It's Japan's top-selling popsicle — yet still virtually unknown overseas.
At ¥70, it's also one of the cheapest ice candies sold in convenience stores. Around 400 million of these frozen treats are consumed annually, which translates to the average Japanese buying three or four over the course of a year.
It's become a common sight and a seasonal tradition to see children and suit-clad salarymen alike ripping open the plastic wrappers and biting into the colorful bars during the scorching heat of summer. And now, increasingly, consumers don't seem to care what the mercury reads to enjoy these frozen desserts.