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Japan Crate Subscription Box Review – March 2015

Lindsey Morse
ByLindsey MorseMar 20, 2015 | 13 comments

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Japan Crate is a monthly subscription that sends full-sized, Japanese candy and DIY food kits straight from Tokyo.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Japan Crate sent us this box for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

The Subscription Box: Japan Crate

The Cost: $12 per month for the mini crate (4-6 candies); $25 per month for the original crate (8-12 candies and DIY Kits); $30 per month for the premium crate (10-14 candies and DIY Kits)

The Products: Full-sized Japanese candy and DIY food kits.

Ships to: Worldwide (US shipping is free. Shipping elsewhere is $10.)

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Japan Crate includes a card detailing the items in the box. (Note that this is a review of the premium crate.)

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

On the reverse, there’s an adorable cartoon chronicling the candy’s journey from Japan to the US.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

I particularly like how ninjas had to fight off a candy-crazed kraken!

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Suntory C.C. Lemon

Kabaya Panda Cookie DIY Kit- 2.32 oz, value $5.99

C.C. Lemon is a lightly carbonated, lemon-flavored Japanese soft drink that contains the Vitamin C of 50 lemons. It reminded me of a mild lemonade- not too sour or too sweet.

I’ve never tried a DIY cookie kit before, but it seems like they’re something of a fad in Japan right now. The instructions were all in Japanese, but the kit did have picture instructions on the back that I found pretty easy to follow.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

I started by unpacking all of the supplies.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Using the provided containers, I melted the white and milk chocolate buttons. I then poured some of the chocolate into the panda bear molds and topped each one with a cookie. I transferred the remaining milk chocolate to the little bag, cut off the tip, and piped the chocolate into the holes of the cookie.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

I thought this was a really fun DIY kit, and I was very impressed with how the cookies turned out!

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Glico Matcha Green Tea Collon

Fujiya Milky

Takoyaki Gummy DIY- 1.26 oz, value $3.99

I like the taste of green tea matcha powder, so I was excited to try the Collon snacks. They’re crispy cylindrical wafer cookies that are filled with creamy, matcha-flavored filling. I thought they were great!

The Fujiya Milky are small, firm candies that soften into a taffy-like consistency. They’re white in color but taste a little like caramel.

JapanCrate guarantees two different DIY kits in each premium crate- the Takoyaki Gummy DIY was the second one.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Like the cookie kit, this one provided picture instructions on the back on the packet; however, these were slightly more complicated. The first step was to mix a powdered mixture with water, but the images didn’t give me a very good idea of how much! I kept adding until the provided mixing container was about ¾ full, which luckily seemed to be about the right amount. I filled the molds halfway, added a gummy candy, and poured over the rest of the powder/water mixture.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Once the candies seemed to set, I stuck a toothpick into each one and removed them from the molds.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Lastly, the instructions called for the gummies to be topped with a gooey topping (it tasted like maple syrup) and green sprinkles.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

I thought this DIY kit was really fun! It was a little tricky to figure out some of the instructions just by looking at the pictures, but I got by. I’ll definitely keep an eye out for DIY kits like this in the future!

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Look a la Mode Chocolates

Country Ma’am Vanilla Cookie

Fit’s Nightlife Gum

The Look chocolates are so interesting! Each flavor has its own row of filled-chocolate pieces, and I think it’s so clever to put 4 different flavors in one bar. All of the flavors were delicious on their own, but it was also fun to try different flavor combinations like almond caramel and strawberry banana.

According to the info card, Fit’s gum comes in a variety of offbeat flavors. I think the flavor I received is “Peach Yogurt,” but I’m a little jealous I didn’t get the “Wine” flavor. I can’t imagine what wine gum would taste like!

Country Ma’am’s Vanilla Cookie is a Japanese take on an American classic- a chewy cookie with a soft center filled with chocolate chips.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Super Mario Chocolate Pop (BONUS Item!)

Anpanman Pero Pero Lollipop

I lit up when I saw the Super Mario Chocolate Pop! What a fun treat! I grew up on Nintendo, so this chocolate pop has major nostalgic value for me.

The Pero Pero lollipops come in a variety of flavors, and each one is branded with a character from the anime series Anpanman. I’m not familiar with Anpanman, but according to Wikipedia it’s extremely popular with Japanese children.

Japan Crate Subscription Box Review - March 2015

Calpico Giant Panda Ice Cream Cone- 1.19 oz, value $1.59

Chocolate Umbrella

The Calpico Giant Panda Ice Cream Cone doesn’t actually contain ice cream. Instead, the wafer cone is filled with airy whipped foam meant to resemble the cold dessert. I think this is such a fun take on a classic treat.

I received the strawberry flavored Chocolate Umbrella. It’s a classic Japanese candy that’s been around for over 60 years.

Verdict: I thought Japan Crate was so much fun! It’s hard to determine a value for this box because I couldn’t find the majority of the items for sale online, but I think the price is fair. The selection of treats was excellent, and I really enjoyed my introduction into DIY snacks!

What do you think about Japan Crate? Have you tried any of these snacks before?

Lindsey Morse
Lindsey Morse

Lindsey is a professional baker, cold brew coffee addict, and rosé aficionado who loves writing about food and wine. When she’s not sharing her love of subscription boxes with the world, you’ll find her in the podcasting studio, perfecting her cake decorating techniques, or cursing her way through the New York Times daily crossword puzzle. 


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13 comments

Adriana

My girlfriend and I had subscribe to Japan Crate for the first time and it’s being over a month. Should I be worry or is it the because it’s the first time??? I would love a comment as soon as possible. Thanks!

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n

We signed up for this in the beginning of March. . Can’t wait to receive it but since it’s from Tokyo does it take a few months to receive your first box?

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Jenny

I’d much rather get this than Love With Food!

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Kay

I am a Japanese living in the US, so I enjoyed this review, but got a little home sick 😛

Some of the snacks are from my childhood and they are around for a long time. Some are new to me like DYI snacks. What is the size of the box they sent you? I am guessing either original or premium. We only get small portion of Japanese snacks here in store/online, so if the rest has to be imported from Japan, I think the value is fair. Also I recognized all the packaging is in Japanese, so this company put some work into translating. I think it is a great snack box for kids, but adults can enjoy items like LOOK, Collon and CC Lemon.

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Lindsey

Hi Kay, thanks so much for your comment! It’s nice to hear that you were able to recognize some of these snacks from your childhood and learn about some new ones too. And you’re correct: this review was of the premium crate. 🙂

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Jill

I am so inspired to sign up for this one for my peeps who work with me. what fun it might be to get for a bunch of people!

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Erin D.

If you like different flavors in one candy bar, you should look for Sky Bars – my mom & her brothers loved them when they were kids. You can find them in places where they sell older candies like Necco wafers, etc. It’s one section each of vanilla, peanut, fudge and caramel. They’re good!

As for the box, looks like a lot of fun but I wouldn’t order it since I definitely don’t need that much candy 🙂

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Lindsey

Thanks for the tip, Erin! I’ll definitely keep an eye out for Sky Bars! 🙂

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Alicia

Thanks for the review – I’ve been curious to try this box, and it looks like one of the better Japanese snack boxes out there! Btw, I think the wine gum was probably just grape-flavored.

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HH

I’m not a big candy person, but this box looks so fun! I especially like the DIY kits. I have an eight-year-old, and she would love it. Are there any boxes out there that are DIY food themed like this?

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Tako

You can get a lot much cheaper on candysan.com , if you’re willing to wait for them to come from japan. I shop there all the time and they’re reliable! It’s just shipping can be slow, but that’s the cheapest you can get DIY kits.

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heyhey

Amazon has loads of the diy kits,most between 4 and 8 bucks. We have tried all diffetent ones this way.

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HH

Cool. Are there any you recommend?