Freedom Japanese Market is a subscription of “Japanese candies and snacks [that] are pre-selected for each month’s box, with each month offering a new combination of popular, rare, and Japanese exclusive candies and snacks.” There are three sizes offered: Puchi Pack, Original Pack, and Family Pack.
This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is for the $24.99/month Original Pack.
The Subscription Box: Freedom Japanese Market
The Cost: The Original Pack (reviewed here) for $24.99. There is also a Puchi Pack at $14.99 per month and a Family Pack for $45.99 per month. A price break is offered for 3, 6, or 12-month prepaid subscriptions.
COUPON: Use code FESTIVAL17 to save $3 off all Original and Family Packs plans!
The Products: The Original Pack is the “perfect box of treats from the land of the rising sun.” Each month, you will receive 12-16 full and sample-size snacks (includes a DIY candy kit), 1 handmade origami. A content list with pictures is included in the pack.
Ships to: Free worldwide shipping directly from Japan!
Good to know: The box ships around the 15th of the month. The shipping time estimate is between 10 and 20 days.
Check out more sweets subscription boxes in the Food Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
All the snacks are sent directly from Japan so all the labels are in Japanese, of course. Freedom Japanese Market sends a list of the contents with a brief description in English.
Cheese Umaibo – “Crispy puffed corn with a delightful cheese flavor.”
Yummy, yum, yum. We all loved this one. I wish the U.S. made Cheetos like this–I like them better than the puffs. This was one of my daughter’s four favorite snacks in the box.
Frozen Mango Gum – “Keep your breath cool with some frozen mango gum!”
This gum is great, but I don’t know why it is called frozen mango. This was how much Cira liked it:
Cira: Mom, can we get more of this gum?
Me: Sorry hon, I don’t think we can buy it around here.
Cira: Do you think they will send it in another box?
Me: I’m not sure.
Cira: Can you call them and ask?
Corn Pottage Umaibo – “A corn pottage flavored tube of puffed corn.”
I’ve liked all the umaibos that we’ve received, and this one is not different. I think the American versions have a different flavor of cheese that tastes a little more fake to me. Corn pottage is a Japanese creamy corn soup, by the way.
Karappa – “Mini puffed corn rings that taste like teriyaki mayo chicken.”
I ate these without reading the description and I really liked them a lot. I could not discern the flavor though, and now that I’ve read the description, I know why! They do have a bit of a chicken flavor, but I don’t really get the mayo taste.
Pierre’s Sugar Rusk – “Twice baked bread coated with sugar: delicious & sweet!”
Both Cira and I liked these, but it wasn’t a favorite for either of us. It was hard and crispy and slightly sweet, but not overly so.
Shittori Choco – “Crunchy chocolate cookies with a cream chocolate center.”
Oh, these are so good! I had company over when I opened them and we all fought over the last ones. The center isn’t really soft, but just slightly though and the chocolate flavor is not too strong. I may call Freedom Japanese Market to ask for more of these. ☺
Nazo Neru-Neru-Ne – “Make lemon and strawberry soda flavored treats with this cute and fun DIY kit.”
This was fun to make, but I wish they’d included instructions on the English contents list. I guessed when putting it together, and we may not have included the water if Cira hadn’t spotted the small glass of water at the top of the back of the package. There was a slightly effervescent texture which was fun–a little like Pop Rocks.
Hello Kitty Chocolate – “Mini mattcha chocolate in the shape of Hello Kitty’s face.”
I really liked the matcha flavor in this white chocolate, but Cira did not. I would buy more of these if I could find them.
Takyo-Yaki Nani-Wa – “The popular Umaibo snack, in ring form! Puffed corn rings with the taste of octopus.”
I never would have guessed that was an octopus flavor! It was definitely different, but I really like different so I ate these. Cira didn’t like these much at all.
Rice Crackers – “Crispy rice crackers with a subtle pickled plum flavor.”
Yet another odd flavor that I never would have guessed was pickled plum. This tasted a bit like popcorn to me. It did not taste like pickled plum, and I know that flavor. It definitely was subtle. I liked these.
Watagashi – “Snack sized portion of strawberry flavored cotton candy.”
This was a household favorite. It was really sweet, but the strawberry flavor was spot on! Delicious! Best cotton candy I’ve had. This was Cira’s favorite item.
Chip Star – “Butter soy sauce flavored potato chips. Perfect for snacking!”
This was pretty much the only snack I didn’t like in the box. Interestingly, these were in Cira’s top four favorites. These look like Pringles, but you can certainly taste that butter soy flavor.
Chibikko Mikan – “Sour mandarin flavored ramune candies in an adorable mandarin orange shaped tube.”
Yummy little candies that definitely were sour. When they say sour in their candy description, they really mean sour. I liked these though. Clearly, I’m easy to please. Ramune is a popular Japanese soda.
Freedom Japanese Market includes a handmade origami with every box. This month there was a koi-nobori. This little origami carp (inspired by windsocks) has “cute eyes made from a stamped hand-carved from an eraser.”
Verdict: We really enjoyed our second box from Freedom Japanese Market! Nothing was discarded in the box, and we had so much trying them that we just couldn’t stop opening them! We had friends over when we opened the box, so it was interesting hearing everyone’s reactions to the different flavors.
Freedom Japanese Markets tries to send a good mix of sweet, sour, and savory snacks, and they did just that. I thought we got a lot of snacks for $24.99. The price seems fair considering there is no way I could find anything like this where I live, and we really enjoyed all the snacks.
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