As part of the Showa retro trend in Japan which brings back or takes inspiration from food, fashion, design, and music of the Showa era, クリームソーダ kurīmu sōda are popular again. These old-fashioned ice cream sodas (ice cream floats), typically topped with Maraschino cherries, were served in the once-prevalent neighborhood 喫茶 kissa coffee shops. They're still found in some restaurants and coffee chains that have survived into the Reiwa era. You'll also find new cafes, such as Kissa Nikai, which serve contemporary variations.

The popularity of the cream soda has also been felt elsewhere, inspiring everything from gummy candies to a line of apparel.

As some of our readers may recall from earlier this year, Japanese fashion brand Wpc. collaborated with self-professed Japanese "cream soda craftsman" tsunekawa on a cute series of umbrellas inspired by cream sodas.

Now, for the fall season, two new color variations have joined the lineup.

Tabi Suru Kissa umbrellas from Wpc. - Fall colors

These umbrellas are inspired by tsunekawa's cafe and concept entitled 旅する喫茶 Tabi Suru Kissa (literally, traveling kissa), in which he travels all over Japan, creating original cream sodas and capturing them in photos along the way.

The umbrellas come in full-length and folding types.

As for their design, a cream soda design is printed on transparent matte vinyl panels and you'll find an ice cream motif on the full-length umbrella's rounded handle. The umbrellas even come with a cute Maraschino cherry charm!

In addition to the three original colors, 新緑のクリームソーダ (fresh verdure kurīmu sōda), 青空のクリームソーダ (blue skies kurīmu sōda), and 夕焼け空のクリームソーダ (sunset skies kurīmu sōda), two new fall colors have now been added:

金木犀のクリームソーダ (Osmanthus kurīmu sōda)

In Japan, the delightful scent of the 金木犀 kinmokusei, otherwise known as osmanthus, heralds the arrival of fall. Although there are several varieties of osmanthus around the world, some of them with white flowers, Osmanthus fragrans with its bright orange petals is the most prevalent one in Japan.

夜明け前のクリームソーダ (Predawn kurīmu sōda)

This umbrella is a beautiful violet color which you can sometimes observe in the sky in the moments before dawn breaks on a clear autumn day.

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Price and ordering information

• Price: kurīmu sōda umbrella: 2,530 JPY, kurīmu sōda umbrella mini 2,530 JPY (incl. tax)
• Ordering online: Wpc. online store
• In stores: PARCO Shinsaibashi (Osaka). LOFT, Tokyu Hands, Marui, Bleu Bleuet, shop in, one×one Shinjuku MyLord branch, R.O.U.

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tsunekawa

A kurīmu sōda craftsman who travels throughout Japan, tsunekawa is the owner of the Tabi Suru Kissa cafe and a fashion designer. His collection of essays, 「旅するクリームソーダ」tabi suru kurīmu sōda (officially subtitled in English as "Traveling Cream Soda") which includes cream soda recipes and beautiful images from his travels, has become a topic of conversation.