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Japan Today
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Yoshinoya to start serving ramen this week with new beefy 'mazesoba'
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 There's no dish Yoshinoya is more strongly associated with than gyudon (beef bowls), and no restaurants is more strongly associated with beef bowls than Yoshinoya. The mental connection between the two is so strong that it's not uncommon for people in Japan to mash the words together and refer to the chain and its flagship food as 'Yoshigyu.' But this summer Yoshinoya is stepping out of the beef bowl box, and while they're not ditching beef in their newest offering, it'll have no rice, because it's beef ramen. Specifically, this is mazesoba. The maze part comes from mazeru, meaning to stir or mix, and while 'soba' by itself usually refers to buckwheat noodles, it can also indicate ramen noodles (as it does in the stir-fried ramen noodle dish yakisoba). Mazesoba is a type of non-soup ramen where instead of the noodles floating in liquid broth they're placed in a bowl with sauce and other ingredients, and you stir everything together just before eating so that the flavor mixes throughout. For its Gyutama Stamina Mazesoba, the key co-star for the noodles is the same strips of simmered beef that Yoshinoya fans know and love from the chain's beef bowls. Accompanying them are sliced onions, diced leeks, tempura flakes, an egg, and a thick-consistency spicy garlic sauce, which is served on the side so that you can add as much or as little as you want. Yoshinoya says the result is tasty and satiating, but surprisingly describes the flavor as 'rich yet refreshing.' Considering that just about every ingredient in Yoshinoya's mazesoba is meaty, pungent, or fried, it's probably best to take that 'refreshing' claim with a grain of salt, but the bold and filling parts of the promise definitely sound plausible, and with Japanese folk wisdom holding that garlic is supposed to boost physical endurance, the Gyutama Stamina Mazesoba, priced at 767 yen is set to go on sale July 4, right as the midsummer heat starts showing up. Source: Yoshinoya via Hachima Kiko Images: Yoshinoya Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Yoshinoya beef ramen? Gyudon king's sister chain opens first Tokyo branch【Taste test】 -- Japan's beef bowl king, Yoshinoya, releases new line of canned, ready-to-eat beef bowls -- From beef bowl to beef pouch? Taste testing Yoshinoya's instant gyudon packs External Link © SoraNews24
Japan Today
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Donuts beyond mochi mochi: Mister Donut's new donuts are so soft they're almost drinkable
By SoraNews24 Mochi mochi is a Japanese word that can be kind of difficult to explain, but is easy to feel. It refers to a consistency that's soft and chewy, but also has a certain satisfying weightiness to it. As you can probably guess, mochi mochi is often used to describe the texture of mochi rice cakes and dumplings, but it's also an apt description for the style of donuts made by Japan's favorite donut chain, Mister Donut. With Mister Donut celebrating its 55th anniversary this year, though, they wanted to do something special, and they've created some new treats that they promise 'go beyond mochi mochi.' Called Micchurin, these new baked goods took two years to develop, and Mister Donut says the result is a texture unlike anything else they've ever offered in the half-century plus of being in business, and that it'll leave people amazed that donuts can feel like this. Looking at their slightly amorphous shape, you might be tempted to think these extra-soft and chewy donuts are just donuts that are baked for an unusually short time. That's not the case, though, as Mister Donut says the Micchurin are still fried donuts, but that their texture comes from a special coating that softens them up. And just how soft are they? Well, when we picked one up at a press preview, our fingers immediately sunk into the dough. Mind you, we weren't trying to squeeze the Micchurin. We'd picked it up with the same gentle grip we always do when handling something as precious as a donut, but even that modicum of force caused it to indent. These new donuts are so soft that it almost feels like you could drink them. There's clearly potential here for all sorts of limited-time and seasonal Micchurin flavors, but to start Mister Donut is rolling out four kinds: kinako (cinnamon-like roasted soybean powder), mitarashi (a sweet soy sauce glaze traditionally poured on mochi dumplings), azuki (sweet red bean paste), and brown sugar with warabimochi, with prices ranging from 205 to 226 yen. The Micchurin donuts are currently on sale at Mister Donut branches across Japan. Insert images: Mister Donut, SoraNews24 Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- New Mochi Cream Doughnuts from Mister Donut pay homage to Japanese confectionery -- Mister Donut's new Kyoto roasted green tea donut is a mess…in the best possible way -- Are Mister Donut's new sakura and matcha doughnuts all they've been hyped up to be? External Link © SoraNews24
Japan Today
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Today
Temple in tiny town in Japan transforms into otherworldly beauty on special summer nights
By Casey Baseel, SoraNews24 Tokoji Temple, in Gifu Prefecture, has a pretty cool backstory. The legend goes that sometime around the year 1501, a local Zen practitioner was meditating in the mountains when he heard a clap of thunder and saw a dragon rise to the heavens. Using the indisputable logic that any place where a dragon appears must be special, a Zen temple was then founded in the area, which is today part of the Gifu town of Yamagata (not to be confused with Yamagata Prefecture). Image: SoraNews24 No dragons have been spotted since then, but there are still some awesome sights to be seen at Tokoji, especially when it looks like this. Image: PR Times For a few special nights this June, Tokoji will be holding its Shinryoku, or 'New Green,' event, in which the electric lights of the temple's main hall are turned off and the illumination is instead focused on the surrounding foliage, resplendent in the vibrant green colors it just acquired in the spring. With the soft glow of lanterns giving shadowy form to the architecture and providing extra contrast with the greenery, it looks like you've stepped into another world, and Tokoji's staff knows you'll want to take pictures while you're there. During the Shinryoku event, staff will be on hand to take photos of you using your camera or smartphone, though shots of the scenery by itself is also an option, as are still-life photos of the optional refreshments, matcha green tea parfaits and chirashizushi vinegared rice made with locally sourced ingredients. In order to provide the sort of tranquil atmosphere appropriate for such beautiful scenery, reservations are required and can be made online here. There is a reservation fee of 1,000 yen per person, and the parfait and chirashizushi, should you choose to partake, are priced at 750 and 1,500 yen, respectively. The proceeds go to a good cause, though, as they'll be used to help maintain the temple, something that's becoming difficult for rural communities with shrinking populations to do. The Shinryaku event is scheduled for June 6 to 8, from 7:50 to to 10:30 nightly. Temple information Tokoji / 東光寺 Address: Gifu-ken, Yamagata-shi, Kogura 618-41 岐阜県山県市小倉６１８−４１ Website Source: PR Times, Tokoji Images: PR Times Read more stories from SoraNews24. -- Japan's submerged forest gets even more beautiful with Lake Shirakawa spring light-up event【Pics】 -- Here are five incredible places to add to your itinerary on a visit to Shimane's Izumo City -- Ekiben vending machine adds new excitement to bullet train travel in Japan External Link © SoraNews24
