Love Bubble Tea? Well, So Does Japan, and They’ve Gone a Little Crazy
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CONTENTS
Bubble tea, boba, tea with tapioca pearls, whatever you want to call it, the drink has been popular all over Asia and overseas for decades now. Somehow, though, bubble tea has only started to gain a following in Japan in the past few years. But now that it’s arrived, these tapioca bubbles are making a big splash, and not just into cups of milk tea.
Making a Quick 7/11 Run? Grab a Bag of Tapioca
You know a trend has gotten big in Japan when it becomes a new limited-edition snack flavor.
For when finding a good boba spot and then (sigh) actually drinking liquid becomes too much work, you can just grab a bag of these tapioca pearls covered in milk tea-flavored chocolate.
Not Grilled Cheese, But Grilled Bubble Tea
Nineteen Tea has more than 30 locations across Korea, but only recently did its first Tokyo shop pop up. And what will you find if you walk into that Tokyo shop? "Tapioca Toast", a hot pressed sandwich filled with tapioca pearls and "milk tea jam."
Of course, no one would stand for just one flavor option when it comes to Tapioca Toast. As well as no. 17, the basic milk tea flavor sandwich, you can also get no. 18 chocolate tapioca toast, and no. 19 coconut jam tapioca toast.
19TEA
32-6 Udagawacho, Shibuya City, Tokyo
11:00 am – 11:00 pm
If Bubble Tea Were a Hot Dog, It Would Be This Pastry
At Aazai no Yatai, a restaurant dedicated to Taiwanese cuisine, you'll find the intriguing Bubble Tea Fried Bread. It's gained a fair amount of popularity after being featured on Japanese TV, and we must admit, it looks tempting.
The bread is steamed and then deep-fried, before being cut open and filled with whipped cream and tapioca pearls tasting of brown sugar.
Then, of course, it's topped with a heart-shaped pink marshmallow.
Aazai no Yatai
1-20-5 Hyakunincho, Shinjuku City, Tokyo
Chilled Milk Bubble Tea… Ramen
That's right, you saw the words written in the title. This limited edition ramen is for real. This summer, Menya Musashi, a Tokyo ramen spot, started offering a limited 15 bowls of the chilled tapioca tsukemen each day during June. The dish did so well, they had to extend the promotion.
Of course the bowl of broth? milk tea? bubble tea soup? which is normally just for dipping noodles also came with a straw, for that satisfying traditional bubble tea experience.
Use a spoon and you'll get a whole mouthful of pearls, though. They go perfect with noodles??
According to reviews, it's actually a pretty good dish of tsukemen! The soup is made with milk, soy milk, and earl grey tea (!), lending it a light tea flavor while still leaving it with lots of savory umami.
Menya Musashi Gorindo
5-29-1 Shiba, Minato City, Tokyo
(Mon ~ Sat) 11:00 am – 10:00 pm
The Bizzare Trend of Tapioca Cup Noodles
Once upon a time on the Japanese internet, a man decided to try to make his own rendition of the fabled "bubble tea ramen." Unfortunately, this man was no magical ramen expert or restaurant owner, and so he decided to set his sights a little lower. Let us tell you the brief story of Japanese netizen Nojuma, and his adventures in ramen creation.
Since tapioca is a recent trend in Japan, the idea that you might just be able to pick some up seems unlikely to your average resident of the country. Nojuma, however, said that he started seeing it everywhere when he started looking. Normal supermarket, international import stores, the internet… tapioca pearls are not actually that rare.
Tapioca takes a little too long to cook for it to just be thrown into a styrofoam cup for a minute, so he started by boiling the pearls in a pot.
But then, the moment of truth! Our friend Nojuma prepared his cup noodles with added tapioca, mixed it up with an appropriately sized bubble tea straw, and gave it a taste…
Sounds like it was fine? Nojuma comments that the tapioca was a fun little accent, and that it made him want to carry the cup (with straw) around his neighborhood and take pictures for instagram. I guess tapioca on its own isn't particularly flavorful though!
Flowing Water Brings Flowing Bubble Tea?
Well, there's no tea involved here, although… there could be?
If the video below leaves you feeling a little lost (what is that machine and what is going on?), you first have to learn a little about traditional Japanese culinary culture. During the summer, noodles called somen are a popular dish, as they're eaten chilled with a dipping sauce. To keep the noodles cool, and keep them from sticking together, "nagashi somen" (流しそうめん, "flowing somen") is a fun serving style where the noodles are kept moving through running cold water. That can be along traditional bamboo pipes, or a compact modern machine like the one you see here.
For whatever reason, doing the same thing with loose tapioca pearls apparently seems like a good idea in Japan.
タピオカ流しですが豆つかむより難しかったです
流行るわけねーだろ！！！ pic.twitter.com/q9wIuxYJX2— 美少女jsねくろのみこん (@nekuro_ruruie) 2019年6月18日
Welcome to Japan, the game has begun. Compete against your friends and family as you try to capture a single pearl: this is war!
Considering how much difficulty this poor twitter user is having, we don't actually recommend you try this at home.
But do consider searching for some of Japan's most unique bubble tea creations when you visit next! You never know what you'll find here.
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NAME:Bubble Tea Shops Around Japan
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Nara Prefecture's important history reaches back to 710, a time now called the Nara era, when it was once capital of Japan. Called "Heijo-kyo" during its time as a capital, it's said that nara was once the end of the silk road, leading it to flourish as a uniquely international region and produce important cultural properties of all kinds. To make the most of each season, travelers head to Nara Park, where the Nara deer who wander freely, or climb Mount Yoshino, a famous cherry blossom spot.
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Osaka is known for friendly (and funny) people, but its history is nothing to laugh at, playing a major part in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's 16th century unification of Japan. Thanks to long years of economic activity, it's one of Japan's biggest cities, and Osaka's popular food culture earned it the nickname "The Kitchen of the Nation." To this day Osaka is the model of western Japan, and alongside historic structures like Osaka Castle, it also has major shopping malls like Umeda's Grand Front Osaka and Tennoji's Abeno Harukas. Osaka is a place to eat, eat, eat, with local specialties like takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and kushi-katsu, and for extra fun, it's home to Universal Studios Japan.
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CHUGOKU
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The Chugoku Region (中国地方) consists of five prefectures: Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In Chugoku you’ll find the sand dunes of Tottori, and Hiroshima’s atomic bomb site, plus centers of ancient history like Grand Shrine of Izumo.
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HIROSHIMA
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Hiroshima Prefecture has everything, from world heritage sites to beautiful nature and delicious local cuisine, and it's either an hour and a half from Tokyo by plane, or four hours by train. Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island and the Atomic Bomb Dome, two Hiroshima UNESCO sites, are famous around the world, but in Japan it's also famous for food. Seafood from the Seto Inland Sea, especially oysters, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, and Setouchi lemons are all popular, and the natural scenery alone is worth seeing.
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SHIKOKU
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On the other side of the Seto Inland Sea opposite Japan’s main island, Shikoku (四国) is a region made up of four prefectures: Ehime, Kagawa, Kochi, and Tokushima. The area is famous for its udon (in Kagawa), and the beautiful Dogo Onsen hot springs (in Ehime).
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KAGAWA
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Kagawa Prefecture is on the northern part of the island of Shikoku, facing Japan's main island and the Seto Inland Sea. It's known for being the smallest prefecture in Japan, by area, but at the same time Kagawa is called the "Udon Prefecture" thanks to its famous sanuki udon. Aside from Kotohiragu Shrine and Ritsurin Garden, the prefecture's small islands are popular, and Kagawa is full of unique destinations, like Angel Road. They say that if you lay eyes on Zenigata Sunae, a huge Kagawa sand painting, you'll never have money troubles ever again.
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KYUSHU
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Located in the most southwestern part of Japan, Kyushu (九州) is an island of 7 prefectures: Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima. The island's unique culture has been influenced by Chinese and Dutch trade, along with missionaries coming in through Nagasaki's port. Modern-day travelers love the lush natural scenery and fresh food, plus the natural hot springs found all throughout the area (thanks to volcanic activity)!
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FUKUOKA
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Fukuoka Prefecture has the highest population on the southern island of Kyushu, with two major cities: Fukuoka and Kitakyushu. Thanks to growing transportation networks, Fukuoka is more accessible than ever, and so are the many local attractions. On top of historical spots like Dazaifu Tenmangu Shrine, travelers shouldn't miss Fukuoka's food scene, with motsu nabe (offal hotpot), mentaiko (spicy cod roe), and famous Hakata ramen―best eaten from a food stall in the Nakasu area of Hakata. Plus, it's full of all sorts of destinations for travelers, like trendy shopping centers, and the beautiful nature of Itoshima and Yanagawa.
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KAGOSHIMA
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Kagoshima Prefecture played a major role in Japan's modernization as a backdrop for famous historical figures like samurais Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, who pushed Japan out of the Edo era and into the Meiji. Because of that, Sengan-en Garden is just one of many historical destinations, and when it comes to attractions Kagoshima has plenty: the active volcano of Sakurajima, popular hot springs Ibusuki Onsen and Kirishima Onsen, World Heritage Site Yakushima Island, even what Japan calls the "island closest to heaven," Amami Oshima. Kagoshima might be found on the very southernmost tip of the southern island of Kyushu, but there's plenty to see.
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OKINAWA
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The island chain of Okinawa (沖縄) makes up the southernmost tip of Japan, which is why it's also the most tropical area in the country. Thanks to a history of independence and totally distinct political and cultural events, Okinawa has a unique culture, and remnants of the Ryukyu Kingdom are still visible all over the islands. Food, language, traditional dress, it's all a little different! It's also said to be the birthplace of karate.
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