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!
Ohh, Doritos! Plus, isn’t that Gudetama, the lazy egg from Sanrio? I’d never heard of it until it showed up on my Ipsy makeup bag!
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 Refreshing Summer.
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.
Hot Cheese Doritos are a limited edition version that features special packaging designed by a Japanese artist. I’m not a Doritos fan so I will say these taste like Doritos, but are spicy. I’ve never tried the American Spicy Nacho version so I can’t say how they compare, but they are tasty.
Umaibo Natto is a puffed corn stick, usually in one piece (mine was broken). This was the first time I’ve tried the natto flavor. I had to look up natto (a fermented soy bean product that smells like stinky socks and has a weird, stringy texture) and I wouldn’t have tried it if I’d known what it was! I thought that the umaibo had a bit of bite that reminded me of wasabi. Maruta Ramune Soda Candy is like a soft, quick dissolving Smartie that has a tart lemon lime soda flavor. It just melts on the tongue.
A Star Country Was Found is a super cute konpeito, or rock sugar candy. I thought they all tasted the same but then I tried the orange one and it definitely tasted like orange! I found a similar item here.
Pokemon Green Apple Gum has a sour green apple flavor and is very soft to chew.
Yaokin Cream Rusk reminded me of a dried slice of pound cake and had a dried icing on one side. Little Bear Gummy looked and tasted like classic gummy bears, but there were only 4 in the packet.
Yaokin Long Sour Gummy Cola is a foot long gummy candy with a sour cola flavor.
Frito Lay Mike Popcorn Setouchi Lemon Flavor has an interesting flavor. It’s slightly sweet, tangy, and salty all at once.
Gudetama Pudding DIY Kit #2 features a Sanrio character I had never even heard of until this month. He’s some kind of either lazy or depressed egg.
The kit came with a mold, an egg yolk and egg white packet, and a packet of drizzle, possibly chocolate.
The instructions were in Japanese but Japan Crate included an English version in the Manga-zine. Karina measured 2 scoops of milk in the corner of the tray and placed them in a microwave safe bowl. She microwaved them in 30 second increments and gave it a stir before pouring in the molds and placing in the fridge for a couple of hours. There was only enough pudding mix to fill the Gudetama mold, not much for the star mold.
Just like last month’s DIY kit, this little guy is cheeky!
Yeah, I’m not buying the lazy explanation, this little dude looks very unhappy.
Karina mixed the egg white packet with milk and whisked it but it never fully dissolved. She poured it on a plate and then placed Gudetama on top. Finally, she poured the glaze packet over the whole thing and wondered if it was soy sauce but we finally settled on chocolate-ish. The pudding was more like flan flavor and the white stuff was sweet milk flavored. Everything kind of tasted like fake sugar.
Yaokin Dynamite Melon Soda Jelly I stuck this in the fridge overnight before opening it up since it was listed as a dessert/drink in the manga-zine.
It took a bit to figure out how to open this up! I tried twisting the top of the attached straw off but it wouldn’t give so in the end I snipped it with scissors. It’s a jelly, like runny Jello, and it has a mild fruity flavor!
I placed DyDo Ice Cocoa in the fridge before trying since it’s supposed to be a cold version of hot chocolate. It does have more of a hot chocolate flavor rather than chocolate milk, and is not as thick as chocolate milk either. I think it could benefit from a spoonful of instant espresso for a mocha latte.
Lotte Fit’s Lemon Gum is a pack of soft lemon-flavored chewing gum that has a classic sweet tart taste. Mentos Fresh Cola Flavor are made in Holland but packaged for Japan. I usually dislike Coca Cola flavored snacks but these were pretty good! They have a classic cola flavor with a bit of tang and are chewy.
This little toy donut is a non-edible bonus and although the manga-zine says it’s squishy and can be used as a stress ball, it is actually hard and designed to be used as a stacking toy, as seen here.
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. The DIY kits are usually silly but there were lots of yummy snacks too. I wouldn’t expect to find any chocolate treats until summer is over so I am glad Japan Crate took that into consideration while curating the box. The donut would have been better if it had been a squishy stress ball, as mentioned in the Manga-zine.
What item do you want to try from this month’s Japan Crate? Let me know in the comments!
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