Japan Crate is a snack subscription box that sends out snacks and candies from Japan. In addition to the Premium Box, Japan Crate also offers a Mini Box, along with Doki Doki, Kira Kira, and Umai Crate.
This is a review of the Japan Crate Premium Box, which is $35 a month.
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.)
About Japan Crate Premium
The Subscription Box: Premium Box by Japan Crate
The Cost: $35 per month + free shipping
The Products: 15 snacks including a drink, 1 guaranteed DIY kit, and a revolving bonus item
Ships to: Internationally with a few exceptions found here
Japan Crate Premium Box September 2018 Review
It's Japan Crate's 4-year anniversary this month! Here's the booklet that was included in the box. I like that they list and describe each item here—I can't read the language on most of the packages in the box, so the information in the booklet gives me a little preview of what to expect with each snack.
Yuzu Lemon Salt Potato Chips
I love a salty, crispy potato chip. These ones have a twist of lemon flavor to boot! It really takes this classic snack to the next level.
Dinosaur Gummy Cola
These cola-flavored gummies have a cinnamon quality to them. They have the texture of a firmer fruit snack and playful shapes that remind me of fruit snacks, too!
Winnie the Pooh Marshmallow
This little marshmallow comes filled with pink frosting-like strawberry cream. Neither the marshmallow nor the cream inside have too much flavor to them—it's just kind of a mildly sweet squishy treat.
Usagi Manbo
These little sticks are like edible birthday candles, haha! They're sugary ramune-flavored candy that's not quite hard—they have a bendy quality to them rather than snapping in half.
Sherbet Pelo Cider
This candy reminded me of Fun Dip. Inside the blue pouch, there's a blue hard candy lollipop that you can dip into powdery ramune-flavored sugar.
Petit Petit Sherbet DIY
This DIY was a little more involved than usual! The instructions for it are actually translated and reprinted onto the back of the info booklet (and I saw them WAY too late in the process, hehe). To make this treat, you mix separate pouches of powder into water in a tray, then use a pipette to drop layers of the liquid into cute little molds. The yellow liquid seized up into a slimy gel almost immediately where the other colors stayed watery. (I don't know if I added too much water to them or what.) Once everything is layered out in the trays, you pop the tray in the freezer. The resulting candies are little frozen treats. The fluid doesn't have very much flavor nor sweetness, though.
Cracking Panic Cola
The mix of little white candies and orange shards of sugary soda candy. Each little pinch of this mix has a Pop-Rocks-like fizzy quality that's pretty fun.
Ramune Candy
I really like hard candies, though I'm not the biggest fan of the classic Japanese ramune flavor. Still, I liked these little marble-sized balls. They were the perfect size and shape for satisfying an afternoon sugar craving.
Mugipon Milk Coffee
These little wheat puffs reminded me of Sugar Smacks cereal! They have that light puffed-wheat flavor with a hint of a coffee-like bitterness. There's an illustration of them in a bowl of milk on the back of the package, so I suppose you really can treat them like cereal! Coffee-flavored cereal is something I've never seen or even considered before. What a tasty idea!
Chewing Strong Grape
These thick ropes of gummy candy have the density and texture of strawberry licorice, but they're thinner, grape-flavored, and much more sour. Unfortunately, they have a weird aftertaste that I don't totally love.
Toko-Natsu Sable
These biscuit-like cookies are super crispy and yummy. You can actually see the glossy sugar glaze glistening across the top of each one. They do have a REALLY strong coconut and pineapple flavor. It's not bad, just much bolder than I expected, especially when it comes to the coconut. (It was suuuper nutty and almost bitter.)
Picola Peach Yogurt
These cookies really do taste just like peach yogurt! They're crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside, and have a beautiful pastel pink swirl around them. They look and taste elegant!
Mochi Mochi Panda Annin Tofu
These nutty candies look like sugar cubes but have a semi-firm, jelly-like consistency that's super luxurious. The flavor tastes just like sweet almond. It's not terribly sweet, but it is deliciously decadent.
Chocoball Pachi Pachi
Chocolate-covered Pop Rocks?! These are kind of amazing. With Pop Rocks, you just kind of put them in your mouth and let them dissolve, but since you have so much of the chocolate in these treats, the popping candies get a little further back in your mouth—they feel so much louder than usual!
Watermelon Hi-Chew
These chewy candies taste JUST like watermelon! They're nice and soft and a favorite of the folks in my office. (They got so excited when I said I had some to share!)
Caribori
These crispy wafer sticks are flavored like soda but have a biscuit-like texture. I didn't read the little description of this snack before I gave it a try and was surprised by the unlikely flavor combo!
Gateau Premium Chocolate Cookie
There are two (slightly crumbly) soft-baked cookies in this pack, each with a cluster of chocolate chips in their centers. I love chocolate, but this cookie had a lot of that artificial chocolate flavor you get from things like "chocolate" lollipops. It left a weird, almost root-beer-ish aftertaste that I wasn't crazy about.
Gabunomi Zunda Cream Soda
This is probably the MOST unique item in this whole box! The flavor of this soda is zunda, which is a bean paste made from edamame. And the soda really does taste like edamame! It's a little off-putting AND a little intriguing to get this rather savory flavor from a box of snacks and sweets.
The Verdict: This box was full of tasty treats. I liked the balance of familiar and unfamiliar flavors in this box. There were traditional chewy candies and cookies, plus uncommon combinations like chocolate and popping candy, lemony chips, and that super interesting edamame drink!
To Wrap Up:
Can I still get this box if I sign up today? No, order by 9/30 to receive the October box. From Japan Crate:
Crates are shipped on a rolling schedule with three schedule shipment dates every month.
Coupon - Use coupon code MSA3 to save $3 off your first Japan Crate Premium, Doki Doki Crate, Umai Crate, or Kira Kira Crate!
Value Breakdown: This box costs $35.00 a month (including free shipping), and I received a total of 18 items in this box. That breaks down to a value of $1.94 per item.
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What did you think of the September premium box by Japan Crate?
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