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Japan Crate Subscription Box Review + Coupon – April 2016

Nancy Su
ByNancy SuMay 2, 2016 | 8 comments

Japan-Crate-April-2016-Box

Japan Crate
4.7 overall rating
224 Ratings | 204 Reviews

Japan Crate is a monthly subscription box that sends candy and snacks from Japan. The box aims to "recreate the excitement of exploring Japan through fun candy and everything kawaii," and the assortment is handpicked straight from Japan.

There are 3 crate sizes to choose from: Mini, Original, and Premium.

This review is of the Premium crate.

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post  to learn more about how we review boxes.)

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Japan-Crate-April-2016-Contents

The Subscription Box: Japan Crate

The Cost: $12/month for Mini crate, $25/month for Original crate, $30/month for Premium crate. Free shipping to the US.

COUPON: Save $5 off your first Original or Premium box with code MSA5!

The Products: Candy and snacks from Japan!

Ships: Internationally with exceptions found here.

Check out all of our Japan Crate reviews and the Food Subscription Box Directory!

Keep Track of all your subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

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Each box comes with what Japan Crate calls a manga-zine. It's filled with detailed info about included snacks and tidbits on Japanese culture. The instructions for the DIY candy kit included in the box was also in here.

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Kawauso No Kotsume Toy

This is a cute otter that's typically found in Japanese claw machines. It's made by AMUSE, one of Japan's most famous toy makers. I love the bow tie!

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Fruit Shop Fruit Gummy

Fruit snacks are some of my favorite junk foods. Each gummy is perfectly soft, squishy, and fruity. The only sad part was that there weren't more gummies in the pouch!

Sakupan Giant Wafer

This is a light wafer-covered chocolate cookie in the shape of a panda (Sakupanda). The cookie part is actually more of a light, fluffy cream, while the wafer that holds the bottom acts like a container for the cream. I found it quite delicious.

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Fue Ramune

The candy is hollow in the middle so that when you blow through the hole it makes a whistling sound. The powdery taste reminds me of Sweet Tarts. There were 3 candies total!

Rock, Paper, Scissor Gummy

Apparently you can now play rock-paper-scissors in the form of gummies. This pack comes with just two gummies, a large one that reminds me of a sticky hand toy and a smaller star-shaped gummy. Both were packaged in a molded plastic holder to retain their shape. Both are cola flavored. If anyone's wondering, I received the scissors.

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Waku Waku Zoo Animal DIY

"Waku waku" is the Japanese onomatopoeia for excitement. How aptly named, since I freaked out when I saw this. I love DIY candy kits! The last one I did was this candy sushi kit. The candy itself is soft and malleable. The taste and texture is similar to skittles after you've chewed on them for a couple seconds. My lollipop-making adventures are chronicled below.

Chip Star Ebikoubashi

These look and taste like Pringles but are shrimp flavored. I love shrimp-flavored junk food so this was devoured pretty quickly. It's great that can is resealable, but there's usually nothing left to reseal when I'm done with it...

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The pink dough is strawberry and yellow dough is lemon. Subscribers should receive one of several different molds. I love the elephant and bunny one I got!

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Pineapple Soda

The info booklet explains that pineapples are generally expensive in Japan, so pineapple-flavored things are a good alternative to the real thing. This soda has a surprising amount of pineapple-y kick! It tastes really delicious. I would purchase a 24-pack of this if I could.

Sherbert Pero Cola

This candy is similar to Fun Dip. The lollipop inside is cola-flavored while the fizzy powder is sour and sweet. I didn't like the powder so I just ate the lollipop like a lollipop.

Glico Chocolate

These chocolates are shaped like hearts (or butts, if you're "funny" like my boyfriend). Each chocolate has its own little plastic mold home and tastes heavenly! They have a lighter whipped texture compared to normal chocolate. They melt in your mouth. So good.

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123 Green Apple Gum

This is a three-pack apple-flavored gum. The flavor didn't last long at all, sadly, but it was tasty for a good couple of minutes.

Wow!? Such Banana!

What kind of name is this? This is a small marshmallow snack. There is a soft banana-flavored outer shell, squishy marshmallow inside, and some chocolate cream filling in the middle. I love the name. I love the taste. I kind of love everything about this snack. Where can I find more!?

Puru Mocchi Grape

These are individually wrapped grape mochi. Each mochi square is lightly coated in sugar. The sugar combined with the tangy grape taste of the soft mochi makes for a delicious combo. I also love it when companies personify their foods-- see the mochi on the bag with faces and limbs? That's my style of advertising right there. 

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Calbee Shrimp Chips

I saved the best for last. This was the largest item in the box. Full disclosure: I love these types of shrimp chips and have eaten them all my life. They're almost as addicting as subscription boxes (ok, maybe just as addicting). At one point my boyfriend and I were scarfing them down by the handfuls until we shook out of our shrimp-induced haze and corralled what was left of the bag so I could write a proper review. Shrimp-flavored snacks may not be a winner for everyone, but for me it's like the jackpot. I modeled some chips with the Kawauso No Kotsume otter, because why not?

Verdict: I've gone googly-eyed from all the scrumptious snacks in this month's Japan Crate! There's a lot of variety in the snacks. I especially like that a lot of these foods are hard to find in the US, but also a little sad because I won't be able to buy more of the stuff I liked. My favorite is definitely the Calbee Shrimp Chips; these I can find in my local Asian grocery store, thank goodness for that. A close second would be the refreshing Pineapple Soda. I also appreciate that the info booklet not only contains information about the snacks but also Japanese culture. This way you can immerse yourself in the snacks while learning a thing or two about Japan. There's no easy way to determine retail value since you can't find most of these in the US. For a total of 13 items (excluding the bonus toy), you're paying an average of $2.30 for each snack. I'd also say that it's worth it for being able to discover unique snacks.

What do you think of the snacks from Japan Crate?

Starting at $39.99
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Japan Crate is a monthly candy and snack subscription box! The company’s HQ is based in Tokyo, where they handpick unique candy, snacks, drinks, DIY kits, and more. Each box contains between 5-20 full-size candies and snacks that are difficult or impossible to find outside of Japan for as low as ... read more.

Nancy Su
Nancy Su
Nancy began her subscription box adventure in 2014 and never looked back. She loves Asian beauty and is constantly in search of skincare holy grails. She hoards lipsticks. Her favorites are beauty, lifestyle, and jewelry subscriptions.

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8 comments

Victoria

I so want that otter! They are my favorite animals LOL. I always love reading the reviews on this box. I can’t justify it as I think it is entirely too sweet heavy for me, but it’s so much fun seeing all the neat things they include.

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Christy Wheaton

I have tried them a few times and had so many issues. Each time we subscribed, they emailed informing us that their shipments were late/damaged and our premium box would be missing some items but not to worry, they’d make it up to us by adding a bonus item the next month (even though I told them we were only trying it out for one month so they wouldn’t be able to make it up to us because we wouldn’t be keeping the subscription). The next time we tried them, it was the same issue with their delivery running late or another problem with their shipment. We then gave it one last try in April and at that point we were on our 2nd Tokyo Treat box and thought we would compare to see which one is better and I have to say, Tokyo Treat blew them out of the water. Way more items, much better items, and zero issues. We promptly cancelled Japan Crate for the third and final time. We have since received emails stating that they have changed shipping companies and will offer more items, and blah, blah, blah but I just don’t feel that we can give them another chance when Tokyo Treat is so much better. Seriously, try Tokyo Treat instead!

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Wendy

I got two Tokyo Treat boxes and both times they came with a note letting me know customs had to remove and destroy items that were no safe to import. I am not sure what they were and the company seemed totally clueless as to what was safe to send or not, so I canceled my subscription. I received my first Japan Crate and didn’t have anything removed and everything even had english nutrition labels which i didn’t even notice Tokyo Treat candy doesn’t ever have

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Cindy

Oh, so sad….I clicked on this review thinking it was beauty products from Japan…..

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Jen

I’m SO looking forward to giving this a try in May. (This is my Mother’s Day gift to myself, since Allure screwed up royally, and I’m NOT sharing it!) These things always look like so much fun. Shrimp chips are my favorite!

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Kat

Great review! I want this box! I already subscribe to Universal Yums though and I try to limit my subscriptions to only one per category. (Or I feel too guilty.)

If you have tried both, which one did you like better?

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nursermk

I have to give a Universal Yums shout out because I loved traveling via snacks and treats to various countries plus they have lots of info and even a music list. One of my co-workers gets Japan box and has a great time with it, no problems and the whole family enjoys the treats so I think it would be up to your preferences and tastes.

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Christy Wheaton

I have tried Japan Crate and Tokyo Treat and I have to say TT is soooo much better! Many more items, better items, higher quality items.

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