We recently we dug our spoons once more into Kaki Gori, the Japanese Shaved Ice served at Kabuki Cafe. For years now, it’s been THE go-to treat as far as frozen options in the Japan Pavilion go, perfect for the cooling down in the current summer heat.

But did you know that Japan has got another — perhaps more authentic — frozen snack to keep your temperature down? It’s called Mochi. And though it’s been hanging around at the carts in the pavilion on-and-off for years, this additional cart we spotted recently seems to be mostly Mochi-centric.

The design is fun and fitting within the pavilion with its nifty, linear shape.

The cart holds several beverage options in addition to the Mochi, so if you’re in the mood for liquid refreshment you can get that here, too. And you can find the Japanese beverage Ramune here, if you’d rather keep with the pavilion’s theme.

But we were after the Mochi Ice Cream, which are kept in a grab-and-go freezer on the side of the cart.

You may have already spotted — or even tried — the dry packaged Mochi cakes sold inside the Mitsukoshi store, or in House of Good Fortune in China. The Mochi Ice Cream here come in two different sizes — a two-piece and a six-piece — and five different flavors: Green Tea, Strawberry, Chocolate, Mango, and Vanilla. (Note that the two-packs are only available in strawberry and vanilla.)

We grabbed one of each size, and while they are packaged very differently, they are made by the same company.

Mochi Ice Cream is essentially a sphere of frozen cream encapsulated in a sticky rice dough. (Mochi is the name for the dough itself.) The resulting dough-covered sphere is dusted with corn and potato starch, making Mochi Ice Cream treats gluten free (and sticky-free)! You even get a little of the history on the package.

The strawberry six-pack is presented in fun, colorful packaging. And the image on the bottom gives you a visual idea of what you’re getting.

Tucked inside is a divided tray with six individual Mochi Ice Cream treats. Definitely not the ice cream we’re used in the parks — but much more convenient for sharing!

You can see the dusting of starches on the outside, which allow you to pluck the Mochi from the tray without much trouble. And that pink color is so pretty! FYI: the Mochi dough shell itself does not have a distinct flavor, so even though it’s strawberry-pink, don’t expect a strawberry flavor.

That Mochi coating is, admittedly, a bit of a stumbling block. It’s quite chewy and takes some time to get used to after you bite into it. But it’s not unpleasant; just unusual.

And inside is a delicious ball of strawberry ice cream made with strawberry puree and milk.

The six-pack is ready for sharing, and we think families or groups will have fun breaking into the Mochi packaging and trying this unique snack.

But if you’re a party of one (or two), the two-pack is going to be more your style. The packaging features Hello Kitty (Hello, Kitty!!!!!!), hence the complementary colors with the vanilla and strawberry flavor options.

The gluten free label and nutritional information are front and center on this one.

We grabbed the vanilla this time, and it’s fairly nondescript in the tray. Like, there’s no hello kitty emblazoned on the front or anything like the little green men in tokyo. (Sad face.)

The outer layer of Mochi was exactly the same otherwise — texture and flavor were identical to the six-pack option. You can see that once they’re out of the package, these do start to melt.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, the vanilla version was more flavorful than the strawberry! The vanilla flavor was both sweeter and more pronounced. This added a little more oomph to the otherwise neutral Mochi dough.

The two-pack is $3.99, which isn’t a bad price tag to try a more authentic cultural item than, say, the Green Tea Cheesecake you’ll find at Katsura Grill (note that these are not marked with the Disney Dining Plan snack credit designation). I’d say Mochi Ice Cream is a snack to try once, although I honestly probably won’t go back for a second. But if you’ve got a Hello Kitty fan with you who also happens to have a bit of an adventurous streak when it comes to snacking, then you can definitely consider this a fun find!

And it makes me wonder… does this mean we might have a shot at seeing the Little Green Mochi from Tokyo Disneyland in the upcoming Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios? I kinda doubt it, but still… it’s fun to dream!

Do you like to try country-specific treats when walking the World Showcase? Let us know about your adventures in the comments!