So, I ordered a Japan Crate. Snack crates have always interested me because I love eating, and what a great way to try out new snacks that aren't available to you. I thought Japan Crate was cool because I'm interested to try out Japanese snacks, because it's very unfamiliar territory, and everything is so new and exiting!
I decided to try it out for this month, because they now do free international shipping which is amazing! I bought the Premium crate which comes with 15 snacks, a drink, a DIY kit and a bonus item.
It also comes with this booklet that showcases some of the snacks that are featured in this box, and a list of what you get, as well as some interesting facts about events happening in March in Japan and some traditional foods that get eaten in the month of March.
This is the Bon O Bon Creamy Cream. At first I thought this was going to be a chocolate banana candy because I thought the yellow thing under the logo was a banana, but it just ended up being a peanut butter chocolate candy. I wasn't too fond of this, I think I'd rather just have a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
2.5/5 stars
Next are these Country Ma'am Chocolate Chip Cookies, and this is a HUGE package. I think it contains more than 20 individually wrapped cookie. On the back it says you can microwave these cookies for 20 seconds or in your toaster overn for a minute.
They come in two flavours, "Chocolate Cookie Vanilla"which is basically just a regular chocolate chip cookie, and then a double chocolate chip one. I tried these on their own, and they were really good. BUT the magic is to pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds, and it gets all warm and gooey, and buttery, just like a homemade cookie, and it's DELICIOUS.
5/5 stars
Next is this Awadama grape candy which is the size of a marble, This I also wasn't a fan of, mainly because I don't like grape flavours, but this was also sour and it made my tongue hurt. It's not really anything special. There's a ring pop version of this in this crate too, which I don't even think I'm going to eat.
2/5 stars.
How cute is this panda cookie!It's called Melon Pandaro and centre is actually green and tastes exactly like a melon! It's like a shortbread cookie but it's light and crispy which I really liked. I think I could easily eat a box of these.
4/5 stars
Doesn't this kind of look like a taquito? However, this is the furthest from Mexican food. This is actually a flaky corn snack called Umaibo in a shrimp and mayonnaise flavour. Honestly, at this point you shouldn't even be surprised that's a flavour combination that exists, because Asian food has some weird flavours. But this was honestly one of my favourites. Japanese mayonnaise is very different from American mayonnaise and has more of a sweeter and more complex flavour.
The consistency was kind of like eating those fat puffy cheetos, where if you hold it in your mouth it starts to melt. This has a very shrimpy taste with a bit of that sweet mayo flavour which I really enjoyed.
4.5/5 stars
Next up is this cute little Ichigo Daifuku in strawberry flavour. It's not actually a daifuku because it's not mochi, but it looks like one. This is actually a little marshmallow with a strawberry filling.
If this was just a strawberry flavoured marshmallow I'd be pretty disappointed, but the filling is delicious. It tastes exactly like strawberry ice cream. I also like the texture because it looks so cute when you squeeze it.
4/5 stars
This is called Bonchiage which is a fried rise cracker in a sweet soy sauce flavour. I was super excited to try this out because it seems like it would be a great crunchy, savoury snack I could enjoy while watching a movie.
This tastes exactly like this Korean rice cracker snack that usually comes in a rectangular shape. But this one has a more pungent flavour. It's very salty, but has a sweet after taste. I think this would be a good healthy snack choice. It has that umami taste.
3.5/5 stars
This is Japan's #1 longest chocolate. It is this long, crispy corn puff that's coated in chocolate and peanuts. The corn puff melts in your mouth. This is very similar to this Korean snack called Corn cho/ Con cho/ 콘초.
This was kind of surprising because I thought it was going to be this long chocolate bar, instead of a corn puff/chocolate stick, but it was still really delicious. It made me want to buy the Korean snack.
3/5 stars
This is the Pai No Mi: Uji Matcha which I was super excited to try because it's like a little mini matcha puff pastry! I used to not be a big fan of matcha, but slowly it's growing on me.
I liked this snack because of the size, and it was quick finger food that I could eat when watching something (I do this A LOT.) but I thought that this was just OK. I was kind of expecting more of a matcha filling, but it was mostly this crumbly puff pastry texture. It kind of just tastes like a sweet cracker.
3/5 stars
This is the Sobameshi snack which was the bonus item for this month's crate! This is supposed to be a snack version of Sobameshi which is a fried noodle dish. This has little curly ramen looking pieces and puffed rice pieces, and it's all seasoned in this salty, savoury coating.
If you've ever tried "whale food" or Goraebap (it's not actually whale food, it's this Korean crispy snack that's shaped like starfish, fish, whales, etc) it tastes EXACTLY like that.
I really, really like this, although I prefer goraebap, just because it's a little easier to eat, this is the flavour I like in a lot of snacks.
4/5 stars
Throwback to my childhood days in this Japanese version of a ring pop!
I mentioned this candy when I talked about the Awadama grape candy, and I'm glad that I decided to try this out, because this is so much better than that candy. It's a lot sweeter, and not as grape flavoured as you think it would be.
It kind of just tastes like sugar...which makes sense because this entire thing is just sugar, but I liked that I could wear it, and I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't taste like sour grape.
3/5 stars
These are the Cheetos Kyushu Soy Sauce flavoured cheetos which I was excited to tr because I've never heard of a soy sauce flavoured cheeto, but I would say that this was a flavour that I'm very used to, even though I've never had them. They're still super delicious, but I don't know if it's because Korean and Japanese snacks are very similar, but these just tasted like normal Asian cheetos. But, I do like the Korean spicier cheetos better than this one.
These are way different from the American cheese ones you're probably used to, and I would say give these a shot! They're kind of sweet and salty, and super easy to snack on because they're just like potato chips.
4/5 stars
This is the Umakamon Mayonnaise which is a corn puff snack that's a Japanese mayo flavour! I know, mayo as a snack?? But Japanese mayo is very different and it actually tastes like a very mild sour cream and onion chip. I wish this bag was bigger because this was a very small portion.
4/5 stars
Next is this Calpis peach drink which is something that I cannot describe. It's like a yogurt drink? But it's not thick like yogurt and doesn't taste like yogurt? But it's also not like a juice, and it's not a pop. It's a strange drink but it's very tasty. It's a very sweet drink. It even says on the bottle "Calpis tastes like nothing else." If I were to try and compare it to another drink, it's kind of like freshly squeezed apple juice but sugarier and less acidic.
4.75/5 stars (just because it makes me feel more thirsty)
Last but not least, this Yayoasan Soft Candy DIY kit. The whole thing is in Japanese and I had tried to translate it, but it turns out that it's a lot simpler than I thought it was going to be.
It comes with these two molds which I think is a pineapple, a peach, corn and an onion. And 3 sticks of this yellow, green and pink candy which feels like powdered play dough. You kind of just squish this into the mold, and then you can set it up in your vegetable shop.
They look super adorable, and it was kind of fun to do because I've never experienced something like this before. I've seen some other DIY candy kits where it's powder and you have to mix water which seems a little complicated, so I liked that this was simple. It's super cute, the taste is OK. The pink candy tastes like a grape Hi-Chew, and the yellow is lemon. I think the green one was my favourite, but not sure what it was. A sour green apple maybe?
4/5 stars.
Overall, I think Japan crate was great! It included a lot of interesting snacks that all tasted good. (minus that grape candy) Obviously, if you have access to someone in Japan who can send these snacks to you, this would be considered expensive, because I'm sure these snacks are all convenience store snacks and at max cost $5. However, compared to other subscription boxes I've researched, Japan Crate seems to have a wide selection for a good price.
