TokyoTreat is a monthly subscription service filled with candy and other tasty snacks from Japan. Savory, sweet, salty—all the flavors you wish given to you with authentic products you would find in a convenience store in Japan.
TokyoTreat offers two sizes: the Classic box for $25.00 a month and includes 9 snacks, or the Premium box for $35.00 and includes 14 snacks. More information about the snacks included can be found here.
This review is of the Classic, $25.00 a month, box.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About TokyoTreat
The Subscription Box: TokyoTreat
The Cost: $25.00 + free shipping. Save with 3, 6, and 12-month subscriptions.
The Products: Each box has a hand-picked collection of Japanese candies, DIY kits, traditional Dagashi snack, and savory snacks and drinks for you to enjoy.
Ships to: US and Worldwide
TokyoTreat Classic December 2018 Santa’s Snacks Review
December’s booklet shows a cute Santa (missing a tooth!) happily snacking on his leftover treats!
Each box comes with a detailed booklet that includes a ‘menu,’ or list of snack items plus an interesting fact about them you’re about to try!
There’s a page for the DIY candy kit instructions (they’re simple to follow the pictures on the package in case you lose the booklet, so don’t worry!)
Another feature of the booklet helps us ‘discover Japan’ with a tidbit of information about the theme! This time, it’s about ‘Christmas Kentucky,’ or reserving buckets of KFC to enjoy for Christmas Dinner in KFC. There are always some Japanese phrases to learn; let’s learn counting and forming larger numbers in Japanese.
Bourbon Strawberry Chocolate Chips
I’ve tried chocolate covered potato chips, and they’re not bad. But these were a bit of a stretch… basically, these are thick ruffled potato chips swimming (yes, not even dipped) in a puddle of artificial strawberry flavored chocolate (like the strawberry Pocky coating). I don’t think the sweetness of the strawberry complemented well with the salty potato flavors.
Bourbon Salty Green Pea Mini Chips – Retail Value $1.63 (found here for $1.21)
These long ‘rolls’ of trays of mini-sized chips and cookies are iconic products from Japan’s Bourbon. This variation is of green pea chips, in the shape of mini Pringles! These taste like edamame crisps, with a buttery-smooth texture and minus the oil. I felt quite healthy after eating them—because they have a very subtle pea/edamame taste, you could substitute these for regular Pringles or potato chips to avoid large sodium intake.
Shin-chan Apple Chocobi – Retail Value $3.80
These star-shaped crackers are famous for being on a cartoon series called Crayon Shin-Chan, that follows the life adventures of a toddler and his family. They are coated in a dusty apple-flavor, while the crackers themselves have a nice, almost butter biscuit flavor. The apple powder was also quite sour, and did not taste like apples (only the scent). I don’t think I’d be reaching for them again.
Burnt Caramel Taiyaki – Retail Value $0.93
Ah, a familiar snack in Japanese subscription boxes! This variation is a burnt caramel flavor. The wafer cookie was an intense black color and was filled with an airy caramel chocolate.
The mousse inside is the same as Aero by Nestle, a bubbled chocolate widespread in the UK regions. This dark chocolate caramel flavor replaced the traditional red azuki bean paste.
Calbee Vegetable Potato Sticks (share pack) – Retail Value $1.86 (found here for $1.43)
This snack also showed up in November’s Zenpop Ramen + Sweets Pack! They are called tsubu-tsubu chips because of the colorful blocks of veggies, an onomatopoeia for cluster or sprinkles.
Sadly, my opinion of them has not changed—they are potato-based glorified veggie straws, and taste like a salty potato.
Tomato Cherry Gummies – Retail Value $1.66 (found here for $1.24)
First, can we appreciate the vibrant red color of these gummies?! It’s like a cherry tomato encased in a layer of ice! There’s a special ‘filling’ at the top part of the jelly—a mixture of jello and jam with cherry flavor. These gummies also help plump your skin, made with collagen and lycopene.
Exciting Fishing DIY Kit – Retail Value $1.78 (found here for $1.37)
DIY kit time! This month’s kit involves a plastic measuring spoon, plastic tray with fish molds, grape-flavored candy powder, and a toy fishing rod.
I first placed the fishing rod string carefully into the molds.
Using the big end of the spoon, I poured out the powder into the fish molds, making sure the string stayed inside (this part was a little tricky because the pesky string kept moving everywhere).
Using the small end of the spoon, pour water onto the powder. The powder turns a lovely pink-purple color and solidifies. Carefully lift all your fish, and tada!
Umaibo Takoyaki Flavor – Retail Value $0.16
Time for our classic umaibo, or light corn snack! Takoyaki is a ball-shaped snack common Japanese street food made of pancake batter, tempura scraps, green onion, and octopus bits. It is usually paired with a sauce similar to Worcestershire sauce—this was the prominent flavor in the snack. The snack had a sour taste and wasn’t very good. ☹
Melon Bread Cookie
Melon bread is a classic (and extremely good) Japanese baked good. It is a hollowed bread, usually sweetened inside with condensed milk, and draped with a slightly-crunchy cookie crust. This shortbread cookie, about the size of a quarter, had a nice melon taste, and reminded me a lot of the iconic pastry!
Verdict: This month’s assortment of Japanese snacks was fun to experience, especially that tricky DIY kit! I do wish some of the snacks were Christmas-themed to show the unique December time traditions in Japan. Nonetheless, the snacks were classic and tasty! I estimated a retail value of around $11.82 excluding the strawberry chocolate potato chips and melon bread cookie. The retail value was around half of the original box price itself, so I hope future months' box value improve.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Nope, you have to sign up by the last day of the month. But subscribe for the February box here!
Value Breakdown: For $22.50 + free shipping, you’re receiving 9 products, so you’re paying around $2.50 for each share pack or snack bag.
Check out all of our TokyoTreat reviews and the Food Subscription Box Directory!
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How was your December TokyoTreat?
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