Satie Chocolaterie Koi no Teppoudama Chocolates: Translated as "Love's Tadpole" via Google Translate (though I doubt that's accurate), these earplug-shaped chocolates from Japan are much tastier than they look. The pieces are dusted in cocoa powder and begin to melt instantly on the tongue, with an exceptionally creamy and rich flavor. I'm normally not a chocolate person, but these were some of the best chocolates I've had, reminding me of the high quality hot chocolate from L.A. Burdick but more snackable and slightly less rich, which I... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional japanese sweets dessert satiechocolaterie koi no teppoudama 4.5 chocolate
Seijo Ishii Green Curry Senbei Rice Crackers: This is a supermarket-branded rice cracker snack flavored like Thai green curry. The bag is not resealable, which I'm guessing means that it could be opened and eaten in a single sitting (with a group of people, though - even for me, it was about 4 servings). The crackers are Senbei Japanese rice crackers, shaped like miniature pancakes typically with a glazed coating, but the flavoring on this one was a powdered seasoning. It actually did taste remarkably like green curry, with a little ... (read more) 4.0/5.0
senbei japanese seijoishii green curry rice crackers 4.0
Seijo Ishii Extra Spicy Ginger Ale: Ginger ale is my favorite soda, and I love ginger drinks that are particularly spicy, so I was excited to try this version claiming to be extra spicy. The bottle was a bit thicker than normal, which made me hopeful that it would contain especially carbonated soda. Overall, I found the ginger flavor to definitely be above average, probably in the top 40% of ginger ales I've had, but comparatively, it was just a bit spicier than Reed's Ginger Beer, which isn't as spicy as I would hope. On t... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended drinks gingerale japanese seijoishii extra spicy ginger ale 3.5
Seijo Ishii Butter Chicken Curry Rice Crackers: Seijo Ishii is a 24-hour supermarket I lived closed to in my early stay in Tokyo which stocked a variety of international goods and flavors. One of the most intriguing and memorable series of snacks I had there were their curry rice crackers, featuring classic southeast asian dishes like green curry and butter chicken. The non-resealable bag contains several servings of large crispy rice crackers coated with a powdered seasoning – this happened to capture the taste of creamy butter chicken... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended japanese seijoishii butter chicken curry rice crackers 4.0
Shake Shack Black sesame milkshake: I hadn't been to a Shake Shack in Japan and stumbled upon one near Meiji Jingu, where I went to see the yellow autumn ginko trees. I stopped in to see if they had any exclusives, and their menu features a Japan-only black sesame shake. It was super satisfying on multiple levels: thicker than anything I've found in Japan, with a nutty and savory black sesame flavor that didn't taste at all artificial. Black sesame is one of my favorite flavors; I've had a lot of black sesame snacks over the ... (read more) 4.0/5.0
exceptional japanese drinks blacksesame shakeshack black sesame milkshake 4.0
Shirafuji Seika Ika mirin age: To mark the occasion of reaching 1,000 tasty snacks, I went to Tokyo Fish Market to purchase Japanese snacks. I purposely picked two bags without any English on the packaging. The first was a squid-flavored rice cracker which, according to the ingredients, contains shrimp, cuttlefish, and octopus. Combining these seafood flavors with a generous amount of MSG leads to a umami-rich snack. The irregularly shaped crackers have a deep orange color and a shiny coating. Very satisfying and tasty. 3.5/5.0
japanese shrimp squid seafood ricecrackers tokyofishmarket shirafujiseika ika mirin age 3.5 recommended