home > news > VIZBlog

posted 3-13-2008 11:50 AM by Ho Lin
Japan blog entry: Otaru, Part 1

The Japanese don't do anything halfway. Case in point: ice cream.

This is Otaru, a charming little canal town on the Hokkaido coast, half an hour from Sapporo by train. Back in the 19th century it used to be the "Wall Street of the North," and J-drama fans know that the classic romance "Love Letter" was filmed here. But more importantly, this is where you get the ice cream, at Hokkaido Ice Cream Ya-San.



Not only are we talking more than 31 flavors, we're talking every conceivable taste you can think of. "Potato butter." "Kimchee." "Squid." "Sesame." "Cream cheese." "Ocean collagen." And the ever-mysterious "coenzyme Q 10."



I was somewhat cowed by the abundance of unusual, um, flavors, so I hedged my bets and had a scoop of "squid" on top of one scoop of "white peach."



The verdict? The peach was delightful as expected, the squid was light, milky, slighty sweet -- with just the barest aftertaste of fishiness. I could get used to this. Next up is the "liquar sake" ...

send feedback to Ho Lin

view all posts