Ice-cream in Japan

So my desperate fandom of ice cream is nothing new to those who know me. I once braved the cold out in December for nothing more than to walk three blocks to the nearest crepe shop to get an annin ice cream cone then come back to where my friends were hanging out at. Ice cream and popsicles can be found in any convenience store around the country, but with summer coming on and the weather warming up I have noticed a profusion of new varieties, not just in conbinis but also in  the local supermarkets.

がりがりくん Garigari-kun so named (I believe) because gari-gari is the sound your teeth make when you chew on the little tiny ice pellets all throughout the popcicle. It is the cheapest option for conbini ice, averaging about $0.70 depending on where you get it, and comes in a multitude of flavors. From normal to I cannot believe they are actually trying to sell that. I've tried their white soda flavor, which is actually light blue, and tastes like any of an assortment of fake fruit flavors.

Ones I have also liked are Pineapple, Kiwi, Nashi (a type of delicious Japanese pear), and Peach. Ones I'd like to try are cream-puff (also called shu cream) and grape. Flavors I've seen that I think I'll avoid... Stew, yes folks stew flavored popsicles, speghetti, which I've been told has actual chunks of tomato in the popsicle, and corn soup, good when hot but as dessert?

チズスーチーク lit. Cheeze stick. This is not actually an ice cream bar. It is baked cheesecake, frozen, dipped in a white chocolate shell and sold in $1.20 increments. Need I really say more? Sooo good.

My personal favorite is Annin (pronounced an-neen) anything. Annin is a Chinese desert kinda like runny pudding, that I think tastes like marzipan. You can get it in various shapes, forms, and consistencies, but given my love for all things ice cream this one tops the list. There's a shop not far from where I live (refer to anecdote in first paragraph) called Hakusan Crepe that takes vanilla ice cream and puts in all the flavors to make the thing you ordered and mixes it in a blender right there! They have a cantaloupe (melon) flavor that also has fresh fruit in it and tastes pretty good. There's also a convenient bench sitting out on the sidewalk so you can sit and enjoy your cone without the hassle of walking at the same time.