(Beryl gasping)
- This video is sponsored by Bokksu.
Hi, I'm Beryl, and today we are heading to Japan.
(Beryl snapping her fingers)
We are here because making the rounds
on the internet is this sandwich that caught my eye.
This one, look at it.
To be fair, I did make this sandwich
in my very, very first video, but I had no context for it.
And we all know that I'm somebody who does love context.
I need context, I need history.
You know, I need the full picture.
This sandwich, the Japanese fruit sando is a thing.
- I do know about the whipped cream and fruit sandwiches,
and I've had them a couple of times.
- Of course I've heard about the fruit sando.
I think everyone in Japan has tried it at least once.
- And I see them being sold in grocery stores, and bakeries,
and cafes, and even food trucks.
- People love it here, and every time I go
to the convenience stores,
the whipped cream sando shelf is always empty.
- I just feel like there's been this boom,
like all of a sudden the lines to buy them are long.
There are more places to buy them.
- The strawberry whipped cream one is most traditional.
There are many, many different kinds that exist out there.
- Most recently I had a chocolate banana
and whipped cream sandwich from them, and it was so good.
- It's a very, very popular snack.
And it's one of my guilty pleasures.
- [Beryl] So we are here in this bustling neighborhood
in Tokyo behind this bright blue storefront to speak
to the owner of a fruit sandwich shop called
Futsu ni Fruits
or simple fruits in English.
So we're going to try to make this.
I like this because anybody can make this
anywhere in the world.
And it seems to be rather straightforward.
Although my biggest takeaway is the cross section has
to be mesmerizing.
So pressure is on.
(Beryl laughing)
To get supplies, I'm actually going to take us
to the oldest Japanese grocery store in the United States.
It opened its doors in 1907, and it just so happens to be
on 59th street in Manhattan.
The shop is called Katagiri and it was established
by the Katagiri brothers from Nagano prefecture.
They originally sold coffee, and tea, and spices
to local merchants, and eventually began selling
to large steam liners that came into the city.
And as a fun fact, this store has remained open
throughout both world wars.
So while I'm walking on my way there.
It's very cold outside, by the way.
I have asked some of you who are living in Japan
to show us your favorite Japanese snacks,
because Japanese snacks are where it's at, right?
(Beryl laughing)
- Hi, my name is Sneha.
I'm originally from India, but born and raised in Japan.
My favorite snack is called
nori hashu
or nori hash.
Nori hashu is basically mini hash browns
with Nori seasoning.
It's a little bit salty, of course.
And it's perfectly crispy.
- Hi, this is Mine.
I live in Hokkaido, Japan.
My favorite go-to snack is Kaki no tane.
Kaki no tane is a small crescent-shaped
rice cracker bits.
They are typically mixed with peanuts,
and flavored with soy sauce and chili.
They're very crunchy and as tasty as always.
- Hi, everyone.
My name is Vikki.
One of my favorite go-to snacks is actually one
of Nagano's regional specialties called oyaki.
Oyaki is basically kind of bun-like food
made from buckwheat dough, and it has fillings inside.
This is my favorite kind of oyaki
which is chili oil and Nozawana,
the pickled Japanese mustard leaf.
Itadakimasu
- My name is Haruka and I live in Hida-shi, Gifu prefecture,
which is a rural area surrounded by mountains.
My favorite snack is yakimo, which is cooked sweet potato.
- I think a crucial part of this Japanese life
is the humble sweet potato.
They're purple on the outside, yellow on the inside.
- I like it because it's soft, and gooey, and warm inside.
- It just hits.
- My name is Emily and I'm American currently living
in Fukuoka.
The snack I wanna talk with you about today
is called taiyaki.
- Tai is a kind of fish, and yaki means grilled.
It's a fish-shaped waffle.
- That is filled with adzuki beans or custard.
Itadakimasu
- My name is Jo and I live in Tokyo, Japan.
I'm here as a research student.
My favorite to-go snack in Kyoto was
a cinnamon-flavored rice cake called shinko.
- I am Shreya and I live in Sendai,
the capital of Miyagi prefecture.
Currently I am an assistant professor
at the Tohoku University.
My favorite snack are the onigiris.
- Onigiri is a rice ball, usually with some filling inside.
I like onigiri because it's simple,
very cheap, very delicious.
- So good.
- We are going to take a moment and talk about the sponsor
for today's video, Bokksu.
Bokksu is a monthly Japanese snack subscription box.
Just get this.
Ta-dah!
Oh!
Ta-dah!
Whoa.
Ta-dah!
(Beryl laughing)
And each month the box is themed, providing you
with a journey around Japan with different snacks.
They partner with a hundred-plus-year-old
family snack makers, and even have these great documentaries
on their website so you can learn a little bit more
about them, which I love.
Not all of us will get a chance to visit Japan
or even live near a Japanese grocery store.
So this is a really great way to taste a bit of a country
that is known for its snacks.
This month, one of the snacks featured is an anpan.
So I'm going to try it.
Very chocolatey.
Ooh, that is chocolatey and yummy.
Just because I need to end on savory,
let's try these little crackers.
They're heart shaped.
(Beryl laughing)
Mm!
Ooh, that's my jam.
If you are interested, you can use my code BERYL
and that will give you $20 off.
The link is in my description.
Okay, let's get back to the story.
Ah, I just loved hearing from all of you.
I have also now arrived at Katagiri.
It's a small shop, but there is a lot inside.
Ooh, Kewpie mayo.
Don't get distracted.
The one thing that I came here
for is a Japanese white milk bread.
If you wanna make the sandwich though,
you could use any type of white bread.
I just have access to this.
And I might as well check out some other things.
Hey, it's the taiyaki that Emily and Ida talked about.
Ooh, and an onigiri with egg in it, like Shreya
and Ana talked about.
It's fun seeing these things in real life,
but I am now going to go home because really it's time
to make this sandwich.
So my plan is not at all straightforward.
I found online a tutorial to make flower shapes
in the center of these fruit sandos.
So I'm gonna cut up a bunch of different types of fruits
in an attempt to make flowers.
Mm!
I used about half of this little container
of the whipped cream, and I probably should have made
a little bit more.
The strawberries are going to become a tulip.
Can you see that?
(Beryl laughing)
The kiwis are becoming leaves.
And the banana and grapes are some attempt I'm doing
at another flower.
Expert level.
I'm following the steps that we learned in the video.
I'm not feeling super confident that I put all
of these fruits in the right way,
because now that I'm thinking about when I'm cutting it,
I feel like maybe some of these I didn't do right,
but that's okay.
I'm gonna wrap them up, put them in the refrigerator,
and I will do the big reveal on camera
because I think that'll be more fun.
Okay, so I have cut them all.
This is awkward to hold.
But I haven't looked.
What you're about to see is a hundred percent real reaction.
Will they be successes?
Will they have failed?
How is it?
(Beryl gasping)
It looks good.
(Beryl laughing)
This one is definitely visually mesmerizing.
Good?
Bad?
This one I would give me a C plus.
A C plus.
This one I hope is good, it's the strawberry.
Oh, it's pretty good.
It's pretty good.
(Beryl laughing)
I knew that I had done the strawberry wrong
because when I looked back at my footage,
I realized I had put it the wrong way for the knife
to cut it in half.
But, you know?
I'm having this for breakfast.
The part with the fruit is really nice,
the part on this side,
'cause there's no fruit there is very soft.
Soft bread with soft whipped cream,
it's just like a very soft mouthy mouth bite.
(Beryl laughing)
I really liked this video because I feel like it combined
so many things that I care about.
It allowed me to do a mini documentary about somebody.
It allowed me to get a peek into life between students,
and locals, and people living in Japan.
Plus all those fun snacks.
And I got to learn to make something new.
Nothing like a strawberry in January.
(Beryl laughing)
I hope you enjoyed our little trip to Japan,
and I will see you all in our next video.