experience attractions – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today. Fri, 19 Sep 2025 05:00:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.4 https://soranews24.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/en_rocket_1024.png?w=32 experience attractions – SoraNews24 —Japan News— https://soranews24.com 32 32 176746664 Slice up your own rock candy treats at Papabubble Japan https://soranews24.com/2025/09/19/slice-up-your-own-rock-candy-treats-at-papabubble-japan/ https://soranews24.com/2025/09/19/slice-up-your-own-rock-candy-treats-at-papabubble-japan/#comments Fri, 19 Sep 2025 05:00:28 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=712725 
Admire how molten candy is transformed into tiny works of art, and then brutally hack at them.
Videos showing off skilled workers cutting long tubes of rock candy into beautifully-patterned, bitesize pieces have long made their rounds on social media. While there are many shops where you can see them stretching out hot, gooey candy, and blending the different colors into cute designs, there are also a few stores out there where you can try the experience out for yourself.
Papabubble is an artisan candy shop that first opened its doors in Barcelona back in 2004, and has now expanded to 11 countries with over 30 different locations. In Japan alone, there are over 20 stores, many of them in and around Tokyo, but also as far as out as Hokkaido and Fukuoka.
Our Japanese language reporter Natsuno Futon had tried to visit one of the other stores before, but only really had enough time to watch one of the shows. However, with the new Yurakucho branch opening recently, she felt it was a good opportunity to take another visit to the popular candy shop.
Papabubble’s candy costs about 700 yen (US$4.80) per bag, and the brand often does collaborations featuring anime, regional designs, and limited-time flavors, making them a perfect gift choice for either yourself or others.
As she wandered around the store, she noticed that it was possible to sign up for a candy-cutting experience on the day itself for a cost of 1,650 yen, and it was even possible to take home two bags of the candy you cut.
When considering the cost of the candy, the hands-on experience—being only 250 yen more than the cost of two bags—felt very reasonably priced, so Natsuno decided right then and there to give it a shot. After completing the sign-up process, she changed into the provided outfit and got herself ready.
The staff showed her how to use the tools and then it was time to get stuck in.
Despite her effort to get nice, clean cuts, Natsuno found cutting straight down vertically to be surprisingly difficult.
She couldn’t get them to look as good as the staff’s, but she loved the crisp and satisfying sound of the candies being cut off.
The staff supported Natsuno from the side with cheers of “You’re doing great!” and “Good rhythm!”
Thanks to their cheering, Natsuno’s mood soared and she had finished cutting both sticks of candy before she had even realized it.
Once done with the cutting, the staff bagged up the candy for Natsuno to take home.
If you wanted to be able to choose the design and flavor of the candy, you’re a little out of luck, as both options are decided for you on the day itself, making everything a surprise.
Finishing up with the experience, Natsuno changed out of the borrowed outfit, and noticed that the next staff show was about to begin.
Natsuno was kind of expecting it to just be the cutting process again, until a sweet aroma filled the air. The show starts with the staff pulling out candy that’s been heated in a big pot in the back of the store.
Right in front of the audience, the candy artisans mix in the colors and stretch the candy out.
At one point, the staff even hang the candy on hooks on the wall to stretch it, and work air into it to adjust its texture.
The entire process kept Natsuno buzzing with excitement as she watched the staff hard at work.
The way they shaped the candy into something like a flower was evidence of their craftsmanship.
Despite it being a very hot day, the staff in the show space at the front of the shop were working hard, faces glistening with sweat. A crowd of people looked on, entranced, and called out words of encouragement.
Watching them stretch the candy out into thin strands was another highlight of the show.
What was left after all of that hard work was a candy with a white flower petal pattern.
The cute design in the center felt like it was a work of art, and spectators who were watching were also offered the chance to try the freshly-made candy. After seeing the whole process of its creation, its deliciousness rose to a whole other level.
Even though the candy-cutting experience was only about ten minutes long, Natsuno ended up spending close to an hour in the store.
While leaving, she felt that she would love to go and watch the show again if she ever gets the chance.
She also was given some extra goodies as part of the new store opening celebrations, as well as having the company as a friend on the social messaging app Line.
The times for the show are not fixed, so if you’re curious about when the next show will be, it’s probably a good idea to ask the staff directly.
Only some of the stores in Japan offer the chance to cut candy, so don’t be too disappointed if you get to the store and find out it’s not on offer. The stores offering the same service as Yurakucho are: Saitama Shintoshin (Saitama), Yokohama Atelier (Kanagawa), Nakano (Tokyo), Haneda Airport (Tokyo), and Shinsaibashi (Osaka). There are also three other stores—Kichijoji (Tokyo), Sendai (Miyagi), and Nanba (Osaka)—that offer candy-cutting, but instead of taking home the candy you cut, you get the chance to select any one bag of your choice to take home, at a reduced cost of 1,000 yen for the experience.
If you want a more involved candy-making experience, it’s possible to make reservations online. The current event for September has visitors make a flower lollipop in a color of their choice, cut enough Halloween-themed candy to fill two bags, and even cut four candies that are ten times the usual size. It costs a little extra than the walk-in event, being 4,000 yen, but it still feels like you get your money’s worth. This event is only being held at four stores: Nakano (Tokyo), Yokohama Atelier (Kanagawa), Shinsaibashi (Osaka), and Yurakucho (Tokyo).
If you are ever struggling about what gift to get someone, you should try out the candy-cutting at Papabubble. Not only do you get some delicious candy at the end of it for the intended recipient, you also get to have fun slicing it into little pieces first.
Location information
Papabubble (Lumine Yurakucho branch) / パパブブレ（ ルミネ有楽町店）
Address: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Yurakucho, 2-chome 9-1, Lumine Yurakucho, Lumine Street
東京都千代田区有楽町２丁目９−１ ルミネ有楽町 ルミネストリート
Open 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
Website
Related: Papabubble Online Reservations, Papabubble English Website
Photos ©SoraNews24
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]]> https://soranews24.com/2025/09/19/slice-up-your-own-rock-candy-treats-at-papabubble-japan/feed/ 0 712725 imgi_165_LINE_ALBUM_250801_250916_11 It’s a great time to crack open some fossils in Ono City, Fukui Prefecture https://soranews24.com/2025/08/25/its-a-great-time-to-crack-open-some-fossils-in-ono-city-fukui-prefecture/ https://soranews24.com/2025/08/25/its-a-great-time-to-crack-open-some-fossils-in-ono-city-fukui-prefecture/#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2025 13:00:25 +0000 https://soranews24.com/?p=710603 
Lots of fun for fans of science and/or breaking things.
Lake Kuzuryu is a scenic spot nestled between Gifu and Fukui prefectures that’s perfect for fishing, camping, and other activities. However, last March, a landslide occurred which blocked off many of the area’s tourist spots to visitors from elsewhere in Japan, greatly affecting businesses there until a detour was opened in the middle of July.
That’s why our writer Tasuku Egawa decided to pay the area a visit and show everyone why Lake Kuzuryu is a fun and beautiful place to visit. That photo above is just a taste of the outstanding views that can be had there, and even the spot where he took that picture on the Hakogase Bridge, also known as the “Bridge of Dreams,” is gorgeous when seen from the opposite side.
▼ The arrow shows the approximate position Tasuku was standing when he took the photo above this one.
It’s not uncommon to spot some people out leisure fishing and taking in all the breathtaking nature around them.
But the purpose of Tasuku’s visit on this day was the Ono City Fossil Excavation Experience Center Horrosa. For just 1,350 yen (US$9) adults can break open some rocks in search of prehistoric fossils, and kids can do it for even less.
Fukui Prefecture is famous for its plentiful fossils, particularly those belonging to dinosaur species, making this perhaps the best place in Japan to try finding one of your own.
Inside are bins filled with large amounts of rocks that look like they might have fossils in them and have been gathered for your convenience.
The rocks are also arranged based on the geological period that they originated from. The sign below shows that the rocks in its bin date back 160 million years to the Jurassic period and were gathered from the Nagano stratum in Nagano, Ono City, which was in shallow ocean at the time.
After paying the admission fee, you’re given an explanation on what to do and are able to rent the necessary equipment of gloves, goggles, a chisel, and a hammer.
It’s not really rocket science though. It’s just rock science, and all that involves here is finding a rock that looks promising and cracking it open to see what’s inside. Tasuku had a good feeling about these three.
He took the first one and split it into two with his chisel and hammer.
Much to his surprise, he got a fossil on his first try! This rock came from a forest in the Cretaceous period, so it seems like this was a plant fossil of some sort.
And even more surprising was that he could see fossils even in the parts he didn’t break open. It would seem the trick is to inspect the rock carefully before choosing it.
According to the rules of the center, anyone can take home one or two small fossils like Tasuku found as a souvenir. However, rare and larger fossils will be kept for further research and possibly even identified as a new species. In other words, even in this “experience” attraction, it might be possible to make a real scientific discovery.
There were several other people there at the same time as him, and they all seemed to be taking one or two rocks with them, suggesting that the chances of finding something during your visit are pretty good.
The staff of this center are researchers who inspect rocks around areas under construction. If fossils are found there, the staff will gather as many other rocks as they can in the area before the construction begins and store them for inspection at a later date.
It just so happens that a tunnel was dug for the Chubu Jukan Expressway near Ono City, which means an exceptionally large amount of promising rocks were pulled out from that and stored in a pile so large it would take more than a lifetime to go through them all.
▼ Speaking of expressways, if you plan to go by train, be sure to check the schedule of nearby Kuzuryukoe Station. Only five trains pass through daily.
This makes the Ono City Fossil Excavation Experience Horrosa a great way for researchers to get extra hands to do some of the work, while guests can experience authentic fossil hunting with rocks that have a higher chance of containing a specimen, compared to what you’d find hiking through a random forest. Everyone wins!
There’s also another fossil excavation experience in neighboring Katsuyama City, but only the Ono City Fossil Excavation Experience has the chance to find ammonites from the Jurassic period. It was a lot of fun for Tasuku too. He admits it might be more of a niche thing, but it felt very authentic, was a lot of fun, and is a fantastic way to support this disaster-affected community.
Attraction information
Ono City Fossil Excavation Experience Center Horrosa / 大野市化石発掘体験センター ホロッサ
Fukui-ken, Ono-shi, Kakuno 14-3
福井県大野市角野14-3
Four Sessions by Reservation
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
11 a.m. – Noon
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Admission: 1,350 yen (Adults), 1,100 yen (High School Students), 700 yen (Junior High Students and Under)
*Group discounts are available
Website
Photos ©SoraNews24
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