businesses answer questions from clients regarding their TikTok Shop products and operations. TikTok has been working to expand its e-commerce presence in recent months, having also introduced its TikTok Shop in Mexico, Brazil and France, among other countries, so far this year.
