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Vanilla ice cream was rated the most popular ice cream flavor in Japan. According to a survey conducted in October 2024, around ** percent of Japanese respondents chose the vanilla flavored version as their favorite frozen treat. 
While classic flavors popular in Western countries, such as chocolate, strawberry or cookies and cream, were also considered crowd pleasers in Japan, traditional Japanese flavorings that might cater to local preferences, such as matcha, adzuki bean, and soda, did not fall behind in popularity.

Traditional or traumatizing? Japan’s unique ice cream flavors

Ice cream was voted the most popular sweet treat among Japanese, relegating all-time favorites, such as cake or chocolate, to second and third place respectively. Hybrid products, combining traditional confectionaries, so-called wagashi, with Western ice cream culture, are commonly found in Japanese cooling shelves. Apart from traditional flavors, such as black sesame, sweet potato or kinako (roasted soybean powder), ice cream treats inspired by wagashi textures, such as daifuku mochi, count as firm favorites within the domestic ice cream market.
With food trends being repeatedly covered by national and global media, Japan’s love for desserts has been made accessible to international audiences. Boosted by that, more daring product releases have entered the market, tempting consumers with flavors such as soy sauce, natto (fermented soybeans), ramen or squid ink.

An overview of the domestic ice cream market

The Japanese ice cream industry generated sales worth over 600 billion Japanese yen in recent years. The most commonly sold ice cream type in Japan were family-sized multipacks, followed by ice cream served in paper cups. While the country produces the majority of its ice cream domestically, imported ice cream brands, such as Häagen Dazs or Baskin Robbins are trending in Japan, popularly known as "Dazs" and "Thirty One".