Soft Cream at Aoyama

Soft cream, as it is called in the Aoyama campus' Snack Shop, seems to be becoming increasingly popular as the seasons shift toward warmer weather. So what's the scoop? Or rather, for this traditional ice cream varient, the lever?

At the Snack Shop the soft cream menu is constantly in flux. The flavors offered seem to be vanilla and some bi-weekly variant; since the opening of campus for the new academic year, the Snack Shop has so far offered anko (red bean), and strawberry. From a mere 160 Yen for a small cone, to 180 Yen for the larger waffle cone, prices are modest. If one doesn't enjoy eating from the cone, bowls and spoons are also available on request.

Depending on availability, other special dishes are also prepared. When the switch to strawberry occurred, a special 200 Yen offering was added to the menu. A larger waffle cone was implemented, and adorned with fresh strawberries and other berries.

Anko flavored Soft Cream is a long, international leap from the origins of the first soft serve ice cream, invented by J.F. "Grandpa" McCullough and his son, Alex in 1938 in the small town of Moline, IL. After developing a special freezer and altering the traditional ingredients of ice cream, McCullough eventualy founded the popular frozen dessert frachise Dairy Queen. I think it:s safe to say that McCullough probably couldn't have imagined that his invention would be popular across the world and served in an incredibly large variety of flavors.

[Photo: Enjoying a soft cream cone on the Aoyama campus via the cafeteria's Snack Shop.]