FamilyMart is bringing back "Gyutto Mikan," an ice bar made with 67% Wakayama-grown mikan juice, in limited quantities from September 15, 2026 (Tuesday). It sells for ¥230 (¥248 tax included) at roughly 16,100 FamilyMart stores nationwide, excluding Okinawa Prefecture.
The same day, a separate "Wakayama Fair" brings three region-limited items — a large onigiri, a matcha whipped-cream donut, and a bowl of Wakayama-style chuka soba — to roughly 2,650 FamilyMart stores across the Kansai region (Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, and Wakayama prefectures) and some stores in Mie Prefecture.
A Two-Layer Ice Bar Built Around Wakayama's Mikan
Gyutto Mikan belongs to FamilyMart's "Famimaru" private-label "Sanchi to, Kombini," series, which uses domestically grown fruit to support sustainable farming. The bar returns for another year in limited quantities, combining a concentrated mikan juice layer with a melt-in-your-mouth gelato layer. The juice itself comes from mikan grown under carefully managed water and sunlight, giving it a rich, sweet-and-tart flavor.
Stone Terraces That Concentrate the Sweetness
For this year's edition, FamilyMart visited the terraced mikan orchards of Wakayama Prefecture, one of Japan's leading citrus-growing regions, where hand-stacked stone walls hold back the hillside. Beyond preventing erosion, the stone acts as a natural heat reservoir, reflecting sunlight and holding the day's warmth to concentrate the sweetness of the fruit. Local farmers describe caring for old trees planted by earlier generations, tending them for years before each harvest — work that keeps both the landscape and its history alive.
Climate Change Is Making the Harvest Harder to Protect
A shortage of imported oranges has raised the value of Japan's domestic mikan, but the growers behind it are contending with increasingly extreme weather. Heavy rain has caused stone walls to collapse and soil to wash away, and farmers have worked hard to hold their orchards together. Rising summer heat, water shortages, and stink bug damage have made cultivation more difficult still, prompting farmers to adopt fan-equipped workwear and sprinkler irrigation to protect their trees and fruit.
Turning Wind-Scarred Fruit Into Something Sweet
Rising costs for plastic and other agricultural materials, along with higher logistics costs, are adding further pressure on mikan-growing regions, even as farmers hold to their standards. Fruit that gets scratched by branches in strong winds still tastes just as good, but is treated as out-of-grade by the fresh produce market.
FamilyMart uses this excluded fruit as one of the ingredients for its chilled ice bar, delivering the juice grown with such care to stores nationwide through its store network.
A Winter Fruit, Delivered Ahead of Season
Mikan is best known as a winter fruit, and FamilyMart's nationwide rollout lets shoppers enjoy its flavor earlier in the season. "Turning it into a nationwide product is a great source of publicity for us, and it gives us energy for what's ahead," growers on the ground have said.
Juice is pressed even from fruit that couldn't be shipped for appearance reasons, bringing that flavor to customers throughout the year. FamilyMart hopes this creates steady demand that helps growers weather cost increases and unpredictable weather, sustaining Wakayama's long tradition of mikan cultivation for years to come.
A Kansai-Only "Wakayama Fair"
FamilyMart and Wakayama Prefecture signed a comprehensive partnership agreement for regional revitalization in October 2010, and have since collaborated on original product development and sales. This year's fair, 「魅力を味わおう！ええ味！和歌山」 ("Taste the Appeal! Great Flavor, Wakayama"), brings three items to roughly 2,650 Kansai-area stores, each built around Wakayama ingredients or developed with well-known local shops.
Packaging for the fair once again features "Kii-chan," Wakayama Prefecture's PR character modeled on the Kishu Inu dog breed, promoting the prefecture's appeal. At stores within Wakayama Prefecture, customers get a Kii-chan sticker for each fair item they buy, while supplies last, starting September 15, 2026.
Product Details
Gyutto Mikan (とろける食感 ぎゅっとみかん / Melt-in-Your-Mouth Texture, Packed with Mikan)
- Price: ¥230 (¥248 tax included at the reduced 8% rate)
- On sale: September 15, 2026 (Tuesday)
- Available: Nationwide, excluding Okinawa Prefecture
- Description: An ice bar made with rich, sweet mikan juice from Wakayama Prefecture, combining a concentrated mikan juice layer with a melt-in-your-mouth gelato layer.
Large Onigiri: Umeboshi & Okaka, with Mochi Barley (大きなおむすび 梅おかか（もち麦入り）)
- Price: ¥227 (¥245 tax included)
- On sale: September 15, 2026 (Tuesday)
- Available: Kansai region (Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, and Wakayama prefectures) and some stores in Mie Prefecture
- Description: A large rice ball made with mochi barley, mixing pickled plum paste and plum vinegar from Wakayama-grown ume with bonito flakes. Limited quantities.
Gyokurinen-Supervised Matcha Whipped Donut, Green Soft Flavor (玉林園監修 抹茶ホイップドーナツ（グリーンソフト風味）)
- Price: ¥149 (¥160 tax included)
- On sale: September 15, 2026 (Tuesday)
- Available: Kansai region and some stores in Mie Prefecture
- Description: A donut filled with whipped cream made using the matcha served at Gyokurinen (玉林園), a long-established Wakayama establishment. Matcha cream is blended with whipped cream for the refreshing bitterness and matcha flavor characteristic of "Green Soft." Limited quantities.
Ide Shoten-Supervised Wakayama Chuka Soba (井出商店監修 和歌山中華そば)
- Price: ¥536 (¥578 tax included)
- On sale: September 15, 2026 (Tuesday)
- Available: Kansai region and some stores in Mie Prefecture
- Description: A bowl of chuka soba supervised by Wakayama's well-known Ide Shoten, made with a rich, creamy pork-bone soy sauce broth. The soy sauce flavor has been intensified from last year's version for an even deeper taste.
Images are for illustration only. Tax-included prices are shown at the reduced 8% consumption tax rate. Prices and release dates may vary by region, and some items may not be available at every store.
