As the weather starts to warm up, Japan goes into a mint chocolate craze, where you’ll find this seasonal flavour in everything from ice cream and chocolate to drinks and cookies.
Perhaps it’s the feeling that mint is refreshing and can help cool you down from the heat. Whatever the reason, mint chocolate is a warm weather highlight in Tokyo that you can’t miss. Here are some of the lip-smacking mint chocolate treats we’ve discovered at our local snack shops and convenience stores to get us through the season.
Royce chocolates
Royce is known for its decadent nama raw chocolates which melt in your mouth and come in countless flavours. This summer, the brand is releasing a special chocolate mint version featuring a layer of refreshing mint stacked on top of a layer of bittersweet cacao. A box of 20 pieces can be ordered online. ¥821
512 Cafe canelés
This petite French pastry gets a minty upgrade thanks to 512 Cafe. This special version is made with a fragrant mint extract and topped with mint-flavoured white chocolate icing. The canelés can be ordered online along with the cafe’s popular chocolate mint bread (¥2,700). Set of five canelés for ¥1,782
Café de Crié mint chocolate Sorbege
Café de Crié’s popular mint chocolate frappe features a housemade mint ice cream which took the café two years to develop. The drink comes in three varieties depending on the level of mint you prefer. You can also add on additional toppings like chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. From ¥580
Choco Mint Gari Gari Kun
A classic Tokyo treat, Gari Gari Kun ice pops always have seasonal offerings, and we can’t get enough of the mint chocolate version that's made a comeback to our konbini freezers. This year, the ice pop has collaborated with Ultraman and features a hidden sliver of chocolate. The phrase gari gari is actually an onomatopoeia for to a hard, firm crunch. The centre of this popsicle is filled with small ice bits – kind of like the ice you’d find in a snow cone – laced with chocolate pieces. Expect a refreshing mouthfeel from the mint. ¥151
Mint KitKats
We’ve always got KitKat’s latest flavours on our radar, and it’s no surprise that the brand has brought back the minty version this season. You'll be able to pick up bags of mini KitKats at stores in Japan as well as online.
Papabubble chocolate mint specialty shop
Mint chocolate fiends will not want to miss Papabubble at Daimaru Tokyo – the candy outpost has turned into a dedicated mint choco shop just for the summer. In the store, you'll find 33 different chocolate mint flavoured sweets and desserts such as candy, marshmallows and rocky road bars.
This article was originally published on May 18 2020 and updated on June 29 2022.
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