Founded in 1948 at a US military base in Okinawa, Blue Seal has since become a favourite ice cream brand throughout Japan. The 30 or so flavours come from an ‘orange book’ that contains the company’s secret recipes, though they do explain that the unique, smooth texture comes from the plant oils the ice cream is prepared with.
This outpost in Ebisu Garden Place offers a range of sweet things besides ice cream, including over 30 kinds of crêpes (both sweet and savoury), tapioca drinks, and soft serve sundaes. There’s a lot to entice, but the best treats are the classic Okinawan ice cream flavours. The Okinawa ta-imo cheesecake ice cream pairs excellently with a scoop of shio-chinsuko (Okinawan salt cookie). Both flavours are sweet, mild and totally delicious.