Bourbon Kitanotamago no Sable Biscuits: I've been having a lot of plainer snacks recently, but this biscuit is definitely one of the better ones I've had, in Japan and otherwise. The box comes with 8 individually wrapped cookies, shaped like eggs and reminding me of dinosaur egg cartoons. They have a crumbly texture and sweet, buttery flavor that's surprisingly satisfying and richer than your typical biscuit. 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese bourbon kitanotamago no sable biscuits 3.5 Maruetsu
Morinaga Carre de Chocolat Strawberry Dark Chocolates: One of the delightful things about chocolates in Japan, even inexpensive options available from convenience stores, is they often have clever packaging, the type that make you want to display them and share them with other people. This box of 18 chocolates, costing about $3 USD, contains gold-foil-wrapped dark chocolate squares sized similarly to banquet-style individual servings of butter, the top half tasting of tart and sweet strawberry and the bottom half dark chocolate. The base of th... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese morinaga carre de chocolat strawberry dark chocolates 3.5
Lotte Strawberry Toppo: Toppo is another staple convenience store (kobini) snack in Japan. I read somewhere that they're like inverted Pocky sticks, but they're not so much inverted as redistributed: the snack consists of long straws with a neutral biscuit exterior filled with flavored hardened icing such as chocolate and strawberry. The strawberry flavor has a good balance of sweet and tart, reminding me of the Koala's March snacks but less sweet as there is a more balanced biscuit to icing ratio. Like many Jap... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese strawberry inegaya lotte toppo 3.0
Sanritsu Genji Pie: Genji Pies are heart-shaped Palmier cookies that come in individually wrapped packages containing two cookies each. The flaky pastry is surrounded by a ring of sugar, and while the cookies are sweet, they aren't as sweet as most American versions and come in a more snackable size. Feeling happy to have easy access to an affordable cookie that reminds me of home. 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese sanritsu genji pie 3.5 cookies
Calpis Taste Calpis Melon Drink: Melon is a very popular flavor in Japan not just for candies but also for drinks like fruit sodas. This drink is the melon-version of the popular beverage calpis, a milky yogurt-flavored drink common enough to find in most Asian supermarkets in the US. This line of products is part of their low-calorie offerings, and it contains the artificial sweetener aspartame. It tastes like a slightly milder version of liquid candy, definitely with an aftertaste I'm familiar with from drinking diet so... (read more) 3.0/5.0
drinks japanese maretsu calpis taste melon drink 3.0
Lotte Chocolate Caramel Choco Pie in Ginza : The iconic snack Choco Pie from Korean brand Lotte is available in most places shops in Japan. This particular Ginza chocolate caramel cake flavor is part of a special edition "around the world" series which takes iconic desserts from various cities around the world. For example, it previously featured the NYC cheesecake. I've never actually heard of a Tokyo-specific chocolate caramel cake (and a quick Google Search comes up empty). This is a very decadent Choco Pie, with chocolate cake i... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese desserts inegaya lotte chocolate caramel choco pie in ginza 3.0