Berkeley Bowl Japan Mix: The only grocery store I know that has rice crackers available in bulk, Berkeley Bowl's take on Japanese rice crackers is as good as any. The multi-colored, spherical rice snacks each contain a single roasted peanut. Some are topped with sesame, others mixed with nori; all are glazed with a lightly savory coating. A recommended snack. 4.0/5.0
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Hakkaisan Amazake Sweet Rice Drink: I purchased this fermented rice drink (that's from Japan) at The Market in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. While Amazake is generally a sweet sake, this drink is alcohol-free. Koji rice, the basis of this drink, is rice that has been affected with a fungus named Aspergillus oryzae that's commonly used for making familiar ingredients like soy sauce and bean paste. The drink is kept frozen for freshness and needs to be defrosted before consuming. It has a thick milky consistency and a distinct whi... (read more) 3.5/5.0
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Ito En Nata de Coco Yogurt Taste: I knew vending machines were everywhere in Tokyo, even randomly in the streets in residential neighborhoods, but I didn't realize that drinking while walking is not polite in Japan. When people buy drinks from vending machines, they drink it right then and there before continuing on their way, or they pack it to drink later. Since there are essentially no public drinking fountains to Tokyo, and I'm always thirsty, I've been buying more drinks from vending machines. This one is a creamy yogur... (read more) 3.0/5.0
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Nanaya Aoyama Matcha (7) and Roasted Rice Tea Ice Cream: Nanaya Aoyama is a small ice cream shop near Omote-Sando in Tokyo and had been on my checklist of places to try for Tasty Snacking since before I arrived in Japan. Its menu features matcha ice cream at different levels of concentration, from 1-7, with 7 being the most potent (they claim it's the strongest in the world). On display, you see how matcha ice cream 1-7 goes from a light shamrock color to a dark forest green (though there isn't too much difference visually between #5-7). The ice... (read more) 4.5/5.0
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Shiro-Hige Cream Puff Factory Totoro Cream Puff: Shiro-Hige Cream Puff Factory is a small, quaint shop / cafe about a 10 minute walk from the Odakyu Line in Tokyo. I'm not positive of its official affiliation with Studio Ghibli, but it has so much tasteful Ghibli decor, including original watercolors and sketches, that I would imagine it has been sanctioned by the studio. Their speciality is Totoro cream puffs ranging in flavor from strawberry, chocolate, banana, and regular, each with their own adorable decoration; for example, the stra... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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Sun Fruits Apple Juice: In the basement of the swanky Tokyo Midtown department store is a speciality fruit shop called Sun Fruits, the type of shop where sumo oranges (dekopan) are individually wrapped in a form-fitting web of styrofoam and boxes of pale white strawberries go for 8,000¥ ($73 USD). The one item I felt I could afford, and also I was most interested in trying, was a bottle of what I presumed to be a barely-pink fruit soda, which cost $3.50. It turns out that it was a bottle of apple juice, with frui... (read more) 4.0/5.0
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