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
Lotte Cheese Tart with Lemon Toppo : These are straw-shaped biscuits with an icing-like filling that are popular convenience store snacks in Japan. The biscuits are a little bit smaller in circumference than Pixie Sticks, a bit wider than Pretz crackers. I purchased this box thinking it was egg tart flavored, but the tart pictured on the packaging is actually a cheese tart with a bit of lemon from the Setouchi Region of Japan. You can definitely taste the lemon, but the cheese has more of a more neutral creaminess – kind of ... (read more) 2.5/5.0
japanese lawson lotte cheese tart lemon toppo 2.5
Lotte Cupcho Doraemon Chocolate Covered Corn Puffs: Cupcho are snacks you can find in konbini (convenient store) in Japan that are accurately named for their plastic cup packaging featuring a popular cartoon character - there seem to be Doraemon and Rilakkuma versions. I didn't know what it was but thought from the picture on the packaging that it was malted milk balls, a flavor I haven't had in a long time but was a favorite of mine during Halloween. Unfortunately, the actual snack was less satisfying – corn puffs similar in texture to che... (read more) 2.5/5.0
lawson kids japanese lotte cupcho doraemon chocolate covered corn puffs 2.5
Lotte Gateau Fromage Petite Choco Pies: I was amused by the "coffee & something" tagline of Morihico, the coffee chain whose "gateau fromage" (cheesecake) is the featured flavor of this limited edition Choco Pie. The petite Choco Pies are pocket-sized and good for snacking, but I typically eat two which may defeat the purpose. Each individually-wrapped pie consists of two layers of cake with a cream filling the color of egg custard, all covered with a thin layer of milk chocolate. The cheesecake filling tasted like it was seasone... (read more) 3.0/5.0
japanese aeon cake lotte gateau fromage petite choco pies 3.0
Lotte Cheesecake Koala's March: The way this product sat on the shelves at my local kobini, I was initially drawn in by the cheesecake flavor before realizing it was also a special collaboration with Pokemon. These are standard Koala's March biscuits, shaped like koalas with an icing-like filling. With this collaboration, the cookies also feature prints of Pokemon as well as cute koalas doing random things (I found a koala caught in a UFO catcher in this box, something I suspect I wouldn't find in America). I liked Pokemo... (read more) 3.5/5.0
recommended japanese aeon lotte cheesecake koala's march 3.5
Lotte Fit's big grape and peach gummies: Chewy gummy cubes with a sugary coating, half peach and half grape. They have less resistance (slightly squishier) than Sunkist fruit drops (much less than Dots), but the artificial fruit flavors are fairly standard. Super high amount of sugar but it comes in a small pouch with just a couple servings, typical of most junk food in Japan. 2.5/5.0
candy family mart japanese lotte fit's big grape peach gummies 2.5