Kakigori, or Japanese shaved ice, is a must-try summer treat when you visit Japan. It seems that every year, a new twist on the timeless traditional dessert is offered by Japanese ice shops. We've seen kakigori made with ice from Mt. Fuji, even kakigori made with vegetables.

However, since Japan is now in the midst of a cheese boom, with restaurants serving all manner of dishes drizzled with hot melted raclette cheese, and too many fondue permutations to mention (including one parading as a pizza), it was only a matter of time before someone thought of doing something cheesy with the traditional summer classic.

Cheese Kitchen Racler's kakigori creation

Cheese Kitchen Racler, a restaurant offering raclette and other cheese dishes in the Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo, has created what it calls "Cheese in Kakigori."

Thankfully, they didn't try pouring hot melted raclette cheese onto a mound of ice. Their proposal for introducing cheese to kakigori was to create a fluffy espuma (Spanish for "foam"), blended with other sweet flavors, then poured onto the shaved ice as a topping:

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Varieties

This new kakigori creation comes in four varieties:

(Since their English translations sometimes don't do full justice to the original Japanese, we've added a few words in parentheses as needed.)

• Shaved ice with mango and (cream) cheese: 1,200 JPY (tax excl.)
• Shaved ice with strawberry and (cream) cheese: 1,200 JPY (tax excl.)
• Shaved ice with cocoa and (cream) cheese (tiramisu): 1,000 JPY (tax excl.)
• Shaved ice with Japanese tea (matcha) and (cream) cheese: 1,100 JPY (tax excl.)

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If you'd like to try one for yourself, visit Cheese Kitchen Racler in Shinjuku.

Restaurant Information

• Name: Cheese Kitchen Racler Shinjuku
• Address (JP): 東京都渋谷区千駄ヶ谷5-24-2 タカシマヤ　タイムズスクエア13F
• Address (EN): 13F Takashimaya Times Square, 5-24-2 Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
• Telephone: 050-3184-4090
• Access: Directly connected to JR Shinjuku Station and Tokyo Metro Shinjuku 3-Chome Station
• Hours: 11:30-23:00
• Holidays: Follows Takashimaya Times Square's holiday schedule