Snacks, Snacks, Snacks in Japan!

I already touched on food in Japan with my previous post, however I neglected to talk about any of the many mouthwatering snacks that can be found in Japan! To rectify that mistake I've made this post which includes a handful of some of the best snacks to be found in Japan!

1. Pocky

The king of all Japanese snacks, Pocky is literally one of the best snacks out there! It has but one fault, it is incredibly moreish and once you’ve opened the pack you’ll notice those delicious sticks of joy will be gone in no time. It is essentially a chocolate covered biscuit stick and while that may sound basic it has the perfect chocolate to biscuit ratio plus they taste so so good (which is why they’re moreish) and also come in various flavours and specialities. These flavours include coconut, blond chocolate, strawberry, matcha, almond crush, creamy vanilla, Brazilian orange and more! 

2. Taiyaki

Taiyaki is one of the more traditional snacks and something a little more filling than say a packet of crisps or bar of chocolate! Taiyaki is a kind of pastry like snack, it is shaped like a fish and filled with your choice of filling! The common fillings to choose from are anko (azuki bean paste), custard (the best filling), sweet potato,  matcha and chocolate! Taiyaki is most commonly sold as a kind of street snack from either street stalls or shops and is normally served warm which is perfect for Autumn/Winter cravings!

3. Black Thunder

At only 30 yen per bar it feels like I’m robbing the store! Black thunder is kind of the Japanese equivalent of Cadbury's Freddo. Its cheap, fun size and ultimately a pretty tasty snack! Unlike the simple Freddo however, black thunder is a chocolatey biscuity kind of bar! The biscuit is kind of mixed in with the chocolate which gives a nice crunchy texture to the bar, so all in all Black Thunder is a pretty good pocket friendly snack! 

4. Caramel corn

Caramel Corn is kind of (and I use this term lightly) a type of popcorn... except it’s not really popcorn lol (hence why my popcorn hating self likes it!)It’s a kind of corn based puffy sweet snack and like Pocky it’s pretty moreish! As with most snacks in Japan Caramel Corn comes in more than one flavour, besides the obvious caramel flavour I’ve also seen choco crunch, matcha, sakura and almond flavours.

5. Senbei

Senbei is a kind of rice cracker and is another great savoury snack! Senbei also come in many shapes forms and flavours, with common flavours like soy sauce, nori (seaweed), squid, prawn and not so common flavours like curry and mentaiko (fish eggs)! Senbei are also cheaper and sold everywhere! My favourite type to eat is Onigiri Senbei (onigiri means rice ball) and although it’s considered a child’s snack and a little basic it’s also incredibly yummy! 

6. Mochi

Most often I see Mochi being translated as a Japanese rice cake however if you’re from the U.K. a rice cake is a kind of plain puffy cracker which is far from the “Japanese” rice cake! What I like to translate Mochi as is a kind of sticky dense ball shaped snack made from pounded glutinous rice /water mix! It comes in many varieties (Mochi ice cream, daifuku, o-dango etc) and can be both a savoury or sweet snack! Most commonly it is filled with anko but comes with many different fillings to choose from!

7. Umaibo

These babies are only 10 yen a piece(less than 10 pence in GBP)so they are well worth the try!

The best flavour for me is takoyaki so if you’re only gonna try one then this is my recommended flavour (although they’re so cheap you may as well try one of each flavour lol)! Umaibo’s literal translation is “delicious stick” (lol) and it’s kind of like a big Cheeto! It comes in 4 main flavours of takoyaki (an Osaka based street food), vegetable/salad, mentaiko (fish eggs) and corn! 

8. Country Ma'am

Country Ma’am are a fairly regular snack. They are basically cookies that are crunchy on the outside and super soft on the inside. There’s nothing particularly Japanese about them (besides the matcha flavoured ones) but they are super tasty and I’m pretty sure you can’t get them in Europe or North America! The main flavours to buy are vanilla or chocolate and you can buy them in mini version and other special varieties!

9. Jagariko/Jagabee

If you're more into savoury snacks then you're sure to enjoy the potato based snacks that are Jagariko/Jagabee!Both of these snacks come from the same company and are both a kind of potato crisp/chip sold in cup like containers! The difference between them is that Jagabee are dried cut pieces of potato making them more like French fries in both look and taste, whereas Jagariko are made from mashed potatoes that are shaped into sticks and then deep fried! Both are equally delicious and again both come in many many different flavours! Popular flavours are salad, butter (there’s actually many different kinds of butter flavours lol), sesame oil, cheese, nori, pizza, wasabi etc.!

10. Kitkat

Now everyone knows KitKat (if you don’t then honestly what have you been doing with your life) and although they’re not originally from Japan, Japan is the country that offers the widest variety of KitKat flavours which is why they make both great gifts and interesting snacks to try! The flavours range from the weird to wonderful including sake, wasabi, strawberry cheesecake, anko, Kobe pudding, apple, rum raisin, sweet potato, matcha, edamame and more!