I have taken over reviewing Japan Crate, and this being my first time trying Japanese candy, it was quite an experience! Provided by Japan Crate themselves, I was lucky enough to get the November Premium Japan Crate with a total of 15 goodies inside, which I will be giving a small review of each with images provided. Also, if you’d like to see an unboxing of the Japan Crate itself, you can watch that below:
There wasn’t actually a huge variety of candy in this month’s crate, as some items were the same type of food but a different flavour. For example, the popular Japanese food known as ‘Pocky’ has hundreds of flavours and varieties; in this crate I got three of them, but they were very different. The first kind, and my favourite item from the entire crate, is Pejoy Cookies & Cream flavoured sticks. Imagine an Oreo in the shape of a stick with cream that’s more solid and you’ve got these. They’re tasty, snackable, and perfect for the chocolate lovers out there. The other two varieties, however… are quite the change from the norm. Hot Chilli Salad Pretzel sticks might sound like a bad idea, but they’re actually pretty good as a more savoury candy–just not recommended for people who don’t enjoy spicy food. My least favourite food from the crate, however, was the Purple Sweet Potato sticks. These are, again, a more of a savoury type of candy but the taste just did not work for me at all. I’m sure if you like Purple Sweet Potatoes, basing my opinion off the flavour of the other two varieties, you will enjoy them as well.
One candy that I believe is common in Japan Crates is the classic gum. There were two packs of gum, with one being a lot tastier than the other… if you got the right one, that is. The Spy VS Spy Sour Gum is a fun little treat with two identical sticks, but one is sweet and delicious and the other is extremely sour. They weren’t kidding. I almost had to spit it out it was so sour, but the other stick made up for it. The Uranai-KKO Bubble Gum looks interesting with Japanese writing along one side, but it just tasted like normal gum–nothing special. There was also a gummy sweet SuperString Q which is a combined green and red grape gummy that is 50 inches long, and alternates between sweet and sour flavours. Out of every candy in this crate, I found the SuperString to be the most ‘fake’ tasting. It had a strong chemical taste before the grape flavour hit my mouth, which is something that puts me off and is what I’d expect from a low quality gummy.
There were also a few conventional candies which I wasn’t really expecting as I thought they were a little more western. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised because they are delicious! My favourite type of sweet is Caramel, and I thoroughly enjoyed both the Glico Man Caramel and Meji Dice Caramel. But don’t be fooled–they were actually very different. The Glico Caramel (which also included a wooden toy) were hearts of strong toffee with a soft centre, but I was disappointed that there were only three in the box. The Meji Dice Caramel, on the other hand, tasted more like a caramel fudge. They came as small smooth squares inside cute little dice boxes, with a total of ten squares; much more reasonable than the three hearts. Another item that had a generous amount included–and is inspired by the Japanese God of Thunder–was the Black Thunder chocolate bars. If you reside in the UK, these are similar to Rocky Road bars. They’re filled with cookie pieces, rice puffs, and covered in dark chocolate. They may be much smaller than standard chocolate bars, but they were just as tasty. Finally, the award for the most ordinary candy goes to the Fluffy Long Neck Marshmallow, which was just a standard, sweet, long, fluffy marshmallow!
The last items are drink themed, featuring the DIY Kit that is included in every Premium Japan Crate. Although it wasn’t as creative as I’ve seen in previous crates, the DIY Kit this month was the Funassyi Furi-Frui Shake, which had a very interesting sweet pear flavour. The milkshake came with a small and cute cup in which you mix the powder solution with milk and add an ice cube to keep it cold. I have to say that although it was odd at first, it had great flavour and I would be happy to buy myself more of those. The other drink, the Chunosuke Water, tasted like an average flavoured juice, but then again, there are three flavours; it could be that I personally got the weakest flavour which was the lemon ‘Exercise’ sports drink. The final candy was a fun little treat, as it combines a childhood classic with a flavour not often seen in the UK: Grape. The Pachishuwa Grape Soda Mix is a combination of popping candy with grape flavoured candy pieces, which together are supposed to replicate drinking a grape soda. I don’t think it quite achieved that, but it was an enjoyable snack that certainly tickled my taste buds.
That’s not all! Also included exclusively in the Premium crate is a bonus item. These can range from another food item to a collectible, and in this month’s box I was surprised by the cool Naruto Collectible Figure. The figure is well made and detailed for being so small. It is one of eight from a random choice of characters from the show, a familiar system used by brands like Funko. That’s everything. Fourteen products including very sweet to almost savoury candy, drinks, and even a figure. I enjoyed the Japan Crate and am really looking forward to the next. If you’d like to get your own, ranging from a small crate to this Premium crate, you can subscribe with a 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, or 12 month plan that includes a bonus gift, perfect for you or a friend’s Japanese cravings!
Get your own Japan Crate here.