Candy Japan

I have been trying out yet another subscription box. I love these things and getting quite addicted now.
This time the box of goodies comes all the way from Japan.
I’d like to introduce you to Candy Japan. It does not need much explanation. I think it’s name says it all. Candy from Japan or Japanese Candy which ever way sounds better. It’s a subscription service which brings two packages per month full of unusual sweets, snacks and treats all the way from Japan.
The service costs $25 dollars per month which if I am not mistaken converts to about £14? I think this probably changes day to day with the conversion rates but not too much. The shipping is free and the service is available in several countries including the UK.
Anyway here is my package.

It is just one package there. I have taken a front and back view.
There were so many things in this box. I was surprised at how much was in there. I have read that the contents vary each month so some packages may contain more than others. The contents will always be different than previous packages meaning you get a good idea of what the Japanese enjoy.

Now the thing is; these goodies come from Japan. They are purchased in Japan by Japanese people. Therefore the labels on the packaging will not be in English but Japanese. After all you wouldn’t expect our foods to have Japanese labels now would you?
I don’t speak or understand a word of Japanese and nor does anyone I know. It’s one of the hardest languages to learn so I hear.
So how do I know what I am eating? I hear you wonder!
Well worry not. A few days after (maybe before) receiving your packages, an email will arrive in your mailbox giving a full description of each of the contents in your package and all in English. Leaving us free to try what we wish and maybe give away the ones we may not find so appealing.
Okay I know your dying to know what goodies I got. There are so many of them that I have to do it in two halves. Picture one.

Going from top left to right.

1)Strawberry fortune telling chocolates– In Japanese are several categories on the packet such as shopping, travel, love, friendship etc. The idea is to find the topic you want and pop out one of the sweets. Under it will be one of 3 symbols which will mean bad, good, perfect. Reminds me of something in between love heart sweets and a fortune telling fish. Only I cannot read Japanese obviously so will be happy trying the sweets without having my fortune told. I can just picture Japanese teens with these.

2) Grape Marble Gum I don’t like gum of any sort. Ryan says it tastes nice tho so I will take his word for it. Subscription boxes are full of surprise goodies after all and for what you don’t like, someone else will.

3) Corn Pottage These are puff chips, rather like some of the baked kids crisps over here. They have the unusual flavour of chowder flavour soup.

4) Yamato no Kame-San
It would be interesting to know how the name of this snack is pronounced.
A Mirin and Soy sauce snack. Mirin is a popular sugary rice wine which is found in Teriyaki sauce too.

5) Ramune Ramune comes from popular soda pops. Quite a melty one and tasty too.

6) Aji Curry I have been reading that curry is actually a popular Japanese dish. The Japanese curry is more sweet than spicy. This snack is therefore Japanese curry flavour chips. And very nice too.
Although more like curry breadsticks than crisps.

Ok there’s the first half. Are you feeling a little hungry yet? Well don’t close your browser just yet as here are the rest of the goodies.

Again from top left to right.

1) Umai Bou cheese & pottage
Umai Bou translates to tasty stick. One stick is potato and the other is cheese combined together. It seems a fairly good in between meal snack.

2)Anpanam biscuits
Anpanam is a popular Anime character that has been around since the 1980s. Both the packaging and the biscuits themselves feature the Anpanam characters and there are 9 characters in total. They contain added vitamins and calcium.

3) Nericho Soft This is something which we made using a little water. It’s a little like ice cream. Once made up it’s put on top of a cone and eaten. Lots of fun.

4) Shitorri Chocolate The name of this makes me laugh. It could even sound a little off putting. I found it delicious. A melty chocolate snack. A bag of heart and circle crunchy treats. They taste a little like rice crispy cakes. Very nice Shame there was only one bag.

5) Ebisen. A shrimp flavoured snack in the shape of French fries. If you are thinking prawn cocktail flavour then think again. This is totally different.

6) Tai Arare again another fishy snack. This one is red snapper fish flavoured. Maybe a little strong on the fishy flavours for some people but nice to try after all.

Well that’s all folks. My 12 Japanese goodies all packed into one. I have enjoyed trying this. It’s certainly something different and unique from the snacks we have here. Of course my kids loved it too; what kid wouldn’t.
All the products are more or less one person sized. Not too big and not too tiny either. I find trying two a day works best and where possible we split each between us so we can all have a sample.
I would highly recommend Candy Japan to any confectionary/sweetie lovers or someone who enjoys trying new and unusual things. The packages don’t take too long to arrive either, just a couple of days so no need to worry about your sweeties not arriving for weeks.
To find out more head over to Candy Japan