Matsuya's Official X Rewrites and Reposts Its 'Black Mapo Tofu' Introduction Five Minutes Later

On the night of September 30, 2026, Matsuya’s official X account (@matsuya_foods) posted a photo introducing a serving of the ‘Black Mapo Tofu Set Meal,’ which went on nationwide sale on September 29, 2026. The first post was a short one, reading only ‘Here’s our new release, “Black Mapo Tofu”!! (╹◡╹)’ followed by ‘a lingering heat.’ About five minutes later, a new post with the same opening line was published again, its text substantially expanded.

Reposted Five Minutes Later With Added Text

The first post went up at 7:50 PM, a short two-line text that ended after just one line — ‘Here’s our new release, “Black Mapo Tofu”!! (╹◡╹)’ followed by ‘a lingering heat.’ The post published about five minutes later, at 7:55 PM, opened with the same line — ‘Here’s our new release, “Black Mapo Tofu”!! (╹◡╹)’ — but what followed had grown. The single line about the heat was extended into ‘The lingering heat is addictive ☺️,’ followed by a note on how to use the accompanying seasoning: ‘You can add extra kick with sansho pepper!’ It went on to add that rice refills are free during the ongoing New Rice Fair — ‘Plus, free rice refills during the New Rice Fair!! 🍚’ — and closed with ‘Eat until you’re full!!’ What began as a brief first report ended up with a taste impression, a tip on how to eat it, and word of a concurrent fair all added in afterward.

The phrasing used to open the post — ‘Here’s our new release, “◯◯”’ — was also used in the August 13, 2026 post about the ‘Boneless Short Rib & Offal Bowl.’ That post named the product and then continued for more than four lines, including a message to readers and a ‘lol’ (笑). Compared to that, the two lines of today’s first report were short. The expanded repost, in terms of volume, comes closer to matching that earlier, livelier style of writing.

A Black Dish Posted the Day After Its Nationwide Release

The photo shows a generously sized bowl of mapo tofu coated in a deeply darkened sauce. The white of the tofu and the green of the sliced scallion scattered on top provide accent colors, while red chili oil bleeds along the rim of the bowl. The sauce itself is close to black, as its name suggests, and the color scheme visually bears out the name ‘Black Mapo Tofu.’

Rice and miso soup sit in front, and beside the bowl of mapo tofu is a small packet of GABAN’s ‘Sansho Pepper.’ Sansho pepper is a seasoning that adds a numbing heat to mapo tofu, and it comes served alongside the dish rather than left on the table. In the first report, this packet only appeared in the photo; in the expanded repost, its use was also spelled out in the text — ‘You can add extra kick with sansho pepper!’

‘Lingering’ Is a Different Choice of Words From the Official Announcement

The line touching on flavor read ‘a lingering heat’ in the first report and ‘the lingering heat is addictive’ in the repost. In its official announcement dated September 24, 2026, Matsuya described this product’s heat as ‘a striking spiciness’ and ‘a sharp, numbing heat.’ The word ‘lingering’ does not appear in the announcement text — it is different phrasing written specifically for the official X post. Even describing the same heat, the wording chosen differs between the announcement and the X post. The emoticon at the end, ‘(╹◡╹),’ is one this account uses often.

Mapo Tofu Is a Matsuya Staple, but Pairing It With ‘Black’ Is New

Mapo-themed products are a recurring theme at Matsuya. Since 2008, this marks the 14th time a new product with ‘mapo’ in its title has been announced. Most recently, the ‘Authentic Sichuan-style Mapo Tofu Set Meal’ appeared in May 2025. Meanwhile, menu items bearing the word ‘black’ — such as ‘Black Wagyu Beef’ or ‘black truffle sauce’ — have appeared from time to time, but mapo tofu had never before been paired with ‘black.’ The ‘Black Mapo Tofu’ is a new combination for Matsuya.

Lining up the prices of mapo-tofu-based set meals: the ‘Sichuan-style Spicy-Savory Mapo Tofu Set Meal’ was 590 yen in 2015, the ‘Sichuan-style Mapo Tofu Set Meal’ was 620 yen in 2019 (650 yen with egg), and the ‘Authentic Sichuan-style Mapo Tofu Set Meal’ was 980 yen in 2025. This time, the ‘Black Mapo Tofu Set Meal’ is priced at 890 yen. These are different products under different names, so it is not a direct comparison, but the price falls below the 980 yen of the most recent 2025 release. It also comes as ‘Black Mapo Tofu Only’ for 690 yen and as a ‘Black Mapo Tofu Bowl’ for 790 yen.

From a June Limited Release at 70 Stores to Nationwide Sale

The ‘Black Mapo Tofu Set Meal’ was first introduced on June 30, 2026, as a limited-time menu item at 70 stores nationwide. It was then announced on September 24, 2026, that it would go on nationwide sale starting at 10:00 AM on September 29, and as scheduled, it went on sale at Matsuya locations nationwide on September 29, 2026. Today’s photo post comes the day after that nationwide release.