4 local Kakigori(Japanese shaved ice)

Summer in Japan is very hot. It is humid and muggy.

That is why cool and refreshing sweets are popular in summer.

Kakigori, or Japanese shaved ice, is a typical summer treat.

Such is Kakigori, but in fact there are “local Kakigori” in various parts of Japan.

Today I will talk about four local kakigori that you must try when you travel.

1.Akafuku-gori(Mie)

Akafuku(赤福) is a famous confectionery in Mie Prefecture.

This is Akafuku, a famous Mie confectionery.A Japanese confectionery made by wrapping mochi (rice cake) in koshian (sweetened red bean paste).

“Akafukugori” is such Akafuku placed in shaved ice and topped with green tea honey.

They sell it only in summer. The cool texture, rich green tea, and moderately sweet red bean paste are very well balanced.There’s a rice cake in it, too, which is very satisfying!

It is often sold in “Okage Yokocho” on the way to “Ise Jingu”, a famous tourist attraction in Mie Prefecture, so if you find it, try it!

2.Milkshake Kakigori (Nagasaki)

Milkshakes were originally invented from an English drink called “eggnog,” a cocktail made with eggs and milk.
It was introduced to Japan with Western culture around 1860.

Milkshake Kakigori began when a man who owned a coffee shop in Nagasaki Prefecture rearranged milkshakes imported from the West and made them shaved ice style.

The city of Nagasaki has many slopes, and he got the idea from seeing Nagasaki people sweating from going up and down them every day.

They are often sold at coffee shops and Japanese confectionery shops in Nagasaki Prefecture during the summer.

In Japanese, it is called “eating milkshake(食べるミルクセーキ)”.I haven’t had it yet, and it is one of the Kakigori I would definitely like to try when I go there.

3.Shirokuma(Kagoshima)

Shirokuma, a specialty of Kagoshima Prefecture, is a kakigori made by pouring condensed milk over shaved ice and topping it with fruit such as cherries and pineapple.

Shirokuma translates directly to white bear.

There are a number of theories as to why the name came about: the first is that it was derived from an illustration of a Kakigori white bear that was sold around 1932. Another is that the founder of the coffee shop named it Shirokuma because he thought it “looked like a white bear” when he created the Kakigori.

Shirokuma can be found in coffee shops in Kagoshima Prefecture, and is also sold as “ice cream” in supermarkets and convenience stores.

4.Okinawa zenzai(Okinawa)

“Okinawa Zenzai” is a dish of kintoki-mame (kidney beans) boiled in brown sugar or other ingredients, chilled, placed in a bowl, and covered with ice.

In fact, the word “zenzai” generally brings to mind Japanese people thinking of sweetened azuki beans topped with a white dumpling.

This is also the image that comes to mind when I hear the word “Zenzai”.

Okinawa Zenzai has a fairly rustic flavor. The mild flavor of brown sugar and the cold ice cools me down.

It is a taste that can only be found in Okinawa, so be sure to try it when you go there.

Summer in Japan is really hot, so please enjoy sightseeing while taking a rest at a café.

Take frequent hydration!