It's Friday. Thank god it's Friday.
It's high time I updated my English blog ...
By the way, which ice cream shop do you think I had these ice cream flavors?
Well, my honey knows 
And I guess some of you might have tried the same flavors at the store.
I'll give you a hint ... they sing while they make ice cream. 
The brand was orginally born in America. 
In Japan, they have stores mainly in Kanto region. They seem to have had more locations all over Japan many years ago, many of which shut down later for some reason.
Today, I'll write about them and other ice cream brands as well.
At first, I thought I was going to write about grand and dinner menus of Eggs 'n Things in Japan that were renewed around March this year. But, to be honest, I'm very angry about something and that has changed my mind ... I'd say I shoudn't say "I'm angry at someone", haha. But I'm serious.
My hon knows what it means ... Well, that doesn't mean I'm angry with my hon.
Anyway, if I write about the menus of Eggs 'n Things right now, I may write about something I shouldn't mention here, so instead, I'll write about ice cream, which is a perfect topic for summer.
Well, Eggs 'n Things has ice cream toppings, too; Vanilla Ice Cream and Acai Ice Cream.
Congratuｌations on opening new stores in Asian countries. 
One in Singapore last year, another in Taiwan this year. Strictly speaking, the former opened on December 19, 2017, while the latter opens on July 20, 2018, which means today.
Well, I'll update this blog post later and tomorrow as well. I'll add other photos, too. I updated it and added new pictures. Check it out.
So, first, the original topic ...
Did you figure out which ice cream store?
Yep, "COLD STONE CREAMERY" The brand was born in America; COLD STONE CREAMERY
Well, to tell the truth, I don't know how to react while they're singing, haha. But I don't wanna tell them not to.
This is "Brilliant Apple," one of their seasonal flavors. I think it's only available here in Japan. It was refreshing and really good.
I had this seasonal flaver at the begining of June this year, so I'm not sure whether they're still doing this or not. I guess some of their stores still have.
I had "Brilliant Apple" in Tokyo Skytree. The male store manager there recommended the flavor and told me he thought this one was the best among the seasonal flavors they were offering then. He also told me he was once working part-time in its Roppongi location and was sorry for the store closure. Cold Stone Creamery opened its first Japanese location in Roppongi, Tokyo.
Actually, I hadn't been to Cold Stone for a long time. You know what? I remember I went to their very 1st locaion in Japan, which opened in Roppongi, Tokyo, as I've just mentioned. I was a university student at the time, and I went there with my friends I met in a girls' dormitory. I guess we went there a few months after it opened and became a hot topic. We stood in a long line. I googled it when its Roppongi store opened, and it was in 2005, so I was a freshman at that time.
"Strawberry Shortcake Serenade".
This is the most popular flavor of COLD STONE CREAMERY in Japan, they say.
It was great. I guess some feel it's too sweet, though. It was like eating strawberry shortcake but it sure was ice cream. Though Cold Stone's ice cream seems a little expensive in general, I think it's worth having.
"Chewy in Green Tea."
It was also tasty. It was more refreshing than I'd expected. It includes a traditional Japanese sweet called Gyuhi, or soft mochi, and I really like the combination of Gyuhi and Matcha. It's delicious, and it looks beautiful.
I had this one and the strawberry one in Koshigaya Lake Town in Saitama Prefecture.
Saitama is near Tokyo. A lot of Japanese people including me think Saitama is a countryside and call this prefecture Dasaitama to imply it's an uncool one, haha. The word "Dasai," ださい, means uncool in Japanese. That's why I don't want people to know that I was born in Saitama, haha. You know what? It's said Hayao Miyazaki, a famous Japanese film director and animator, lives in Saitama. And it's also said "My Neighbor Totoro" was also born in Saitama. These help me a lot. Still, I don't like Saitama.
Well, as I already wrote, COLD STONE CREAMERY once had more locations in Japan than they have right now.
I came to know that COLD STONE CREAMERY Japan was acquired in 2014 by a company known for its takoyaki, or octopus balls. 
Their famous Takoyaki brand is called "銀だこ," and I'm sure many Japanese people know the brand. Also, they have a Taiyaki brand. I read several ariticles online on the acquisition and what has changed since then, which were all written in Japanese. One of them is this article from Toyo online. I think this is persuasive. This one is also useful. It's M & A online's.
Many articles say the company bought out COLD STONE CREAMERY Japan because Taiyaki, their main brand following Takoyaki, doesn't sell well during summers, but ice cream can make up for it. You know, on the other hand, ice cream doesn't sell well during winters, when people tend to buy hot foods such as takoyaki and taiyaki. Wow, I'm surprised many people in other countries understand what takoyaki and taiyaki are even though we just say their Japanese names. Japanese foods became more popular worldwide, huh?
Well, I don't know what the real reason for the buyout is, and I can't say anything about it, I mean, whether their decision was right or wrong. I guess my hon's friend or acquaintance worked at the privous Cold Stone or played an important role when it started in Japan.
But anyway, I found many of the current Cold Stone stores are located in commercial complexes. They can attract more customers that way, I think.
While I was in Cold Stone in Tokyo Skytree, I saw tourists from other countries as well as Japanese families. There was even a box for tips near the cash register. Japanese people don't have a custom to give tips, you know, so the box was full of foreign money. The store manager told me he's been enjoying working though the company became a subsidiary company. I hope so. You know, when a company is broght out or took over by another company or merged with, many things must change, and employees become confused.
It seeems there are other things that have changed since Cold Stone was bought out.
First, as some of you may have noticed, they sell their ice cream at convenience stores as well, like Haagen- Dazs and 31 Ice Cream. They appear later.
Second, they started "Cold Stone Ice Candy." Ice Candy means Ice Pop. I still rememer I saw it a few years ago in a hot spring facility. Yes, they sell their Ice Candy in hot spring facilities as well as shopping malls, movie theaters and so on. There were several flavors, and they looked beautiful. Some even sold out.
Third, I don't know how to explain it in English, but it's said they changed its production equipment and factries dramatically so they can produce much more ice cream.
Well, I found the Cold Stone's Roppongi location, the very 1st store opened in Japan, shut down in 2016, which means after the buyout. A lot of their stores seem to have shut down before the aquisition because of poor business performance or something, I guess. It was also difficutlt for them to find appropriate properties and open new stores because they needed a large location for each store and it cost a lot.
According to the first Japanese article I mentioned earlier, each store made their ice cream from raw milk by themselves before the buyout, and the company acuired Cold Stone changed this process so each store doesn't have to prepare from the begining because their factory is in charge of this preparation altogether.
Still, more stores shut down after Cold Stone was bought out. Why is that? It seems they shut down many of them intentionally like Haagen-Dazs had done, according to the second aricile. I hope their Roppongi location is not one of these, though.
Maybe I just misunderstand, but I'm getting confused. Making ice cream from fresh milk in each store every day seems exactly the same as what COLD STONE CREAMERY in America does, and the Cold Stone Japan's website says Japan's also doing that or something like that.
Anyway, as I've just mentioned, it's said Haagen-Dazs shut down their brick-and mortar shops in Japan on purpose so they focus on retail sales.
It's one of their seasonal flavors, "Mango Pudding with Coconut Milk."
It's like a theme color of Eggs 'n Things.
I feel Aloha from a Mango flavor.
I got this Japanese-style spring flavor in March this year when I took a trip with my father. I got it at Kiosk or somewhere in a station before we took a bullet train to Nagoya. We visited Ise Shrine that day. That's why Hello Kitty wears a shinto maiden outfit.
It's called "Tirol Choco," though it's not Haagen Dazs' item, haha.
You know, Hello Kitty was born here in Japan and became popular all over the world. This kind of local limited Hello Kitty is very familiar to Japanese people.
Saitama prefecture has this kind of Hello Kitty, too. I saw it when I was a teenager, and thought it was so uncool, which stood for the prefecture, haha. It's hard to explain why it's so uncool, or Dasai, though. Well, Saitama's local Kitty was like this; Hello Kitty wearing Rhino's outfit sat on a soccer ball. Well, I saw it in Urawa, the place its prefectural capital is located in, and Urawa is famous for its soccer team, Urawa reds.
So, it made sence to some extent that Hello Kitty sat on a soccer ball. But, as a whole, Saitama's local Hello Kitty is just a pun. In Japanese, Rhinoceros is Sai while balls are Tama. So, Rhiho's Hello Kitty on a ball implies Saitama. That's it. No wonder lots of people call the prefecture uncool and make fun of it, haha.
Well, go back to the main topic.
I don't know why, but I feel like eating Haagen-Dazs especially on special occations. Their luxurious image makes me feel that way, I think.
Actually, they shut down all the real shops in Japan. They say the last one closed in 2013. I've read somewhere before that Haagen-Dazs thought they promoted brand awareness successfully by operating real stores, and that they fulfilled their goal, so that's why they decided to close the stores.
Well, while I was in Akasaka, I sometimes went to Haagen-Dazs store there. I went to their Shibuya shop as well. When I came to know that their Shibuya and Akasaka locations shut down, I thought, "Wow, Haagen-Dazs must have declined in popularity. Their items were so popular, but as more and more reasonable ice cream brands are appearing, expensive Haagen-Dazs must have lost their popularity. It's a pitty."
On the contrary, Haagen-Dazs has been popular for many years, even after they shut down all of their brick-and-mortar shops. Maybe they made a right decision at the time.
Well, I still like their rum raison flavor the best. I like their cookies & cream, too. We can get Haagend-Dazs ice cream at convenience stores or super markets. I sometimes try their seasonal flavors as well. Haagen-Dazs is a little expensive, and it's not a large portion, you know. But, generally speaking, their flavors taste great. And, their ice cream looks high-class and classy. People enjoy the experience of buying and eating as well as flavors themselves.
But I miss their 7 day flavors or something. Well, on days including the number 7, such as on 7th, 17th, and 27th, their real shops offered 7 flavors at 500 yen or so. Each ice cream was smaller than a usual one, but we could taste 7 flavors at once at a cheaper price.
I find Haagen-Datzs is doing a pop-up shop in Omotesando, Tokyo, right now, for their popular "Crispy Sandwich".
Wow, Haagen-Dazs was also born in America; Haagen-Dazs.
I think Japan is a good country on this point. We can enjoy many other countries' food and drink items even though we are in Japan. On top of that, they're serving Japan-limited items. I wanna get out of Japan someday, but I know I will definitely miss foods that I eat in Japan. Well, it doesn't mean only Japanese cuisine, you know.
Anyway ...
American ice cream brand "Baskin-Robbins," BR in short, has still lots of stores all over Japan. It's known as 31 Ice Cream here in Japan. It's said 31 Ice Cream has been suffering from deficits, though. 
They did a campaign named "Challenge The Triple" by the middle of this month. We could get one more ice cream by ordering double ice cream.
I had 31 Ice Cream after a long time. I used to have 31 Ice Cream a lot when I was a teenager. Now that I'm older, I thought their flavors were too sweet for me, or the combination of these three was just not good. But the colors and appearances were so cute. Actually, I wanted to have their seasonal almond jelly flavor, but it sold out at the store.
31 still offers so-called "taste spoon" to customers. I think it's so cool. Well, their "taste spoon" enables us to taste flavors a little before actual buying.
We usually call 31 Ice Cream just 31, thirty one. Wow, I'm 31 years old right now. What a coinsidence. Though 31 Ice Cream was named like that not because 31 years old or something but because they want customers to enjoy a different flavor every day. There are 31 days in one month, you know, sometimes less than 31 days, though.
By the way, mister donut in Japan serves"Cotton Snow Candy" every year. I had it last year and the year before last as well. The first one I had a few years ago was its Mango flavor, I guess. Misdo's "Cotton Snow Candy" seems to mark the 5th anniversary this year.
From last year's blog article titled "the Chicken or the Egg"
This year, they're doing brand new flavors inspired by cake.
I had their Tiramisu flavor last month. It also has Shortcake and Mont Blanc flavors. I prefer last year's Japanese-style ones, though.
Eggs 'n Things has ice cream toppings, as I mentioned at the begining.
The photos are from "☆No Fun, No Gain★"
I had this in Eggs 'n Things Saitama last summer. See? There's Vanilla Ice Cream.
I forgot its official name .. I guess this one is "Hau'oli Pancake" or "Birthday Pancake." It's not on the menu, actually, so it's a secret item or something. We can get 1 botton budge for 1 Hau'oli Pancake. There are three kinds for the botton budge
;
Some locations have all of three while others have one or two, so just ask Ohana which designs are available. I still don't have the "CONGRATULATIONS" one. I wanna get it during this year.
And Acai Ice Cream again. I had this in Eggs 'n Things Harajuku, which is their very 1st location in Japan.
Oh, their generous whipped cream ... I just asked Ohana, staff of Eggs 'n Things, to decorate a plate and try not to hide the message by their big whipped cream. And they served pancakes and whipped cream seperately like that. So, it's not a topping though they have a whipped cream topping as well. I ordered "Strawberry, Whipped Cream and Macadamia Nuts Pancake" off the menu and added Mango, Banana and Acai Ice Cream toppings.
Anyway, we can add ice cream toppings like these. Acai one needs 350 yen and Vanilla is 250 yen. I like both flavors. I think various kinds of fruits go well with vanilla ice cream. But, you know, their pancakes usually have generaous whipped cream, so the combination of whipped cream and vanilla ice cream must be too heavy for some of you. If that's the case, I recommend Acai one instead. It's refreshing.
I like their Acai Bowl and Acai Banana Smoothe, too. The first one also has Acai ice cream. I first tried it last year, when they gave away trial tickets for Mini Acai Bowl to customers for a limited time. I forgot when it was, but I guess some became big fans of Acai, Acai Bowl or Eggs 'n Things themselves thanks to that campaign.
And you know what? Tully's Coffee has many Ice Cream flavors throughout the years. It's "T's Ice.". I think Tully's Ice Cream was started by the founder of Tully's Coffee in Japan while Bearful and Tully's Card started after he left Tully's Coffee. My hon.
T's Ice Cream is bigger than you think. Above all, we can have it at a reasonal price. You should try it.
These were seasonal flavors that are not available anymore. Of course, I've had their regular flavors before as well as other seasonal ones. But I didn't take pictures.
This summer, I'm going to have as many ice cream flavors as possible at Tully's Coffee and take photos. I'm looking forward to trying their seasonal Mango Passion Milk. I wonder what it tastes like.
I think I'll write about ice cream again sometime. I have other favorite ice cream brands as well.