Tofu soft serve

Ise, Mie

this little tofu shop was selling soy milk donuts and tofu ice cream, which was lightly flavored and had only a hint of sweetness (perfect!). the store interior was really nice, with aged wooden block flooring and a window to view the donut making process.

i had this after wandering around ise shrine.

"The heavens" soft serve

Ise, Mie

don't know the exact translation here—天空 (tenkū) can mean sky, ether, firmament, etc.—but "the heavens" seems fitting. i got this on the iseshima skyline, a scenic road that winds up a mountain. the very top has lovely views of the pacific ocean and cloud-stained sky. the ice cream itself was vanilla and the texture was melt-in-your-mouth soft. "the heavens" indeed!

Ume soft serve

Nachikatsuura, Wakayama

i was going to translate this to "plum", but apparently ume are actually apricots. my worldview is upended.

i also just learned that wakayama is japan's top producer of ume, so it's no surprise that this was good. anything ume-flavored is. i had this at nachi falls, the tallest waterfall (with a single uninterrupted drop) in japan.

Mikan soft serve

Wakayama City, Wakayama

wakayama is well-known for its mikan and other oranges, so i had to give this a try. unfortunately this was a bit of a disappointment, only because it was a sorbet and i expected more of a creamsicle. i was happy with the waffle cone, though—a break from those styrofoam-textured wafer cones, yay!

this was in wakayama marina city, near a fish market and curious european theme park.

Wakame soft serve

Naruto, Tokushima

definitely the most out-there ice cream flavor of my trip, and what a pleasant surprise it was! i had this near the ōnaruto bridge, where natural whirlpools form underneath.

the ice cream was a very pale green and the subtly-salty kelp flavor was incredible. i assume the minuscule flecks of dark green were actual bits of kelp. my favorite of the trip!

Sea salt soft serve

Hakata Island, Imabari, Ehime

my reward for cycling over a third of the shimanami kaidō, a popular island-hopping route for cyclists. a definite highlight of my trip—the scenery from those towering bridges was stunning!

this vanilla soft serve was mixed with local sea salt. a nice treat to go with a nice view.

Hassaku soft serve

Onomichi, Hiroshima

hassaku is a hybrid between pomelo and mandarin, and was one of the many citrus varieties i saw throughout my trip. the southern areas of japan have so much fresh citrus.

this was the kind of flavor and texture i was expecting of the previous mikan soft serve: citrusy without losing the cream/milk flavor. this was a sweet end to a bittersweet day, since this was the end of my roadtrip. onward to tokyo…!

Cherry blossom soft serve

Meguro, Tokyo

picked this up while strolling through the cherry blossom-lined meguro river, dappled with food stalls and live performances. i love floral flavored stuff. the chocolate wafer thing was my favorite bit.

i think this is my first time in japan during peak cherry blossom season (and i didn't plan it that way—it was entirely by chance!). the famous clusters of cherry trees are nice, of course, but happening upon lone flowering trees in random areas was like magic.

Seki milk soft serve

Chiyoda, Tokyo

i was so happy to stumble upon this little shop while wandering around one of tokyo's many under-the-train-overpass shopping areas. this ice cream is from an antenna shop1antenna shops are stores in tokyo that promote tourism and local products from specific regions outside of tokyo. here's a list! for gifu prefecture, where my family's from—and, more specifically, they're from seki city, where this soft serve's milk comes from. it was rich and creamy and felt a little like being welcome back home after a few overwhelming days in tokyo. a really lovely surprise to end on.