Hio Ice Cream Green Tea Milk Ice Cream: Even before I arrived in Japan, I had bookmarked this modern ice cream shop in Jiyugaoka to try for Tasty Snacking. Unfortunately, it's a bit far away from central Tokyo and I never got a chance to make it out there before COVID hit. I didn't realize, though, that you can actually find their ice cream at certain grocery stores. I went for the classic green tea flavor, which has specks of dark green mixed in. While I was hoping for a strong bitter matcha flavor, it actually disappointingl... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream japanese queensisetan hioicecream green tea milk ice cream 3.0 matcha
Happy Pocket Zackey Strawberry Wafer: Purchased this box of square, individually-wrapped wafers from the 100¥ Lawson convenience store. It consists of two different layers: a thicker strawberry icing filling, with bits of freeze dried fruit, and a thinner chocolate layer. The dried fruit was refreshingly tart, the wafers crispy but otherwise fairly ordinary. I haven't seen it elsewhere than the 100¥ store, which makes me think it's probably on the low end of the junk food totem pole. 3.0/5.0
japanese lawson happypocket zackey strawberry wafer 3.0
Calbee 大人の ポテリッチ カマンベールベーコン味 Camembert Bacon Flavor Potato Chips: According to the press release for this limited edition flavor, Calbee introduced a line of ポテリッチ "Potato Rich" chips for adults in October 2020 partially in response to the trend of increased drinking at home due to the pandemic – these chips are meant to pair well with alcohol. The combination of meat with cheese was surprising to me, and as far as I know is not actually something that's done here in Japan. The actual flavor is a combination of bacon and camembert, and you can definitely... (read more) 3.0/5.0
chips japanese camembert bacon lawson calbee 大人の ポテリッチ カマンベールベーコン味 flavor potato 3.0
Marunaga 焼きおいももなか Roasted Sweet Potato Ice Cream Sandwich: This ice cream sandwich is shaped like a roasted sweet potato using potatoes from the Kagoshima prefecture. It is impressively textured to mimic the wrinkly skin of a sweet potato using monaka, a thin rice-based wafer used in many Japanese treats. The monaka doesn't have any flavor on its own, but inside the two halves of the potato are a white sweet potato ice cream and a yellow paste, almost like a cross between a jam and a mash. Overall, I found the dessert to be too sweet, especially ... (read more) 3.0/5.0
icecream japanese santouka dessert sweetpotato marunaga 焼きおいももなか 3.0
Morinaga Hi-Chew Momotaro Grape and Goyomitsuhime Fig: I used to love eating Hi-Chew fruit chews as a kid, which have a texture somewhere between a gummy and chewing gum. They come individually wrapped and usually have a milky, translucent color and are initially firm but become much softer and chewier the longer you eat them. I hadn't felt the need to buy this snack since living in Japan, but I also hadn't come across two-flavored Hi-Chews before this week and made this purchase for grape and fig flavored Hi-Chews at a local Family Mart conve... (read more) 3.0/5.0
candy japanese familymart morinaga hi-chew momotaro grape goyomitsuhime fig 3.0