Japan Crate Review

Hello my dears!! I was lucky enough to take advantage of Crunchyroll (a beloved anime streaming site I use)'s black Friday special - if you signed up for a free 30 day trial of their premium streaming service that weekend they sent you a code for a completely free Japan Crate! Japan Crate is a monthly subscription box that sends you an assortment of candies and snacks imported from Japan. I was SO excited to try this out and the 2 month wait for my crate was nearly unbearable. Japan Crate has 3 levels - mini, original and premium. I was given the original box, priced at $25 a month. They also have another subscription option, the Doki Doki box which consists of all kawaii items such as figures, plushies and accessories. I REALLY want one!

Even though  it takes me forever to get through eating all of my candy, I opened each package and sampled one of each for the sake of this post. I hardy really eat a full serving of candy/Japanese snacks in one sitting; for example when I have pocky I will take 2-3 sticks at a time. I like to savor such snacks, as I don't often get it. As for the box its self, I totally want to subscribe! The only things holding me back are finances and the fact that I'm a picky eater...maybe a box like this will open my horizons.

So what was in the January 2016 Japan Crate?

The box is so cute!! And luckily it came with a little booklet telling me what everything is; contrary to what most weeaboos believe, no we can't read Japanese.

To start with, every box contains a DIY kit, which I was excited for since I love to watch those YouTube videos of people making Poppin' Cookin' and Happy Kitchen kits ( the American counterpart being Yummy Nummies). Sadly there was a problem with this month's Gudetama DIY kit so as an apology I was given these items in the "Lucky Lottery" where each box contained 2-3 items consisting of stationary, plushies, keychains, squishies and some other things. All being twice the value of the DIY kit value. I didn't complain because the Gudetama kit had something to do with eggs....I hate eggs. Based on this alone, I would want to subscribe because this company cares so much for their customers and about sending only top quality products. They sent a few emails and posted updates on the boxes to keep us in the know. Anyway, I got this cute pen and this little squishy bread keychain/phone charm.

Next is Asahi Calpis Gummy

Apparently these gummies modeled after a popular Japanese drink.

How was it really? I really couldn't pinpoint the exact flavor of the gummy. It was sweet and some sort of fruity. I did enjoy it! The texture I had never had from a gummy, the outside a tougher chewy but the inside so soft it was nearly like a jelly.

Milk Chocolate Pocky

These pretty much are supposed to be a fancier version of standard Pocky.

How was it really? Omg these are beautiful. A more chocolatey version of the original pocky.

Hello Kitty Strawberry Pretzel

I love Hello Kitty! I totally spazzed when I saw this. My question is are these like Pretz (which I've never had)? Apparently these are like Pocky.

How was it really? Exactly like strawberry Pocky. Which is sort of confusing since it's called a pretzel... there are no pretzels. 

Ju-C Short Cake

These look hella interesting! They apparently are chip like candies flavored like strawberry short cake. I love all things strawberry so I'm cool with this.

How was it really? So good! I've never had anything quite like it. It was a blast of strawberry flavor. It was like a strawberry flavored disc of sugar that dissolved quickly. I was very happy to discover it was candy and not a strawberry flavored potato chip.

Calbee Usushi Potato Chips

Apparently lightly salted chips? I'm hoping these aren't the Ume (plum) flavor that some people got.

How was it really? I was so relieved to find that indeed they are the lightly salted variety! They taste like any other lightly salted potato chip.

Sparkling Orange Gummy

I thought these were a drink mix at first, but they're orange flavored gummies.

How was it really? They tasted like Hi-C orange juice to me, really good! Based upon the scent in the package, I had expected them to taste more like actual real orange juice.

Fit's Strawberry & Cream (Ichigo Milk) gum

Yay for strawberry! This made me laugh, how random is "Look for Wally" (Where's Waldo in Japan? Oh, Japan....

How was it really? Like any other gum but strawberry flavored. It has that "sugar free gum" after taste to it. It tastes just like a strawberry gum that I have had from an American brand. It's good though! Even better, it doesn't stick to my dental fillings, which is what caused me to stop chewing gum. The flavor does become less intense after 5 minutes or so. So I wouldn't expect the flavor to last long.

Pokemon Pineapple Candy

I was excited for some anime candy! And it's Pokemon!!

How was it really? These are really cute! The wrappers have adorable Pokemon pictures on them too.  They come packaged as gum buy they're a chewy pineapple flavored candy. They are a bit hard at first but become softer and dissolve as you chew.

Yam White Chocolates

These I am most intrigued by...and most afraid to try. It's literally white chocolate mixed with sweet potato. To me it sounds strange!!

How was it really? Strangely good. Not something I would ever buy, but it tastes like white chocolate mixed with sweetened potatoes. At first I was greeted with the taste of potato, but as I ate the rest of the piece of candy it tasted more chocolatey.

Lion Rum Raison Soft Candy

For some reason this isn't listed in the booklet. 

How was it really? A bit of an odd taste for me. It was like a sweet raison coated with a caramel or toffee flavor.


There you have it! Which snack would you want to try yourself? Comment and let me know! My favorites were the Pokemon candy and the strawberry shortcake candy. My least favorite? The rum raison.