Yamakawa Jozo, a soy sauce brewery based in Gifu prefecture, has been selling a type of Tamari soy sauce specially designed for use on ice cream, according to Pink Tentacle. The sauce is not regarded as disgusting but rather has proven popular and a growing number of restaurants are even using it on their dessert menus.

A small amount of the rich, dark brew is said to give vanilla ice cream a caramel-like flavor, while a more liberal dose apparently makes vanilla ice cream taste more like mitarashi-dango (skewered rice dumplings covered in sweet sauce). According to the president of Yamakawa Jozo, the company developed the soy sauce specifically for use with vanilla ice cream, but consumers have come forward with a number of unexpected recipes. In addition to claims that it goes well with other ice cream flavors like strawberry and chocolate, fans of the special sauce say it tastes great on kaki-gori (shaved ice) and on toast, and that it makes a great mixer for shochu.

Strawberry and chocolate are only the tip of the iceberg for Japanese ice cream flavors, of course. Pink Tentacle speculates about the potential combinations, many of which must be even more yummy than plain old soy sauce on vanila ice cream.