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- Fans of Japanese
snacks may not be able to find them easily in the US. - TokyoTreat is a subscription box that delivers snacks from Japan straight to your home.
- There's a diverse variety of snacks and drinks, and I've enjoyed most of the ones I've tried in my boxes.
- I also appreciate that the snacks feed my wanderlust and teach me a bit more about Japanese culture.
- Read more: Thrive Market has an extensive healthy snack selection that caters to many dietary restrictions — here are 10 favorites
Snacks from other countries can be hard to find or just plain expensive stateside.
I always love the thrill of finding a snack from a different country, trying new flavors of
I've always felt that Japan has knocked it out of the park in the snack department. I've logged many hours at Sunrise Mart (a Japanese supermarket) and H-Mart (a Korean supermarket that sells many East Asian groceries) just picking up snacks, wondering what they might taste like. So I was incredibly excited to find out that there was a subscription box for Japanese snack lovers: TokyoTreat.
How to order TokyoTreat
There are two types of boxes — Premium and Classic.
The Premium comes with 17 snacks and starts at $31.50 if you subscribe for 12 months and increases in price for memberships that last six or three months. The price goes up to $35 for a one-time box. Classic comes with 12 snacks and starts at $22.50, going up to $25 for a one-time box.
What to expect from TokyoTreat
I initially bought the Premium snack box, which at $35, felt like a great deal for 17 items.
My first box arrived at the end of the month that I ordered it. The orange box felt sturdy and I even saw a sticker that said it was shipped from Japan and went through US customs, so I knew it was legit.
When I opened the box, I found a small booklet that detailed all of the snacks in the box. This was helpful since most of the packaging is in Japanese and I don't know a ton of words yet. The booklet also teaches you about Japanese festivals, events, and even recipes. They try to tie the items in the box to a theme. There was a lot of corn items in a box that was themed for summer vegetables, and I got some tasty sakura flavored items when it was cherry blossom season.
There's also a code on the items that you enter on their website to rack up rewards points to use on subscription plans, products, and more. So far, I've entered enough codes that I've got 10% off my next subscription, which I signed up for.
If you're a manga or anime fan, you'll enjoy seeing some of your favorite characters on some of the snacks — I've previously gotten Pokémon-themed cookies.
What I liked about my TokyoTreat boxes
The treats, as I expected, were a mix of salty and sweet items. They always include one DIY snack, which is pretty fun to put together. I've made little candies that look like ice cream, pressed gummies in a mold to make a lollipop, and more in the months I've subscribed to TokyoTreat.
The boxes also have a package of shareable snacks. They're essentially little 2-for-1 bags you can rip apart to give to your friends, but I mostly just store them in my backpack for some at-work snacking.
TokyoTreat also sends tea or a new kind of Japanese soda every month as well. I've gotten melon soda that was a shocking neon green color and milder drinks, like Lipton Sakura tea.
The rest of the box is filled out with different types of snacks like chocolates, chips, corn puffs, rice crackers, and my favorite, mochi. Sometimes the flavors aren't right for me — I've never been a fan of energy drinks, for example, so I'm not crazy about an energy drink flavored candy. But for each snack that hasn't been a flavor slam dunk in my box, I've got two more that I've enjoyed. This is also made up for the fact that these aren't easy snacks to get, and they show up at my house every month — there's not much to complain there.
The bottom line
It's become a favorite ritual of mine to unbox my TokyoTreat and eat one little snack a night. They're a nice little treat and it's a lot cheaper than going to Japan. I appreciate that every box I get contributes to my wanderlust about the country and has taught me a little more about Japan in the process.
Read the original article on Business Insider