Oh, and! One thing that might help with the melting problem. A lot of the really nice places that sell shaved ice do is put some of the flavored syrup on the bottom, then put in the shaved ice...and a LOT of shaved ice. A WHOLE lot. Then dribble more syrup on the sides and only a bit on the top. So the color comes in from the bottom, and the shape more or less stays, and you just mix it yourself with the spoon to get the flavor to go all the way through.
*wants green tea shaved ice but since it's 'autumn' now nowhere sells it anymore* *curses the Japanese idea of season change* *also curses 2 AMness, which also directly impacts ability to track down shaved ice*