Cold Stone Creamery Tokyo!

This weekend, we took the kids to Cold Stone Creamery in Roppongi Hills, about a 10-minute walk from our house in Azabu Juban.  Even though it’s been there for quite some time now – about four years at least – we had never taken the kids.  There are so many things that are familiar with it, including the logo, the “like-it” and “love-it” sizing, and  the blending in of toppings into the ice cream.  But there are also unfamiliar things that make it uniquely Japanese: the creations are different and they do not have all of the same ice-cream flavors as in the U.S.  Though they have the regular cakes available, the cakes are different too – more in the form of a jelly roll with ice cream in it.  I will say, the funniest and best part of any Cold Stone experience is the singing.  Of course, in the U.S. the servers sing when someone leaves a

A variety of nicely wrapped cakes for sale as a present.

$1 tip.  Here in Japan, partially because there’s no tipping here, they sing while they scoop – no matter what.  The two lovely women sang in English, a tune we knew, and the kids, my husband and I made appropriate appreciation noises.  But we really loved it.  It seemed so genuine.  They wanted to please us, and weren’t just doing anything for the money.  I love the Japanese orientation toward service.  It’s truly lovely.

Regarding the ice-cream product, it’s also different than in the U.S.  The Japanese palate would never withstand the overwhelming sweetness that Americans adore in their ice-cream mix-ins.  So the ice cream itself is not as sweet and the mix-ins are less plentiful, but no less delicious.  Of course their idea of a brownie is again, less sweet than an American idea, but m&m’s are m&m’s for goodness’ sake!

My son, Bailey, loved it - from the first scoop to the song to the eating!

All in all it was a successful and yummy outing.  If you’re in the Roppongi area, I’d highly recommend it for a treat.

Sand anyone??