It’s fair to say that we completely fell in love with Japan when we visited on a family holiday. The fascinating mix of old and new in Tokyo, watching a baseball game in Hiroshima, exploring the Hakone Museum of Art, were just some of the highlights from our two-week Japan itinerary.
But the one thing that stood out perhaps more than everything else, was the food.
We ate incredibly well not only during our one-week in Tokyo but everywhere we went. And it wasn’t just restaurant dining that we loved, we completely fell for all the hundreds of different snacks that Japan has.
Imagine our delight, then when we discovered that subscription Japanese snack boxes were a thing meaning that we could bring a taste of Japan into our London home.
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Okashi – Japanese Snacks
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Visits to Lawson, FamilyMart or 7-Eleven convenience stores (known as konbini in Japan) became an almost daily occurrence where we stocked up on authentic Japanese snacks from Kameda Kakinotane rice crackers and peanuts and Meiji chocolate-covered almonds to Kinoko no Yama chocolate mushrooms and Burakku Sandā, otherwise known as “Black Thunder”.
On a recent trip back to Japan to discover Hokkaido I stocked up on boxes of all or our favourite Japanese treats so that I could bring a bit of Japan home with me.
The good news is, however, that I no longer have to travel to Japan to satisfy our cravings for Japanese candy. These days there are some excellent subscription Japanese snack boxes that deliver Japanese sweets and popular Japanese snacks to your door every month.
We tried out two of the best Japanese subscription boxes, the Tokyo Treat Snack Box and the Sakuraco Snack and Candy Boxes, and quickly discovered that these are a great way to bring a flavour of Japan into our home. Here’s what we thought.
Best Japanese Snack Boxes
There’s a lot of choice when it comes to Japanese snack subscription boxes including Bokksu, Japan Candy Box and Japan Crate. However, we really enjoyed sampling Tokyo Treat and Sakuraco for a number of reasons. These snack boxes not only come with the best variety they also offer great value for money.
What is the Tokyo Treat Snack Box
Tokyo Treat is a monthly subscription-based box that delivers a huge range of tasty Japanese sweets, an assortment of snacks, drinks, Japanese tea and more to your door. Every month is different and the boxes are packed with delicious treats related to seasons and special events in Japan.
It was started in 2015 by Tokyo native Ayumi Chikamoto. Ayumi was constantly receiving requests from friends overseas to send them popular Japanese snacks. Thinking that there was a good business idea here, she set up a company sharing the best Japanese snacks with people around the world.
Today they offer subscription boxes to over 150 countries worldwide including the United Kingdom and the United States.
What really makes Tokyo Treat stand out from other snack boxes is jnot only the variety of each box but how many delicious snacks are packed inside. Each snack box is packed full of 15 to 20 different full size Japanese snacks. These change monthly and the assortment of snacks and sweets are carefully considered.
For the upcoming Valentine’s Day box, for example, subscribers can expect all manner of themed treats from Pokémon Candy Hearts to KitKat Strawberry Shortcake.
Tokyo Treat is the perfect solution for anyone who has been to Japan and has returned home longing for rare Japanese-flavoured KitKats (or any other manner of Japanese snack). It also makes a great birthday gift or Christmas present idea.
Our Tokyo Treat box
We were sent a one of Tokyo Treat’s New Year Snackin’ Party Box designed to celebrate Japanese New Year. Packed inside was a huge assortment of goodies and an accompanying 20-page ‘Culture Guide’ that explained what each item was and provided fun tips, tales and anecdotes on celebrating new year in Japan.
This ‘Culture Guide’ was a fun way to get a better insight into Japanese culture and we learned lots of fun facts such as how kids celebrate the New Year countdown in Japan and how Daruma dolls will help you with your New Year’s goals.
And now for the snacks. Some of our favourite snacks included in the box were the Sesame Sweet Potato Sticks, which tasted a little bit like crisps, only better! The cracker-like Pretz Mild Roast were also a hit as was the Good Luck Taiyaki.
Taiyaki’s were one of our favourite snacks when we visited Japan and although this versions wasn’t quite as good as those sold piping hot from food stands, it was a very tasty substitute!
The C.C. Lemon drink and instant noodles were both a big hit with my kids as were the Agemochi Bites, deep fried mochi snacks that were quickly devoured. My personal favourites were the lucky red and white KitKat and the Seaweed and Salt Potato Sticks.
What was particularly fun was seeing snacks and sweet treats hat we had discovered while travelling in Japan (such as the Sour Cola Lollipop sweet) and then discovering a dozen new ones among the traditional Japanese snack mix.
How does Tokyo Treat work?
Tokyo Treat is a monthly subscription box and various plan options are available.
- One-off monthly plans cost $37.50 / Month
- The three month subscription plan costs $35.50 / Month
- The six month subscription plan costs $33.50 / Month
- The 12 month subscription plan costs $32.50 / Month
Plans are billed annually and it’s important that note that shipping fees are an additional cost.
As previously mentioned, every box comes with a different assortment of snacks so you will always be trying new things.
All boxes are packed and shipped from Tokyo and shipping times depend on your country’s shipping method. DHL shipping, for example, typically takes 3-5 days.
What is the Sakuraco snack box?
Like Tokyo Treat, the Sakuraco box is a monthly subscription service delivering the best tastes of Japan to your door. The company is actually a subsidiary of Tokyo Treat but it specialises in snack boxes inspired by the Japanese seasons.
In terms of aesthetics, it looks more high end than the Tokyo Treat box which definitely showcases the more playful side to Japanese snacks. If you are looking for a unique present then the Sakuraco boxes do make the perfect gifts.
Our Sakuraco review
Like the TokyoTreat boxes, the Sakuraco snack boxes are packed full of treats and also come with a guide. We were given a New Year box to review and our Cultural Guide was packed full of details on how the new year is celebrated in Hiroshima alongside lots of interesting travel facts.
Previous themes have included Holidays in Hokkaido, Wonders of Saitama and the Autumn Moon Festival.
The 24-page guide also had detailed descriptions of all the snacks included in our box such as the delicious Setouchi Lemon Cream Cookie, adorned with an image of the famous floating torii gate from Itsukushima Shrine and the Miyajima Cocoa Cookie, that has long been a popular snack on the island of Miyajima.
What we really loved about the Sakuraco box was the novelty of all the snacks included. These were really local to Hiroshima and not snacks that we had come across before.
There were some excellent peanuts coated in white miso, a tasty banana Baumkuchen and an unusual Setouchi Hassaku Jelly (hassaku is a Japanese citrus fruit).
The Omikuji Candy were a particular hit both for their taste and their fortune-telling properties. These sweet, hard candies transform in your mouth from grape into either strawberry, lemon or green apple and each flavour denotes a different fortune for the upcoming year!
Less popular with the family were the Lemon Mochi (although they were all still eaten!).
What I really loved about the Sakuraco box was the including of a Furoshiki, a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth used to wrap gifts, carry items or store things in your bag. This is one of the unique characteristics of the Sakuraco boxes, each one comes with a traditional items such as chopsticks or a small bowl, made by local makers.
How does Sakuraco work?
Sakuraco is a monthly subscription box and various plan options are available. Prices are the same as for the Tokyo Treat boxes.
- One-off monthly plans cost $37.50 / Month
- The three month subscription plan costs $35.50 / Month
- The six month subscription plan costs $33.50 / Month
- The 12 month subscription plan costs $32.50 / Month
- Plans are billed annually and it’s important to note there is no free shipping and shipping costs are calculated at check out.
As previously mentioned, every box comes with a different assortment of snacks so you will always be trying new things.
All boxes are packed and shipped from Tokyo and shipping times depend on your country’s shipping method. DHL shipping, for example, typically takes 3-5 days.
