Category: Food

I mailed Zoffy.

I went to Daiso and bought all their rolls of Kraft paper and a couple of types of packing tape, and spent two hours last night wrapping him up and reinforces the edges and corners. I had read shopping had changed since I was here last but the process didn’t seem different, and since I did the customs form online in advance the entire process went very smoothly.

This was at the head post office right next to Tokyo station. This was convenient since one of my goals today was to go to the souvenir food hall in Tokyo station and get some food to bring back. I succeeded (in spades), and by 11 I was back in Akihabara.

As I walked toward my intended lunch, a man gave me two stickers! Freebies like this are common in Akihabara since there is always some new game or anime being promoted.

Around mid-afternoon the rains came in, and the umbrellas appeared out of nowhere. I’d done enough shopping for the day and ducked into Hirose to play retro shooters for a time:

I ended up playing one game more than all the others, but that’ll get a dedicated post soon enough. Most of the retro cabs at Hirose are popular, and it being Saturday the place was particular busy today. Noisy as it was though it still beat walking in the rain.

I also did hours of packing today, and there’s just enough space left for me to squeeze a few other items in. Guess I’ll be doing some more shopping tomorrow! 🙂

‘Melon bread’ is a sweet bread popular in Japan. It’s a soft roll covered with a very thin coat of icing, and is a staple at bakeries and convenience stores (konbini). An Australian equivalent would be a finger bun, although melonpan have less icing. I’ve tried versions from konbini chains and here’s my opinions in reverse order of quality.

The New Days version of melon bread was disappointing. Not only is it weirdly yellow and unattractive, the bread itself was very dry and hard, and the icing layer almost tasteless. This konbini is operated by the rail company JR East, and they should be ashamed of their weak melonpan!

This one is from the Hokkaido konbini called Seicomart. Again, I was disappointed. It’s more visually appealing than the previous one, but the bread was again too dry and the icing layer was weirdly powdery. I was hot and tired when I bought this one, and even with a drink in my other hand could barely stuff it down.

This is the 7-11 version, and certainly had the most extreme appearance. It resembles a grenade more than a melon to me! This one conflicted me since the bread was fluffy and delicious but the icing was lacking because it wasn’t sweet enough. I feel the icing is the most important part of melonpan so regardless of the high bread quality this ultimately disappointed.

Family Mart delivered with their version. The bread was soft and fluffy and had a hint of butter taste (like a croissant) and the icing was just crisp enough without being overpowering. This was a fantastic product and could have easily taken the top spot!

But ultimately my favourite of the five was this Lawson version. It’s everything the Family Mart one was only very slightly better, and what gave it the win in my eye was the deliciously sweet taste of the icing, and the fact it had just the right level of crispness despite being so thin as to be almost invisible! If you’re going to buy only one melonpan, I’d suggest the Lawson version.

I’ll add that the melonpan from the ‘big three’ konbini (7-11, Family Mart and Lawson) are all good, so don’t be afraid to try any next time you’re in Japan.