Hokkaido Sapporo Roast Corn Taste Potato Chips: These potato chips have a sweet and savory roasted corn flavor, almost like a corn chowder. I did like the overall flavor, but the chips were a bit lackluster, saturated oil and thin to the point of flimsy - if you held it up to the light, you could see through them. Overall, I would not purchase them again though the flavor was unique. 3.0/5.0
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Hop Shu-Kuri-Mu Matcha Cream Puff: I randomly passed this pastry shop in Azabu Juban and made a mental note to return based on the quality of bread in their window. I'm glad I did, because their cream puffs are insane. The exterior has a crispy baked texture, similar in some ways to dutch crunch bread from San Francisco, and the filling is of the highest quality I've had in any bakery, with a creamy and not too sweet flavor and ideal matcha bitterness. The most interesting part to me was a bruleed base that resembled a nor... (read more) 5.0/5.0
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Meiji Ginger Ale up Gummi: These are similar in shape and texture to Harbibo cola gummies but flavored like ginger ale. It does have a citrus + pear flavor similar to Sprite with a hint of ginger. Overall, I was hoping for more ginger flavor, or for the snack to capture some of the sharp fizziness of a can of ginger ale. But it was just ok. 3.0/5.0
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Nihonbashiya Persimmon Mochi: This is the second flavor mochi I bought from Nihonbashiya, the Japanese confectionary shop in Akihabara station. It features a very cute gelatin leaf. This flavor was a bit more neutral, with a dark brown taste interior that taste sweet and faintly floral but was not particularly reminiscent of persimmon. Texture was decent but not extremely fresh. 3.0/5.0
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Nihonbashiya Apple Mochi: This shop adjacent to the Akihabara station has mini fruit-shaped mochi that are incredibly cute. I bought two to try: apple and persimmon. This apple one was my favorite with a surprisingly concentrated apple-flavored paste at its center. I didn't realize it would actually taste like apple, and it was well balanced and not too sweet, even though it's covered in sugar. 3.5/5.0
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Hobson's Tofu Ice Cream: Hobson's is an Americana-inspired ice cream shop in Roppongi, decorated with blue and white checkboard and featuring American pop music from David Bowie and the like. It's decor is verging on kitchy but also has a bit of charm. While it's clearly American-inspired, it offers Japanese flavors like green tea, tofu, and yuzu. I got the tofu ice cream, which I really wanted to like, but to be honest it was some of the worst ice cream wise, mostly because of the texture. As tofu is itself a wa... (read more) 1.0/5.0
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