I heard they were selling a limited-edition donut called Mocchurin, so I went and lined up.

The notice

Sales start at 12, and they ask you not to line up before then. But don’t take that at face value: the moment a staff member says “okay, line up,” the queue instantly gets long, so you need to wait nearby and jump in fast. I didn’t know that, so I ended up waiting a whole hour.

The line

All of a sudden people appeared out of nowhere and a long line formed.

Mocchurin

This is how they were selling them. There are three kinds of Mocchurin: mitarashi, kinako, and strawberry.

Bought one of each

After standing in a line that long, I had to get every flavor.

Kimuraya bread I spotted on the way

Didn’t know they sold this kind of thing..

Kappa Ebisen

Because of the war these days, it’s come out in a colorless, monochrome bag.

Kimuraya curry bread and anpan

Both were really tasty. Kimuraya never disappoints.

The Mocchurin box

Who knew they’d go as far as making a box like this..

Strawberry Mocchurin

It has a chewy, mochi-like texture, yet it definitely tastes like a donut. I wondered how that’s even possible, and it seems they use rice flour. And chewy as it is, it’s also packed full of cream inside. Not just a little dab on one side, either. Made like this, I get why people line up for it. You could call it a Japanese-style donut.

Kinako Mocchurin

This one was good too.

Mitarashi Mocchurin

It tastes a lot like mitarashi dango. A modern take on a traditional Japanese sweet.

It’s worth lining up for maybe once a year. One thing, though.. I’d heard it was limited to 200, but no matter how I look at it, they seem to be selling more than that.. It makes no sense that I could still buy some after standing in line for an hour.. I can’t help thinking there was a bit of a fib in there, something to get people queuing while bumping up sales at the same time..

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