Japanese ice-cream lovers have swapped traditional flavours such as raspberry ripple for something a little more exotic - horse-flesh.

As Tokyo swelters in soaring temperatures, people are being invited to cool off by choosing from a variety of unusual flavours.

Vegetarians can enjoy soybean and kelp or a cornet of strawberry and spinach.

After years of fairly cool summers, sales of ice-cream in Japan have been low.

Now with Tokyo basking in temperatures of 39.5C (103F), the Japan Ice-Cream Association has decided to strike while the iron, or rather the weather, is hot.

It wants to prove there is more to ice-cream than the usual vanilla flavours and has set up a summer trade fair to promote the refreshment.

A report shows that although the Japanese spent more than £1.5bn on ice-cream and sorbets last year, the country ranks only 19th in world consumption.

Now the Japanese are spoilt for choice with an array of different flavours.

Garlic, potato and lettuce, and cactus and seaweed along with raw horse-flesh are now available in Japan's shops.

Sky.com

I wouldn't dare to try one

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.................... NO THANK YOU!

Yeah.... Japan's ool.... but sometimes they're just weird.... and while we're at it they should ban whale hunting

horse-flesh ice cream exotic? ok... what ever you say... ... ... *eats horse-flesh ice cream* jummy, your right, this is exotic

Gross.

Personally. Moe is waiting for the bacon and eggs flavored ice cream cone.

When I lived in Japan, I once bought what I thought was a vanilla bar dipped in chocolate....wrong the chocolate was actually mashed up brown beans!!! Not a taste treat for sure!

Thats disgusting!

f***, not again. I'm now unable to post sometimes. Technology hates me. *Checks to see if watch is still working* Well I copy before I paste and I discovered that I stil have the post so here it is:
Icecream has never seemed so disgusting. Still, if they're offering samples I'll at least have a taste as long as I have some real icecream to take away the taste of whatever horrors they decided to make.

Wow, that's weird! I didn't know that was even possible...

I know theres some ice cream places in the states that will have a totally off-the-wall flavor of the week/month/..... but horseflesh???

ugh
*gags*

in my country we eat cat hind legs with paprika to make the
treat real spicy!

Well, horse-meat is tasty, but it has an ice-cream flavour.... :S

I ate horse liver once... and it was't so bad.
Maybe if I add some paprika, it'll taste even better!

i once tried a green tea ice cream, and it tasted just like tuna, maybe they got mixed up and sent it over here, mmmmm tuna icecream

i just think its cause dairy based products pick up flavors of things they are stored with

maybe horse icecream wass just some kinda accident and their trying to act like it was on purpose

What the hell... I can understand eating horse... but not as an ice cream flavour!! >.< It's one of those things that makes you go "What the hell is WRONG with these people??"

Every now and then some bright young marketing genius decides to improve on a product that needs no improvement.

oh yummy!

I wonder if they mean horseflesh as in real horse flavor, or something like "Chunkey Monkey" that Ben and Jerry puts out...Sometimes things get a little wacky in translation.

btw, Chunkey Monkey doesn't taste like monkey. Unless monkeys taste like chocolate that is...

of course monkeys taste like chocolate, i thought everyone know that

You live in the Apalachians don't you?

horse flesh, comin up!

anyone ever notice how the japanese always either amaze us , or disgust us , but never do anything in between ? Crazy .

hey i live in the Apalachians! i take offense to that! j/k not really. I'd wish they'd have a Moonshine flavored icecream here

That's really disgusting

I've heard of the garlic ones before, from some garlic fair. Also yuk.