[okazu]

Holiday Shopping: Japanese Snacks & Candy

November 5th, 2008 by Naomi

This particular list is a request, so I really do hope that it’s helpful. It was what originally sparked my interest in this idea. I’ll try to do a few of this style entry in the weeks until the winter holidays. These are some tried and true favourites of mine, plus a few classics. Some of these were among the first Japanese snacks and candy I ever tasted. The links I’ve listed in this entry are three online retailers that I have used many times over the years. I’ll go over them a bit at the end. There are also a few additional links list on the sidebar. If you have any questions, shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment here. I’d be happy to answer!

Drinks:

Ramune (wrote about it here and here) There’s a variety pack of six via amazon.com here for $12. Anime Castle carries a wide variety of individual flavours for $1.75 a bottle, here. The original flavour is a lemon and lime mix.

Candy:

Morinaga Hi-Chew (okazu search results here) This is one of my all time favourites. A good variety of flavours (five) are available at Anime Castle, here for $1.49 each. My favourite (strawberry!) can be purchased through amazon.com in a display pack of ten packages for $8.99, here. Jlist has a really great variety of flavours, as well. Try golden apple for $1.60 or mixed fruits for $1.50. They also have Puchitto flavours, which have little crunchier bits in them.
Kasugai fruit gummies These are individual wrapped gummy candies, more like gummy bears than gumdrops in texture. Seven flavours are available at Anime Castle, here for $3 a bag, which is the best price I can find. My favourite flavours are apple, pineapple, and strawberry.
Sakuma drops candy These are a classic fruit flavoured Japanese hard candy. You can get them at Jlist for $2.80 each. I think these make a great stocking stuffer.

Mochi Mochi is candy made from pounded sticky rice. Jlist has a few different flavours for $.60 a package. Each package contains 18 small cubed pieces and a toothpick to eat them with.
Kompeito This is another traditional Japanese candy, tiny sugar stars. Jlist has Kasugai Kompeito for $2.80 a bag. These have a plain sugar flavour.

Morinaga black sugar caramel This caramel is made with a blend of black sugar from Okinawa. Jlist has it for $1.60 a box, which has 12 pieces. You can also get the black sugar variety in a sampler pack from amazon. The sampler also includes sesame and red bean as well.

Snacks and Cookies:

Pocky (okazu search results here) How can I not put Pocky on this list? When most people think Pocky, they think classic chocolate, but I was to show a little love to the other, lesser known flavours, too! Anime Castle has a decent selection, including favourites like strawberry, milk, and chocolate. They’ve also got a few of the more unique varieties like Brazilian pudding and a couple of the dessert flavours. Prices range from $1.00 to $5.00 a box. Some different flavours are available through amazon.com: orange for $3.99 a box, marron chestnut cream for $3.99 a box, and marble rum raisin for $3.49 a box. Others, too! Just do a search for ‘pocky’!

Meiji Yan Yan dipping cookies (okazu search results here) Anime Castle has these for $1.00 a package (chocolate, strawberry, and choco-strawberry combination), which is the lowest price I can find. Both chocolate and strawberry are good choices.
Lotte Koala’s March So cute! These honestly aren’t my most favourite cookies of this sort, but they really are good to add a little more fun. Anime Castle has white chocolate, strawberry, and chocolate in both small ($1.50 each) and large ($5.00) boxes, which is a good price.

Most of what I chose for this list is relatively easy to ship, and isn’t particularly breakable, meltable, or fragile (Ramune aside, as it is in glass bottles). The coating on Pocky may melt a little in warmer climates or inside, but should be okay if kept in a cool place. It’s probably not necessary to refrigerate it.

I have shopped through Jlist and Anime Castle for many years and have had only good experience with both. Because Jlist does ship most of its product directly from Japan, it’s best to order early. Anime Castle offers a rewards program for frequent shoppers; for every $10 you spend, you earn one point. Anime Castle also has two current coupon codes! Orders over $85 or more earn free shipping with the code SHIPFREE used at checkout. ACFALL will give you 10% off your next order until November 16.