Japan Crate is a monthly subscription box that helps you “experience the excitement of Japan every month through fun candy & snacks.” They have three subscription levels that start at $12 a month and offer 1, 3, 6, or 12-month plans that auto-renew at the end of the term. Japan Crate aims to send candy that is fun and exclusively available in Japan. Now, this box actually SHIPS from Japan!
DEAL: Save $3 on your first regular or premium crate with coupon code HELLO.
There are 3 different subscription levels available: The Mini includes 5 items, the Original includes those items PLUS another 5 items, and the Premium includes those 10 items PLUS another 5 items. This month I am reviewing the Premium box!
There was a Manga-zine that lists the contents of the box and other info. The cover included references to some of the snacks! This month’s theme is “Festival.”
Japan Crate lists the snacks for all three box sizes plus gives a little info on what’s going on in Japan that month.
Everything in the box! Japan Crate always manages to put together a colorful box. My 13-year-old daughter especially loves this box and helped me test the snacks.
Dondon Yaki Kimchi reminded me of the size and consistency of croutons but with a spicy umami flavor. I don’t think it tastes like kimchi but it was good.
Meigum Gaburichu Cola This is a chewing candy that is similar to gum except it disappears after a few minutes. It had a cola flavor and my daughter liked it but to me it tastes like flat Coke.
Fugashi This has a weird consistency, sort of like a Cheeto combined with styrofoam. The brown sugar coating is crunchy but I can’t get past the weird texture. It is a very popular dagashi (cheap candy) in Japan.
Riska Umai Ring Cheese are the marriage of a Funyun and a Cheeto – Funyun shape and texture, but cheesy like Cheetos.
This box opened up to reveal six individual packs of cookies, which makes them easy to place in a lunchbox or to share with friends.
They sort of look like sausage rolls! This is a rolled wafer cookie with strawberry flavored cream filling, similar to a Piroline cookie.
Shimi Choco Corn are corn puffs with a chocolaty coating.
This reminds me of a kids cereal and is easy to pop in your mouth on the go.
Ginbis 6-Piece Crispy Corn is more like a cracker than a chip and tastes like corn soup. Weird, but as my daughter said “I can’t stop eating them!”.
Kabaya Petit Pastel DIY Colorful Chocolate Snack Kit is a DIY kit in the sense that you can assemble the box and candies to look like an ice cream shop.
The chocolate flavored candy is supposed to have a cute shape on the bottom as a cone, and the top is a pastel colored cookie ice cream “scoop.”
Unfortunately, ours were melted into a couple of big blobs and the chocolates no longer had a cute shape. We just went ahead and ate them as is.
Wasabi Nori Tarou Wasabi powered snack leather. It had a spicy sweet umami flavor but after the initial blast of heat and sweetness it was a little fishy. It stopped just short of the sinus clearing results I get when I eat California rolls dipped in wasabi and soy sauce. Hello Kitty Choco Marshmallow is a super soft marshmallow with a bit of chocolate in the middle. Anything with Hello Kitty is cute, right?
Asahi Mitsuya Cider Refreshing Lemon is similar to a cross between 7-Up and ginger ale.
I didn’t receive the Takoyaki Tei that was listed in my book but I did receive Tohato Caramel Corn. This is a puffy corn snack with a caramel flavor and reminds me of breakfast cereal – there’s no hulls like in caramel popcorn. There were peanuts in the bottom of the bag which made for a nice sweet and salty snack.
Don Taro are crunchy udon noodles similar to dry ramen but not as greasy. They had a umami flavor that was salty.
Yaokin Strawberry Roll Cake reminds me of Little Debbie snack cakes. This one features a yellow cake rolled around a strawberry flavored creamy filling.
Pokemon Sticker Gum My kids are too old for trading cards but you should have seem my 6 year old friend Colton’s eyes and face light up when he saw Pikachu!
This came with a piece of gum and a card, along with stickers than can be fitted to the flip side of the card to make a puzzle.
There was a stationary set featuring One Piece and is 1 of 6 different kits.
I found writing paper, envelopes, and stickers and passed them along to Colton, who wasn’t familiar with these characters and made me feel better because I had no idea who they were either.
I always smile when I find Japan Crate in my mailbox! The snacks are cute and fun and although I sometimes find something odd I mostly discover tasty treats. I was expecting a larger drink and knew that some non-food items would be included starting this month. The DIY was melted but still good to eat and the chocolate stars and strawberry cookies were yummy!
What item do you want to try from this month’s Japan Crate? Let me know in the comments!
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