Japan Crate is a monthly subscription that sends full-sized, Japanese candy and DIY food kits straight from Tokyo.
Japan Crate sent us this box for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
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 includes a card detailing the items in the box. (Note that this is a review of the premium crate.)
On the card’s reverse, there’s a cartoon. Japan Crate is introducing “Sugoi Crate,” a large crate full of prizes that one lucky subscriber will receive every month. Sugoi Crates will contain goodies valued at over $500, and subscribers will be automatically entered to win one every month.
Kawaii Ramune
Ramune is a popular Japanese soda with a light, fruity flavor. This bottle is sealed with a clear marble. To drink, you pop the marble out of the cap and enjoy!
Happy Paws Gummy- value $1
These gummies are flavored with peach and shaped like paw prints. They’re very soft, and I like the subtle peachy flavor.
Choco Banana Pocky- value $1.46
According to the card provided by Japan Crate, this is the newest flavor from Pocky. (They’re a take on the classic chocolate covered banana.) I really like Pocky snacks, and I think these long, chocolate banana cookie sticks are a great addition to the Pocky repertoire.
Matcha Pejoy- value $2.48
I’ve had matcha Pocky before (cookie sticks covered in matcha-flavored chocolate), but these are a little different. Instead of being coated in chocolate, these sticks are stuffed with a creamy matcha filling. I love matcha-flavored treats, and I think these are tasty!
Snow Pea Chips
These remind me a lot of Trader Joe’s Inner Peas. I’m a fan of snow pea chips, so I’ll happily nibble on these. According to the info card, there will be some variation with this item. Subscribers will either receive Snow Pea Chips or Soy Sauce Mochi.
White Chocolate Big Bar Z
Big Bar Z is a candy bar that consists of crunchy, wafer cookies covered in white chocolate.
Red Potion/ Black Potion
This gum paints your tongue red and black. Japan Crate suggests using it to find out where on your tongue you chew your gum.
Ramune Marble Gum
This gum is flavored with ramune. It has a crunchy candy shell and a mild flavor. I like it a lot (and also the happy soda bottle cartoon on the front of the packet)!
Kirby Blend-Blend Mix Gum
Quite a few of the candies Japan Crate sends are special in some way- this gum, for example, contains 5 different flavored gumballs. The flavors are: cherry, orange, ramune, yogurt, and prank grey. Prank grey gumballs block your tongue from tasting sweet flavors, so I tried a grey gumball last. The flavor was strange, though not unpleasant. After chewing it for about a minute, I swapped it for an orange gumball. After the eating the grey one, the orange tasted completely different than it had the first time! Not sweet at all. What a fun, bizarre candy!
Matcha Green Tea Kit Kat- value $1.06
I received Matcha Kit Kats recently in 30 Days of Candy, and I’m very happy to receive some more. I love Kit Kats, and I think they’re delicious with the matcha-flavored white chocolate coating.
Little Gang Grape
This is a grape-flavored chewing gum that comes in tiny little pieces that crackle like Pop Rocks when you first start to chew them.
My Neighbor Totoro Figure (BONUS ITEM)
Premium crates from Japan Crate always include a bonus item. This month’s bonus is a figurine from the anime, My Neighbor Totoro. (Subscribers will receive 1 of 10 possible figures.) I’m not familiar with the anime, but I think the figurine is so cute! It’s currently sitting on my desk.
Talking Puppy Chocolate
Talking Puppy Chocolate is a crispy rice chocolate bar that comes with a heat-activated puppy pun joke card inside.
Magic Bubble Jelly DIY
Every month, I look forward to assembling the DIY candy kits that Japan Crate sends. This DIY kit helps you create grape-flavored magic jelly. You make the jelly by mixing different packets of powder with water. When they’re all combined, you get a foamy, gelatinous candy.
This was definitely an unusual candy, and I wasn’t too keen on the flavor. That said, I imagine kids would feel much differently. It’s fascinating to watch this foam appear when two liquids are mixed together, and I can see them being very excited to try candy with such a strange texture!
Choco Kinako Mochi DIY
This DIY kit reminded me of s’mores, but the treats are made with mochi instead of marshmallows. To prepare the snacks, you simply add water to the dehydrated mochi to “activate” it, and then dip the mochi into the provided toppings.
This kit was fun, easy, and tasty!
Verdict: Japan Crate is so much fun! As always, I really enjoyed trying different kinds of Japanese candy and had a great time constructing the DIY kits. Since few of the items are available for sale online, it’s difficult to determine a value, but the Premium Japan Crate is always packed full of fun treats, and I think the value is definitely there. Japan Crate always puts a smile on my face, and I love discovering new Japanese candy every month!
What do you think about Japan Crate?
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