GariGarikun ガリガリ君, the ubiquitous Japanese popsicle brand from Akagi Nyugyo Co., Ltd. is famous for costing as little as 76 JPY including tax (about 57 cents USD at today's rate) and being available in standard favorite flavors like soda (ramune), Mandarin orange and grape, appealing to kids young and old. Especially in the sweltering heat of summer, these big popsicles provide much-needed refreshment.

Although it also has more unusual and eccentric flavors like corn chowder, Neapolitan spaghetti and even tamagoyaki omelette, the standard flavors are the most popular.

Every summer, there's one flavor that GariGarikun lovers wait impatiently for, and that's pear flavor!

On August 2nd, 2022, "GariGarikun Pear" returned to freezer sections throughout Japan!

If that round fruit on the package looks more like an apple to you, that's because this is an Asian pear, also known as an apple pear, which differs from its more Western cousins not only by its rounder shape but also by its taste and texture. Whereas the flesh of Western pear varietals is generally softer and smooth-grained, that of Asian pears is crisp and coarse-grained. This grainy texture and high water content makes for a crunchy, juicy sensation that really refreshes in summetime, especially if you serve the fruit chilled.

GariGarikun Pear reproduces this sensation by combining smooth flavored ice and crunchy pear-flavored shaved ice within the same popsicle.

It feels very similar to eating a perfectly chilled apple pear!

Akagi Nyugyo Co., Ltd. made the announcement with a video posted on their Twitter account on August 1st:

The announcement elicited many excited responses, such as:

If you like the taste of Asian pears, pick up a GariGarikun Pear and bite into the taste of Japanese summer!