If you're a fan of mochi ice cream and you're visiting Japan, chances are you'll quickly discover Lotte's long-selling ice cream brand 雪見だいふく Yukimi-daifuku, the most popular version of it in Japan. Although the product known as "mochi ice cream" (sometimes shortened to "mochi" even though mochi simply means rice cake) was invented in the USA by Frances Hashimoto and began production in 1993, its inspiration, Yukimi Daifuku, was first introduced to Japanese consumers in 1981.

With its perfect combination of a chewy gyūhi (mochi) outside layer that retains its soft texture in the freezer and the sweet and mild milk vanilla-flavored ice cream inside, the classic version is a comforting go-to any time of the year. It's no wonder it has been a popular product among both children and adults for over 40 years.

As some of our readers may recall, we have had numerous opportunities to introduce Yukimi Daifuku's seasonal flavors, including some more unusual ones like pancake and maple syrup, and lemon no-bake cheesecake. Lotte has even experimented by changing the round shape, introducing a heart-shaped strawberry-flavored version for Valentine's Day, for example. However, if there's one constant with Yukimi Daifuku, it's the fact that there's ice cream inside the mochi...

But now, even that seems to be changing...

Twitter user 雲丹肉ちゃん Uni Niku-chan (@oniku117) discovered a limited-edition Yukimi Daifuku which they had never seen before, and it wasn't in the freezer section!

As soon as they posted it, they were met by a flurry of comments saying "I want to eat it!" and "That looks so amazing. I want to try it!"

At first glance, it looks like the classic version of Yukimi Daifuku...

...but instead of ice cream inside, it's whipped cream!

Fresh Yukimi Daifuku

They're calling this 生雪見だいふく nama yukimi daifuku, or "Fresh Yukimi Daifuku."

Uni Niku-chan describes the taste as "so good I was at a loss for words."

Many Japanese residents who saw the post (and perhaps even some outside of Japan) were hoping they could rush to a Japanese convenience store and buy some, but according to Uni Niku-chan, it's currently only available in the Kinki region.

We also checked with Lotte's customer service department, and they told us that as of September 2022, this product is only being sold on a trial basis and it has not yet been decided whether or not it will be sold nationwide.

The post received many "likes" and comments, such as:

Many people online seem to be craving for mochi whipped cream in the form of "Fresh Yukimi Daifuku." Perhaps we'll be seeing it in stores nationwide sometime in the not-too-distant future!