Lines keep growing for Japanese man’s gelato and ‘10 seconds of bliss’

Despite the scorching heat of the weekday afternoon, the customers queued out the door. The prize all enthusiastically waited for? Adventurous, icy tastes in cone and scoop.

Sitting among the slope of storefronts heading into W District, Rintaro isn’t new to Bangkok, but its stock has been steadily rising, even during this time of pandemic. 

Hundreds line up every day outside the small shop to try its Pumpkin Caramel, Japanese Sweet Potato, Camembert Cheese & Mixed Nuts and more.

Behind the scenes is Shintaro Nakajima, a Japanese man who settled in Bangkok eight years ago after successfully opening his first two ice-creameries back home – one in Chiba and another in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district.

“It only takes 10 seconds of eating my ice cream to find bliss,” Shintaro said in fluent Thai. 

He says his shop…