I love trying new Japanese candies, especially ones with great names. Today’s is スキッピー, or Skippy in English, which is a perfect name for a peanut confection. Skippy are mainly milk chocolate, mixed in with peanuts and dried crepe—which looks and tastes a bit like corn flakes. They actually look a bit like pre-baked cookie dough, and they taste just about as good. They come in a large black and gold box, which opens to reveal silver foil, which holds a surprisingly small amount of the candy. I was expecting fifteen or twenty, and instead I got no more than ten, which is quite disappointing, because the box cost about two hundred yen.

But they are really delicious. Fujiya never skimps on the chocolate, and the stuff found here is first-rate. The peanuts aren’t too bad, either. The important thing is that the chocolates are really packed full of the ingredients, which makes each bite enjoyable.

As I’ve mentioned, the big let-down here is that you get hardly any in each box. I went through the entire thing in a couple minutes, and I could see doing it absent-mindedly in half that. They melt really fast, too. Unlike, say, Pocky or M&Ms, Skippy are not the sort of candy you want to eat on a hot day. They’ll leave chocolate all over your fingers, and force you to rush through your box.

But on the whole, I’d mildly recommend Skippy. I’ll certainly get another box or two, mainly because they remind me of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I’m not sure they’re worth importing, though, especially as I’m sure they’d melt to a solid clump by the time they reached the States.

3/5

One of my all-time favorite go-to candies is chocolate-covered nuts. There are boxes of almonds and macadamia nuts, and both make a fantastic snack. The only problem is, they’re a little pricey—around 200 yen for just a small box–and at that price, it’s a little hard to justify such a (pardon the pun) vanilla snack, when there are more exciting treats out there. And I guess Meiji has been thinking the same thing, because they’re now spicing up their Macadamia line with some new flavors, such as today’s Praline.

Basically, what we have here is a macadamia and a half surrounded by a dome of nutty white chocolate. Each box comes with ten such candies, sitting in a tray, covered in a handsome gold foil. As a bonus, on the inside of the box’s cover is a paragraph explaining the process of roasting the macadamias to go in the chocolate…if your Japanese is a little better than mine. The box closes up nicely, but there’s no way I can eat fewer than ten of these in a single sitting.

No way, indeed, for they are absolutely delicious. I can’t think of any other candies I’ve had that had praline chocolate, but I’ll be sure to seek it out in the future. 200 yen is still a little on the pricey side, but it’s absolutely worth it when this sweet, nutty taste is involved. I’m looking forward to what other flavors Meiji chooses to infuse its chocolate with, and you should be too.

5/5

I love crunchy candy. Crunky, Macademia, and even Pocky; crunchy food fills a certain segment of my sweet tooth. Now, I hardly ever prefer Lotte’s chocolate to other brands, but I thought I would give some of their new, crunchy, offerings a try: あられ (arare) and パン (pan) Ghana.

Arare, as I was not aware before trying it, is roasted mochi. If you’re not familiar with that, I’ll share my first reaction when I saw these: they look (and taste) like Cap’n Crunch dipped in chocolate. They’re light and fluffy, and primarily chocolatey. Mixed in is a touch of soy sauce, which tastes better than you might assume. Unlike some candies like this, Lotte doesn’t skimp too much on the quantity. While there’s only 42g of array chocolates, that’s something like 25 pieces, and a pretty filling snack.

Pan, being French for ‘bread,’ is exactly that. This candy is essentially the same as the first, only with sweet salad croutons. While the arare promised to be both サクサク (sakusaku), crispy, and フワフワ (fuwafuwa), fluffy, these crouton Ghana only promise to be crispy, which is understandable, because these are a little heavier than the Cap’n Crunch Ghana.

While both of these crispy chocolate snacks were a fun experience, neither really rose above the pack. As I mentioned in the beginning, Lotte chocolate really doesn’t do anything for me, and as a filling, I much prefer nuts or the mochi puffs from Crunky. They’re both pretty unique, though, and if you’re looking for a taste you can’t find outside of Asia, you could certainly do worse.

2/5

We couldn’t find these for sale in the usual places, so let us know in the comments if you know where to buy あられ (arare) and パン (pan) Ghana.

I was thinking about putting these in with the Kit Kat round up, but that post was getting so long and this is the first time I’ve had the chance to review Kit Kat Mail so lets call it a special occasion. My coworker called me mid day on a Saturday (which was odd since we work Mon-Fri) and announced she was in Hokkaido looking at Hokkaido Kit Kats, and would I like some. Hell yes! She brought them in on Monday and it took some serious effort not to rip into the cute little mail ready boxes. These Kit Kats are part of a line of regional souvenirs that come with a mailing label printed on the back. Domestically the box would cost about 140 yen to mail, and international EMS mail would cost about 1,200 yen.

I think the boxes could be sturdier but the interior is lined with packing material to help protect the candy. Each box contains five mini Kit Kats which are perfect for the health conscious, but kind of lame when you see that theres a good bit of empty space in the box.

The first of the two flavors is 焼きもろこし (roasted corn). Like a lot of the white chocolate Kit Kats, these smell like frosting. They’re more yellow then other white chocolate Kit Kats though, which i find cute, but also a little disturbing. I mean, that isn’t a natural yellow color. I love fresh grilled corn on the cob but these taste a lot like sweet canned corn and as a result are terrible. I think they make a fantastic souvenir for more adventurous pallets, but if you’re not actually going to Hokkaido, please don’t bother ordering these. 1/5

Melons are a delicacy in Japan and I’ve seen them average about 2,000 yen in the stores near me. Maybe its because I’m American or maybe it’s because I don’t like melon that much, but I don’t really get it. These 夕張メロン (Yuubari Melon) Kit Kats are flavored like the famous melons of Yuubari City in Hokkaido. The chocolate exterior is a little waxy and  bitter sweet. The wafer is striped with orange cream that tastes like melon (no big surprise there). The melon flavor isn’t too strong, fake, or sweet. I’m really impressed with these since I think they strike a good balance between real melon and fake melon soda flavor. 4/5

First up is the 充実野菜 (Full of Vegetables) Kit Kat from around last summer. I must admit that I skipped this one on purpose, but my coworker picked it up for me and I don’t want to be ungrateful. Plus its such a weird idea for a flavor. The flavor of the Kit Kat is based on a juice made by Ito En of the same name. The juice is a mix of vegetable and fruit juices that is supposed to be vitamin packed. The Kit Kat, though only two hundred calories per box, has no health benefits. It smells like apple juice and tastes like apples and salad. Its not bad, but the smell is overpowering and the color is off putting. I’ll stick with the juice. 1/5
Read Pretty Pretty Yum Yum’s review of Vegie Galore Kit Kat.

During the winter months in Japan it’s quite common to find vendors selling 焼きいも (roasted sweet potatoes) at events and out of the backs of trucks. I guess it was inevitable that Nestle would make a yakiimo Kit Kat. I could only find these in bags mixed with original chocolate Kit Kats. The yakiimo are super sweet, don’t smell like much, and mostly taste like vanilla frosting. As a lover of Japanese sweet potato, I found these disappointing. They are just too sweet. 1/5
Read Orchid64′s review of Yaki Imo Kit Kats.

This is the first of more recent Kit Kats (as in the last few months). ミルクコーヒー (milk coffee) Kit Kats are for those poor souls preparing for entrance exams. People outside of Japan have heard about hell-ish Japanese entrance exams through anime, movies, and news stories for a few years. I don’t know much about the process, but I will attempt to explain for anyone who doesn’t know. Schools of all grades will give exams to prospective students to weed out anyone they don’t want. I’m under the impression that the exams range in difficulty depending on the quality of the school and it’s often said that the hardest part of Japanese university is getting in (ie. passing the exam). Students in Japan will study long hours to pass their tests and are usually supported by their family and peers. Kit Kats are often given as gifts to students taking their exams and this one was specially made for the occasion.

I misplaced the picture of the actual candy, but the Kit Kat is white chocolate with a coffee cream wafer and looks almost identical to a white chocolate Kit Kat. The exterior chocolate is sweet and milky with a little bit of a yogurty tang. The wafer snuck up on me because it is extremely bitter. I think the idea is that the exterior is the milk and the interior is the coffee and the two flavors will meld in your mouth. I didn’t enjoy the contrast in flavors too much, but overall the Kit Kat was good. I have a feeling that coffee lovers will be buying up the rest of these. 3/5
Read Jen’s review of Milk Coffee Kit Kats.

桜抹茶 (Sakura Matcha) is the most recent Kit Kat to hit Shelves. I have yet to see it anywhere but Sendai Station. I was a little hesitant on this one because matcha is a flavor that can go either way. On the one hand it plays nice with sugar and loses some of its grassy flavor in sweets. On the other it can be too strong, to grainy, and too, umm well, green. I’m just going to say it: This Kit Kat is freaking amazing. The matcha is mellow and the wafer has a graham and cinnamon undertone. There is no grassy aftertaste and the chocolate and wafer are smooth. I highly recommend these to everyone, even those of you who don’t like matcha because this Kit Kat is just so different compared to other matcha incarnations. 5/5

Buy Japanese Kit Kats from Jlist.com.