Nothing says summer in Japan quite like watermelons, and it doesn’t have to be one of those incredible square ones. Heck, you’ve almost certainly seen an anime episode where the characters try break a watermelon on the beach during summer vacation and end up getting into some serious shenanigans!
Now that it’s August, though, autumn isn’t that far off in the distance, so we’re here to celebrate the end of summer with these amazing watermelon-inspired sweets in Japan!
1. Yaguma Dango has created an adorable dango replica of the real thing!
The pink dango inside are sweetened with actual watermelon juices and have black sesame seeds to complete the illusion of itty bitty watermelons, and chocolate is used for the stripes on the outside!
2. The What-a-Melon Soft Serve at Dominique Ansel is causing serious watermelon cravings worldwide…
With the What-a-Melon Soft Serve ice cream sandwich at Dominique Ansel Bakery Japan, you get an actual slice of juicy watermelon that sandwiches soft and sweet watermelon-flavored soft serve ice cream in the middle~ This one is just perfect for keeping cool in the summer!
3. Shinshinsha ~Cafe & Pottery School~’s shaved ice even looks like the real thing!
Speaking of keeping cool, you can’t go wrong with some shaved ice! The Shinshinsha cafe and pottery school has all sorts of unique shaved ice flavors, but in honor of summer, they also have an elegant watermelon flavor! It uses raisins for the seeds and has a bit of a red wine flavor that makes this a special treat.
4. You’ll want to steal away this adorable manju at Kozakuraya Kazukiya…
Our 4th confection of the day are these Suika Dorobou, or Watermelon Thieves. These are watermelon manju, each of which is painstakingly hand-painted and filled with watermelon-flavored red bean jam! Yum!
5. Get a taste of refreshing watermelon jelly at Ryoguchiya Korekiyo.
Next up are the watermelon Kingyokukan from Ryoguchiya Korekiyo! These have a jelly texture and are made using sweet agar jelly, but the most striking parts are those stripes and the seeds! The watermelon flavor is just slightly sweet, but they also have a refreshing lemon flavor and a lightly scented white peach flavor!
6. Bread doesn’t have to be boring – at Kikuchiya, it’s deliciously watermelon-y!
This watermelon bread from Kikuchiya looks just like a watermelon when you slice it into a triangle – so much so that it might feel weird to eat the green edge! This one isn’t actually watermelon-flavored, though – instead, it has a strawberry flavor with little bits of chocolate for the seeds.
7. The beloved Japanese chocolate Tirol has gone full watermelon!
Last but not least are these watermelon-flavored Tirol chocolates with Hakata salt! You’re supposed to sprinkle the salt on top and bite into the chocolate to find fluffy marshmallow and watermelon sauce for a totally unique experience. Even the packaging is cute! ♬
Sure, there’s nothing wrong with a fresh and juicy slice of watermelon, but these treats are just out of this world~ Here’s hoping fall will have some incredible sweets in store, as well!
This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article.