Spending time in Japan this summer? Or maybe you like a frosty sweet treat all year-round? Well, no matter when or where you’ll in Japan, we’ve got the ice cream for you! Uniquely Japanese treats, varieties made with special ingredients, and spectacular plating, these 16 different creamy treats are all worth a try.

Northern Japan

Let's start from the top and work our way down Japan! Northern Japan, Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, is the coldest part of the country, but it still gets warm in the summer. And thanks to famously high-quality dairy coming out of Hokkaido, the area makes some great refreshing treats.

Hokkaido: Melon and Lavender Ice Cream

Hokkaido might be known for dairy, but the island's lush fields are good for more than grazing cattle. The region is famous for its melon, and there's no better way to enjoy Hokkaido's bounty than this luxe soft-serve nestled right in a small cantaloupe half! Both the ice cream and the melon melted in our mouths. We found this at Popura Farm, in Furano, where it was a little expensive, but totally worth it.

Speaking of Furano, the area is most famous for its huge fields of lavender. So of course, you'll find some lightly fragrant and subtly purple lavender ice cream in the area as well.

▶ More things to do in Hokkaido, including Furano's famous "soup curry".

Akita: Rose-Shaped “Babahera” Ice Cream

This ice cream is an Akita street food specialty! The name, "babahera" (ババヘラ) ice cream, comes from a nickname for older women in Japanese, "baba", and the spatulas they use to spread the ice cream, "hera." These baba set up on the sidewalk and use their hera to make adorably rose-shaped cones. This one is strawberry and banana flavored!

▶ Find Akita cuisine right in Tokyo, too, at the Namahage Izakaya!

Yamagata: Rice and Cherry Ice Cream

Again we find ice cream made with local agricultural specialties, as Japan loves to do. Yamagata produces a fairly famous variety of rice in Japan, called Tsuyahime, so of course you'll find Tsuyahime soft serve there! The sweet ice cream has a bit of a savory rice grain undertone, and it's supposed to taste 100x more delicious if you dig in while soaking your feet in the footbath at Tendo Onsen!

Yamagata's Tendo City is also known for great cherries, so you'll find some cherry ice cream at the Ohsyo Fruit Farm (王将果樹園).

Ohsyo Fruit Farm doesn't skimp when it comes to its cherry ice cream parfaits!

▶ Learn more about the culture of foot spas, or "ashi-yu" (足湯)!

Eastern Japan

Next we'll be moving a little farther south, to the eastern Kanto region of Japan. Between the big city of Tokyo and the more rural surroundings, the area has plenty to offer!

Tokyo: Cookie Dough… and Ice Cream

Cookie Time was actually a brand born in New Zealand, and bubbly blondes are waiting to give you your sweet treats inside this Harajuku shop. Of course the real specialty at Cookie Time is no ordinary ice cream; they make special (safe to eat) raw cookie dough that you can get scooped into your cup alongside more standard ice creams. If you love raw cookie dough but salmonella makes you nervous, this is the place for you.

▶ If you're ready to heat things up after cooling down with your cookie dough, check out Tokyo's best spicy ramen.

Kawagoe: Purple Sweet Potato Ice Cream

This ice cream might be a simple concoction flavored by Kawagoe's local famous sweet potatoes, but it's clean appearance hides a uniquely delicious flavor. Sweet potato makes some good ice cream!

▶ Learn more about Kawagoe, and some more sweet potato treats!

Chiba: Loquat Ice Cream

Have you ever tried loquat? In Japan it goes by the name biwa (ビワ), and it's a popular fruit when it's in season. In Chiba you'll find biwa ice cream, a great chance to sample this brand new fruity flavor. It's a little reminiscent of peach, which means it goes together with ice cream about as perfectly as peaches and cream!

▶ While you're in Chiba, say hi to our marine friends for us at the Katsuura UnderSea Observatory!

Nasu: Simple Milk Ice Cream

Nasu, in Tochigi Prefecture, is another place famous for high-quality dairy in Japan. The simple ice cream you'll find there has a light milk-centric flavor, and a decadent creaminess.

We recommend you try some of the ice cream at Nasu's Momoi Ice Cream Factory (アイス工房ももい), where you'll find a whole variety of flavors, all made with local dairy.

▶ Our tour plan for Tochigi Prefecture definitely includes a trip to the ice cream factory, plus way more.

Western & Central Japan

Shizuoka: Green Tea Ice Cream

Green tea ice cream seems like a staple of Japanese sweets these days, but when you want the good stuff, head to Shizuoka. The region grows close to half of Japan's green tea, and the green tea ice cream comes in different levels of flavor-intensity! However sweet or strong you like your green tea ice cream, you'll find the perfect cone here.

▶ If green tea isn't your flavor of choice, in Shizuoka you'll find cherry-blossom sweets and wasabi steamed buns as well.

Osaka: Loooooong Ice Cream

This soft serve is piled high, which means that unfortunately, you'll sometimes find it splattered on the nearby streets of Osaka's Amerikamura area. Make sure you don't drop yours too!

It's hard to resist getting a shot of the ice cream for your instagram.

▶ Osaka is known as a city of good food, so don't miss all the must-eats while you're there!

Nagano: Wasabi and Mocha Ice Cream

Nagano is a region of strong flavors, the first of which is none other than wasabi! That's right, spice up your day with a dollop of the green stuff in your ice cream. It lends the dessert an intriguing kick.

If you're a fan of the Beatles, or you just love coffee, don't miss the mocha ice cream at Karuizawa's Mikado Coffee. They started selling the ice cream in 1969, and it's said that John Lennon was a fan, as he frequented the shop.

▶ For a fully refreshing trip, cycle around Karuizawa after your mocha ice cream.

Kyoto: Tofu Ice Cream

The addition of tofu to this ice cream lends it a luxuriantly thick texture, so much so that you can turn it over without the ice cream falling to the ground. (Although we wouldn't risk leaving it that way for too long!) It's made right near Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine, a must-see spot in Kansai.

▶ Right nearby, you'll also find the true origin of fortune cookies – they actually come from Japan!

Kanazawa: Gold Leaf Ice Cream

The name Kanazawa (金沢) even includes the kanji character for gold (金), so it's no wonder the city's famous for sweets like ice cream covered in super-thin layers or flakes of gold leaf. Indulge yourself, and try a little gold on your next ice cream cone!

▶ If you're really into the golden theme, there's a hotel in Kanazawa covered in elegant golden motifs as well.

Shodoshima: Olive and Soy Sauce Ice Cream

That's right, your eyes aren't fooling you, this is a cone of olive-flavored ice cream. Shodoshima Island is home to a famous olive orchard, where they produce artisan olive products, including this very ice cream!

Aside from that orchard, Shodoshima is also famous for its soy sauce, so keep an eye out for the soy sauce ice cream as well! Of course it's not exactly salty, but it has a subtle soy flavor that's a bit addictive.

▶ In the region you'll find all sorts of good food, from rooftile soba to rakkyo pickles.

Southern Japan

Last but not least, we find ourselves in Southern Japan, on the island of Kyushu and far south in Okinawa. With the warmer weather down south, it's the perfect region to get frozen treats any time of the year!

Okinawa: Blue Seal Ice Cream

This local ice cream chain goes by the slogan "Born in America, Raised in Okinawa," and locals say that if you're visiting Okinawa, you should have at least one Blue Seal ice cream a day! The shops sell over 100 different flavors, and some of the most popular ones are Okinawan specialties: sweet potato and shio chinsuko. The latter, shio chinsuko, refers to a salty variety of local chinsuko cookies, making it kind of a delicious Okinawan cookies and cream.

▶ Okinawa has its own distinct island culture, beautiful beaches, and great weather. You'll never want to leave!

Kagoshima: Shirokuma Shaved Ice

Our final treat isn't actually ice cream at all, but Kagoshima's shirokuma kakigori, or polar bear shaved ice! Shaved ice is a traditional summer treat in Japan, but this cute take on it gives the dessert a little bear's face. This particular kakigori has become so popular that you'll find it all over Japan now, but the best place to try it is of course the shaved ice specialty shop that created it, in Kagoshima!

▶ It's one of a few spots we recommend you see on Japan's island of Kyushu.

✴Details accurate at time of publication. Please check the official website for up-to-date information.
 

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