Japan Crate is a monthly subscription box that sends candy and snacks from Japan. The box aims to "recreate the excitement of exploring Japan through fun candy and everything kawaii," and the assortment is handpicked straight from Japan.
There are 3 crate sizes to choose from: Mini, Original, and Premium.
This review is of the Premium crate.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
The Subscription Box: Japan Crate
The Cost: $12/month for Mini crate, $25/month for Original crate, $30/month for Premium crate. Free shipping to the US.
COUPON: Save $5 off your first Original or Premium box with code MSA5!
The Products: Candy and snacks from Japan!
Ships: Internationally with exceptions found here.
Check out all of our Japan Crate reviews and the Food Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of all your subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
Each box comes with what Japan Crate calls a manga-zine. It's filled with detailed info about included snacks and tidbits on Japanese culture. The instructions for the DIY candy kit included in the box was also in here.
Kawauso No Kotsume Toy
This is a cute otter that's typically found in Japanese claw machines. It's made by AMUSE, one of Japan's most famous toy makers. I love the bow tie!
Fruit Shop Fruit Gummy
Fruit snacks are some of my favorite junk foods. Each gummy is perfectly soft, squishy, and fruity. The only sad part was that there weren't more gummies in the pouch!
Sakupan Giant Wafer
This is a light wafer-covered chocolate cookie in the shape of a panda (Sakupanda). The cookie part is actually more of a light, fluffy cream, while the wafer that holds the bottom acts like a container for the cream. I found it quite delicious.
Fue Ramune
The candy is hollow in the middle so that when you blow through the hole it makes a whistling sound. The powdery taste reminds me of Sweet Tarts. There were 3 candies total!
Rock, Paper, Scissor Gummy
Apparently you can now play rock-paper-scissors in the form of gummies. This pack comes with just two gummies, a large one that reminds me of a sticky hand toy and a smaller star-shaped gummy. Both were packaged in a molded plastic holder to retain their shape. Both are cola flavored. If anyone's wondering, I received the scissors.
Waku Waku Zoo Animal DIY
"Waku waku" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for excitement. How aptly named, since I freaked out when I saw this. I love DIY candy kits! The last one I did was this candy sushi kit. The candy itself is soft and malleable. The taste and texture is similar to skittles after you've chewed on them for a couple seconds. My lollipop-making adventures are chronicled below.
Chip Star Ebikoubashi
These look and taste like Pringles but are shrimp flavored. I love shrimp-flavored junk food so this was devoured pretty quickly. It's great that can is resealable, but there's usually nothing left to reseal when I'm done with it...
The pink dough is strawberry and yellow dough is lemon. Subscribers should receive one of several different molds. I love the elephant and bunny one I got!
Pineapple Soda
The info booklet explains that pineapples are generally expensive in Japan, so pineapple-flavored things are a good alternative to the real thing. This soda has a surprising amount of pineapple-y kick! It tastes really delicious. I would purchase a 24-pack of this if I could.
Sherbert Pero Cola
This candy is similar to Fun Dip. The lollipop inside is cola-flavored while the fizzy powder is sour and sweet. I didn't like the powder so I just ate the lollipop like a lollipop.
Glico Chocolate
These chocolates are shaped like hearts (or butts, if you're "funny" like my boyfriend). Each chocolate has its own little plastic mold home and tastes heavenly! They have a lighter whipped texture compared to normal chocolate. They melt in your mouth. So good.
123 Green Apple Gum
This is a three-pack apple-flavored gum. The flavor didn't last long at all, sadly, but it was tasty for a good couple of minutes.
Wow!? Such Banana!
What kind of name is this? This is a small marshmallow snack. There is a soft banana-flavored outer shell, squishy marshmallow inside, and some chocolate cream filling in the middle. I love the name. I love the taste. I kind of love everything about this snack. Where can I find more!?
Puru Mocchi Grape
These are individually wrapped grape mochi. Each mochi square is lightly coated in sugar. The sugar combined with the tangy grape taste of the soft mochi makes for a delicious combo. I also love it when companies personify their foods-- see the mochi on the bag with faces and limbs? That's my style of advertising right there.
Calbee Shrimp Chips
I saved the best for last. This was the largest item in the box. Full disclosure: I love these types of shrimp chips and have eaten them all my life. They're almost as addicting as subscription boxes (ok, maybe just as addicting). At one point my boyfriend and I were scarfing them down by the handfuls until we shook out of our shrimp-induced haze and corralled what was left of the bag so I could write a proper review. Shrimp-flavored snacks may not be a winner for everyone, but for me it's like the jackpot. I modeled some chips with the Kawauso No Kotsume otter, because why not?
Verdict: I've gone googly-eyed from all the scrumptious snacks in this month's Japan Crate! There's a lot of variety in the snacks. I especially like that a lot of these foods are hard to find in the US, but also a little sad because I won't be able to buy more of the stuff I liked. My favorite is definitely the Calbee Shrimp Chips; these I can find in my local Asian grocery store, thank goodness for that. A close second would be the refreshing Pineapple Soda. I also appreciate that the info booklet not only contains information about the snacks but also Japanese culture. This way you can immerse yourself in the snacks while learning a thing or two about Japan. There's no easy way to determine retail value since you can't find most of these in the US. For a total of 13 items (excluding the bonus toy), you're paying an average of $2.30 for each snack. I'd also say that it's worth it for being able to discover unique snacks.
What do you think of the snacks from Japan Crate?
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