Fujiya Country Ma'am Chocolate Mint Cookies: These are standard cookies you can buy at any grocery store (The Fujiya brand is kind of like the Japanese Nabisco as far as I can tell). The pack has miniature, individually wrapped cookies that are alien-like in their bluish-green color, more blue than a normal mint chocolate chip ice cream. They remind me of a cookie version of Andes mints, kind of like the mint-flavored cleaning gel you get at the dentist. 2.0/5.0
maretsu japanese cookies fujiya country ma'am chocolate mint 2.0
Glica Crispy Chicken Pretz: I've had Pretz before in the states but never any meat-flavored versions. Pretz are essentially very thin and crispy breadsticks. This pack comes with two sealed snack packs. Flavor-wise, the crispy chicken sticks tasted mostly of lemon actually, which I suppose is a common side for fried food but I expected way more chicken flavor. If I were to taste them blind, I would guess they were a salted lemon flavor. Overall, not particularly good. 2.0/5.0
japanese inegaya glica crispy chicken pretz 2.0
Kellogg's Hershey Matcha ChocoBIts: It's fun to discover new products and brands in Japan, but there are also a lot of familiar brands offering different items especially for the Japanese market. You can find Kellogg's cereal, for example, but I've never heard of ChocoBits in the states, and I've definitely never had matcha-flavored cereal. The product photography is pretty misleading for this one. The square chocolate nuggets have a more muted tan-ish brown color and are unglazed; the matcha inside is more like a hardened i... (read more) 2.0/5.0
cereal kelloggs hershey matcha chocobits 2.0 japanese Daiei
New New York Club Rainbow Bagel with Strawberry Cream Cheese: There's a small bagel shop close to me designed to look like a NYC bagel shop, replete with white and blue tiles, metal shopping baskets filled with Skittles, and a neon Bagel sign in the window. I hadn't considered that bagels were available in Tokyo but I guess why not, so I decided to see how well it stacked up compared to real New York bagels. I got the most NYC and Japanese combination I could imagine: a rainbow bagel, in an intense purple, blue, and red swirled color palette, filled w... (read more) 2.0/5.0
bagels japanese azabujuban newnewyorkclub rainbow bagel strawberry cream cheese 2.0
Kikkoman Banana Soy Milk: Kikkoman has a bunch of fruit-flavored soy milk juice boxes that come in similar packaging, but differently colored. I got the banana milk from 7-11 to try, but it was shockingly sweet, like drinking liquid banana runts. Would not again. 2.0/5.0
drinks japanese 711 kikkoman banana soy milk 2.0
North Colors Nori Potato Chips: Bought these potato chips from a local grocery store. The brand logo is a symbol of Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan and what I've learned is often representative of quality, particularly when it comes to food. According to the website, these chips are made with rice bran oil, salt, and sea water from Hokkaido, along with flecks of Nori. Unfortunately, I found the ridged chips to be subpar; they're very saturated in oil, which gives them a weak crispy texture and makes them feel... (read more) 2.0/5.0
potatochips hokkaido japanese northcolors nori potato chips 2.0