What comes to mind when you hear “cream soda”?
The classic is a traditional coffee shop-style cream soda, with vanilla ice cream and a canned cherry on top of summery blue or green soda. In recent years, however, cream sodas seem to come in a variety of colors.
We tried cream sodas from “Cream Soda IN Yakage,” an event where 27 shops in Yakage Town each serve their own distinctive cream soda, and compared drinks from three of them.
The information provided was current when this article was published in June 2025. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is “Cream Soda IN Yakage”?
Cream Soda IN Yakage is an event where visitors can enjoy distinctive cream sodas in the retro-pop town of Yakage. It was held for the third time in 2025 and is organized by the Yakage Town Tourism and Exchange Promotion Organization.
The number of participating shops has increased year by year, rising significantly from 18 last year to 27 shops in 2025.
The event was held for two months, from Thursday, May 1 to Monday, June 30, 2025.
See the images below for details.
A stamp rally is also underway
At participating shops, you can get an original sticker with every cream soda you order. There is also a stamp rally, where you receive one stamp for every 100 yen spent on eligible products.
Complete the following two requirements and you can receive an original glass at the Yakage Visitor Center Tonya. The gift is limited to the first 500 people, so it could be fun to give it a try.
- Collect 50 stamps (spend 5,000 yen including tax)
- Visit three shops
A first-time visitor to Yakage Town tries cream sodas at three shops
I moved to Kurashiki from the Kanto region in December 2023, and until then, I had rarely had the chance to visit Yakage Town.
Since there was such a fun event going on, I went on a cream soda tour with a friend who lives in Yakage Town.
Suisha no Sato Fruitopia serves pink cream soda
Our first stop was Suisha no Sato Fruitopia.
I had often seen this farm at markets and other events, and had been curious about it for a while.
It is a farm in Okayama Prefecture, also known as the “Fruit Kingdom of Okayama.” My expectations were high.
They are serving “Fresh Strawberry Cream Soda.”
Soon, a pink cream soda—neither blue nor green—arrived.
It was cute to look at, of course, and there were also whole chunks of strawberry in the cream soda.
I sipped the refreshing cream soda while savoring the sweet strawberries.
It was a luxurious treat.
Tempe Ryori Hakkotei serves white cream soda
Next, for lunch, we chose Tempe Ryori Hakkotei.
Tempeh is a healthy food made by fermenting soybeans with tempeh culture.
Tempe Ryori Hakkotei serves croquettes and lunches made with tempeh.
As this was my first time trying tempeh, I ordered the tempeh croquette set meal, one of the restaurant’s signature dishes.
Tempeh apparently has very little taste or smell, and its slightly firm texture and mild flavor make it lighter than a regular croquette.
For dessert, we ordered “Amazake Tempeh Cream Soda.”
Since it is made with amazake, the cream soda that arrived was white.
Drinking three cream sodas in one day might make you worry about calories and such, but knowing they contain fermented foods and tempeh makes you feel like you’re taking in something good for your body.
Perhaps thanks to the tempeh, the distinctive taste of amazake gave way to a clean finish.
This amazake cream soda also went down smoothly.
YKNOT COFFEE WORKS serves brown cream soda
After lunch, coffee at a cafe… or so you might think, but that day it was cream soda.
YKNOT COFFEE WORKS serves “Espresso and Fruit Syrup Cream Soda.”
Its color is brown, like espresso.
I was told it contained espresso, so I expected it to be bitter, but I was surprised by how easy it was to drink, thanks to the refreshing fruit syrup.
According to the owner, the fruit syrup is made with “dark cherries.”
As we sipped the well-balanced, grown-up brown cream soda—not too sweet and not too bitter—my friend and I had plenty to talk about.
As a coffee lover, I also bought some of the original blend coffee roasted in the shop.
Pick up some original merchandise, too
After collecting cream soda stickers at each shop and admiring their cute designs, my friend told me that there was a gachapon machine with original merchandise at the Yakage Visitor Center Tonya, so I went to check it out.
There are two types of gachapon prizes:
- Original masking tape
- Button badges and mirrors
I chose a capsule toy containing a randomly selected button badge or mirror.
I got a mirror featuring a pop-art cream soda.
I liked how the mirror itself and the logo design weren’t too large, making it just the right size to slip into a pouch and carry around for everyday use.
From the Writer
When a friend first suggested that I drink three cream sodas in one day, I was honestly a little hesitant, thinking, “Wouldn’t I get tired of drinking that many?”
But after visiting three shops that serve cream soda, I was surprised to find that, far from getting tired of them, I spent the day enjoying each shop’s distinctive cream soda with my eyes as well as my taste buds.
I got around by riding in my friend’s car, but Yakage’s town center is compact and close to a station on the Ibara Railway, so it seemed like you could enjoy visiting the shops by public transportation, too. It’s an event that people living outside Yakage Town can enjoy as well.
Of course, since the event runs for two months, you can visit again and again and try them all.
It was an event that people living in Yakage Town or nearby could enjoy in their own way, too.
A heat wave with temperatures exceeding 30°C day after day has begun.
Why not cool off with colorful, distinctive cream sodas?
Cream Soda IN Yakage Information
| Name | Cream Soda IN Yakage |
|---|---|
| Event dates | May 1 (Thu) to June 30 (Mon), 2025 |
| Location | 1989 Yakage, Yakage Town, Oda District, Okayama Prefecture |
| Participation fee (tax included) | Free to participate |
| Website | Cream Soda IN Yakage |
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
Enter a search term to find articles on this site
