Here is a list of True Things About Japan:

1. High school girls in Tokyo are capable of wearing short skirts and knee-high socks at 3 degrees Celsius.
2. There are religious cult groups disguised as soccer clubs at certain Japanese universities that shall remain unnamed.
3. Japan’s favourite word is gentei.（限定）

The last one may be a slight exaggeration, but I am becoming convinced that that’s how the Japanese economy hasn’t completely tanked yet – it’s being propped up by the sheer volume of sales made on gentei items. Gentei means ‘limited edition’, and you can find them everywhere. In particular, this is how the Japanese anime market stays afloat. You like a certain series? Oh, there’s a gentei keychain featuring this character, and you’ll have to pay 800 yen for a special festival ticket so you can have the privilege of queuing up with 4531 other fans for two hours to pay another 3500 yen for the actual keychain. (Yes, I’ve done that. Not that I’m complaining, really) So I bet this is how the chocolate industry makes its money: All The Goddamn Gentei Candy.

Seasonal products are big in Japan. You can learn a surprising amount about seasonality just by watching candy turnover on convenience store shelves. During the summer it was all about fruit flavours. Along with autumn came a slew of chestnut and pumpkin products – Japan, surprisingly, gets the Halloween spirit down pat. And you know it’s winter when they start dotting the packaging with snowflakes…

…which brings me to some of my favourite chocolate in the world, ever. Behold the Meltykiss. Or Meltykisses, as it were. My first memory of them is actually my Year 7 English teacher mentioning that they were some of the best things he’d ever tasted in Japan – trust that remark to have stayed in my head all these years.

The matcha Meltykisses pictured above are part of meiji’s gentei (of course) chocolate winter campaign, the ad for which you can watch here (pretty girl sings about a winter’s kiss being melt-in-the-mouth like snow). They revamped and ‘winterized’ their usual milk chocolate and strawberry flavours for the seasonal sales, but since I am a Sucker For All Things Matcha, I’ve ignored those in favour of this.

True to standard Meltykiss packaging, it’s a stylish box, appropriately wintery with its pale green colouring, gold snowflakes, and gold ribbon proclaiming ‘Limited Winter Edition’. But the best part is, obviously, what’s inside.

‘Melt-in-your-mouth’ is kind of a cliche that’s applied willy-nilly to every other chocolate on the planet, but… there’s a reason it’s called Meltykiss. It really does melt in your mouth. Each individually-wrapped Meltykiss is a cocoa-dusted cube that disappears all too quickly when you put it into your mouth. With this, you first encounter a smooth, unctuous dark chocolate coating. After that melts you meet the matcha center. It’s a gorgeously restrained, barely there sweetness verging on the point of almost too bitter, like drinking a very fine matcha in chocolate form. And then it’s gone, at which point you will unwrap another, and yet another, until it’s all gone.

Seriously recommended for all green tea lovers, except those like N who abhor all such bastardised forms and only drink matcha in tea ceremony-style settings. Pfft.

Enter the kinako, or soy nut Meltykiss. My first thought when I spotted this at Lawson’s was: who the hell woke up and farted this colour scheme? It looked like someone threw darts at a screencap of The Festival of Fools, took the colour swatches and called it a day. But I guess a soybean-coloured box would have looked too boring on the shelves. Pink for strawberry, green for matcha, beige…sand…for soy nuts. Live in Japan long enough, and weird ad campaigns just become part of your normal train ride. Like this fried chicken ad for Family Mart. But I digress.

This seems to be a very new product. Right now, it’s not even on meiji’s website yet – that’s how new it is. But I hope it stays on the shelves for a while, because it is amazing. You begin with that same smooth dark chocolate exterior, and it yields to a nutty kinako interior – imagine a sublime blend of roasted nuts and coffee notes, and that’s where we are. Again, they’ve a light hand with the sugar levels in this, which really allows the nuttiness and the bitterness of the dark chocolate to come through. A fine, fine piece of work this is.

Has there ever been a case where a gentei chocolate was so popular that the companies just had to keep it on the shelves? I’m not sure. But feel free to enlighten me. In any case, this makes me very sad, because I like these Meltykisses a lot. Enough to have stocked up on several boxes (the exact number is a secret) before they disappear from the shelves. Enough to have shared the joy with some friends in America, one of whom reported having eaten half a box within a day.

My local Seiyu was selling the matcha, strawberry and milk chocolate Meltykisses for 187 yen a box some weeks back, but have since jacked the price per box up to 218 yen; most convenience stores, on the other hand, are selling them at the standard price of 258 yen. Do yourself a favour and find a supermarket – or the Higuchi pharmacies, currently selling them for 198 yen a pop.

In conclusion, damn Japan and its fucking delicious gentei chocolate. Next installment: Limited Edition Sasha Uji Matcha Chocolate. Stay tuned.

When I went to the bakery yesterday, the head baker apologetically told me all the grape bread had sold out. Apparently, I’m not the only person in the area who has an addiction to limited edition bread. ^^;;
The grape bread comes in two varieties, a mini loaf of standard raisin bread, and melon pan shaped like a bunch of grapes. I raced over today after work, and managed to grab two grape melon pans from the shelf just before a neighborhood granny purchased the rest of the stock.

Melon pan is a popular type of bakery bread which is covered in a layer of cookie like crust. This melon pan consisted of small balls of fluffy bread studded with giant Kyoho raisins, arranged like a bunch of grapes, covered in a grape flavored cookie crust and decorated with a pretzel stick as the stem. A bite revealed the inner bread to be nearly as purple in color as the cookie crust.

The melon has a real grape aroma and color which is pleasantly purple without the use of artificial food coloring. The soft bread goes very well with the slightly crunchy cookie top, and the raisins add just the right amount of sweetness without becoming cloying. I am actually really picky about melon pan, and won’t eat one if the cookie part has lost it’s crunch. (crunchy things should be crunchy!)

If I can ever manage to get to the bakery again while it still has these lovelies in stock, I would definitely buy it again! (back away from my grape melon pan, granny!)

B’langere Marche @ Yamanashi City, Yamanashi, Japan

In the states, I never really paid attention to limited edition things, because if whatever it was ended up being popular enough, most companies would put it on their permanent rotation. One of the most frustrating things about Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores is popularity doesn’t seem to matter, and I inevitably fall head over heels over some snack or drink that is fated never to return again. (I’m still mourning the loss of shiso flavored potato chips from 2 years ago)

Limited edition can mean several things, kikangentei 期間限定 limited time, suuryougentei 数量限定　limited quantity, or chiikigentei 地域限定　limited by area. The last one is particularly made to torture me. Somehow knowing that the product still exists , but I can’t purchase it makes it that much worse, and makes me want to hunt for that elusive item whenever I am travelling in hopes of finding it.

Case in point, Kanto Tochigi Lemon Milk.

A drink that confusingly contains neither lemon or milk, Lemon Milk tastes uncannily like the cereal milk after eating Lucky Charms. It’s kind of nostalgic, vaguely citrus tasting without any tang. I don’t even like Lucky Charms cereal all that much, but the lemony yet not lemon taste of Lemon Milk is addictive.

My local supermarket had a “Tochigi Fair”, in which they imported Tochigi specialties, such as Lemon Milk, for a week. Unfortunately, it usually can’t be purchased outside of Tochigi prefecture, so when Tochigi week ended at the market, so did my access to Lemon Milk.
I actually tried to talk friends into rerouting a road trip up north this summer to go through Tochigi, with the express purpose of obtaining more Lemon Milk. (We found it, after stopping at nearly every parking area and service station between Tochigi and Fukushima. Yes, I have very nice friends who indulge my crazy food obsessions.)

Gentei is currently having their largest fall flea market like ever right now until October 9.

Wait, it gets better on Sunday, October 10, Gentei is having a block party from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Also, the return of the alley cat race that will start at 12 p.m. so bring your bikes with you and shop. It’s a $5 entry fee.

NATTY PAINT  T-SHIRT SALE

Here’s something for guys and gals to enjoy together. Natty Paint currently has a T-Shirt sale going on until October 31.

There are T-shirts for $12 and tanks for $10.I adore Natty Paint T-shirts because they are comfy, fun, and unique.

(Photo from Natty Paint).

Go to Natty Paint’s website now and buy.

SOUTH MOON UNDER FITTING ROOM SALE

Today until Sunday, South Moon Under will have their Try em’, Buy em’” sale for DL1961.

If you TRY a pair and you can enter to win a $75 Gift Card to South Moon Under.

If you BUY a pair and you enter to win a $150 Gift Card to South Moon Under.

(Photo from South Moon Under).

You can participate online as well. Just purchase a pair of DL1961 jeans online and you will be entered to win a $150 Gift Card to South Moon Under.

EARLY VU SKATEBOARD SHOP EVENT ALERT

As I mentioned earlier this week, I like guys with skateboards. The coolest skateboard shop in Baltimore has to be VU Skateboard Shop.

On Tuesday, October 12 at 4 p.m., the Habitat Team will make an in store appearance! If you buy a skateboard, you get 40 percent off of Habitat Shoes. So, Baltimore skaters this is an event you do not want to miss.

It’s like no other shop I have seen in Baltimore for men’s clothing. There’s a motorcycle in the center of the shop, skateboards hanging on the wall, and a bike shop right next to it.

The Gentei Crew (From Left to Right) Ben Hittle, Matt Leberman, Oliver Jones, and Eugene Hood

Gentei has been bringing one of a kind Japanese pieces and the street wear to Baltimore for five years.

The man behind this unique shop is Oliver Jones. The tattooed clad Jones builds custom bikes and even sell his own line Cut Rate at his shop.

I talked to Tammy Lee, an employee apart of Gentei crew, about this cool shop for men’s clothing.

What do you think makes costumers come to Gentei?

We have people that come from out of town to specifically Baltimore to shop here. There’s like a worldwide fan base of the shop. Oliver used to live in Japan and have a close tie to Japan. He just got back from Japan a few days ago. Like half of his store is Japanese brand and the other half is street wear stuff. We are the only place that sells stuff like that.

What does Oliver look for when looking for brands for Gentei?

Oliver has his own sense of what he thinks is going to do well. He is always looking six months to a year ahead. He has like a six sense about what will do well and what his customers will want.

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Gentei is more than a clothing store. It’s a lifestyle. What other ways are Gentei involved in Baltimore?

We do a lot of bike stuff. We have to drag races in the fall and spring. We have been doing one lately. We try to provide entertainment for people. We want it to be a community and get our subculture out there. The store used to be hip-hop oriented, but I think we are moving to a motorcycle culture.

P.S.  I must say the dudes that work at this clothing shop are nice eye candy. What girl doesn’t like guys that ride bikes, and skate?

SPRING FLEA MARKET ALERT

Follow them on Twitter or friend them on Facebook. Gentei is located at 1010 Morton St. Baltimore, MD. The second location is 22 West Allegheny #102 Towson, MD 21204.

Mangaka: Kisaragi Hirotaka

Genre: Drama, Romance, Yaoi

Publisher: Kadokawa Shoten

Magazine: Ciel

A week ago, Souichirou’s father passed away. He also learned that he has two older brothers, Masato and Kaname. However, there is a condition on whom will inherit their father’s house. The house will be given to the person that stays till the end of one month. When Souichirou arrived in their house one day, he found his brothers making out! What will he do now that he wants to run away but he also want to inherit the house?!

The bars feature a 2.25″ drop, heavy-duty construction, and premium-quality glossy paint.

get them here

Have fun.

Met a friend for dinner tonight, we went to a sushi place near my apartment. Never have I ever in my life gone to a sushi place that did NOT have wasabi. No wasabi. I’m dead serious. I do know that sushi chefs think that the amount of wasabi they add to sushi is the correct amount and no more is necessary. However there was no wasabi as a condiment nor in the sushi itself! Odd. Was delish though and I would so go back again. The staff was so friendly too!

St. Pattie’s is this weekend. Debauchery shall ensue, I am sure. It seems like everyone in my life here is pairing up with someone of late. *sigh* I prefer being single to settling for the first thing with a pulse to glance my way. A tough statement to make when residing here. See most western men want Japanese women, not western women. Japanese women adore western men here. There aren’t so many Japanese men who want western women. There’s also the issue of language barriers. So being a western woman here often means way fewer options. Most of us western women here are single. Ever hear of Charisma Man? Where am I heading with all this? It’s been a while. I broke up with someone back in September, one week after a trip to France with him to meet his parents. It was nice to be single for a bit, I was much calmer. Happier. But right now it’s beginning to feel more like I’m in a man drought here. I’ve never gone this long without even dating someone just casually and somehow it feels magnified. It’s time. I’m all for festivities that call for much drinking and a bit of smooching. The Irish heritage is evident with my red hair, blue eyes and pale skin. So I plan to work the “kiss someone Irish for good luck” angle. Let’s see what happens, shall we? Last year’s St Pattie’s was highly successful if I do recall. I was fresh off the plane then too.

Delicious discovery of the day: Mikan Kit Kats. Yum! These are “gentei” or “limited time” goods. Japan loves its gentei items. In America, a company will introduce something as “limited time only”, but if it proves to be popular enough they’ll keep it around. However, in Japan, no matter how popular it is, if it’s gentei it’s only here for a short time. The tastiest stuff in Japan is always gentei! Sometimes, a gentei item might come back, but most of the gentei is seasonal so you’d have to wait a whole year before its available again. I’ve been trying to eat less junk but it’s tough when you live in a junk food haven of the most amazing things like Green Tea Kit Kats (summer) or Wasabi Doritos (this past winter). Do I resist it completely or just try it as a treat? Will it be back again? What if I like it? Maybe I’ll never have it again! Oh no!

One the bright side, since I’ve started eating more fruits and vegetables I’ve noticed junk food doesn’t taste so good anymore. I used to love candy but not so much anymore. I reach for fruit now. Ice cream has lost its appeal to me. I just don’t want any of that so much anymore.