He went for the chocolate and came back as part of the brand.
There are many delectable treats to be found in Japan, from the cheap to the more unusual, but a popular chocolate snack is Black Thunder.
Developed by Yuraku Confectionery in Toyohashi, Aichi, in 1994, it quickly became a beloved product nationwide, often working in collaboration with other companies to create a food mash-up, like this year’s dessert range at Sushiro. Now, this month will see the introduction of the first-ever factory tour, at the Black Thunder Waku-zaku Factory in Toyohashi on May 27. Our ace Japanese-language reporter Mr. Sato joined the media preview, expecting to be treated to a tour of the production process, but was instead thunderstruck when he laid eyes on the jackets worn by the employees, deciding he must have one at all costs.
The day started off like any other press event: Mr. Sato arrived at Shinjohara Station (the nearest station), and while it was possible to walk there in about 25 minutes, he opted to take the provided shuttle bus.
Expecting a minibus to pull up, he was a little surprised to discover a full-sized tour bus: it appeared that Yuraku had pulled out all of the stops for the sake of good coverage; their confidence in the new factory was overflowing.
A short bus ride later, Mr. Sato arrived at the Yuraku Confectionery Toyohashi Dream Factory.
The company’s store that sits next door to the factory is closed to the public until May 27, but Mr. Sato got a sneak peek later on in the day.
The event opened with a greeting from President Tatsunobu Kawai, who explained that from their initial idea to expand and revamp the factory in 2023 for Black Thunder’s 30th anniversary the following year, it took two years to complete the entire renewal and open up the Black Thunder Waku-zaku Factory.
Not content with just creating a viewing area, Yuraku decided to take things a little bigger in the hopes of giving new energy to the Tokai-Mikawa region where the product was born, and opted to build an interactive entertainment facility.
It’s a respectable goal, without a doubt, but for Mr. Sato… he simply couldn’t tear his eyes away from the president’s jacket.
▼ “It’s so cool… is it a sukajan? A leather jacket?”
A sukajan is a type of embroidered satin jacket that was originally designed to be a souvenir. The president’s jacket, Mr. Sato later learned, was in fact a leather sukajan that was the only one of its kind in the world.
The speech soon ended, forcing Mr. Sato to tear his eyes away from the leather sukajan and pay attention to the following speaker. Next up was Hiro Maki from the Management Quality Department, who oversees the facility, to give a general explanation of the work done throughout the renewal.
The main feature, the factory tour corridor, is divided into nine areas. From there, visitors can watch the production process up close and learn the secrets to Black Thunder’s deliciousness. They’ve even included a section with immersive projection mapping, allowing guests to experience the process from the perspective of the ingredients that go into making Black Thunder.
However…
▼ “…his jacket is also super cool.”
Mr. Sato was left pondering whether that jacket was only for employees, as he would love to get his hands on one if he could. He is, after all, one of our most fashionable reporters, so it’s no surprise that he’s taken by the trendy-looking clothes.
The speeches ended with a ceremony that appointed Black Thunder as a tourism ambassador to Toyohashi.
While usually referred to as “ambassadors,” Black Thunder gets a special privilege in being able to be known as an “amba-thunder.”
With the formalities completed, it was time to explore and Mr. Sato headed straight for the company store. Upon entering the first thing to catch his eye was…
A sofa that looks just like Black Thunder. Mr. Sato decided then and there that his house was in need of a new sofa, but to his dismay, the sofa was not for sale.
With about 80 different items in stock, the store feels like it has something for everyone. There’s naturally many chocolate products, but it’s the merchandise where the store really shines.
And there it was! The jacket that Hiro was wearing is for sale. On the left side of the chest is “BT” for “Black Thunder,” and on the right, two lightning bolts. “So stylish…”
The embroidery on the back is great too, having a perfectly subdued design to not detract from the rest of the jacket.
The center is a map of Japan, with Tokyo (where the headquarters in Kodaima is located), Sapporo (another factory), and Toyohashi are all marked.
Adding the little Japanese flairs of a hawk and Mt. Fuji is a nice touch, but the pièce de résistance is the design of a thunder god, which would traditionally be riding a cloud, but is instead riding a Black Thunder. Mr. Sato was in love with the quirkiness of the embroidery.
The only thing that stood between Mr. Sato and a new jacket was the price. It was bound to be expensive, so Mr. Sato briefly contemplated going for a T-shirt instead.
He cast his eyes over to the shelf where the jackets were located and scanned the price: 21,000 yen (US$145.95) for a large size.
That’s… pretty expensive. He hadn’t anticipated spending so much while he was on the trip, but… he really wanted that jacket. Like… really, really wanted it.
Just in case, Mr. Sato slipped it on to see how he looked, and he loved it even more.
Wearing the jacket just felt so right; he bought it instantly. Being the only place where it is being sold, the option of not buying one wasn’t really an option at all. The regret would be too much to bear.
With a sukajan of his very own, there was no other choice for his next goal: he approached that person…
▼ Who happened to be busy with filming for a television interview.
Mr. Sato: “E-excuse me, President… I’m Sato from Sora News.”
President Kawai: “Ah, thank you for coming today.”
Mr. Sato: “I bought the sukajan.”
President Kawai: “Thank you. It suits you a lot.”
Mr. Sato: “Thank you. Would you take a photo together with me?”
President Kawai: “Of course!”
Mr. Sato: “Awesome!”
Successfully achieving his goal of getting a photo with the president wearing matching jackets, Mr. Sato felt he could end the day feeling completely satisfied.
Until he realized that he had completely forgotten to take a look at the rest of the facility.
Along with the 80 types of Black Thunder products in the store, there are also region-exclusive flavors that are usually only sold in specific areas in Japan, like…
▼ …ice cream, and frozen cakes.
There’s even Black Thunder Stout, a beer made using leftover bits of Black Thunder.
Of course the main feature of the store, something that gets everyone pumped up, is the stuff-in-as-much-as-you-possibly-can event, and Black Thunder is no stranger to chocolate-grabbing events, having run a slightly different version for Valentine’s Day earlier in the year.
The store plans to run the event 13 times a day, and you need to purchase a ticket at the register in advance, with each turn costing 1,100 yen. If the tickets run out, then you’re out of luck and can only forlornly watch from the sidelines as other guests pack chocolate into bags by the fistful.
The rules are simple: within three minutes, you need to put as many Black Thunders as you can into the designated bag. You can overfill as long as you can lift it and hold it steady for five seconds without anything falling. If you can manage that, you get to keep it all.
The bag, though, is surprisingly small and doesn’t stretch, so excess force could result in tearing the bag.
Everyone there gave it a try, with each person using their own different techniques.
There was even one person stacking them like Jenga blocks, resulting in quite a good haul.
For Mr. Sato, he came away with a grand total of 37 chocolate bars.
With one bar costing around 40 yen (US$0.28), that’s about 1,480 yen, making it a total of 380 yen worth of free chocolate.
Not too shabby, but it seems that the average number was over 40, and there was even someone who got up to 50 bars.
Of course, the store is not the only attraction at Black Thunder Waku-zaku Factory. Along the 71.5-meter (234.6-foot) observation corridor, visitors can watch all nine stages of the production process.
There are machines that cut the chocolate bars 864 times per minute, slicing them in a satisfying and mesmerizing way.
That naturally means that the factory can produce 864 Black Thunder bars every minute, resulting in a yearly production capacity of 252 million bars.
There are also photo spots to discover, where Mr. Sato was able to join Hiro for another sukajan shot.
Black Thunder Waku-zaku Factory is set to be a popular tourist destination in Toyohashi, where fans of sukajan can pick up their own factory-exclusive jacket and other Black Thunder-based goods, as well as finally being able to see the production process behind one of Japan’s beloved chocolate bars for free. But, seriously, when you see that jacket for yourself, any resistance may be futile.
Location information
Black Thunder Waku-zaku Factory / ブラックサンダーワクザクファクトリー
Address: Aichi-ken, Toyohashi-shi, Hara-cho, Zosha-88, Yuraku Seika Kabushikigaisha
愛知県豊橋市原町蔵社88 有楽製菓株式会社
Open: 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (shop only; viewing corridor requires advance booking through their website)
Website
Photos ©SoraNews24
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