So you know about the five elements and the five senses. And maybe you've heard of the five colors in Japanese cuisine. Perhaps you're even familiar with Buddhism's five states of enlightenment. But have you heard about the Pocky Five Fruits and Black Five? No?

...That's okay. Neither had I until two nights ago at Family Mart.

I became an instant fan of the Black Five (Kurogo). Not only does its name sound like an ultra-cool group of hitmen and/or spies -- whereas "The Five Fruits" is more like a fourth-grade talent show dance troupe -- its nutty flavor is almost exactly like my favorite Pocky ever: Black Sesame (Kurogoma). Which makes sense, since kurogoma is a member of the Black Five. The lineup also includes the Japanese favorites kuromame (black soybean) and kurogome (black rice), as well as the lesser-known kuromatsunomi (black pine nut) and kurokarin (black quince). (I hope you've figured out the Japanese word for "black" by now.) But I'll be honest -- I only really taste the black sesame flavor. Which is fine by me.

Similarly, though the Five Fruits (Goka) includes chestnut, apricot, plum, peach and jujube, I only taste the momo, peach. Although I actually have no idea what a jujube tastes like, so maybe the Five Fruits reeks of jujube, who knows?

This new Pocky marks the end of summer, I think. Gone are the Pocky Pine Cream and Coconut days; it's time to start thinking about quince and chestnuts. Life in Japan is all about the subtle markers of seasonal change. Some people watch the ripening rice or the changing leaves. I watch the Pocky.